The world moves in cycles.

Every up has a down.

We've been up for a long time (7-10 years) and we're due for a down cycle.

Is your law firm ready for a crash?

After this it will be.

Here are three ways to prepare for the pending economic downturn.

1. Perfect Your Systems

Efficient systems ensure a few different things.

First, they ensure a great working environment.

Second, they ensure a great customer experience.

Third, they ensure a steady flow of clients to your law firm day after day.

These three truths operate in reality whether times are good or bad.

The better your client and marketing systems are, the more equipped your law firm will be to handle a crash.

2. Create A War Chest

There is nothing safer and more comforting than cash.

Cash pays the bills. Cash keeps employees around.

And cash gives you the freedom to make rational decisions when things aren't going well.

I'm building up a war chest right now. My goal is to have one years worth of cash on hand at all times.

I'm not doing this so I can go a year without getting a new client.

That will never happen.

I'm doing this so I can always act from a position of power.

I'm doing this so I can secure a line of credit from the bank to increase my purchasing power even more.

Be Fearful When Others Are Greedy And Greedy When Others Are Fearful

The cash on hand that I was just talking about allows me to do two primary things during the crash.

[1] Keep marketing and advertising like I was before.

[2] Take advantage of situations that arise for me to be aggressive.

This could mean purchasing a practice that is struggling.

It could mean doubling my advertising efforts to corner the market (it's easier during a crash because everyone else is contracting).

It could mean going into another advertising platform where there is now fresh opportunity for growth.

Bottom line - the winter (crash) is coming. Be prepared.

There are two ways to get successful at it.

[1] Try and fail. Try and fail. Try and fail. Try and succeed.

The downside to this method is that the try and fail cycle can last an extremely long time.

You can't be sure if you're on the right track.

You can't see the roadblock ahead.

All learning is experiential.

[2] Get a coach and go fast.

LeBron James has a coach.

Jordan Spieth has a coach.

I have a coach.

My coaches have coaches.

The reason for this is simple. Coaches help you go fast.

They can see your blind spots.

They've seen people where you want to be and have experienced those people getting there.

They know the trials and tribulations you are going to face and know how to help you navigate them so you can face them and beat them without having to try and fail time and time again.

If you are tired of spinning your wheels I'd suggest you look into getting some coaching.

Yes, it costs money. But the value is immeasurable.

You just have to ask yourself if you want to go slow and try and fail or go fast with a coach.

There are a couple of people in the Building a Law Firm Facebook group (if you aren't in there yet what are you doing?!) that are law school students thinking about opening their law firms right out of school.

There are whole bunch of limiting beliefs that come with that, and if you pile on some bad advice it could be a recipe for disaster.

So I thought I'd drop some knowledge for you today and tell you what I'd do if I were a law school student starting a law firm.

Pick a Niche

Niches get riches.

Experts get paid.

Handymen work until they die.

That's it. If you want to be a handyman, stuck on the treadmill of life, then be my guest.

If you want to win, pick a niche.

And if you're not sure what you want to do because you're a law school student starting a law firm there's an easy solution - while you are in school go work for different people for free.

See how the sausage is made and find something you like.

Charge Flat Fees

Ours is one of only a few industries where the better you get at something the less you make.

In the future, you may be able to resolve a case with a five minute phone call.

Do you want to get paid for the five minutes, or for the time, money, and effort you saved your client?

Exactly.

Understand you'll be learning on the job

And also understand that's what you'll be doing for your entire life.

Even seasoned vets get thrown curveballs.

Be committed to continued learning and excellence, and in about 6 months you'll have more expertise than most lawyers out there (because they aren't focusing).

Your mind is your worst enemy

Remember when I mentioned those limiting beliefs earlier?

You are going to have to figure out how to get past those.

I know how, and I can help if you're interested. Or we can just talk about it. Book a time for us to talk here.

But if you don't work on your mind, you are going to charge too little, work too hard, have shitty clients, and hate life.

I'm just sayin...

Invest in a coach to help you go fast

Michael Jordan had a coach.

LeBron James has a coach.

Bill Gates has a coach.

I have a coach.

And if you want to succeed you should too.

Coaching will help you go faster, help you hone your mindset, and make you aware of blind spots that can hurt your life and your law firm.

That's it. If you are a law school student starting a law firm and you don't listen to this advice, it's on you.

How many heart surgeons do you know that also do brain surgery?

How many Mexican restaurants also serve Italian food?

Not very many. And certainly not the good ones.

Then why do you think it's okay to have three or four different practice areas with your law firm?

When starting a law firm it is so easy to fall into the multiple practice area trap.

You have no money. You have no clients. And you want a lot of both.

Someone calls you and needs help with something. You feel like you have to say yes so you can eat.

It's this scarcity mindset that will wreak havoc on you for the rest of your days, prevent you from charging the fees that you deserve and working with the clients you want.

Picking isn't tough. There is no right answer. You just choose.

And from that moment on you are that type of lawyer.

Do you have the guts to do what is right for your law firm?

We all know how important it is for a law firm owner to have a unique competitive advantage.

We sit and we think about what that can be.

And then we think some more.

And eventually we all come up with the same ideas:

Experience

Price

Results

Process

The problem is that the fact that all of these are the same things everyone else comes up with automatically knocks it out of the unique competitive advantage category.

Everyone racing after those things makes everyone blend right back in together.

Your Unique Competitive Advantage is YOU

Oddly (and amazingly), enough, your unique competitive advantage is sitting right in front of you.

You might not see it right now.

You might be scared shitless to let it out.

But your unique competitive advantage is YOU.

There is no one else like you. No one with your style. No one with your philosophy. No one with your approach.

The sooner you come to grips with that, the sooner you own that, the sooner people start knocking down your door to work with you.

If you want help unleashing your unique competitive advantage, click here and set up a time to talk with me.

I was talking to a BLF Society member the other day and we were talking about going after some new business.

"You should take on some probate clients ASAP," I said. "Easy money."

"Yeah," he said. "I've been thinking about it, I just want to make sure I know enough about probate before I get started."

Destroyed by a desire to be perfect.

Today's podcast is simply a reminder to stop doing that.

Perfection = Time = Safety

The sooner you realize that chasing perfection is really a sneaky way for your subconscious to hide from failure, the sooner you'll see unparalleled success.

The thing about perfection is that it is never realized.

There is always another question to be answered.

There is always another case to read.

There is always another scenario to figure out.

The pursuit of perfection of your work is okay, but you've got to be able to put out product fast.

Take Action. Figure It Out Later.

Think about when you opened your law firm.

How much did you really know?

How much did you learn once you got started?

Those same principles apply in everything that you do.

Instead of being afraid of failing, why not have a little self-confidence and believe that you can take on any situation and figure it out.

But Don't Be An Idiot

There is a fine line between pushing yourself and being and idiot.

Don't be an idiot.

Your first probate case shouldn't be Prince's estate.

It's important to know your boundaries and push yourself out of them, but don't get too crazy.

The next time you are faced with trying something new, get a quick baseline and jump in.

Your law firm and your life will thank you for it.

We all have experience problem clients with our law firms before.

Think, for a second, about those problem law firm clients.

Now, instead of your client's face, I want you to see yourself doing the exact same thing.

Because, unbeknownst to you, you are doing some things that your problem law firm clients are doing, and it's costing you...

Don't Believe You Have All the Answers

You ever have that client that just knows everything?

Everything you say they respond with "oh yeah, I knew that."

And, on top of that, they don't want to hear anything you have to say because they believe they already know everything they need to know on the subject.

In many ways in your role as a law firm owner you fall into this trap.

I hope you are educated on how to marketing your law firm and start your law firm. But there is so much more out there that you haven't even sniffed yet (me too).

Don't miss out on that.

Listen

You ever have a client that just won't listen to you?

No matter what they say they just aren't paying attention? Or they are so excited to speak that they don't hear what you are saying?

Don't be that person. Once you have admitted to yourself that you don't know anything start listening to some people that do know a little more than you.

Your growth will skyrocket.

Follow Instructions

Ever have a client that just can't do what you want them to do in the order you want them to do it?

You fall into the same trap.

Have you bought Facebook ads without having a way to funnel leads into your office?

Do you have an automated follow up system set up yet?

If you are doing the right things in the wrong order you are not doing the right things.

Find an Expert and Utilize Them

How many of you have clients that do the opposite of what you do?

You know exactly what they should do but they just won't listen?

You are EXACTLY the same as your problem law firm clients.

There are a number of people in BLF Society that don't come to any of the trainings, ask any questions, or participate in the program.

If you find someone that knows what they are doing follow what they do. It will make a difference.

Do The Work

You can listen, know what you are supposed to do and participate, but if you don't actually do the work you won't ever see success.

So, when you get instructions, follow them and do the work.

When you are tired and feeling lazy, do the work.

Your law firm and your bank account will thank you.

For some reasons law firm SEO wraps around most law firm owners like a warm blanket.

It's something we can see, it's something we can track, and it seems like it should be something that if we had more of it we'd make more money.

Unfortunately that's not the case.

Law Firm SEO is a Joke

You are the only one that's not in on it yet.

If you don't believe me just do me a quick favor and google your favorite lawyer search term.

I guarantee you this is what you will see:

[1] A set of 3-4 advertisements;

[2] A set of 3-5 google map listings;

[3] Way down the page some organic search results (that are typically avvo or yelp.

It's important that you can't and YOU DON'T WANT TO win this game.

It's for suckers.

To find out why law firm SEO is broken, listen to the podcast.

One thing that really confused me when I started my law firm was how fast it should be growing.

I had big goals, but I wasn't sure if they were appropriate, reasonable, or even in the ball park of what was to be expected.

All I knew was that I wanted my business to keep growing and keep growing fast, and I was going to do whatever I could to make my law firm the best it could be.

Fast forward now to my second law firm startup and I've got a pretty good barometer for what to expect when it comes to growth.

And the starting a law firm math is pretty easy.

[Year 1]

In year one you should literally just make as much money as you can and keep as much in the business as you can.

Pay your bills, eat, and invest the rest of that money into hiring a coach to help you go even faster.

When you get to the end of year one tally it all up and see where you are.

[Year 2]

The math for year two is easy.

Take year one, multiply it by two, and you've got your goal.

By the end of year one you should have your general systems in place, you should be in a good flow from a marketing perspective and year two should be all about efficiency and effectiveness.

[Year 3-5]

Now it just depends on how big you want to get.

I'd aim for at least 30% growth no matter what (my goals for these years is going to continue to be 100% growth).

From there, you adjust and evaluate depending on the lifestyle you want.

Bottom line, though, is that you should be making HUGE jumps your first few years if you're doing it right. If you're not, set up a time to talk with me so we can figure out how to get you on the right track.

I used to believe that long-term goals were important for starting a law firm.

What I mean is, I'd make plans for 3, 5, and 10 years out, and sometimes I would do something and say to myself "this doesn't make that much sense in the short-term, but long-term it's going to work out amazingly."

Well, all of that has changed.

Sort of.

Lately I've been thinking about what I'm doing on a daily basis and I came to a conclusion everything that is good for the short-term is good for the long-term.

This is true particularly if what you are doing in the short-term is good for your clients and good for your business (i.e. you aren't scamming people).

The point here is to stop making excuses for not making sales calls, for not following up, for not creating content because you are too busy doing stuff for the long-term.

Start setting meetings. Start making sales. Start creating satisfied clients.

That's good for the short-term and long-term success of your law firm.

Don't forget to pick up your free starting a law firm training here: https://buildingalawfirm.com/freetraining

Christopher Small knows how to start and build successful law firms. He is the owner of CMS Law Firm, a Seattle estate planning firm, and Building a Law Firm, a site dedicated to teaching lawyers law firm marketing.