Many people wait until the timing is perfect to jump into starting a firm, but Attorney Robert Simon wants you to know, “The time is never perfect. Something will always get in your way if you let.”
So to help you take the leap and start your own firm, Co-Founder of Justice HQ and founding partner of Simon Law Group, Simon is sharing exactly what you need to know before embarking on the new journey.
What’s your experience starting your own firm? I started my own solo practice in 2009. I was only a few years out of law school, but I was able to scale my firm fairly quickly. I’m talking netting 8-figures each year. I’m not from money, and I had A LOT of student loans, but I took the chance. Why? Because if it didn’t work out, I could always go back and find a job. But if I never took the chance and I regretted it for the rest of my life, that’d be much worse. Don’t get me wrong. It was still tough. I spent my first year and a half grinding and saving every penny, but it was worth it!
What is your general advice for success? I tell everyone who is looking to start their own firm two things: Think scale and follow the 50% model. Here’s what I mean…
We’re in the service industry, which means we are trading time for dollars. If you don’t scale and you are the only person doing all your firm's work, you will get overwhelmed and most likely fail. Unless you’re okay with doing all the work yourself, or you want to stay at the 6-figure mark, you must be willing to add people to your team to scale.
The 50% model is the mindset I have around my cases. The question I ask all the time is, “Do you want 100% equity in 50 cases or 50% equity in 10 times the cases and only have to do a fraction of the total work? What looks more appealing to you?
My last piece of advice for success is to care! Care about other people, care about the work you do, and even be willing to offer free help. I have gotten much bigger cases in the long-run from those people I helped for free upfront. It pays to care!
Photography by: Robert Simon
