Building A Law Firm

Listen everyone. I can't remember what I said on this podcast - I recorded it about a week ago. Here's what I know - it's amazing stuff. Instead of wondering, hit the play button or read the transcript below. Cheers, Christopher Small Are You Committed Transcript Hey everybody welcome to episode one forty four of The Art Of Lawyering Podcast. I'm excited to be here. I'm sitting out on the deck of my office. You can hear so much ever growing by. Beautiful view of the island big mountains and the Lake Washington and I'm here to talk to you today about something kind of fun. Before I get there, I want to remind you about my coaching program. So I have decided to reopen the inner circle which is my coaching program to ten people and before I get there. You know I want to, so I'm going to go back, and so when I started you know, I started practicing law in two thousand and five. Opened my firm in two thousand and eight. I don't know anything about business. I didn't know anything about marketing. I didn't kn

If you didn't know, I've opened up my Inner Circle again for one-on-one coaching. There are only 10 spots open, and they are going to fill up fast. In the spirit of this new opportunity, I thought I'd drop 5 ways a law firm coach can help you. 1. Accountabitlity 2. Support 3. Expertise 4. Experience 5. Tough Love If any of these seem interesting to you, check out my coaching. And, don't forget to listen to the podcast. Cheers, Christopher Small Who am I? I am an expert on starting a law firm and law firm marketing. I've started two successful law firms (you can see my latest one here and love sharing what I've learned so you can do it too). 5 Ways a Law Firm Coach Can Help You Transcript Hey everybody this is Christopher Small, this is episode one forty four of The Art of Lawyering podcast. I am super excited to be here with you as I always am. Excited to talk about this subject today I must admit I'm a little bit biased when it comes to this subject for a couple reasons. A) Coaching has helped

I got my first law firm client from a farmer's market. I used to preach marketing a law firm in this way. But now that I'm older and wiser I've changed my tune... Cheers, Christopher Small P.S. - I've done it! I started my second six-figure law firm in under 4 months! Want to know my secret? Networking! And I'm sharing my tracking system with you for free. Click Here for Access. Who am I? I am an expert on starting a law firm and law firm marketing. I've started two successful law firms (you can see my latest one here and love sharing what I've learned so you can do it too). Law Firms and Farmer's Markets Don't Mix Transcript Hey everybody this is Christopher Small. This is episode one forty three of The Art of Lawyering podcast. I am super pumped to be with you today. I was actually, we're on Facebook live but we're recording a day late. There's a lesson in there before I even get to the lesson of the day that is don't worry about being perfect just get your stuff done, right. That's the that's the w

On this episode I talk about the five reasons your law firm will fail (or, read another way - do the opposite of what I'm talking about to have a successful law firm). I was sitting at my desk today thinking about what to talk to you about today and it dawned on me - I haven't done a motivational talk in a while! And what better way to motivate you than to tell you why your law firm will fail. Don't believe me? I don't know what the statistic is on business failure as a whole, but I've talked to a lot of law firm owners and I can tell you a majority of them (over 80%) are struggling to just make ends meet. Why is this? Why is it so darn difficult to create a successful law firm? Here are the five reasons your law firm will fail: You will focus on the wrong things You will build the wrong skills You won't spend money You won't work hard enough You won't wait long enough It's as simple and as complicated as that all at the same time. Starting and building a successful law firm isn't difficult. There

Okay people, this is going to be a very very short post for one reason: it is 1:00 a.m. and I forgot my notes from this podcast at the office. I don't know what the five reasons lawyers need Instagram are precisely, though I know these are some of the attributes: 1. Instagram is free for lawyers (and everyone else). 2. Instagram can help lawyers build your law firm brand. 3. Instagram can help lawyers get more clients. 4. Instagram can help lawyers increase awareness. 5. Instagram can help lawyers increase interaction. To get the full story, listen to the podcast. If, after you listen to the podcast (and not before) you want to learn more about how to make these things a reality for you, click the link below to get my free Instagram for lawyers report. CLICK HERE to get your free Instagram for lawyers report. Cheers, Christopher Small P.S. - I've done it! I started my second six-figure law firm in under 4 months! Want to know my secret? Networking! And I'm sharing my tracking system with you for

Yesterday Instagram made a major change to their platform, and this change finally convinced me that it was time to start thinking about how Instagram for law firms can work. In this episode I talk about a very specific methodology for increasing your Instagram followers, building your brand, generating leads, and having a fun time throughout the process. Instagram for Law Firms Game Plan First things first, it's important to remember what the point is of participating on a platform like Instagram. It's the same point that you have for all of your marketing efforts: you want to get more clients. And that can happen with Instagram. You just have to do it right. Here's the step-by-step process for using Instagram for law firms, including getting more followers, creating brand awareness, and generating leads. Step 1: Post at least 4-6 times per day. Step 2: Make the posts interesting and relevant to what you do (think quotes, advice, stories, action shots, things that are important to your clients, etc.).

Today I wanted to talk about something that we've all had to think about and deal with at some point in our law firm start-up career: pricing law firm services. The tough part about pricing law firm services is that there is no set pricing schedule. There is no industry standard. And no one shares their prices. For those reasons (and some other psychological factors I talk about in the podcast) pricing law firm services can seem extremely difficult. But it doesn't have to be. All it takes is a little thought, a little intention, a minor shift in perspective, and some guts. Check out the podcast to get the whole scoop. Cheers, Christopher Small P.S. - I've done it! I started my second six-figure law firm in under 4 months! Want to know my secret? Networking! And I'm sharing my tracking system with you for free. Click Here for Access. Who am I? I am an expert on starting a law firm and law firm marketing. I've started two successful law firms (you can see my latest one here and love sharing what I've

I've made a lot of networking mistakes in my career. I started off owning my law firm thinking networking was a joke I did it so bad. But then I started hanging out with some people who's entire businesses were built on networking. And they were putting a million dollars in their pockets every year. That got my attention, so I took another look at networking and immediately realized the reason it wasn't working for me was that I was doing it all wrong. So I fixed it, built my own six-figure law firm on the backbone of networking in under 4 months, and want to share with you my five biggest networking mistakes. Here they are: Not Looking for Value From Them Poor Follow Up Your Pool is Too Small Not Clear On What You Do No Plan If that list resonates with you and you want some help correcting those networking mistakes, listen to the podcast. Oh, and if you want a copy of my FREE greatness tracker, CLICK HERE. Cheers, Christopher Small P.S. - I've done it! I started my second six-figure law firm in und

Sometimes when I'm creating this podcast I try to look around and think about the things I would want to know as a fellow law firm owner. As I was looking around today I thought, "that's it! The iPhone apps on my screen!" So that's what you are getting today - a run down of what my home screen looks like, why things are where they are, and how I use my phone every day for maximum productivity. Here's a quick rundown of what's on my phone (I'm too lazy to include links at this time - sorry!): Safari Podcasts Audible Spotify Feedly Voice Memos Evernote Google Maps LinkedIn Tweetbot Facebook Instagram Yahoo Sports Messages Slack Asana Insightly Duolingo Anki Snapchat Headspace Day One Pages RingCentral Phone Mail Camera Calendar That's it! I'd love to hear what your most used phone application is. Tell me in the comments. Cheers, Christopher Small P.S. - I've done it! I started my second six-figure law firm in under 4 months! Want to know my secret? Networking! And I'm sharing my tracking system with you

Your law firm is not making a bit profit because you are missing one key ingredient. I see it all the time at these meetings I have all week. I have meetings with very successful people and people struggling. I have meetings with very experienced people and I have people new to the game. I have meetings with people I can refer business too and with people that are perfectly suited to refer me business. And across all of these different points along the continuum, one thing is clear: The People that Serve a Specific Market Make More Profit There are a many reasons you, as a law firm owner, want limit your market and focus on who your idea client is. First, it sets you apart from everyone else. Do you know anyone that is "THE" person in a certain market? My realtor has done a good job of doing this for his target market. He is THE guy that can find you the property of your dreams off market. As a Seattle estate planning attorney I am trying to become known as THE person you need if you have kids at hom

It is time for one of my favorite episodes - the law firm quarterly report! Yes, we are a little late to the game, with the second quarter officially ending at the end of June, but better late than never! And, this specific report is doubly fun because I'VE GOT SOME EXCITING NEWS TO REPORT!! Law Firm Quarterly Report If you have been listening to The Art of Lawyering Podcast for any length of time then you know how much I love setting goals, going for big goals, and then reporting back to you on whether or not I've reached these goals. That's what this quarterly report is all about. And that is a big part of today's episode. Law Firm 3rd Quarter Goals BUT, that's not all. I also let you in on what my law firm startup goals are for the 3rd quarter, and, maybe more importantly, I talk about how and why I arrived at those goals. I think you're really going to like it, so listen in! Cheers, Christopher Small P.S. - curious about what I do on a daily basis to create and build my successful law firm? Now y

If you are starting a law firm or have owned a law firm for any significant amount of time, you’ve probably considered using project management software to help make managing your law firm easier. I know I have. The hard thing is, when you look around, there are a ton of different options out there, and it’s difficult to know which is good and which is bad. I can’t speak to all of the other options out there, but today I’m going to tell you not just what I use - insightly - but how I use it. Law Firm Project Management Needs There is one thing you need to know about me when it comes to technology - I hate using stuff build specifically for law firms. I think it’s too complicated. I think it’s too cumbersome. And I think it’s designed with too many features - they are trying to be everything to everyone, and it doesn’t work. So I look outside of the legal world for my technology, and that’s where I found insightly. Insightly meets the three basic needs I have: Contact management; Lead management; Case

Here is a quick break down of the 5 keys to starting off the first full time week with your law firm assistant. To get all of the information, listen to the show! And, don't forget, to get my law firm assistant job description and interview questions just CLICK HERE. 1. Preparation = Success Think of your time with your assistant as if you are a coach and they are a player. It is okay to script out their day. Make a list of all of the things you want them to do, and then prioritize. Take time for them to learn the fundamentals of each one at a time. Watch. Do. Teach. Come up with a couple of projects that will lead to immediate success (filing, scanning, setting appointments, etc.) Here's what my law firm assistant did on her first day: Filing paperwork at courthouse Kanban board from post its to white board Close out a couple of files Publication notice at courthouse Reset happy hour 2. Full time does not equal work all the time. Do not pressure yourself into making sure they are working on stuff all of

First things first, I wanted to let you know that I've decided to give away some of the resources I created to make my last law firm assistant hire. To get a copy of the job description and list of interview questions I asked to hire my last law firm assistant, CLICK HERE. This week was the week my new law firm assistant started. And it was great. There were a few things I did though, to make it go as smoothly as possible. To figure out what they are, you have to listen to the podcast (or read the transcript below) but here were just a few of the topics I covered: How to make sure your law firm assistant feels welcomed immediately; How to start fast; Three important things to remember to make your hire work out; How to get them up to speed as quickly as possible; and much much more! To get all of that and more, just click the listen button! Cheers, Christopher Small P.S. - curious about what I do on a daily basis to create and build my successful law firm? Now you can find out first hand (and steal som

Today we are answering a question from the Law Firm Confidential Facebook group. The question, essentially, is: I have a law firm website. Should I make the home page feature a contact form submission or the two button structure that I'm seeing a lot of firms employ (like this estate planning law firm)? The answer is pretty simple and comes down to answering just one question. If you want to know the answer to making the correct website design choices, listen to the podcast. Cheers, Christopher Small P.S. - curious about what I do on a daily basis to create and build my successful law firm? Now you can find out first hand (and steal some of my secrets). It's called the Law Firm Confidential Podcast, and you can get access to the first 5 episodes for free by clicking right here. Who am I? I am an expert on starting a law firm and law firm marketing. I've started two successful law firms and love sharing what I've learned so you can do it too. Law Firm Website Design Choices Transcript Hey everybody th

In case you missed it, here is part 1, here is part 2, and here is part 3 - listen to these first! We're back for another installment of hiring a law firm assistant here at The Art of Lawyering. And, believe it or not, we still don't have an assistant actually working yet. Here's what we have: Part 1: creating and posting the job; Part 2: interviewing and making the offer; Part 3: pre-meeting number 1 (logistics); Part 4: pre-meeting number 2 (philosophy, values, etc.), Emily starts this week, and I'm excited to get her up to speed and see what she can contribute to the team. To find out what happens, you need to listen to the podcast! Cheers, Christopher Small P.S. - curious about what I do on a daily basis to create and build my successful law firm? Now you can find out first hand (and steal some of my secrets). It's called the Law Firm Confidential Podcast, and you can get access to the first 5 episodes for free by clicking right here. Who am I? I am an expert on starting a law firm and law firm ma

Law Firm Vision. What is that? How do you find it? Where does it come from? And what happens if you want to find it so badly but unseen forces are in your way blocking you? That's what Eric Scroggins, the author of Vision Blockers, and I talk about on the show today. Here are just a few things we talk about: Networking rule of 5; How to get financing through a bank; The biggest hurdle to unblocking your vision; How to deal with haters; and So much more! Show Resources: ericscroggins.com visionblockers.com Book Recommendation - Put Your Dream to the Test by John C. Maxwell Cheers, Christopher Small P.S. - curious about what I do on a daily basis to create and build my successful law firm? Now you can find out first hand (and steal some of my secrets). It's called the Law Firm Confidential Podcast, and you can get access to the first 5 episodes for free by clicking right here. Who am I? I am an expert on starting a law firm and law firm marketing. I've started two successful law firms and love sharin

In case you missed it, here is part 1 and here is part 2 - listen to these first! We're back for part three of hiring a law firm assistant. If you've been hiding under a rock for the last three weeks I'm basically taking you through my experience of hiring my next law firm assistant. Part 1 was about creating a job description and thinking about who I want this person to be and what qualities I want them to have. Part 2 was all about the interview and pulling the trigger (including the offer I made, I think). Today we're moving past the actual hiring and talking about what is probably the most important aspect of hiring a law firm assistant - we're talking about the on-boarding process. I talk to you about what I'm doing in the time between job offer acceptance and the actual start of the job. If you want to learn about what I'm doing listen to the show! Cheers, Christopher Small P.S. - curious about what I do on a daily basis to create and build my successful law firm? Now you can find out first hand

As most of you know, I sold my law firm at the end of last year and started a new one in March, 2016. In just a little over a month I've made a ton of progress, and I've got a long way to go. I thought now might be a good time to share my 2016 law firm goals with you on a quarter by quarter basis so you can get an idea of the things I'm working toward and the order I'm working toward them in. As always, if you want to hear the details about my 2016 law firm goals you can listen to the podcast by clicking the link above or you can read the transcript below. Enjoy! Cheers, Christopher Small P.S. - curious about what I do on a daily basis to create and build my successful law firm? Now you can find out first hand (and steal some of my secrets). It's called the Law Firm Confidential Podcast, and you can get access to the first 5 episodes for free by clicking right here. Who am I? I am an expert on starting a law firm and law firm marketing. I've started two successful law firms (you can check out my curre

As many of you know, in January I started my own estate planning law firm. Well, it's been going pretty well. No, I am not rich, but I'm busy. Super busy. So busy, in fact, that I need some help. It's time for me to hire my first law firm employees. I remember back to when I hired my first law firm employees and how terrible I was at it. I don't want to make that mistake again. As luck would have it, a buddy of mine presented to our mastermind group on best hiring practices. I wanted to share some of what I learned with you so you can hire the best law firm employees possible. Some of the things I talk about: The three most important qualities of good law firm employees; The one of those that you MUST hire for (it's not what you think); The difference between work capacity and work ethic; A foolproof test for work capacity you can give in 15 seconds; and How to use Facebook to get amazing law firm employees. To get the inside scoop listen to the podcast! Or, if you'd rather read, scroll down to check ou