Small Law Firms, Solo Practitioners

5 Signs You’re Not Ready To Open A Solo Practice

To be successful in opening your solo practice requires you to be brutally honest with yourself. Are you ready?

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decision LF choosing different pathsIt’s 2016 and you say to yourself, “This is the year. This is the year I do it. This is the year I open my solo practice.” You’ve read some articles. You’ve taken some notes. Some tell you to go for it. Others tell you you’re crazy. But before you put your pedal to the metal, I have a little checklist for you to review. It has nothing to do with finances (though finances are important). It has to do with you personally. And it’s not about external support. It’s about internal drive. I love success stories. I do. But I also love to avoid obvious train wrecks because people don’t self­-assess. Here’s a simple yet powerful checklist. Be honest with yourself so one day (and it
may be today) you can truly say, “I’m ready.”

1. You need someone to tell you what’s next.

This is a biggie. If you lack self-­motivation, and can’t rev up your engines on your own without someone else turning the key to get you started, you’re going to have problems. Entrepreneurship is not for those who can’t work alone. Entrepreneurship is not for someone who doesn’t know how to get things done or lacks faith in their ability to complete the necessary tasks without being reminded to do so. You have to be able to do what needs to be done even if you’d rather be binge­-watching Breaking Bad. If you are the type of person who needs a boss telling you what’s next or kicking you in the butt to get moving, you’re not ready.

2. You can’t take the heat.

Running a business is stressful. For some it’s downright overwhelming. You have to produce quality legal work, represent your clients well, and deal with their stresses, too. If you have not been able to do well under pressure during other times in your life, and you’ve turned to food, caffeine, recreational drugs, or alcohol to take the edge off, you need to think long and hard about the stresses of running a legal services business where other people’s lives are in your hands.

3. You’re going in blind.

When starting a business — a solo practice or any business — you have to do your homework. While it will take a lifetime to become an expert on the law, you can become extremely knowledgeable about the basics of running a profitable business before you open your doors. You have a wealth of information available to you with just a few keystrokes. The internet is a goldmine for this type of instruction. You can reach out to others who are doing what you want to do, engage them online, and meet others in person to learn about the landmines you should avoid. There is no excuse for not being knowledgeable about how to succeed in running a successful practice. Implementation is the blood, sweat, and tears, but you should definitely prepare by creating your own playbook now.

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4. You lack passion for practicing the law on your own.

Passion is an overused word and it is often put at the top of the list for entrepreneurs as a prerequisite for success. It’s not the number one necessity in my book, but it plays an important role. If you are starting a practice, you are making a huge commitment. If you don’t believe in what you are doing, and aren’t committed to the mission, you will have no internal emotional support when you hit bumps in the road. If working within your own business starts to feel like “just a job,” it will bring you down. This is the role of passion — being reminded of why you are working so hard, why you are weathering the storms that erupt. Passion keeps you moving forward through the challenges of running a business. If you aren’t initially starting your practice feeling passionate (not just enthusiastic) about the goals you’ve set for your business, you’re not ready. At least not today. And that’s the key. You may not feel the passion today, but you never know what will inspire you tomorrow.

5. You’re a copycat.

Don’t forget that building a business is also a creative expression of who you are, your goals, your mission, and desires in life. It can be exhilarating, impossibly frustrating, and consistently challenge you to throw in the towel. If your business stagnates and you are not growing, there is a tendency to look around to see who is succeeding (at least from the outside looking in) and copy what you think is their success formula. But here’s the kicker: what works for others most likely will not work for you. If you don’t have a firm handle on why you are doing what you are doing, the uniqueness of what will make you successful, and your particular circumstances, you’re just being a copycat. If you’re a copycat, you’re not ready for the challenges of opening your own practice. At least not today.

To be successful in opening your solo practice requires you to be brutally honest with yourself. You need to know what you want in life and how having your own solo practice is going to get you there. Passion is important. Preparation is key. Understanding yourself and your motivations is the most important of all.

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Susan Cartier Liebel is the Founder and CEO of Solo Practice University®, an online educational and professional networking community for lawyers and law students who want to create and grow their solo/small firm practices. She is a coach and consultant for solos, an entrepreneur mentor for LawWithoutWalls.org, a member of the advisory board for the innovative Suffolk School of Law – Institute on Law Practice Technology and Innovation, an attorney who started her own practice right out of law school, an adjunct professor at Quinnipiac University School of Law for eight years teaching law students how to open their own practices, a frequent speaker, and a columnist for LawyersUSA Weekly, The Connecticut Law Tribune, The Complete Lawyer, and Law.com. She has contributed to numerous legal publications and books offering both practical knowledge and inspiration. You can follow her on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Google+, and you can email her at Scl@solopracticeuniversity.com.

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