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A Systematic Approach to Growing Your Law Firm

Do you feel like your practice is out of control?

Do you feel like you’re always reacting, like the ground seems to move under your feet?

Whenever you plan to do something, you don’t even have enough time to think about it, let alone get it done.

Lack of control, chaos, whatever you want to call it, it’s more common than you think. But it doesn’t have to be that way.

It always comes back to one thing – you have to be organized and systemize your business in a way that puts you in the driver’s seat.

In other words, take control of your practice instead of letting outside forces control it. And you.

The first step to taking control is realizing control is possible.

No matter how chaotic the situation may feel or confused you may be, you’re capable of taking control. You just can’t expect to solve every problem in one day. Setting Grand Goals with no plan, let alone time to plan how to get it done, is a recipe for disappointment. Resentment that you see other practices humming along, but you're not.

Take one small step at a time. Solve one small problem at time. Then build on each step and solution.

Taking control begins with getting a handle on your time and your communications.

Who sets your calendar – you or the outside world?

If it’s the outside world, you’ll never have control.

Lawyers have trouble with this, because they have a (false) belief that “I’m a lawyer. I have to jump when clients tell me to jump.”

If that's you, that's where you are, understand that you will never be fully in control until you reprogram yourself.

Good clients understand you’re an expert. They understand you have more than one client. They understand it may take a few hours or even a day to return a call.

If the reason they're hiring you is to interrupt whatever else you're doing, they're not good clients.

Think about it this way. It's 7am, and your car breaks down. You're going to be late for work. You call the tow truck, and get the car towed to the garage. Do you expect the mechanic to take another car off the lift and put yours first in line? Nope. They'll take a look today, and give you an idea of what's wrong. And it probably won't get fixed today. But you understand that, and you're OK with that, because those are the rules of the game.

So when you set the rules of the game to be reactive - letting the client set the priorities - you've created a game you can't win.

If you were in court for client A, could client B come barging in demanding to talk to you, then and there? No. Good clients understand that. Block time to take control, just like you'd block time if you were in court. Take charge.

You absolutely can work by appointment only. You’re a lawyer, not a bail bondsman.

Take control of your time by taking control of your calendar.

It’s up to you to decide when you’re accessible and how people can communicate with you.

In our Alchemy Mastermind Coaching Program, we start by taking control over your communications and your calendar. We're building great practices, and it all starts with the lawyer's relationship with his business. His relationship with time. Without that fixed, the entire foundation of the practice is shaky.

And when you do this? Amazing things happen, and quickly. All of a sudden, chaos is replaced with control.

That doesn’t mean you’ll instantly have full control of your business. But it does give you some breathing room. To take the first steps.

Now you have time to stop, think, rest and look at the big picture.

If you don’t have control over your time and communications, that’s where you need to start. The rest of the pieces will start to fall into place.

Raj Jha