When you need a new computer and visit a retailer to see what’s available, the sales person (if they’re doing their job) will probably ask you a series of questions:
- What will you be doing with it?
- Are there any “must have” features?
- Anything that’s “good to have but not required?”
- What’s your budget?
Your answers will help eliminate from consideration computers that don’t have the power or features you want or need or that cost more than you want to spend. From the remaining options, you can zero in on the right choice.
It seems to me that these questions can also help you make the right decisions about managing and growing your practice.
What type of work do you do or want to do?
What practice areas, niches, target markets, and types of cases or clients?
Start with the big picture. Eliminate what you don’t want so you can focus on what you do want.
Must have features?
You might say, “I don’t want partners, I want a preponderance of my clients to come from referrals, I don’t want to do any paid advertising, and I want to commute no more than 40 minutes to my office.”
Good to have but not required?
You might say, “I would like to able to work from home two days per week, I don’t want any full-time employees, and I would prefer do little or no litigation.”
What’s your budget?
How much time and money are you willing to invest to manage and build your practice?
How much on overhead (dollars and/or percentage of gross)? How much on advertising (if any)? How much time on marketing each week?
There are no right or wrong answers, of course, but thinking these things through can help you zero in on what you need, what you want, and what you’re willing to do.
No high-pressure
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