More than 250 years ago, 90% of Americans were entrepreneurs, mostly of them home-based businesses. As we attempt to reconstruct our economy, I wonder if we’re about to see the return of the home-based entrepreneur, including home-based lawyers.

Solos Are Often Ahead Of The Economic Curve

This is good news for progressive solos who have always understood economic reality. Small, agile, able to make decisions quickly, holding little baggage, solos have traditionally been far ahead of the curve. This enables them to take advantage of opportunities the moment they surface. Great enterprises have always been built upon the ashes of great collapses.

Solos often forget they are much better positioned in most economies because of their solo status. Today’s solos don’t have to worry about office politics, de-equitization, and layoffs, which gives them a tremendous leg up in shaky economic times. They have one focus and one focus only: creating their own thriving business.

But how quickly and deftly can they create and/or revamp their solo practices, shift gears, make adjustments in their personal and professional lives to service their clients and still turn a profit—all the while remaining sensitive to the potential clients’ economic strife? Make no mistake: staying sensitive to and adjusting for this strife is the key to profitability and success.

Fashion Business Plans Based On Predicted Need

The answer to your economic security lies, in part, in predicting those needs that will arise and fashioning a business plan to meet those needs.

Most solos do not practice securities and exchange or mergers and acquisitions law; they practice ‘average person’ law—bankruptcy, divorce, trusts and estates, real estate, criminal, personal injury, small business incorporation, landlord/tenant, and DUI, or a combination of two or three. These areas, which most of us end up needing at some point in our lives, tend to increase in harsh economic times. As we hunker down for this long, cold winter, your clients are, too.

Look in the mirror. As a potential client of your own services, what would make you hire you? Think about your method of engagement, delivery of services, price points and payment methods. (If you say, ‘I do immigration, and I would never use my own services,’ you are missing the point of this exercise.) To ignore your personal circumstances when marketing to and engaging with potential clients is to be out of touch with your potential client base, your business and marketing plan. You are setting yourself up for hardship and potential failure as a solo practitioner.

Next, ask yourself this question: if you were to get a divorce, what would you expect to pay and what terms would you want? How tech-savvy, creative and considerate of your economic reality would you want your lawyer to be? What should he or she offer in terms of convenience, pricing, and communications? If you were declaring bankruptcy or trying to save your home from foreclosure, would thinking about the size of your legal bills stress you even more? How would you address your clients’ fears? How would you encourage them to contact you knowing that pro se status is an option in most of these practice areas? What message will you deliver which will resonate with them and encourage them to hire you instead?

Learn To Live On Less

If you answer, “I’ll just target the very rich,” think again: everyone can’t service the ultra-wealthy. Focusing on premium pricing limits your options. Plus, not everyone wants to service the gilded class. There are many more people who you can serve by reaching out to Main Street America—people who are also the most impacted by the poor economy.

To accomplish your objectives, become more efficient by cutting overhead. You can still deliver services if you use technology effectively and rely on creative pricing structures (those the law permits). By becoming more flexible, you’ll be able to accommodate your clients’ economic challenges while still turning a profit.

This philosophy should also extend to your personal life. If you want to survive, learn to live on less, which doesn’t prevent you from growing. It does, however, create a habit of smart (not excessive) spending, which will allow you to profit with a limitless upside.

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What is coaching? “Coaching is a method of directing, instructing and training a person or group of people, with the aim to achieve some goal or develop specific skills.” (Wikipedia)

What is a consultant? “A consultant is an experienced individual that is trained to analyze and advise a client in order to help the client make the best possible choices. A strategic consultant may evaluate a business plan and help the client develop a plan to meet those strategic goals.” (The Free Dictionary)

What is a mentor? “A wise and trusted counselor or teacher.” (The Free Dictionary)

A good coach/consultant or mentor teaches you how to fish for a lifetime. But the best of these can’t help you to learn how to fish if you don’t want to succeed at feeding yourself. You have to want to succeed by actively learning; you can’t fear the success you may achieve with your own sweat equity. You must be absolutely committed to investing time to create your future, and then be willing to accept success once it is achieved. No one can do this for you. These ingredients—commitment to and enthusiasm for success—are what make a solo practitioner succeed. With this mindset, you can surmount hurdles and resolve problems; without this mindset, you cannot.

When you hire a legal coach/consultant, you are hiring someone with practical experience whose job it is to provide support and the accountability you need in order to take the journey. This partnership’s primary purpose is to achieve goals, which you’ve defined as essential to personal and professional success.

Lawyers Need To Overcome Their Need To Know It All

Unfortunately, legal coaches/consultants can sometimes face an uphill battle when working with lawyers. Because lawyers are trained to solve problems, most believe they can solve their own, even if the problems aren’t legal. Lawyers have a hard time asking for help. And trying to figure everything out yourself isn’t necessarily the wisest or most cost-effective solution. All aspects of business are becoming more and more complex, far too complex for one person to multi-task capably and with great results. Being determined to do everything yourself is false economy.

Lawyers also don’t like relying on others for help because they wrongly perceive this as an admission of inadequacy. The belief that lawyers are supposed to be able to figure out anything and everything pervades the profession. It shouldn’t. Hiring a coach/consultant isn’t acknowledgment of inadequacy, but a recognition that it’s wise to get help from someone who may know more. And isn’t this the same advice a lawyer might give to a prospective client who was considering going pro se? Sure, you might be able to find your way out of your dilemma, but doing it yourself will probably prove more expensive than hiring someone to help you, and the results may not be as desirable as you had hoped.

Many lawyers don’t hire a coach or consultant because they harbor misconceptions about cost or the amount of time such a relationship requires. What they fail to take into account is the amount of time they spend trying to solve their own problem—which often adds up to more time than they’d invest in hiring a coach. In today’s fast-paced and competitive marketplace, time is money. You must use this currency wisely.

Coaching Can Be Life-Changing

Many qualified coach/consultants can save lawyers thousands of dollars just by guiding them to the right tools, vendors and practice management systems. And these are just the tangible savings. The intangible benefits coaches provide can prove life-changing and priceless. By establishing a true partnership, and by analyzing your long- and short-term goals, a coach can help you select a practice area, decide where to practice, figure out whether to practice alone or with others, and much more.

A successful coach/consultant relationship is also based upon trust and comfort. A coach is your confidant. You become accountable to him or her, and share intimate details of what it means for you to succeed. The rapport you develop will inspire and motivate you.

If you are struggling in your practice or need help, take charge by recognizing how your time is best spent. There are many qualified and experienced people who can guide you. Explore creating a positive and rewarding relationship with someone who only wants to encourage you towards success.

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Yet the situational analysis we did revealed otherwise. First Amy converted an old barn on her property into an office. Then she established a relationship with the only other attorney in town who was elderly, close to retirement, and unable to take on every case that arose. Soon, he began referring cases to her; she hopes to buy out his business when he retires.

Meanwhile, the quality of her daily life is precisely what she hoped it would be. She lives near her friends and relatives—those who know her best. For her, this real estate is “prime” because it satisfies both her personal and professional needs and will for decades to come.

The Best Real Estate Is Near Those You Know

In the legal business, location has little to do with securing the priciest real estate to impress people you have yet to meet. It has more to do with being in close proximity to those who already know you best. Before you can even make a decision about location, however, you have to fully digest and totally internalize three very important concepts:·

1. You are the product. Clients are buying you, your personality, integrity, enthusiasm, compassion and commitment to advocacy. Everything else is overhead, changeable, portable, expandable, but most importantly, expendable. Your product and business are an integral part of your persona and therefore travel with you; they aren’t tied to a physical location.
2. 62% percent of your business will be referrals from friends, relatives and coworkers. Whether you realize it or not, all your life you have been conducting a marketing campaign, marketing yourself 24/7. The people who know you best want you to succeed. They are proud to say they know a really great lawyer. The qualities which have attracted your friends, spouses, business partners to you and helped foster familial relationships are the very qualities which will encourage them to refer their friends, relatives and coworkers to you when a lawyer is needed.
3. Successfully locating your practice has everything to do with achieving balance in both your professional and personal lives. You need to select a location where you want to build a personal life or where you already have an established lifestyle for you and your family. If you are like most people, you will ultimately choose to live close to those you have grown up with, whether relatives or friends. Starting your practice close to your support system offers emotional comfort and the opportunity to attain true life/work balance.

Virtual And Home Offices Offer Inviting Possibilities

Today, a lawyer who wants to put down roots in her sleepy home town isn’t limited by her physical location. Thanks to technology, it’s possible to create a virtual law office (VLO). With access to a computer, lawyers can maintain and broaden their practice areas while maintaining their desired lifestyles.

Operating in cyberspace is very freeing for both lawyers and clients. Untethered to specific locations and restrictive schedules, solos can work non-traditional hours while saving on commuting costs. In this era of climbing gas prices, working from a virtual office can benefit your clients as well. Think how grateful they will be to not have to drive to consult with you. In this way, you’ll be addressing not only their legal needs but their unspoken needs as well.

At the same time, home offices are on the rise for a myriad of reasons. For instance, a lawyer who works from home can more easily achieve greater work/life balance, has low overhead, and can raise and enjoy his or her family.

Investigating these various options can further enhance your practice but you have to find what works for you. Not everyone has the freedom to work from home, or to open a hometown practice. Commitments, financial or familial, may force you to open your practice in a less than ideal location. But one of the rewards of being your own boss is the flexibility you enjoy to create a workable solution for yourself, just as Amy did. There’s never just one ideal location; with a little bit of creative thinking—and the right computer technology—you can make many different locations work for you.

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Yet after a few weeks, or even days, your initial euphoria and energy dissipate so much that you find yourself wondering if you’re making a mistake. You question if you can make the transition to solo work. More importantly, you ask yourself if being self-employed is worth losing the sense of security (however false) you have as an employee. After all, you remind yourself, a bird in the hand…

How do you keep yourself motivated and on track if being a solo practitioner is what you really want to do?

Create A Roadmap

I ask all the clients I work with to reflect on this: “Envision where you want to be 5, 10, and 15 years from now—and not just professionally, but personally as well.”

This is not an idle exercise; I’m inviting them to create a roadmap. If you don’t know where you are going, how do you know if you’ve arrived? If you don’t have a destination, how can you plot a course? Even if the destination and course subsequently change, you have to start somewhere.

Going solo is different from working for someone else in ways you may not have considered. For one thing, you’re “on” 24/7, like it or not. Also, for this to work, your personal and professional lives must mesh seamlessly, with no tension between the two. How do you make this happen? It’s not by changing who you are or what you want to achieve, but rather by constructing a whole life that takes into account who you are and where you want to go. Isn’t it better to float downstream than to swim against the tide? It’s certainly less tiring, which leaves more room for enjoyment. To achieve this seamless meshing, you’ll need to:

Follow These Seven Exercises To Keep You Motivated

1. Create an internal support system. Change your internal dialogue (those phrases you say to yourself) so that you’re not repeating defeatist things but applauding your aspirations and challenging yourself to move forward through your fear. Eventually this new, more positive internal dialogue will permanently replace the old one.

2. Find your inspiration. Figure out your “carrot”—the promise that keeps moving you forward even when you don’t feel like it or think you can’t. It can be a picture of your family, a trip around the world, a painting or a quote—whatever reminds you, when you invoke it, of why you are pursuing this goal.

3. Make a plan with a definite timeline. As we all know, a goal without a planned timeline for achievement is just a pipe dream. You need action steps that create a bridge between where you are today and where you want to go.

4. Keep in mind that becoming a solo practitioner isn’t your goal in and of itself. Your true goal is achieving those “dreams” you believe solo practice promises. Do you want to spend more time with the family, make your own schedule, build an empire, or never have to ask for time off? Whatever you believe entrepreneurship promises, you have to stay focused on the end gratification in order to navigate the transition process. Thinking about your plans for the future on a regular basis keeps you motivated. Your engines will stay as revved as they were when you first decided solo practice was right for you.

5. Acknowledge your limits. As lawyers, we are very practical and analytical. But these skills don’t always serve us when it comes to opening a solo practice. To go out on your own requires a certain leap of faith—faith in ourselves to not necessarily have all the answers but to understand that we are trained to “figure it out.” When facing an obstacle, real or imagined, don’t focus on your immediate reaction, which will probably be, “I don’t know.” Instead, tell yourself, “I’ll find a way.” Sometimes it is as simple as placing one foot in front of the other. When I take a mountain hike, if I look up and see how far I have yet to go, I stop and imagine all the reasons why I can’t go on. If I look at my feet and just place one foot in front of the other, though, I achieve my goal without distraction. I quiet my thinking and just “do.”

6. Stay focused on your long-term goals. Life presents many distractions designed to throw us off track. To stay the course requires commitment, discipline and a genuine desire to become an entrepreneur. Deciding to fulfill your own goals instead of those who write you a paycheck is a major life transition. It takes a certain spirit and tenacity—and a change of mindset.

7. Think about your goals in the larger context of your life. To help keep your long-range goals in perspective, remember that the 5-, 10- and 15-year goals we set out for ourselves, personally and professionally, help us improve our present lives as well. If we focus solely on future achievement, we fail to enjoy the present. As a result, we get angry and are tempted to abandon our long-term goals because they seem unattainable. The problem isn’t with the goals; it’s with focusing on them to the exclusion of everything else.

Building a solo practice is a means to an end, not the end in itself. If you’re eager to enjoy the freedom of making your own schedule, as many solos are, plan ahead so that you can begin relishing those benefits as soon as you hang a shingle.

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Solos work very hard 24/7, but most will tell you that the reason they work so hard is for the freedom it affords them. And for not having to apologize for, or feel guilty about decisions that put their family first. Not having to risk their promotion or job because life means more to them than eighty hour work weeks. Not having to ask anyone’s permission to live their life the way they choose.

One of the most amazing benefits of being a lawyer is the ability to be an entrepreneur along with all the rights and privileges that go with the professional title of lawyer. And most who have done so will never turn back. Some recent statistics state there are over one million lawyers in this country; 74 percent of lawyers in private practice are in firms of four or fewer lawyers. (The 2003 Census states four or fewer “employees.”) The statistic is powerful because it indicates that lawyers in general prefer to have autonomy over their schedule and income rather than rely on a corporation, with its notions of supervision and promotion.

They prefer to take a greater share of the dollar they work so hard to earn. They prefer more interaction with clients and more control over their working lives which in turn gives them more freedom in their personal lives.

Fears Often Plague Solo Practitioners

However, we also live in a culture of fear: fear we won’t meet our student loans, fear we won’t be able to pay our living expenses, fear we won’t have clients, fear we won’t know what we are doing, fear of not having a steady paycheck and health insurance, and so on. And then there is fear of what others will think if we try to make a go of it as a solo practitioner. We absorb all that fear to our detriment. And in turn, we sell ourselves to anyone who will hire us rather than trust ourselves. We sell out because of fear and usually too cheaply.

I say, “No deal.”

Women Lawyers Are Especially Susceptible To Fears

Unfortunately, this fear can take a disproportionate toll on women in the legal field. A very disturbing article in the Boston Globe, (May 2007) reported: “Of the 1,000 Massachusetts lawyers who provided data for the report, 31 percent of female associates had left private practice entirely, compared with 18 percent of male associates. The gap widens among associates with children, to 35 percent and 15 percent, respectively—reflecting the cultural reality that women remain the primary care givers of children and are therefore more likely to leave their firms for family reasons. The dropout rate among women lawyers is overwhelmingly the result of the combination of demanding hours, inflexible schedules, lack of viable part-time options, emphasis on billable hours, and a failure by law firms to recognize that female lawyers’ career trajectories may alternate between work and family.”

Law school lays out a clearly-defined career track which is strongly supported by the profession and is still viewed as the gold standard, a track which hopefully leads to employment with Big Law. Women, with or without families, who define professional and personal success as a full-time, partnership track associate’s position will thrive in this environment because it aligns with their ambitions. However, other women, who define professional and personal success differently, have been given neither the guidance nor the encouragement as to how to make their degrees work for them outside of this model. They feel compelled to go the traditional career route only to be miserable at Big Law because it is a poor match for their personal and professional goals.

Eventually they leave the profession all together because no one ever showed them there are professionally satisfying alternatives.

Explore Satisfying Alternatives To Big Law

I recently met a young lawyer who has been out of school for one year. She received a full scholarship to an Ivy League undergraduate school, the first college graduate in her immigrant family. She then received a substantial scholarship to a mid-level law school. Her ethnicity made her attractive to a law firm which, in her words, “hired me to fill their quota.” She makes $45,000 or so per year traveling to a city to which she has no attachment, and feels isolated from the law firm “clique” while practicing the type of law she really does not enjoy. Why? She was too fearful not to take the job.

Yet everyday she returns home to a culturally vibrant community where she has a large family, friends, and previous co-workers all begging her to take on their legal work because they trust her as one of their own. She has potentially built-in success and the lure of real freedom to design her life as she chooses, to create the balance that will allow her to work and raise a family and be an active contributing part of the community she loves without selling her soul to the highest (or lowest) bidder. And she is selling her soul if every day she dreads going to work and sees no future. But she caters to her fear rather than venturing forth. And no one will disabuse her of the fear. The legal community, from law school right through to Big Law, feeds the fear.

It’s impossible to put a price tag on the freedoms solo practitioners enjoy, including the freedom to balance and improve the quality of their lives, and the other psychological bank accounts that get hefty deposits every day. Apparently, 74 percent of all private practice attorneys have done Ben Franklin lists when making the decision to work for themselves. If the statistics tell the tale, then independence, autonomy and a day at the ballpark is winning by a long shot.

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