Building your prototype: Conference speaker advises lawyers on entrepreneurialism
Iwata is a master executive coach for E-Myth Worldwide, which helps business
owners across the globe identify and create systems and processes to
attain more freedom, better organization, increased equity, and a better
work-life balance.
Oct. 27, 2011 – Does your solo or small firm have a dependency
problem? In other words, does it depend on you too much? Those are two
questions posed by Karin Iwata, who kicked off
the Wisconsin Solo and Small Firm Conference (WSSFC) in Wisconsin Dells this morning.
Iwata is a master executive coach for E-Myth Worldwide, which helps business
owners across the globe identify and create systems and processes to
attain more freedom, better organization, increased equity, and a better
work-life balance.
She spoke about how solo and small firm lawyers can create “a
prototype” business model using processes that ease the burdens
associated with being both a lawyer and business owner.
The E-Myth
E-Myth stands for Entrepreneurial-Myth, which is the myth that most
businesses are started by entrepreneurs. Iwata explained that
most lawyers who start solo or small firms don’t think like
entrepreneurs, but there are ways to become more entrepreneurial.
“The truth is that most businesses are started by what we call
‘technicians,’ people that are very good at doing something
like, say, practicing law, and they go out and start a law
practice,” Iwata said. “But doing the work of the
business is not the same as running one.”
Many solo and small firm practitioners in attendance identified
organizational or administrative aspects of the practice as an obstacle
to better production, efficiency, and profit. Iwata says a common problem is that lawyers
build a practice that can’t run without them.
“Many start their own business with an idea that time, money, and
freedom will result,” Iwata said. “This
is the entrepreneurial dream. But for most, what they create is not a
business at all. What they create is a job for themselves.”
The prototype
Iwata says a pure entrepreneur strives to
create something with equity value, a business that could be sold or
transferred and remain successful. But “technicians” often
create an entity that cannot operate separate and apart from the
business owner.
In other words, lawyers must create a prototype of systems and
processes for business aspects – like financial, marketing, client
development, and firm management – that can be learned and
undertaken by someone other than the lawyer. When this happens, it
becomes easier to delegate tasks that will allow the lawyer to focus on
the practice of law, she says.
One example is client intake. Does the firm have a system that gives
staff guidance on how client intake should be performed in your absence?
How does the lawyer gather information?
Developing processes can be as easy as voice recording the steps one
takes to complete a task, and transforming those steps into a process
that can be taught to someone else, she says.
“What do you want your practice to be?” she asked.
“You can build the systems and processes that reflect your
personal values, standards, and priorities, but also one that allows you
to separate your life and the practice of law from the law firm as a
business.”
During the interactive workshop, Iwata asked lawyers to
jot down a list of activities to get a sense of where their time is
spent on a daily basis. “How much of this time is spent on
activities that do not require a law license?” Iwata asked. Tracking daily activities over a
period of time can be a starting point for thinking differently about
new growth strategies, she says.
Iwata is a featured plenary session speaker
tomorrow (Friday) at 8:30 a.m., speaking on the “frustration
process” and how lawyers can use it to their benefit. Also, check
out the WSSFC webpage for the full schedule of
events through Saturday.
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