Presumably the person who is blogging in a legal niche is an attorney.  At least in my marketing plan as an attorney, my blogs are there to educate the public and to hopefully increase my exposure in the community and on the internet as an expert in my area of practice.  My goal for monetizing my blogs is this: convert visitors into readers; readers into prospective clients who will call my office and make an appointment; then turn prospects into paying clients. 

The benefits of a blog for this are several.  The first, and most important for many lawyer-bloggers is that blogging is pretty cheap.  In fact, when you compare it to traditional advertising methods like the telephone book it is almost free.  You can gain almost immediate traction with search engines which leads to more visitors and readers thus increasing your chance to get people in your office.  Finally, it lets you hone your skills.  It is really easy to explain some areas of law to another attorney.  You start talking in legal geek-speak and everyone knows what you’re talking about.  It is much more difficult to translate that so the everyday person can understand.  When writing on your blog – unless you are writing for an academic or legal audience – you will be forced to write on a level where people can understand you or people will simply not read your work.  This helps you sell to your client when they are in your office because they will be more confident in your services because you can explain even the most complex legal theory in a way they can at least get some grasp of. 

So, in saying all of that, my opinion of advertisements on a legal blog is that it is a very short-sighted way of making money from your blog.  Sure, who wouldn’t want to be a "pro-blogger" and make lots of money from the traffic you already have from your blog?  But I think you have to make sure it fits your niche – and I do not believe it fits the legal niche at all.  So you make a few bucks here and there by having people click on your ads, but you are not gaining the full value of that blog visitor because they are immediately clicking on an ad and being whisked away to another lawyer’s website who they will likely hire and pay thousands of dollars to.  So, congratulations on that quarter you just earned from the pay-per-click ad.  If that isn’t bad enough, why are you doing all of that work writing those blog posts if you are just going to let someone come to your site and then click on an ad and disappear?

Summary – have a full view of the reason for your legal blog.  This is a crock-pot, not a microwave.  It may take you some time, but don’t cheapen your legal blog by adding advertising.  Don’t pimp out your legal blog for the sake of earning a few quick bucks. Focus on your prospective clients and adding value to them – then they will add value to you in a way that advertising cannot.  

Maybe he thought he was diving into bigger, deeper waters.  Maybe he thought there would be something better on the outside.  Who knows?!?  But we all know that what awaited him on the floor below was not a better life, but suffering. 

I meet with a lot of clients who are suffering.  They are really going through a hard time.  Whether it is because of choices they made in business, or at home, they are suffering.  A lot of times, it is extremely hard to ask for help in these situations because you got yourself into a mess and you can get yourself out of it.  Plus, you don’t want to go around telling everyone about your bad decision or daily struggles. 

My problem seems to be I have these urges to do something different.  Something "better."  You know, the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.  And I see that in a lot of my client’s lives.  They decided they can do their job better than anyone around so they go out and start a business doing it on their own.  Many times they are blessed/cursed with extreme and immediate success.  But then their lack of planning and poor business choices lead to their struggles.  Many people are extremely good at what they do, but they are terrible businesspeople.  That doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be in business for themselves, however.  I would suggest that you do what you are good at and have someone help you with the things that you aren’t good at.  That way, it relieves you of the stresses you face when you try to handle something you don’t like to do and you know you have competent people helping you in your business.  (As an aside, this is not necessarily a call to have employees, but to properly hire independent contractors to handle certain business tasks). 

While the grass may look greener, I would encourage you to thoroughly do your research.  Get your plan together up front.  This is something that cannot wait!  If the plan doesn’t look good, then maybe you need to answer some more questions, or back up and change your plan. 

If you are ready to get started making some money on your own, where you are your own boss, then you need to start doing something and not waiting on the perfect situation.  There is no perfect situation!  The stars will never be in perfect alignment where all conditions are just perfect!  You are going to have to step out on faith at some point and not be afraid of failure.

One of the things that causes me the biggest problems is getting bogged down in the details of planning.  It is usually when I am “planning” that something inside me says, “you know, this is really a bad idea, and it just won’t work.”  I try to bat those ideas away fiercely!

A lot of people are like me and they get analysis paralysis in the name of “good planning.”  There is no question that having a good, detailed plan is essential for your business’ success.  There is nothing worse than going into business “flying blind” with no direction.  Except maybe, not going into business because you got bogged down in the details of your plan and talked yourself out of it.  I’m not saying that you should  go into business when the numbers just won’t work; but you should definitely not get turned off from a business just because your plan is stalling you out.

So, what’s my advice.  Just do something.  Take small steps and do something for your business every day.  It may take you some time to get through the business plan, but you will at least be going somewhere and not sitting still at the starting gate!

In my last post “No More Mondays“, I talked a little about chasing your dreams and designing your lifestyle before deciding what you are going to do to create it.

I agree with Susan (not because I am a “millenial” in the workplace, but because I have some strong feelings about controlling my own destiny.  That was the reason I went to law school.  I wanted to be able to provide a service that people need and that allows me to get out on my own and take care of my family without some CEO or some board of directors deciding it’s time for their pockets to get a little fatter and the employees can take a ride.

I haven’t heard this so much from other lawyers at big firms around here – there is always the subtle arrogance that seeps through, but I think there is also some jealously as well from both directions.  I would love to have the guaranteed income, the bonuses, the fancy office, and the health and retirement benefits paid by the firm.  I’m sure they would like to have the time freedom, the ability to take any case you want, the opportunity to work from a home office if they want and the ability to be their own boss and not worry about explaining something to the shareholders.  I think lawyers and law firms aren’t necessarily competing.  They should work together for the greater calling.

When I graduated from college, I started working for one of the largest engineering design and construction firms in the country.  Things were great: I had an extremely good income (one of the highest in my graduating class) and it was located in my home town – plus plus.  After I got working there, however, I seemed to find myself dreading going into the office.  Then, I talked to some of the guys that had been in the business for a long time and learned that the business was extremely cyclical and people get laid off all the time.  There was a cycle: people went from one engineering firm to the next every few years because while one company had work the others did not.  I was scared to death.  It got me thinking that I wasn’t secure at the company because I had not control.

I have a cousin who is a pediatrician.  He is very successful and owns his own practice.  That was my inspiration to go to law school.  I wanted to be able to have control.  No matter what, I would be able to start my own practice and control my own destiny.  I didn’t put a lot of effort into choosing law school over some other graduate education program or into some other type of business venture.  It just sounded good.

What Dan Miller preaches is that you should choose your work based on your passions, skills and abilities.  That you should choose what you do based on what you love.  I’m still trying to get there.  Trying to find an intersection between my passions, skills, abilities, my calling and my work.  Based on what I have learned from Dan’s weekly podcasts, newsletters, articles and books I am trying to design my ideal lifestyle and make my “work” satisfy that.

I think everyone can have some self-employed income no matter what they do every day for a “job.”  There are ways to make some additional money so you can make ends meet, get ahead, buy that plasma TV or replace your current income.  No More Mondays is a great place to start if you feel like you are called to work for yourself and be your own boss, but you aren’t sure what to do.  I would advise you against doing something just because you think it can make you some good money, but by following the principles in Dan’s materials, you can find work you love.

But this is what got me thinking.  Am I thinking big enough?  When something comes to my mind about starting another business, investing my money, serving God, whatever, am I thinking big enough?  Most of my “business” ideas are small service company type ideas where I end up doing all of the work and it is for a few hundred bucks per deal.  I think that is because I like the idea of having some control.  If it is something small and containable, I can manage it myself.  If I unleash a grand vision for some part of my life, I know I won’t have all of the answers and, frankly, that scares me.  But I don’t think God calls us to do things we don’t need Him for.  He wants to make sure we KNOW that we are nothing without Him.

So what do you do to catch a vision?  How do you think BIG?  How do you get outside of your comfort zone and take off?

Before you can get your license to practice law in South Carolina, the Bar requires you to go through certain training courses and one of those is called “Bridge the Gap.” This program is supposed to bridge the gap between law school and real world law practice by presenting a number of seminars with practicing lawyers and judges.

One of the meetings that really stood out to me was a statement made by a great South Carolina attorney, Gedney Howe, III from Charleston, South Carolina. Mr. Howe told us that you have to be what your prospective client has pictured in his mind before he comes. Now this is different depending on where you are practicing. Some areas are more casual and the attorneys where khaki pants and golf shirts, others are more formal and attorneys are expected to where a suit every day. Greenville is somewhat of a mixture.  Many attorneys continue the tradition of wearing a suit and tie each day to the office and others are business casual wearing a knit shirt and khakis.

My office is generally more on the casual side.  However, I found that people seemed to question my ability because I looked young.  I could change a few things and at least make myself appear older and more experienced without having complete plastic surgery on my face to add some age.  I began to dress up on days I met with prospective clients.  Suits, ties, sport coats, and even glasses.  I usually wear contact lenses, but I look a little older (and maybe more distinguished) when I wear my glasses.  This, along with the tweaks to my office I mentioned above, seemed to help me get over the initial credibility hump because I looked more like a lawyer than the college intern.

You also see that the people are building around “their” area of the wall. An English Play write and Poet, John Heywood said, “many hands make light work.” This does not mean, however, that many hands make great work. There is a huge difference between efficiency and effectiveness. Timothy Ferriss talks about this in his book, The 4-Hour Work Week. Just because you’re busy doesn’t mean your are doing a good job. And just because you have worked hours on end doesn’t mean that you accomplished anything meaningful.

What did Nehemiah do to ensure great work happened while rebuilding the wall around Jerusalem? He let the people work on the wall around their homes and neighborhoods. The things that were the most important to them. We take pride in our own “stuff” and tend to not worry about everyone else’s stuff or security. This way, not only were there many people working on the wall to get it built quickly, but they were also working effectively producing a great product.

Basically, his future was changed by a fortune he got in a fortune cookie that said, “Perseverance is genius in disguise.”

Persevere is defined by Merriam-Webster as, “to persist in a state, enterprise, or undertaking in spite of counterinfluences, opposition, or discouragement.”

Mr. Sternlicht stated that he felt he was a good student but not a great student. He was a good athlete but not a great athlete. But he felt like if he dedicated himself to something, and persevered, he could outlast the competition that may have been “great.” He continued and said that when you get “kicked” in life, you need to just get up and keep on going. Mr. Sternlicht told the story of when he was fired from a great job, where he was somewhat of a “wonder-kid” when he was 29 years old and he had to stand in the unemployment line to collect benefits. Then, he was able to work his way into the hotel business and change things from the inside out and eventually take over a $15 Billion company.

When is a time that you were kicked, but you got up and kept going. I know this is corny, but when I was a junior in high school, I was a back-up wide receiver on the football team. I was the epitome of slow, and one of the shortest receivers on the team. One Friday night in a close game the offensive coordinator grabbed me and started whispering the play into my ear. Then, something made him look down. He saw that it was me, pushed me back and grabbed another receiver. Talk about feeling like crap.

The rest of that season, I vowed that I would continue to work hard on my strength, speed and technique so I wouldn’t get pushed away again. I played a little bit my junior year, but worked extremely hard during the off-season before my senior year. I came out stronger and faster than before. I understood what my position was supposed to do in the grand scheme of Mauldin football. I wasn’t going to be a Jerry Rice or Randy Moss; I was really a glorified offensive lineman because our team had two outstanding running backs and that is what we did…run the football.

My senior year, I started every game. I played nearly every offensive down and won a team award at the end of the season.

I was encouraged by this interview and thought about a verse of scripture that went along with this fortune: Hebrews 12: 1-2:

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

When we have been kicked, we need to persevere. It is hard to get up sometimes, but when we keep our eyes on the prize, that is Jesus Christ, we can push through the difficult times; we can get up and keep running the race.

Parkinson’s Law states work will tend to expand to fill up the time allotted for its completion.  Basically, this “law” states that if you set aside thirty minutes to get a job done or if you set aside three hours to get a job done, the job is going to take the amount of time you have set aside.

My advice will probably be hypocritical, but I’m trying.  You shouldn’t set aside all day for work.  It is my goal to begin setting aside specific amounts of time for work, study, spiritual study/growth, time with family, exercise, etc.  That way, when I have work time set aside, I work.  When I have study time set aside, I will study.  I don’t want my days to just run together like crazy.

Most people who are employees are usually stuck working on someone else’s schedule.  Be creative and see how you can move around and schedule your time so you can be more well balanced.