Is Your Practice a 24/7 Job or the Career You Imagined?

When I graduated from law school, I imagined an almost utopic vision of what my law practice and life would look like. An endless supply of happy clients. Eager, helpful staff. Free time to enjoy my family and hobbies. Great money.

When reading this, did you chuckle? “Yeah, right…”

Twenty years into my practice, I nearly quit. The reality of my life wasn’t anything near that vision. “There are a thousand different ways I can make a living that isn’t the grind that I’ve built for myself,” I thought.  

Before I threw everything away to start anew, at the advice of a good friend and colleague, I reluctantly enrolled in a coaching program. What I learned changed the arc of my life.

I hadn’t nurtured a career, instead, I built a 24/7 stressful job. I was doing too much. Despite my cash flow concerns, there wasn’t a good reason to avoid hiring the staff required to enable me to work at my highest and best use.

My practice took off. I also learned that I am a “Quick Start” on the Kolbe Index, meaning that I am an entrepreneurial visionary, and more comfortable with risk than most. As such, however, I need others who are into detail and follow-through. So, I surrounded myself with attorneys and support staff who have complementary skills to mine.

Over the years, I enjoyed free time and vacations with my growing family. My three daughters are now all adults, the oldest will be married next July. My wife and I recently celebrated our 32nd wedding anniversary.

My success building this machine, however, caused more stress. As we grew, I discovered that solving some problems led to others. I hadn’t paid attention to the types of clients I was bringing in. Our hiring, on-boarding, and training process wasn’t fine-tuned, not all team members were right-fit.

I was like the proverbial frog in the pot of water. Ironically, during a swim with my triathlon team, I suddenly felt a crushing feeling in my chest. Thankfully, I didn’t suffer a heart attack, but the ER trip resulted in an emergency triple bypass.

My surgery resulted in self-reflection and more changes.  That’s the thing about learning. It never ends, you constantly strive for better.

A source of joy that I have is sharing my knowledge and experience running a boutique practice with 30+ years in trust and estate work. That’s why I started The Freedom Practice. I continue to attend several coaching and mastermind groups, spending tens of thousands of dollars annually. Two weeks ago, I was in a marketing mastermind group where we gained unique insight into social media strategies.

Several other members of my office team also attend coaching groups from technology to team building. We invest in ourselves and in our future.

We take what we learn, adapting it into our practice to see if it works. When I say “works” it must work on many different levels. For our clients, and for ourselves in the sense that new systems and processes must reduce, not add to, stress.

In our programs, we share everything with you. Implementing systems and processes, hiring right-fit team members, incorporating automation and technology, marketing for A+ clients. I’m much closer to that career I envisioned upon graduating from law school. Since we’re wills, trust, and estate office, that’s what we know, and who we coach. No one else.

On your journey to your vision, you can avoid the potholes in the road that I experienced. My team can shortcut your transformation to a better, happier, more fulfilling career. Attending our two-day live event is the first step. You’ll not just learn how to better update and manage your practice, but you’ll also discover how to be happier while doing it.

To your bigger future,