Career Alternatives for Attorneys: Entrepreneur / Small (or Not So Small) Business Owner
The latest post in our occasional series on career alternatives for attorneys — i.e., things you can do with a law degree that don’t involve working for a law firm as an associate or contract attorney — is inspired by a profile in yesterday’s Washington Post. The subject: Larry Feldman, “the Subway King of the Mid-Atlantic,” who just opened his 1,019th sandwich shop in the region.
The economy may be grim, but Feldman’s Subway franchises are doing swimmingly:
Business, says the 58-year-old, is excellent.“In this economy, people can always withhold from the white-tablecloth restaurant, from the more expensive meal, and eat at Subway for $5,” said Feldman, relaxing in a leather chair at one of his busiest stores, at the corner of L Street and Connecticut Avenue NW in downtown Washington. “It’s an ideal time for our products. Average unit volume is up about 20 percent.”
You’re probably not going to Subway as a summer associate (Cosi, maybe). But most people don’t have the luxury of being summer associates. So these are good times for Subway shop owners.
Here are some of the rewards for being a successful businessperson:
Feldman is the classic entrepreneur, a lawyer who found his niche in fast food. He came from Brooklyn and became a multimillionaire, gives generously to Democratic politicians and has a weakness for Bentleys. He has a primary home in Boca Raton, Fla., and spends summers at his residence in Vail, Colo. Feldman visits Washington for about a week every month to oversee his burgeoning empire.
Read more about this lawyer-turned-entrepreneur, after the jump.
Before going into business, Larry Feldman was a successful lawyer on Capitol Hill. Here’s how he made the transition:
The story of how Feldman got exclusive Subway rights in this area began in 1977, when Feldman was an assistant minority counsel to the House Banking Committee. He wanted to turn a vacant space steps from the U.S. Capitol, on First Street SE next to Congressional Liquors, into part of a chain of sandwich shops that were the brainchild of a buddy from the University of Bridgeport. The buddy? [Subway president and co-founder Fred] DeLuca.
So there’s one (admittedly obvious) lesson for lawyers aspiring to business careers: it helps to know the right people. Luck plays a big role in life.
“I was always a frustrated entrepreneur. And congressional food is not very good, as you can imagine. In the morning, I would be at hearings, whispering in congressmen’s ears. Then at lunch, I would run across the street, put on my apron, and stand behind the counter. These lobbyists who were at the hearings would look at me and say, ‘You look very familiar.’ Then I would take off my apron and run back across the street and continue the hearings.”
And there’s a second lesson: you’ve got to be willing to bust your tail. Successful lawyers are no strangers to hard work. But juggling your fledgling business with the demands of your legal career, if you don’t have the luxury of quitting the law to focus on your business full-time, can be a challenge.
The Capitol Hill Subway store quickly become one of the busiest in the chain, so Feldman took his profit and rolled it into a second store, at Andrews Air Force Base, and then a third, at the University of Virginia….DeLuca said Feldman’s success is rooted in his desire to take on more.
“The reason Larry Feldman got such a huge territory was his basic answer was, ‘Yes. I will do that,’ ” DeLuca said. “Most people say, ‘I don’t know if I can do that.’ Some people obsess about it. He took a very top-level view and was able to immediately make a decision. It’s like free land. Here is a bunch of acres for your ranch, now go do it.”
Larry Feldman has the “can do,” risk-tolerant mindset of an entrepreneur. But do most lawyers? Many folks go into law precisely because they’re risk-averse. If you dream of making the transition into business, you need to think long and hard about your risk profile.
Having no debt and/or substantial savings helps a lot. It may also be easier to strike out on your own if you don’t have a family to support.
If you abandon the prestigious, secure field of law, you need to be prepared to deal with people — including friends and relatives — who will raise an eyebrow at your unorthodox path:
[I]n the beginning, Feldman’s mother wasn’t sold.“When I decided to leave the Hill, I called my mom,” Feldman said. “Remember, I was the first in my family to go to law school. So I called my mom in Brooklyn and I say, ‘I am no longer your son the minority counsel to the House. Now I am going to be your son the sandwich maker.’ And I could hear the screaming all the way from Brooklyn.”
By 1988, he owned 200 stores. By 2001, he ran 650.
Mom changed her mind after Feldman bought her a condominium in Florida.
Feldman’s story has a happy ending — and he’s just one of many lawyers who have left the law to launch successful businesses. Feel free to mention others in the comments.
Update: In this New York Observer piece we wrote last year, we profiled two lawyers who have started up their own businesses: Rebecca Ditsch, formerly of Chadbourne & Parke and Fried Frank, who now owns The Farmer’s Daughter, a Brooklyn bakery; and Melissa Graham, a former partner at McDermott Will & Emery (tax litigation), who now owns Monogramme Events, a catering company specializing in sustainable cuisine and organic ingredients.
Of course, not every lawyer who plunges into the world of business succeeds. But if you’re a lawyer thinking of starting up your own venture, look on the bright side: you’ll always have your law degree. Having a legal career to fall back on puts you in a better place than most entrepreneurs, who have no such safety net below them.
Secretary of Sandwich [Washington Post]
Earlier: Prior Career Alternatives posts (scroll down)
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1 is the loneliest number
firsty!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Am I first?
oh ok, i'll go ahead and just do this instead of biglaw.
is it as easy to become a billionaire as it sounds??
Les Wexner, the guy who founded Limited Brands (Limited, Victoria Secret, Express, Bath & Body Works, and others), was a law school drop out.
The founders of CPK were lawyers.
This is a helpful post. It's like a clarion call to all the people in big law because it never occurred to them to be an entrepreneur: You are free now! Don't forget your other options too: pop idol, broadway star, NBA center, POTUS .... the list goes on.
Just keep your feet on the ground and reach for the stars!!
When are we going to get a post about A-Rod? His wife must be one huge b*tch to make this all worth it. Lesson No. 1: Don't get married.
what about the dude who founded seamless web?
what about the dude who founded seamless web? i think an NYU law guy
if you have a great idea but are worried about leaving a steady job, check out this company, to which you can outsource a lot of the legwork associated with a startup, while also retaining control of the project:
http://www.spirusgroup.com/index.html
12:02 - you forgot astronaut
Too bad Subway is disgusting.
Les Wexner also owns the largest American-resgistered yacht in the world (most mega-yachts are registered in tax havens). His vessel, Limitless, is 315', and is a diesel-electric hybrid (a common set-up in large naval vessels, but not in private yachts).
In my opinion, hotels are one of the best businesses to get into if you saved up and/or have other properties you can tie into to get the financing. Pretty much turn-key w/o much need to be at the property. No real labor to do either, even initially (unlike w/restaurants, self storage, etc.).
Les Wexner also owns a suburb. A fucking suburb. Well, he sells portions of it, but shit.
I really don't think it's any secret that you make more money selling stuff than grinding out the billable hours. That's why lawyers ONLY get rich on either contingent fees or selling services based on a pyramid of labor provided by lower-paid underlings. If money's all you want, go into sales of industrial equipment or financial products.
Or sales of sub sandwiches, doh.
I think this is fu*king awesome! I wish I had the balls to go out and do something like this. Instead, I'm stuck in my glass prison pushing paper for guys like this. Oh, the ennui of my existence!
never forget that, as a lawyer, you're merely somebody's cost of doing business.
Where did he obtain the initial capital for a store? I admit that I'm impressed, but I feel like I'm too young and inexperienced (sans mentor) for an undertaking like this one.
Whatta man whatta man whatta mighty good man!!!
if you want to do this, make sure you know yourself, you need to be aggressive and not afraid to take chances. furthermore if, and very much likely, you fail you have to be strong enough to start over again. this could go on for a long time.
work with your strengths and do not try to be someone or something that you are not. doing that will hinder your progression.
also be ready for lots of blue collar work. no matter how glamerous anothers success looks it only came after lots of physical labor etc.
in short know what you want and be tenacious about getting the itdone no matter the obstacle.
maybe I should try out for the Yankees while I'm at it
12:59 - Do you hit with any power?
"You're probably not going to Subway as a summer associate (Cosi, maybe). But most people don't have the luxury of being summer associates. So these are good times for Subway shop owners."
FINALLY a nugget of truth about how the law profession is really set up.
Of course VOLUME is up 20% with the $5 sub deal. But how are profits doing when you combine that deal with rising food costs and gas prices? If Subway franchises have to pay corporate based on volume rather than on net profits, he could be doing much much worse than a year ago.
Selling drugs is also profitable.
Selling drugs is also profitable.
Selling drugs is also profitable.
2:21 is right. he might only be able to afford one new Bentley this year.
Guys in my high school used to sell ham sandwiches during lunch break all the time, it really was no big deal.
can you make any money selling drugs? i've heard it's profitable, but i'm not convinced.
Well, you know, eighty-five percent of all homeless rickshaw businesses fail within the first three months.
Well, you know, eighty-five percent of all homeless rickshaw businesses fail within the first three months.
http://www.examiner.com/a-1476901~Maryland__Going_out_of_business_.html
Editorial
Maryland: Going out of business?
The Baltimore Examiner Newspaper
2008-07-08
If the slate of new income, corporate and sales taxes weren’t enough to deter business from the state, Maryland’s lawsuit climate should be. A new survey labels Maryland the ninth worst legal climate in the United States — dropping from 35th place in 2006.
We chronicled one of the big reasons Directorship magazine and the American Justice Partnership decided to demote the state. A proposed law in the General Assembly earlier this year would have allowed plaintiffs to sue lead paint manufacturers without having symptoms related to lead poisoning and without knowing which paint manufacturer’s product covered their walls. It would have been the first such law in the country. Good sense prevailed and it failed. But it does not mean it will not come back next year. Nor does it mean that other bad ideas won’t be resurrected during the next session.
One of those is legislation to raise the limit for “pain and suffering” damages in wrongful death malpractice suits against doctors, nurses and hospitals. Maryland already has 16 percent fewer practicing doctors per capita than the national average, according to a study from the Maryland State Medical Society and the Maryland Hospital Association. The liability climate is one reason the study expects that gap to widen and make it harder to attract and retain physicians in Maryland.
Another bad piece of legislation was one that would have allowed vigilante trial lawyers to file “false claim” lawsuits against anyone doing business with the state. This would have opened up every contractor to legal trouble for even the smallest of billing errors in its business with Maryland.
These bills — and individual lawsuits — may seem harmless. They are not. A hostile legal climate means “employers are less likely to expand jobs in our state, consumers pay higher prices for goods and services and patients’ access to affordable health care is threatened,” as Todd D. Lamb, executive director of Maryland Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse, told The Examiner.
Nationally, the “tort tax” is estimated to cost Americans about $865 billion each year.
Maryland does not need to add to that bill. More importantly, it must not make it harder for its own residents to find doctors and purchase goods at a time of rising unemployment, ballooning energy costs and heftier taxes. The federal government’s large presence in Maryland may shield it from some of the economic malaise hitting other states. But we need business to thrive. Lowering “pain and suffering” damages in the next legislative session would be a good start in reversing the state’s negative image to onlookers and to reopening it for business.
Examiner