Have we done ourselves a disservice by calling ourselves professionals rather than business people? Some of us work in large firms, others run our own. Either way, we’re in business: the business of delivering legal services.

But being great at practicing law doesn’t automatically mean you’re great at running a business.

Law school doesn’t teach lawyers to run businesses, and when you don’t run your practice like a business, you end up wasting a lot of time and effort.

This week’s tip is to manage your law firm like a business (because essentially it is one). Failing to do so is one of the top mistakes lawyers make in their practices. 

Welcome to Gimbal’s Tip of the Week, where you get practical, actionable advice you can use right away to start building a more productive and profitable legal practice.

Successful businesses don’t pop up overnight (even if it may seem like it at times). They’re the result of years of hard work and sound management. In fact, every successful business excels at 6 key elements:

1.  Leadership;
2.  Marketing;
3.  Sales;
4.  Products and services;
5.  Finance/cashflow; and
6.  Overhead

As an entrepreneurial lawyer, you also have to master these 6 elements. So where do you start?

You start by determining your baseline, so you can make the most of your skills and establish a clear path forward.

Your action item this week is to take this free assessment powered by Business Made Simple. The report will:

•  Highlight your operational strengths;
•  Give you a comprehensive list of the systems and processes you need to create or improve; and
•  Identify the business operations you should optimize.

Then you can prioritize your next steps as you build the successful law firm (and life!) you want.

Legal professionals who run their practice like a business grow their reputation, increase their revenue, and succeed faster.

This concludes our series on the 5 Mistakes That Are Hurting Your Practice and How to Overcome Them. Be sure to check out our previous tips and our newest Gimbal guide to find out the other common mistakes lawyers make and how you can avoid them. 

Join us next week for more on building a profitable and productive law practice.