Sometimes Success Comes at a Cost
You may find yourself with what you consider to be a successful law practice…but most of your days are actually spent packed full of work that you aren’t really excited to do. Perhaps you feel trapped, trading hours for dollars? Although your firm is generating decent profits, it is based largely on what you yourself are doing. Life doesn’t have to be that way; you must start working smarter, rather than harder. There really are strategies and steps you can take today to turn things around, but it requires a significant change in mindset.
If you are wondering just what I’m getting at, let me explain. Take a look at how and where your firm’s income is coming from. If it’s based primarily on your own work, therein is the problem. You must “upgrade” or adjust your responsibilities so that you create a firm model that generates income without it being all based upon the hours you personally are working.
There is a great book written by Robert Kiyosake, entitled “Cash Flow Quadrants,” that illustrates this dynamic well.
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The book’s premise is that the way we earn income and cash flow can be categorized into 4 distinct manners, or quadrants. We start at Level 1, as an Employee (E). The core value at work here is security: the idea being that we go to school, get a good job, work hard at the position, try to advance, save for retirement, etc. At this stage, we don’t have much say as to what our income or cash flow is, and little freedom.
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At Level 2, we are Self –Employed (S). Certainly better off than the employee, but still our cash flow is limited by how many hours we ourselves are putting into the business, and our work continues to be hands-on. At this stage, the core value at work is still security. For many at this stage, the belief is “if I want it done right, I must do it myself.” Although work produces income at this level, there is a lack of true freedom, as you are still operating as a Technician.
As we move to the other side of the Quadrant, we see the core value of Freedom at work, as you become the Business Owner (B) and ultimately the Investor (I). At the Business Owner level, there is a significant shift away from the mindset of the Self-Employed Technician who is tied to the Office. At this stage, the Business Owner recognizes the need for creating systems and networks that produce both growth and freedom. The Business Owner takes action and is willing to hire smart and talented employees to perform the Technician work, administrative tasks, etc. At this stage, the Business Owner has shifted his or her mindset, and they are working Smarter, rather than Harder. As I’ve said many times, we lawyers must learn to delegate; to leverage our strengths and delegate our weaknesses, as well as the tasks that someone else could just as easily perform.
Many lawyers find themselves stuck somewhere in the second level, as a self-employed Technician. If you are fulfilled at that stage that’s fine. But if you are not satisfied… If you want to keep adding value to people’s lives through your law practice, but also want to enjoy more growth and freedom, you must evolve your firm’s business model. (Unless you want to just keep doing the same things over and over and hoping for better results or accepting the status quo life of being tied to your office…)
You may be reluctant to take the risks of hiring additional attorneys and staff… you may feel you can’t afford to not work as a Technician in your firm, but the truth is you really can’t afford to continue doing so.
The solution is to examine your current workload. Look at what is taking up most of your time. Then look for ways to systematize and delegate these tasks as much as possible. If you need to have an outside set of “fresh” eyes help you make this evaluation, bring a consultant in. Sometimes we ourselves can’t see the forest for the trees…
Ultimately, you must build a “system” that gets results for your clients but involves little of your time or hand-holding. Visualize where you want to be on the Quadrant and with that Mindset, make an action plan for 2019 that intentionally and systematically moves you and your firm forward to greater growth, more success and more freedom to spend your time doing the things that bring you the most satisfaction. You can have the freedom you want if you are willing to take the necessary steps. Get started today!
And if you have hit a roadblock, don’t hesitate to give me a call: PILMMA remains dedicated and committed to YOUR success.
