A lawyer tells me, “I have too much business and not enough revenue. I feel that I am working myself to death.”
Ah, yes. Overworked and underpaid. I haven’t talked to every lawyer in the world, so I can’t be sure, but I suspect this is a common problem.Â
He continued:
“Everything I take on seems to expand in complexity and it is hard to get the work done. I have hired assistants in the past but they don’t seem to work out very well.”
Okay, class. What would you suggest to this fellow traveler?
Mike?
“He needs to keep hiring assistants until he finds someone who works out.”
Yes!
I know finding and training people can be a frustrating experience, but it’s not impossible. You have to keep looking.
Use an agency to screen people. Be willing to pay more to get top talent. Hire temps until you do.
You can’t do all the work yourself or you will always be overworked and underpaid.
However, before our friend does this, he needs to do something else. Anyone?
Mary: “He needs to increase his fees.”
Bingo! Gold star, Mary. We’ve got some very smart people in this class.
Increasing his fees will simultaneously increase his revenue and decrease his workload. That’s what they call a twofer.Â
Unless. . . well, sometimes, when you charge more you get more work, not less. You get better clients who are willing to pay more and they give you lots of work.
How about we put that aside for now. Any other ideas?
Jerry?
“What kind of practice does he have? If he doesn’t specialize, he should. It will simplify his work and attract better-paying clients because clients prefer specialists.”
That’s right. Good advice.
Well, I see our time is up for today. Excellent ideas for our friend. I’ll pass them along.
Okay, no homework tonight, guys. See you tomorrow.
How to earn more without working more
