In this week’s edition of Young, Hungry & Committed, Maryland solo virtual office lawyer Liz Johnson shares her firm’s goals for the summer while she grows her practice.
I have plans. Long term plans, short term plans, and summer plans. One of the first things I want to do is get my fee’s straightened out.
I’ve been so busy feeling sorry for other people’s financial plight, I’ve been cutting down my already low fees to help them out, without any system for determining pro bono, low bono or regular fees.
This is what we call undervaluing our work people! And I do good work darn it! I put a lot of time into everything I do and make sure it’s the best it can be, and it ought to be rewarded with money!
So one of my many goals for this summer is to put a patch on this bleeding heart of mine and value my time. Does anyone else have this problem, or has in the past? Maybe it’s just me. Maybe it’s because my business is still new and I don’t have a solid income to protect yet.
Organize my Client Onboarding Process
Alternatively, I went to a networking event today and received three potential clients, paying clients! Yay!
Wait a minute. Three all at once? That’s right, and it’s been taking me forever to open up my case files and doing all the accompanying administrative work.
I also think it’s time to stop taking pro bono clients for now. This way I can devote more time towards focusing on paying clients, getting all my onboarding procedures in place and making it more efficient.
I want clients, but if they’re going to start coming in faster, then I’m not as prepared as I would like to be. So, sooner rather than later, I want to make sure all my forms are in place, have a solid checklist for dealing with clients, and all that jazz.
Develop a Better Life/Work Balance
Honestly, I would like to get in the habit of going to bed at a reasonable hour. Or is it getting through my emails faster? I’ve been mobbed by the emails, and am up at 1:22 a.m, going through them, and I don’t think that is the best time to be doing that. Also, I find myself up late jotting down notes or writing a quick blog because cool things were on my mind and I wanted to put them down on paper.
Either way, this habit it’s not going to do great things for me tomorrow, as I like getting up bright and early.
Build a Solid Routine
Oh! And one last thing, a routine. This summer I would really like to get a solid routine going for the morning.
There’s nothing wrong with my motivational skills of getting work done in my PJ’s, while in the comfort of my own home mind you, but I want a better system for getting work done.
Anyone have any tips? Like when you first go into work, do you go through emails, or go through cases? I’ve sort of been winging it based on a to-do list I write up the night before. To-do lists are awesome, I love being able to check off tasks as done, but there has to be a more efficient way of doing things.
These are some of the goals I have set for myself for the upcoming months, and hopefully, by the fall, my firm and I will be in an even better place. I will be sure to let you know!
But what about you, do you have any plans for your firm, or tips on how to reach your goals? Let me know in the comments below!
