March 11 SMART Report

by Tali Thomason on March 20, 2014

On Tuesday, March 11, more than 30 solo and small firm lawyers met to talk about “How to Grow My Business and Not Lose My Mind.”  The forum was dubbed “SMART,” an acronym for Solo Management Attorney Resource Teams program.

“The event facilitated a unique opportunity for like-minded attorneys to connect and speak without judgment in an open forum. Questions and conversation flowed with ease. It provided a special balance of by-the-book strategy on business and on-the-ground guidance of other attorneys engaging in the same process: running a law firm solo,” said solo practitioner Kelly Starcevich.

After an introduction, attendees broke into groups to discuss a set of pre-determined topics.  The questions discussed included how to set and reach goals, what business plans should contain, setting aside time to plan, and self-assessment of strengths and weakness and how those play into how your practice is faring.  The group was very forthcoming in sharing what has worked and not worked, with the goal being a true give-and-take regarding the areas discussed.

After 30 minutes on these topics, they switched to topics related to marketing.   Among those topics were discussions regarding websites, where and how to network, using referral services and setting a budget for marketing.  At the end of that time, everyone came back together and a representative of each group shared the top 3 “take-aways”  from each discussion.

Participants were very forthcoming in the discussions and it’s fair to say that every attendee came away with at least one thing they could take back and put into practice in their own office.  Afterwards, there was time for networking and pizza.

“It was great to meet so many other solos. I felt encouraged and motivated by their energy. I especially appreciated the fresh marketing insights from attorneys outside my practice area,” said attendee Katie Speer.

The next SMART session is scheduled for June 10 at the CBA offices.

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