October 26, 2006
Starting Your Own Law Firm, You Need a Shtick and a Niche
Before you jump, give a lot of thought to why you want to start your own firm. As one speaker asked, “Do you really just want to get away from where you are?” If that is the case, find another law firm to join. Because once you embark on your own, what you do and how you spend your time will change drastically, and your work hours are more likely to increase than decrease.
The biggest challenge has to do with business development. It is in the business development area that success stories are separated from the “also ran” and failures. David Maister wrote: “What you do with your billable time determines your current income, but what you do with your nonbillale (investment) time determines your future.”
Vision is important to success, but what is the focus of your vision? It can’t just be about money. It has been said that the only business with a mission to make money is the Mint. The rest of us have to deliver a product or service. Vision is about having a unique value proposition—something that sets you apart from the pack. It is something that gives you a competitive advantage. Even then, you need a shtick and a niche—a tactic for achieving your vision or objective and a narrowly defined market where you can secure a dominant position.
Here are examples of a shtick:
- A language other than English
- Knowledge about a particular region, country, or industry
- A unique office space, address, or proximity
- Credibility as an expert, author, or lecturer
- Business, professional, political, civic, religious, social, or cause group contacts
- Internet visibility—blogs and virtual law practice strategy
Why do you need a niche–a tightly drawn market–to achieve and maintain market leadership or dominance? A firm that establishes a level of dominance in even a small niche marketplace has an incredible advantage. What makes this exciting and opportunistic is that you get to define the market and then go after it. Defining your niche means applying multiple criteria like that listed below to carve away those clients and prospects you will not pursue in order to concentrate on those remaining.
- Geographic
- Industry or Consumer type
- Problem or Need
- Specialty
Morepartnerincome.com is sponsored by Juris, Inc. For information about Juris® products and services for increasing law firm performance and partner income, go to www.Juris.com.
Related posts
Filed under Blog by Tom Collins