Sick of sharing your practice with other lawyers? It’s time to know how to start a law firm.
Starting a new law firm is no small feat. You’re essentially having to perform your lawyer duties and simultaneously become an entrepreneur. The first few months are going to turn your life upside down, but when you get settled in, you won’t regret a thing.
Today, we’re going to help you out by giving you a guide for starting your own law firm and getting it off the ground with new clients. As long as you’re ready to become a business pro, there’s nothing that can hold you back.
Contents
Write a Business Plan
Almost all small businesses start with a well-written business plan. In this, you’ll lay out what you need to do to get your business up and running, covering things like industry and customer analysis, startup costs, any financing that you are going to need, and marketing plans.
If you’re going to apply for funding to start your law firm, then you’ll have to have a business plan to show the lender that you’ve got your affairs in order. But, it’s good to have so that you can refer back to it as you’re getting started.
Find Your Office
Once you’ve got a roadmap with your business plan, you can start looking for a place to set up shop. Depending on your specialization, you may want to research what other firms are in a given area so that you’re not having to steal customers away from a more established one.
For a law firm office, you want to have a sturdy and attractive building that looks respectable and draws in the right clientele.
Your Online Domain
You’ll want your firm to have a great online presence. From your website to your social media accounts, there should be a steady stream of content through blogging, informational videos, and engaging posting.
In all likelihood, your website is going to be the first point of contact between yourself and your clients. Make it look good and easy to navigate, and include calls to action as much as possible so that new clients can get in touch with you quickly. Also, use current SEO practices to learn how to optimize your legal practice area pages.
Marketing & Finding New Customers
As a new firm, you should always be trying to find new customers, not only relying on your current list of clients. If you’re going to sustain this new business for a long time, you need to invest in marketing and don’t shy away from obtaining referrals from friends and former colleagues.
The more resources you can put into marketing, the better. Put extra effort into PPC ads, SEO, and content, and you’ll eventually see the benefits when clients start coming to you first.
Learning How to Start a Law Firm Takes Time
You can’t learn how to start a law firm straight after your bar exam. You need the experience of working at a larger, more established firm to see how the machine really works. Once you’ve got a couple of years under your belt, though, you can use these tips to start your own successful firm.
Did you like this post? Come back and visit us again for more on business and finance.
