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Message: Hi, I thought you might be interested in this article I found. Have you Fallen Into the Solo Attorney Trap? Many solo attorneys become victim of what I have begun to call the “solo attorney trap”. This means they get caught up in ONLY speaking with and learning from other attorneys when it comes to building their law firm. This is so common that when someone with a different perspective comes along, the new guy, with the fresh ideas, is often considered an oddball. After all, how can HE understand what YOU are going through? He is not an attorney. Don’t get me wrong, there is value in participating in a peer advisory group. Having discussions with folks who are in similar situations can definitely provide some comfort. But limiting yourself (even subconsciously) to only learning from other solo attorneys can be the death of your law firm. Here are three reasons why you need to widen your circle of advisors beyond other attorneys: Doing what everyone else does is the easiest way to get the same results as everyone else. This is not good. You want better results than the other solo attorneys. The average solo attorney (depending upon which survey you believe) makes somewhere between $85,000 and $125,000 per year by their third year in a solo practice. This would be good money except for the fact that you probably have at least that much in school loans and you probably also have a family to feed and a mortgage to pay. My contention is that you don’t want to be average. You don’t want to be like everyone else. You want to make more money. You can make more money but you need to be the EXCEPTION to the rule and that means doing things differently than 95% of the other solo attorneys that are practicing today. Surrounding yourself with other attorneys promotes gripe sessions and not productive dialogue. “Woe is me. My life is so hard. I don’t have enough (add noun here: i.e. time, money, clients, friends).” You need someone to slap you and tell you to cut the crap. Other solos are less likely to do that because they feel the same thing. The group empathy is not helpful in getting you out of the rut your lack of business activity has gotten you into. Snap out of it. Lose the friends and advisors who are bringing you down. There are plenty of solo attorneys making great money today – even in a recession. They are doing so by taking aggressive action. The one thing I guarantee they are not doing is sitting in Starbucks complaining about their situation. Get away from that mentality and start surrounding yourself with business owners who are not attorneys. You want successful business owners in your circle of influence (since business owners can complain too). Find out what they are doing to promote their services and try it – something, anything. Doing something different is a good thing. Listening to different people is a good thing. Most attorneys don’t think like business owners If you are a solo attorney, you need to think like a business owner because you are running a business. Successful business owners develop and promote a clear competitive advantage. If you don’t have one, you are not giving your clients a reason to choose your firm over your competition. Successful business owners focus on client lifetime value. They don’t just handle the current matter. They ask the client the all important question: “What else do you need help with?” Then they figure out how to provide that support for their client. Successful business owners are committed to continuous learning in the area of business development. They work on ways to grow their business and they do not limit their education to technical aspects of their work. This is just a start. But I promise you, the toughest hurdle you have to overcome is breaking the mental block that “only another solo attorney can feel your pain.” You own a business. Start acting like a business owner. Link: http://www.rainmakerlawyer.com/site/permalink/have_you_fallen_into_the_solo_attorney_trap/