Starting a law firm isn’t for the faint of heart. Any business can be extremely stressful during the beginning stages, but if you’re willing to put in the work don’t let some of the common myths floating around discourage you. While the legal industry is certainly competitive, there is more than enough business to support the growing number of solo and small law firms.
Myth 1: There are so many expenses involved, it’s impossible to actually make money.
Once you add up all the investments you need to make in order to get up and running, the amount you’d have to make to earn your money back can seem impossible. But the truth is there wouldn’t be so many solo and small firm lawyers if they weren’t actually making a profit doing it. Yes, the costs can be quite significant but there are ways to minimize them. Today, there are plenty of options for lawyers looking to save, like cloud storage, shared office space (if this is something your bar association allows), and monthly payment plans for software versus outright license purchases.
Myth 2: There’s too much administrative work to be able to handle both that and actually doing billable work.
Thankfully with today’s technology, there are ways to automate administrative tasks like billing and document assembly that used to take hours out of a work week. Leveraging these along with outsourcing where possible can give you the time you need to invest in business development and handling work that’s going to get you paid. While you’ll have to pay someone to help if you outsource, the time you get back can be well spent on work that’s bringing income – and saving your sanity.
Myth 3: There’s too much market saturation for me to be successful.
If this logic were true, there would only be a handful of providers of any particular service or product. Instead, people have plenty of options to choose from when it comes to service providers, such as doctors. One Google search is all you need to tell you just how many options people have.
The reason all of these different companies manage to stay in business is that people make purchasing decisions based on different criteria. People choose lawyers based on price, area of expertise, connections, and geographic location. Some even choose based on who they feel comfortable with. To set yourself apart from all the other lawyers out there that someone could choose to represent them, you have to decide what makes you and your firm different.
Is there a particular area of practice that you’re well-known for? Do you want to appeal to a certain demographic, such as business start-ups? Do some research to see who else in your area has that particular selling point and narrow down the competition With some focus, you’ll be ready to compete against a handful of other firms, rather than all of them – which is much less daunting.
Take the first step
If you’re thinking of starting a firm, it requires careful considerations of the pros and cons. However, don’t be swayed by misconceptions about the possibility of success or how much legal work is available in the market. For attorneys who are willing to plan out their venture and work hard, having their own firm can be an exceptional, rewarding experience.