Self-Development Ideas for Solo Lawyers (and other Solopreneurs)

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Solo Lawyers are in a challenging situation. They have to be good at so many things but are strapped for time. I know that first hand, as I have had a solo legal business for over 25 years.

Most Solo Lawyers have limited time, energy, and other resources available to spend on self-development. Yet, at the same time, Solo Lawyers are in a position to gain the most from improving their knowledge and skills.

It’s a tough balancing act, and one that must be managed well.

If you’re a Solo Lawyer, try these ideas to successfully undertake self-development projects:

  1. Carefully consider what you need to learn. Assess your needs and weaknesses and make a decision about what you need to learn. What will most add to your life or your business? Solo Lawyers are short for time, so it’s important to make a wise decision about how to spend your self-development time.

    • Ask yourself, “What would most benefit my life or happiness?”

    • Then ask yourself, “What would most benefit my business?”

  2. Closing skills. It’s hard to make money without customers or clients. Closing skills can be among the most valuable for Solo Lawyers. If you don’t have all the income you desire, enhancing your closing skills might be a logical choice for your self-development efforts.

  3. Marketing skills. If people don’t know about your business, you’re going to struggle. There are tons of inexpensive marketing choices available today for lawyers. Maybe your business will benefit if you strengthen this important skill.

  4. Social skills. Networking, gaining, and maintaining customers and clients is a big part of a Solo Lawyer’s job. If your social skills are subpar, your business will struggle. Everyone can benefit from greater social skills, whether they’re a Solo Lawyer or not.

  5. Public speaking. Depending on your business, this can be a very useful skill. It can build confidence and comfort when dealing with people. Speaking at conferences can be a good way to market and sell your services or products to a larger audience.

  6. Goals. Do you have goals? Many lawyers would benefit from having a set of reasonable and applicable goals to work toward. Setting and striving for goals is a valuable skill to develop. It’s a skill that will be useful in more areas of life than just lawyering.

  7. Confidence, focus and perseverance. These are three qualities all lawyers could use more of. If you’re lacking in any of these areas, consider implementing a program that builds on one or more of these characteristics.

  8. The ability to deal with stress. Solo Lawyers are frequently pressed for time and stretched in many directions.  Stress and overwhelm can be part of the fabric of the Solo Lawyer lifestyle unless he or she gets good at being relaxed, present and confident.  Meridian Tapping has been shown to be one of the most effective ways to reduce stress and overwhelm and it can be done on oneself.  For more information on tapping: Click here

  9. Health. Most small law firm owners fail to care for themselves properly. Too little sleep, too many skipped meals, poor food quality, and a lack of exercise are serious impediments to good health. Making your health a priority and building some healthy habits might be the best way to spend your self-development time.

  10. Relationships. Solo Lawyers are notorious for having troubled relationships. The time commitment of running a legal business and the stress that goes along with it can be a real strain on any relationship. Perhaps learning how to reconnect is the best skill you can learn at this time.

Solo Lawyers are very often short on time, so they must approach self-development intelligently and efficiently.

Decide what area of self-development will best serve your business or life. Do you mostly want more clients or do you want to enhance your health? Is managing your time the best skill for you to learn at this time? Take a look at your situation and allocate your self-development hours appropriately.

Joe Mitchell, Esquire is a High Performance Coach and EFT (Tapping) Practitioner, who has logged over 35 years of in-depth study of personal and spiritual development. In his studies, he has done hundreds of self-development courses, spiritual retreats and health-related workshops. Coach Joe is a certified yoga teacher, meditation teacher, NLP Practitioner and a graduate of three coaching academies. Two years after he graduated from Harvard Law School, he became a monk for five years. In 2016, after over 20 years as a solo criminal and personal injury attorney, he decided to turn his heart's passion into a career as a Success Coach, Motivational Speaker and Trainer. For information on Coach Joe’s programs, high performance videos and to apply for a Free High Performance Session click the following link http://www.activateyourgreatness.com/free-session


Joseph Mitchell