Building Without a Blueprint -The Loneliest Seat in the Firm

Speaker A: Foreign. To the Right Hand podcast. This is the podcast where we talk about how law firm owners can build stronger, smarter and more sustainable firms. Uh, most lawyers, they start their firm to gain freedom and independence, but as the firm grows, new challenges appear and that can form in hiring, leadership, operations, and profitability. This podcast here, what we do is we explore the strategies and insights that help law firm owners move from just simply practicing law to actually running a law firm. This is brought to you by Ruben Allen in cooperation with our sister company, Marshall Graham Consulting. We are your strategic right hand for growing law firms. I am Greg Copeland. Thank you and welcome back. And what we're going to do here, um, in these next few episodes, uh, this podcast is a series and this is our series, um, Building Without a Blueprint. And basically this series is dedicated to the law firm owners who are building something, uh, extraordinary but don't have that roadmap. They haven't been given a roadmap for it. And so this is for attorneys who may be the first in their family to own a business, the first to become a lawyer, the first to build a law firm, um, the first to navigate leadership, hiring, finances, growth, and all of the challenges that come with entrepreneurship. So, uh, many law firm owners had to figure things out as they go, and it's not because they wanted to, but because they didn't always have access to the same networks or mentorship or resources or examples that others may have had. So building without a blueprint is about the, those journeys, it's about the, the challenges, the lessons, the successes, the realities of building a law firm where there isn't a clear path to follow. So whether you're a minority owned firm, woman, uh, owned firm, a first generation professional, or simply someone who's building a business without a playbook, this is, this the series here is for you. Because asking questions is not a week, and seeking guidance is not failure. And building a great firm doesn't mean you have to build it alone. So now you know, what we want to do is just get into today's episode and basically this is the first episode. This is the loneliest seat in the firm. Um, it's why so many law firm owners feel like they have to figure it all out alone. Um, and because there's a weight that comes with that, um, it's a topic that doesn't get discussed enough among law firm owners. And it's that feeling of loneliness. And. Maybe that's a little bit unusual for a podcast like this, but when we talk about law firms, we usually talk about growth. We talk about, you know, revenue, increased hiring, marketing, operations. But you know, underneath all those is the reality that a lot of law firm owners experience, um, and very few actually openly discuss. And that's the reality that when you're building this thing, um, and building this firm, it can be incredibly lonely at times. Um, especially when you feel like you're the one that's supposed to have all the answers for everybody. Uh, and it's one of the things that changes when you become that law firm owner. And it's your relationship with uncertainty changes. So as an employee, you may have worried about your work, your work product, your performance, um, your individual clients. But what happens is when you become an owner, the scope of that, it expands dramatically. So now you're thinking about things like payroll, rent, um, technology, um, hiring. Should I hire? Who should I hire? Uh, client satisfaction. Because if you lose clients, that's the entire, that's the firm's clients. You know, it's not just one client of many. It's one client that is crucial to you. Um, you're thinking about business development, you're thinking about cash flow, you're thinking about growth. And every one of those issues feels personal because they're attached to something that you've built. You, you become responsible not only for yourself, but for the livelihood of other people. And that weight, that can be significant. Um, but one thing I've observed over the years in working with firms and attorneys and going to events, a lot of owners stay silent. Um, many law firm owners, what they do is they struggle quietly. And it's not because they're failing, it's not because they're incapable, but it's because they believe in their minds. Attorneys have been trained this way that they're supposed to know everything. They believe that asking for help somehow reflects weakness or projects incompetence on their part. And for many minority owned firms, um, first generation professionals, entrepreneurs who have spent their careers proving themselves, um, that pressure can sometimes be even greater because you work hard in those spaces to create credibility. Um, you're working hard to build trust, you work hard to create opportunities, probably harder than most. And somewhere along the way you start telling yourself that successful people don't need hope. But I'm here to tell you that's that's not true. Um, there's this myth going around, uh, and it's a damaging myth. And it's one of the most damaging ideas in business. And that's the myth of this self made entrepreneur, the self made success. We like to celebrate stories of people who built everything themselves, who never asked for help, who figured it all out. But that's a false reality, because everyone needs help. Everyone needs a mentor, everyone needs a guy. Everyone needs someone to point them in the right direction, from the richest man to the poorest. And every successful business owner that I've ever met has relied on, on support, uh, mentors, advisors, peers, coaches, consultants, um, industry relationships. And the difference between those who are successful and those who are not successful is not whether they needed help. The difference was whether they were willing to seek it versus those who don't. And there's a war going on, basically. And it's independence versus isolation. And I think it's important to important distinction that every law firm owner needs to understand. Independence is a strength. It is, but isolation is a risk. And those two things are not the same. Independence is you're taking ownership, you're making the decisions, you accept the responsibility. Uh, you understand the buck stops with you. But isolation is, is when you try to carry everything yourself and, and you want to touch upon everything, every aspect of your firm and do it all alone. And over time, this isolation becomes expensive because what it does, it slows down decision making. Um, it increases owner strength, it limits growth, and probably most importantly, it deprives you of perspective. Because when you're alone with a problem long enough, it starts to feel bigger than it actually is, instead of having someone to bounce that off of or someone to relieve some of that pressure. And so one of the most interesting things about working with law firm owners is discovering how many people are facing similar challenges. And, you know, I spoke about law firm owners who believe they were the only ones struggling with hiring or delegation or leadership issues or how to grow or firm culture, you know, and then they discover that nearly every other owner had experienced something similar. Um, the problem wasn't the challenge. The problem is basically staying silent because nobody was talking about it. And because nobody was talking about it, everybody assumed they were alone. And that's one of the reasons why we formed the UM group coaching, um, our, our law firm collective group. Um, so you know that you're not alone. You can bounce ideas off of each other. And you can see there, hey, I'm in New York, but this person in Dallas has the same issues that I'm having. So, uh, it's not unique. Um, it's conquering the conversations that we don't have, ah, as attorneys and business owners. Um, and you can't wait too long to seek support because there's a cost in waiting. Um, Too many wait until they're overwhelmed. Too many law firm owners wait until they're overwhelmed. They wait until growth stalls. They, they wait until they're exhausted. Wait basically until a problem shows up. They're being reactive instead of proactive. And then the solution often becomes. When you wait that long, it becomes more complicated than it actually needed to be. And one of the biggest lessons I've learned, um, is that support is most valuable before a crisis, not during one. Not so the earlier you seek perspective, the easier it is to become, uh, to. The easier it is to. To avoid major problems. Um, so I just want to touch upon what, what a strong leader actually is. And a strong leader doesn't have all the answers. Um, what they do is they ask the better questions, they seek input, they learn continuously. They surround themselves with people who can help them and, and, and see what they can't do themselves, what they're good at, what they're not. And that's not weakness. That, that's leadership. The best, the best leaders, no matter what the business is, sports, finance, law, medical, whatever, the best leaders understand that confidence and, and humility can coexist. Um, you can still be, you can be capable and still need advice. M. You can be successful and still need guidance, and you can be strong and still ask for help. Uh, so one of my hopes for this series is that it helps create a more open conversation among law firm owners. Um, because reality, the truth is that many challenges that you're facing have already been solved by someone else. Um, a lot of these problems aren't unique. Someone has already navigated the hiring issue that you had or you're having. Someone has already dealt with that operational challenge. Um, someone has already overcome that growth obstacle. And there's tremendous value in learning from those experiences rather than carrying the burden alone. So if there's one message that I want you to, uh, to take away today is that building a law firm is hard. Building a law firm without a roadmap is even harder. But that doesn't mean you have to do it alone. Strongest leaders aren't the ones who never ask for help. They're the ones who recognize support and recognize that that support can move them further, faster and with fewer mistakes. Uh, so thank you for joining us on the first episode of Building Without a Blueprint. In our next episode, we'll be talking about a challenge that many law firm owners know all too well. And that's why Survival Mode is not a business strategy. And how the habits that help build your law firm may be preventing it from growing. So, um, you know, thank you again for joining us. If you're a law firm owner looking to build a stronger, more organized and more profitable firm, please visit www. Rubin-allen.com and learn how we help law firms grow. If you found this episode helpful, be sure to follow and share it with another law firm owner. Until next time, keep building the law firm that you hope to create. Thank. Mhm. You sa.