Tuesday, November 18th at 9:04am
I hated my practice. Just flat out hated it.
When I first left the large firm and went on my own, it was the work… I hated the work, even though I was making a lot of money.
Later, it also became about the money, the constant scramble. Too many days I felt more like a salesperson hustling for a deal than a lawyer helping my client.
It was definitely not the life I signed up for.
Well… perhaps in a sense it was, because in law school, we never spent much time on the actual financial management of a practice. I just figured the billable hours model we were taught would work out fine. That clients would magically appear, would be glad to pay by the hour, and everything would fall into place.
It didn’t. My practice was definitely not fulfilling. I knew there was more I could do to help people.
Allow me to explain.
I was initially blessed with a large client that paid me $300,000 to $600,000 per year and gave me lots of flat fee work that allowed me to leave a large firm and launch my own solo practice.
But after focusing on that client for 4 years on my own, I was still miserable, even though they paid me very well. I took a leave of absence from them because I was so miserable, and during my leave of absence, they reduced the amount of work they were going to give me as part of a corporate downsizing of their legal budget. So I declined the lower level of work and told them I was done, because I just couldn’t do that work any more.
There I was. Faced with building my practice again from scratch. I had very few clients to support the large overhead I had created due to my lifestyle. And without much money coming in, I knew that something had to give. I started chasing new clients again and billing them by the hour. You can probably guess how frustrating that was.
Knowing there had to be a better way, I started looking for a way to get back to what attracted me to law in the first place. One thing led to another, and I wound up on the phone with Alexis Neely, who introduced me to the concept of recurring revenue and how to apply it to my practice.
Even before talking to Alexis, I knew something had to change. But until I saw how getting rid of billable hours and flat fees and replacing them with recurring revenue was the real solution, I was adrift. Flailing, skeptical, and scattered. I was even looking to leave the practice of law and focus on just being an information publisher. (I’m the author of 8 books and over 100 articles, with several new books in the works.)
Fortunately, open-mindedness paid off. This new point of view helped me see what had always been obvious, but what I had been blind to before then.
Clients despise billable hours. They’re worried that the clock is always ticking, that they’re being charged to tell you how their daughter’s soccer game went, or what they did on their vacation.
How do I know this? I’ve talked to over 100 clients and business owners over the years, and more than 90% of them always said the exact same thing. The one thing they hate most about lawyers is the way that lawyers bill. (Their second biggest complaint was that lawyers are usually deal breakers, not deal makers. I’ll come back to that too).
“Billable hours are like prostitution.
Billable hours prolong projects, waste resources,
and reward unhealthy habits.”
~Chris Gallo, Medium.com
“Kill the billable hour.”
~Forbes
Billable hours actually build a barrier that blocks the very thing we need. A true relationship with our clients. A relationship that unlocks understanding, and allows us to give them our best possible representation.
I believe that the billable hour also turns lawyers into deal breakers, instead of deal makers.
Here’s why.
In order to make money, lawyers are incentivized to make something take longer, instead of to get something turned around fast. What then happens is that agreements often take attorneys longer than they should to review and finalize. (I realize that statement may not be true all the time, but it’s certainly true more than most lawyers would like to admit if they would just come clean about it.) The key point here is that the billable hour model does not incentivize speed or value-based work, nor does it facilitate long-term, meaningful relationships with clients. It is actually directly at odds with all of those.
This realization opened up a whole new set of challenges—how to actually design and implement a recurring revenue program that worked for both me and my clients. I knew how it worked for health clubs, information publishers, and other businesses, but making it work for my practice, that was a big unknown.
So with some help from Alexis, I dove in. I went looking for how the type of work that would be a good fit for the recurring revenue model, and that would allow me to become known as a deal-maker, and not a deal-breaker. I had always focused on intellectual property in the past, including patent draftng. But something had to change, so I was considering other practice areas. It was clear that a recurring revenue model wouldn’t work for litigation or immigration law. The same for bankruptcy and divorce… you do the work and you move on to the next client.
I knew that there were some opportunities to expand family law and estate planning. And I even handled a few of those matters. But I kept looking.
I kept going back to the notion that the key issue isn’t the actual practice area, but the business model.
This is what made me realize that the answer was under my nose all along. Business law was still the best place for me, but I needed to cut out the parts of business law (including patent drafting) that I didn’t enjoy, and then implement a better business model (i.e. a recurring one).
Why business law? How tough was the transition away from areas that had given me the most revenue in the past? And if you’re an attorney who’s comfortable practicing something else, how difficult is it to transition into business law?
The answers to these questions could shock you.
So off I went in building a recurring revenue practice. And it definitely wasn’t just for the money. I knew that my work could make a difference. I immediately fell in love with helping small to medium sized businesses have a solid legal foundation, making sure they were protecting their intellectual property, and helping them enter into solid contracts to help them achieve their goals.
Maybe you have a passion for filing divorces. I don’t know. But I do know that when I began to spend more time building things instead of tearing them apart, the days became more fulfilling. I saw my clients growing and making a difference in their communities, and all over the world.
Looking back, I’m surprised how quickly it all happened. Getting my first recurring business client was a lot easier than what I’d been doing before, spinning my wheels this way and that.
And you can do the same thing. When you have the right resources, the transition is easy. (Much easier than I ever dreamed.)
Moving into business law from another type of practice, and moving into a recurring revenue model from the billable hour model, is not a massive leap.
Both can happen in a hurry.
And you can experience the financial rewards quickly.
It only takes two things. The first is your own awareness, your ability to step back from the day-to-day noise and really grasp that the billable hours model is dying.
The second thing you need is knowledge. The quality of your information and resources. How specific these resources are. How practical they are, and how easily you can transform your practice with them.
Now that I’ve been doing this for a few years and my practice is effectively full, I realized it’s time to teach other lawyers how to do what I did.
With all of this in mind, I created the Business Practice Bootcamp.
It is your complete guide to quickly building a thriving practice where revenue flows in each month like clockwork. It’s how you…
You can very easily retool your practice. And, when you do, the modest investment you make in Business Practice Bootcamp will pay for itself very quickly—and many times over.
Let me show what you’ll get, why it works, and why it will work for you.
I use it every day. I have lived each one of these seven modules. The step-by-step instruction, the strategies, tactics, and tips… they’re all the result of my own experience.
The 13 clients who currently pay me an average of $3,000 a month*… the Business Practice Bootcamp is essentially an outline how I got them. (And how I keep them.)
Business Practice Bootcamp gives you the exact system that’s allowed me to create a thriving six-figure practice. And it comes with New Law Business Model’s No-Fail Guarantee.
I’ve created these resources so you can do the same thing… and enjoy a return on your investment that can happen in a few short months. In fact, it’s not a stretch at all to figure that just one client can more than cover your investment.
What are we talking about? Exactly what do you get with Business Practice Bootcamp?
You’ll discover the in-demand services to offer, and how to present them to prospective business clients.
You’ll get a thorough, step-by-step system for structuring your services into attractive recurring plans so you enjoy regular, monthly income.
You’ll see what to do to go out and find your first business client, how to strike up a productive and profitable initial conversation, and how to move this conversation toward a formal engagement agreement that gives you recurring income.
In fact, I’ll give you — word for word — the script I use to engage all my clients. This alone is worth the investment in this program.
You’ll get the templates to use to present your services, and a complete set of resources so you can keep your practice focused on giving business clients the services they need the most.
Attractive, relevant, in-demand services like…
…and much more.
From corporate formation and maintenance, to contract drafting and negotiating… you’ll have a steady flow of ongoing work.
This means you can break the cycle of constantly chasing after your next client. That’s because the clients you already have will keep you as busy as you’d like.
You can scale this model as big or as small as you want. I’ve personally used this model to go from $10,000 to $40,000 and in between over the past 5 years depending on my own goals and lifestyle demands at the time.
But it’s important that you don’t become too busy. To help you manage the workflow, module 7 includes the best ways to utilize powerful automation tools to streamline your practice, and serve your clients even more efficiently. (Document outsourcing and great ways to automate tasks like contract renewal dates.)
When you invest in Business Practice Bootcamp, you’ll get seven detailed modules. Each one breaks down what you need to do. It’s all thorough, practical, and proven.
Along with these seven modules, I’m including 3 bonus modules that I feel are essential to providing general business counsel in today’s digital marketplace. (This training will very quickly position you as an irreplaceable member of your client’s team.)
Plus you’ll receive…
…and much more, including this suite of bonuses Alexis has requested I include for you because they will catalyze your success.
Create Your Hook: Vital tools and tactics to help you define the position you’ll dominate in your market, so your skill shines through, your important differences are understood, and you break away from the competitive crowd.
Perpetual Marketing Machine: Helps you easily create a steady stream of hot prospects, and stay in front of the ones who need warming up. Also includes Alexis’ entire Client Attraction Course (a double bonus).
The Money Map: So you can develop complete clarity on how to create and price packages that can meet — and even exceed — the financial goals of your practice.
Live Law Business Coaching: In addition to our monthly group coaching calls, you’ll receive 6 months of live group coaching with Alexis who is brilliant at lasering in on your marketing and client engagement challenges (and how to fix them.)
For lawyers who have been practicing business law for years, there are valuable new nuggets, ranging from automation to packaging. For lawyers just starting out, there is a thorough, detailed, step-by-step system to follow.
And the system can deliver results quickly.
A lot of things in our legal world crawl along at an excruciatingly slow pace. This isn’t one of them.
Getting that first business client doesn’t have to be an ordeal. I’m giving you the exact framework to hand to a prospective new client to approve for an annual agreement.
It’s all mapped out for you, so you can start to bring in recurring monthly revenue immediately. I have deliberately designed the Business Practice Bootcamp to deliver immediate results. The step-by-step system is 100% riveted on creating profitable clients now, and expanding the relationship to provide for years of work to come.
Business Practice Bootcamp retails for $4,997. But because you are in on the ground floor, because you’re present for the official launch, I am giving you a 50% discount.
In return for this savings of $2,498.50, I am asking you for two things. Your feedback along the way, as you use the system, and for your feedback at the end.
I know that for some of you, an investment of $2,498.50 might be a bit of a jolt to the cash flow. That’s why, aside from the single payment, you have two choices.
You can make 4 payments of $687 or two payments of $1311.
This offer expires Monday, November 24th.
Please act now, and please keep in mind that the Business Practice Bootcamp is much more than a “how to” for making the transition from billable hours to recurring revenue.
And let’s not forget about the No-Fail Guarantee.
This is why you have my personal, no-fail guarantee. I will make sure you have access to me, that you can always ask questions, troubleshoot, fine tune, and perfect your systems.
We will do regular monthly calls, and you will have private access to a Business Practice Bootcamp members’ area.
Think of me as a seasoned, committed member of your team, standing by, ready to answer your questions, provide clarification, encouragement, whatever it takes to make sure you succeed.
So please don’t worry about your modest investment. You’ll quickly see for yourself how modest it really is based on the amount of ongoing income you can generate.
That’s because you have the exact framework you need to turn your practice into what you’ve always wanted.
Please say YES to the Business Practice Bootcamp.
Even if you have a nagging suspicion that the time isn’t right, or that somehow, the transition from what you’re practicing now into business law will be difficult, please do not let this opportunity slip away.
The transition is not difficult. It is fulfilling. And because your calendar will open up, you can still devote some time to your legal passions, like consumer defense or child advocacy.
Remember, you are in a special position. You can save 50% on this investment because you are the first to look at the Business Practice Bootcamp.
Let’s get started. Please say yes. Please give me the opportunity to help you build the practice you want.
To Your Success,
Denise Gosnell
Law Business Mentor
“The Guidance You Need To Build The Practice You Want”
Either I had to change the way I ran my practice, or watch it run itself into the ground.
The Business Practice Bootcamp is for every lawyer who stands where I once stood… in a place where financial uncertainty, and the absence of satisfying work, is no longer acceptable.
I can’t wait to help you.