Opportunity is knocking today just like it does every day.
If your practice needed a boost two months ago it still needs a boost today.
And it will still a boost two years from now too. That’s because…
The road to success isn’t paved with good intentions. You know this already…
There are no quick fixes.
Every day is crunch time. Every day is a chance to seize opportunities.
Of course, the opportunities will be invisible if you don’t bother looking. Or if you settle into complacency.
I speak from experience when I say this.
Fifteen years ago I hated my law practice. I became complacent.
Fifteen years ago Hurricane Katrina barreled through New Orleans.
And it destroyed lives and disrupted dreams.
That’s when I woke up.
That’s when I realized it was crunch time.
I wanted to take bold action.
But I was afraid.
I can admit that now.
I was afraid to quit my firm because I was a full partner, making good money.
I had a steady stream of work, and lots of resources to help me practice law.
I had a big office on the 40th floor of a tall building overlooking the Mississippi river.
But none of that made me happy.
So I wanted to leave.
And yet I was afraid.
The thing that gave me confidence was technology.
Which is weird, but true.
Technology was exciting to me. Technology offered new opportunities.
I could use it to practice law more efficiently. I could use it to eliminate drudgery.
I could use it to get rid of bulky paper files.
I could search my digital files and find stuff in seconds, instead of hours.
The question was: could I use this tech to sustain a solo practice?
Could I use it to get good clients coming to hire me?
And how exactly might it do all of that?
Well, I knew I wouldn’t find out by just thinking about it. So I told my partners that I was leaving.
They thought I was crazy.
“Ernie, why leave now? Why don’t you wait until things get back to normal?”
Obviously, they were afraid for me too.
Fear is weird. It has an insidious logic.
Yeah, why be bold in the midst of a crisis?
Why start a solo practice when the courts were barely functioning and when there wasn’t as much legal work?
Now I know, but back then I wasn’t sure.
Now I can tell you why…
Because it was crunch time.
So, SPOILER ALERT…
…(you probably know what happened)…
I went out on my own and wound up being happy again.
I made good money doing work I enjoyed, for people who appreciated it.
And when that happened I forgot that I’d ever been afraid. It was so obvious that I made the right move.
I realized that I should have made it sooner.
But, hey…sometimes it takes a massive crisis to make you take action.
Maybe you feel afraid now too. I understand because it’s normal.
Everyone is afraid now, even people who don’t seem to show it.
The only people not scared now are the ones who’re delusional. These are scary times.
But even now there are opportunities. And if you look for them you’ll find them.
I can tell you that technology is still a great bet. You can use technology to turbocharge your practice just like I did mine.
And today you have so many more opportunities with technology than existed 15 years ago.
The trick is to figure out how to harness those opportunities.
Yes, that’s where the real challenges lies.
You can’t just fill your shopping cart with technology, go back to the office, plug it all in, and wait for the jackpot payoff.
That’s delusional.
You need to leverage technology in a strategic way. You have to be thoughtful about it.
You have to make good decisions about which technology is most important to your long range success.
Then you have to commit to getting the most out of that technology.
Maybe making good decisions about what tech to use, and how to use it is not your strong suit.
That’s okay. It’s not your job.
It’s not your job to fiddle with technology.
So don’t feel bad if you find it frustrating or whatever.
But don’t be complacent either. Be bold.
Find people who can help you. Preferably folks who focus on helping lawyers specifically.
Preferably find people who understand that small firm lawyers aren’t awash in cash. We can’t afford to waste money.
Sadly, a lot of tech wizards think we’re all rich. And that we’ll be easy to sell stuff to.
Unfortunately, we lawyers are kind of gullible about technology.
We tend to fall prey to opportunists.
We wind up wasting too much money with technology that doesn’t move the needle much.
This is sad, but true.
I know what’s going on in the trenches because I lived there. And I talk to other lawyers who live there.
But here’s what I know that matters most.
Technology is still a big opportunity for you. IF you can learn to harness it properly.
I know this because I’ve helped hundreds of lawyers learn how to do this.
I started doing it almost ten years ago through a live conference called Small Firm Bootcamp.
I wasn’t sure how helpful it would be, but when I heard Patrick Slaughter talk about how much it helped him I know I was on the right track.
If you want to use technology to improve your practice I can help you in the same way I helped Patrick.
But now it’s even easier for both of us because I can do virtual conferences.
I’m doing my first Virtual Bootcamp in a few weeks, and I have a bunch of great speakers lined up.
You can sign up now for the “waiting list.” It’s free.
And by signing up you’ll get some helpful resources (also free).
Or if you’re ready to take bolder action…
You can register for one of the two options that require a payment.
The price difference is based on the content that’s made available during the Virtual Bootcamp.
Now, there’s no hurry to sign up right this moment.
There’s no “early bird” pricing or anything like that.
This is not the usual kind of conference that you’re probably used to.
And it’s not like other things you might imagine it to be like.
For example, it’s NOT an online course.
It’s not a slapdash group of disparate presentations.
There’s a thoughtful process underlying the conference. Which will become obvious only if you participate in it.
Anyway…
That’s the scoop on Virtual Bootcamp…
Three days of great presentations, intense focus, helpful online discussions, amazing speakers…
And results that make your practice easier to manage. And more profitable.
I hope you’ll be able to join us.
Oh, and one more thing…
If you know any fellow lawyers who need help leveraging technology, or help with marketing, please share this blog post with them.
I want to help as many lawyers as I can with this conference. I’ve been planning it for over a year, and I have over twenty speakers who are eager to share their wisdom and action-steps.
Most of them are my close friends.
And hopefully, after the conference, they’ll be your friends too.