April 23, 2024 • 15 mins
The principles of building a successful law firm are simple and predictable. Yet many law firm owners believe success is "for someone else." Not true.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
RJon Robins (00:00):
The biggest challenge we have in helping someone go from 0
to 7 figures in 36 months, 48 months,it's all it really should take.
The biggest challenge we've got isthat you don't believe it's possible.
And when you see it comingtogether, you screw it up.
(00:25):
Because you don't believe it's possible.
If you walked out of here and steppedonto the staircase, but you didn't
believe the stairs would support yourweight and lead you safely to the ground.
You'd find a way not togo on those stairs, right?
Karli Royer (00:42):
You're listening to the Profit First for Lawyers podcast, the
official companion show to the bookProfit First for Lawyers by RJon Robins.
Now this podcast is for you if you wantto bring home more profit, while working
less hours in the office, spendingmore time with your loved ones doing
the things you actually want to do.
And turning your office into a lean,mean, profit-breathing machine.
(01:05):
So if you're tired of working for yourlaw firm, instead of your law firm
working for you, stay tuned for somereally practical insights that will get
you the results you've always wanted.
It's time to put your B.S.
aside for the next few minutesand put yourself, your family,
your firm, and your Profit First.
(01:28):
Welcome back to another episode ofthe Profit First for Lawyers podcast.
I'm your host Karli.
And today we're talking about oneof the things you're most talented
at, and which brings value to yourclients, but how bringing that skill
into your business plan may end uphaving the exact opposite effect.
You may remember a few episodes backthat we spoke with Erika Ferenczi,
(01:50):
who shared with us the best wayto create your business plan and
how to bring the seven main partsof your business into alignment.
Now, if you didn't have a chance to listento that episode, we've got it linked
in our show notes below just for you.
But today, we really wanted to distillthe concept of the seven main parts
of every law firm, because as lawyers,you are some of the most educated
(02:13):
and smart people in the world.
But one of the pitfalls of mostlawyers that I've ever met, and
one of the pitfalls that RJon oftenspeaks about, is the tendency to
overcomplicate things in your businesses.
Now, Erika mentioned this brieflywhen she talked about the different
hats that she literally asks law firmowners to buy, because your lawyer
(02:33):
brain has a very different skillset than your business owner brain.
And until you really appreciate thedifferences between the two, you
might be struggling with a tendencyto "lawyer-ify" your business plans.
And RJon is about to tell youexactly why that just doesn't work.
Now, this is a clip from all the wayback in 2014 at one of How To MANAGE's
(02:56):
now famous Live Quarterly Meetings, orLQMs, and if you're watching on YouTube,
you're going to notice that the roomis a little smaller than we're used to.
RJon's hair is a little darker,but the content he's speaking about
really stands the test of time.
This is still something thatwe teach our own members a full
decade later, and it has its owndedicated chapter in RJon's book.
(03:20):
So without any furtherado, let's roll the clip.
RJon Robins (03:24):
There are only seven main parts of a successful business.
For the rest of this weekend, Iwant to ask you to refrain from
referring to yourself as a lawyer.
Refrain from sayingthat you're an attorney.
(03:45):
Refrain from saying thatyou have a law firm.
Because that's not what we're here about.
We're here to turn you intosuccessful business owners.
So when someone asks what you do,you can say, "I'm a business owner."
You can say, "I'm an entrepreneur."
Which are both true statements.
And if someone says, "Well, whatkind of business do you have?"
(04:06):
You can say, "I have a businessthat sells legal services."
"I have a business thatdoes these things."
"I have a business that helps buildAmerica one immigrant at a time."
"I have a business that helps peopleget out of unhappy relationships so
they can get on with having a new life."
(04:28):
"I have a business that helps people."
And from now on, I want you to thinkof yourself as business owners.
As entrepreneurs who own businesses thatmake a profit as a by-product, because
your business is helping your clientsto make a profit in their lives too.
(04:50):
We're going to be talking a lot about, thedifferent stakeholders in your business.
You are obviously a majorstakeholder in your business.
Your investors, i.e.
your family, who have invested theirtime, their money, their energy.
Listening to you bitch andcomplain is an investment.
(05:10):
If you doubt me, talk to my wife.
Your family is invested in your business.
They want to know your businessis going to make a profit for you,
of course.
They want to know your business isgoing to make a profit for them.
We're sacrificing this timewith you on the weekends.
We're sacrificing this timewith you in the evenings.
(05:31):
We're sacrificing this time with you.
And we're doing this with theexpectation that it's going to
make our lives together better.
Not just more money, but we're doing thiswith the expectation that you're going to
be a happier husband or a happier wife ora happier sister, brother, mother, father.
(05:53):
They're expecting to make areturn on that investment that
they are making in your business.
And I think you owe it to them.
Because that's what we do.
We make a return oninvestment to our investors.
Give them a profit.
Your clients are coming to you becausethey want to make a profit also.
(06:15):
Your clients are coming to youbecause right now they have
a situation they don't want.
It could be a situation wherethey're facing something bad, that
they don't want to suffer from.
It could be a situation that's potentiallygood, but they're frustrated because
they don't know how to capitalize on it.
In any case, they have a situationthey don't want to be in, and they're
(06:40):
coming to you because they're hopingthat your service, your product, the
experience you will deliver to them.
They're hoping that that will givethem a way to improve their situation.
And anytime you exchange a situationthat you don't want to be in for a
(07:01):
situation you prefer to be in, whatyou've just done is you've made a...?
A profit, right?
That's all that profit is.
By the way, if you're notmaking a lot of mistakes in your
business, I know two things.
I know that you probably takepride in the wrong things and I
(07:24):
know your business has stagnated.
Because if you do ten things,eight of them are probably not
going to be the right decision,after it's all said and done.
You'll probably have to make eightmistakes to get two that aren't mistakes.
And the one of those two will be okay.
And the other will be so successful thateveryone will think that is your shining
(07:48):
achievement and that you're a genius.
And they will forget about theeight boo-boos from before.
Karli Royer (07:56):
Hey folks, we have a really great free resource for you if you're
ready to start doing this exercise.
So head toProfitFirstForLawyers.com/action to
download our business plan workbookand start taking action on this.
Right now, today.
RJon Robins (08:13):
The seven main parts are as follows.
There's the marketing,which leads to the sales.
Sales leads to the factory.
Factory leads to the people.
People leads to the physical plant.
And the physical plant leadsto the money and the metrics.
(08:35):
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.
Where's number 7?
Number 7 is you.
To appreciate that, you got tounderstand that this is a two dimensional
image of a seven-figure business.
(08:58):
In point of fact, this isa more realistic version.
This is like a map.
A map of the city, orthe county, or the world.
Its two dimensional.
What's more accurate than amap, a two dimensional map,
of course, is a globe, right?
So this is like the equivalent of a globe.
There's the marketing.
(09:19):
Which leads to the sales.
Which leads to the factory.
Which leads to the people.
Which leads to the physical plant.
Which leads to the money and the metrics.
Which of course drivesyour marketing decision.
(09:39):
And in the middle of thiswhole thing is the wild card.
In the middle of this whole thingis the reason this doesn't work.
It's you.
Karli Royer (09:55):
"Me?"
"I'm the reason?"
Now hold on folks, it gets even better.
RJon Robins (10:02):
See the biggest challenge we have in helping someone go from 0
to 7 figures in 36 months, 48 months,that's all it really should take.
The biggest challenge we've got isthat, you don't believe it's possible.
And when you see it comingtogether, you screw it up.
(10:27):
Because you don't believe it's possible.
If you walked out of here and steppedonto the staircase, but you didn't believe
the stairs would support your weight andlead you safely to the ground, you'd find
a way not to go on those stairs, right?
Because the marketing is very predictable.
(10:48):
It's fairly mechanical.
But the problem is you're goingto say, 'Well, that couldn't
possibly be all there is to it.'
'It's gotta be morecomplicated!' But it doesn't.
And I'm going to show you everythingyou need to know about sales to
build a million dollar business.
(11:10):
But the problem is youdon't believe that's true.
You don't believe this possible.
You think 'It's gotta be morecomplicated!' 'It's got to be because,
the people with a million dollar businesshave better connections than me.'
'That's it.'
'It's gotta be that the peoplewith a million dollar business are
extroverts and I'm an introvert.'
(11:31):
'That's it.'
'It's gotta be that they're taller.'
'No, no, no.'
'Tall people are intimidating.'
'So it's gotta be that they're shorter.'
'No.'
'Uh, it's gotta be thatthey're better looking.'
'Cause I read somewhere that betterlooking people have some sort of an
advantage in certain situations.'
'Except that we got people who aren't thatgood looking who make a lot of money.'
(11:54):
And what happens is your mind, remember Italked about what keeps people stuck here?
I said what keeps people stuck here is thebelief that it's okay to be stuck here.
What causes people to mess up themarketing, and mess up the sales, and
mess up the factory, and mess up theirrelationships with their people who they
have working with them, and mess up theirphysical plant, and either fail to install
(12:20):
appropriate metrics or ignore the numberswhen the numbers are screaming at them,
'Hire someone!'
'Hire someone!'
'Hire someone!'
'Go take a class!'
'Learn how to do this!'
'Get a better office!'
'Get a bigger office!'
What causes people to ignore thosemetrics is they don't believe that the
(12:41):
ultimate effect is actually possible.
I'm looking at your faces.
I wish you could see what I'mseeing because I know who the
seven figure business owners inthe room are, and they're all
laughing and nodding their heads.
And they're not laughing at you.
(13:03):
I promise you.
We are not laughing at you.
We're laughing at ourselves because we'rethinking about how many years, they're
like nodding in unison at this point.
We're laughing at ourselves because werealize how silly it was, how much harder
we made everything than it had to be.
That's why it's so importantto do these exercises.
(13:25):
That's why it's so important toimmerse yourself in this community.
Karli Royer (13:30):
If your law firm has plateaued, or if you've been struggling
to grow or to scale or even justto make a profit, then this episode
should get you really excited.
Because running a law firm really isas simple as this when we boil it down.
And that's why theseconcepts still work today.
They have been proven.
(13:51):
We work with hundreds of law firm ownerswho are thriving, and you can be too.
Now look, I don't normally say this in thecourse of these episodes, but I really do
hope that you've been taking advantage ofthe free resources that I've been curating
for you personally throughout this season.
Please do the exercises.
Create your business plan.
(14:12):
Simplify, simplify, simplify.
And grab on with both hands to the betterlife that you've always dreamed of.
And that's what we'vegot for you today, folks.
Stay tuned next time as we speak with CMOBrian Horn and learn some of the tips and
tricks that his clients have been usingto substantially grow their client base.
(14:32):
We'll see you there.
Thank you for joining us on anotherepisode of Profit First for Lawyers.
If you're enjoying whatyou're hearing, tell a friend.
And visit ProfitFirstForLawyers.com/actionto download the resources that
are going to help you put theseconcepts to work for your law firm.
Your future self will thank you forit, and we will see you next time.
The biggest challenge we have in helping someone go from 0
to 7 figures in 36 months, 48 months,it's all it really should take.
The biggest challenge we've got isthat you don't believe it's possible.
And when you see it comingtogether, you screw it up.
(00:25):
Because you don't believe it's possible.
If you walked out of here and steppedonto the staircase, but you didn't
believe the stairs would support yourweight and lead you safely to the ground.
You'd find a way not togo on those stairs, right?
Karli Royer (00:42):
You're listening to the Profit First for Lawyers podcast, the
official companion show to the bookProfit First for Lawyers by RJon Robins.
Now this podcast is for you if you wantto bring home more profit, while working
less hours in the office, spendingmore time with your loved ones doing
the things you actually want to do.
And turning your office into a lean,mean, profit-breathing machine.
(01:05):
So if you're tired of working for yourlaw firm, instead of your law firm
working for you, stay tuned for somereally practical insights that will get
you the results you've always wanted.
It's time to put your B.S.
aside for the next few minutesand put yourself, your family,
your firm, and your Profit First.
(01:28):
Welcome back to another episode ofthe Profit First for Lawyers podcast.
I'm your host Karli.
And today we're talking about oneof the things you're most talented
at, and which brings value to yourclients, but how bringing that skill
into your business plan may end uphaving the exact opposite effect.
You may remember a few episodes backthat we spoke with Erika Ferenczi,
(01:50):
who shared with us the best wayto create your business plan and
how to bring the seven main partsof your business into alignment.
Now, if you didn't have a chance to listento that episode, we've got it linked
in our show notes below just for you.
But today, we really wanted to distillthe concept of the seven main parts
of every law firm, because as lawyers,you are some of the most educated
(02:13):
and smart people in the world.
But one of the pitfalls of mostlawyers that I've ever met, and
one of the pitfalls that RJon oftenspeaks about, is the tendency to
overcomplicate things in your businesses.
Now, Erika mentioned this brieflywhen she talked about the different
hats that she literally asks law firmowners to buy, because your lawyer
(02:33):
brain has a very different skillset than your business owner brain.
And until you really appreciate thedifferences between the two, you
might be struggling with a tendencyto "lawyer-ify" your business plans.
And RJon is about to tell youexactly why that just doesn't work.
Now, this is a clip from all the wayback in 2014 at one of How To MANAGE's
(02:56):
now famous Live Quarterly Meetings, orLQMs, and if you're watching on YouTube,
you're going to notice that the roomis a little smaller than we're used to.
RJon's hair is a little darker,but the content he's speaking about
really stands the test of time.
This is still something thatwe teach our own members a full
decade later, and it has its owndedicated chapter in RJon's book.
(03:20):
So without any furtherado, let's roll the clip.
RJon Robins (03:24):
There are only seven main parts of a successful business.
For the rest of this weekend, Iwant to ask you to refrain from
referring to yourself as a lawyer.
Refrain from sayingthat you're an attorney.
(03:45):
Refrain from saying thatyou have a law firm.
Because that's not what we're here about.
We're here to turn you intosuccessful business owners.
So when someone asks what you do,you can say, "I'm a business owner."
You can say, "I'm an entrepreneur."
Which are both true statements.
And if someone says, "Well, whatkind of business do you have?"
(04:06):
You can say, "I have a businessthat sells legal services."
"I have a business thatdoes these things."
"I have a business that helps buildAmerica one immigrant at a time."
"I have a business that helps peopleget out of unhappy relationships so
they can get on with having a new life."
(04:28):
"I have a business that helps people."
And from now on, I want you to thinkof yourself as business owners.
As entrepreneurs who own businesses thatmake a profit as a by-product, because
your business is helping your clientsto make a profit in their lives too.
(04:50):
We're going to be talking a lot about, thedifferent stakeholders in your business.
You are obviously a majorstakeholder in your business.
Your investors, i.e.
your family, who have invested theirtime, their money, their energy.
Listening to you bitch andcomplain is an investment.
(05:10):
If you doubt me, talk to my wife.
Your family is invested in your business.
They want to know your businessis going to make a profit for you,
of course.
They want to know your business isgoing to make a profit for them.
We're sacrificing this timewith you on the weekends.
We're sacrificing this timewith you in the evenings.
(05:31):
We're sacrificing this time with you.
And we're doing this with theexpectation that it's going to
make our lives together better.
Not just more money, but we're doing thiswith the expectation that you're going to
be a happier husband or a happier wife ora happier sister, brother, mother, father.
(05:53):
They're expecting to make areturn on that investment that
they are making in your business.
And I think you owe it to them.
Because that's what we do.
We make a return oninvestment to our investors.
Give them a profit.
Your clients are coming to you becausethey want to make a profit also.
(06:15):
Your clients are coming to youbecause right now they have
a situation they don't want.
It could be a situation wherethey're facing something bad, that
they don't want to suffer from.
It could be a situation that's potentiallygood, but they're frustrated because
they don't know how to capitalize on it.
In any case, they have a situationthey don't want to be in, and they're
(06:40):
coming to you because they're hopingthat your service, your product, the
experience you will deliver to them.
They're hoping that that will givethem a way to improve their situation.
And anytime you exchange a situationthat you don't want to be in for a
(07:01):
situation you prefer to be in, whatyou've just done is you've made a...?
A profit, right?
That's all that profit is.
By the way, if you're notmaking a lot of mistakes in your
business, I know two things.
I know that you probably takepride in the wrong things and I
(07:24):
know your business has stagnated.
Because if you do ten things,eight of them are probably not
going to be the right decision,after it's all said and done.
You'll probably have to make eightmistakes to get two that aren't mistakes.
And the one of those two will be okay.
And the other will be so successful thateveryone will think that is your shining
(07:48):
achievement and that you're a genius.
And they will forget about theeight boo-boos from before.
Karli Royer (07:56):
Hey folks, we have a really great free resource for you if you're
ready to start doing this exercise.
So head toProfitFirstForLawyers.com/action to
download our business plan workbookand start taking action on this.
Right now, today.
RJon Robins (08:13):
The seven main parts are as follows.
There's the marketing,which leads to the sales.
Sales leads to the factory.
Factory leads to the people.
People leads to the physical plant.
And the physical plant leadsto the money and the metrics.
(08:35):
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.
Where's number 7?
Number 7 is you.
To appreciate that, you got tounderstand that this is a two dimensional
image of a seven-figure business.
(08:58):
In point of fact, this isa more realistic version.
This is like a map.
A map of the city, orthe county, or the world.
Its two dimensional.
What's more accurate than amap, a two dimensional map,
of course, is a globe, right?
So this is like the equivalent of a globe.
There's the marketing.
(09:19):
Which leads to the sales.
Which leads to the factory.
Which leads to the people.
Which leads to the physical plant.
Which leads to the money and the metrics.
Which of course drivesyour marketing decision.
(09:39):
And in the middle of thiswhole thing is the wild card.
In the middle of this whole thingis the reason this doesn't work.
It's you.
Karli Royer (09:55):
"Me?"
"I'm the reason?"
Now hold on folks, it gets even better.
RJon Robins (10:02):
See the biggest challenge we have in helping someone go from 0
to 7 figures in 36 months, 48 months,that's all it really should take.
The biggest challenge we've got isthat, you don't believe it's possible.
And when you see it comingtogether, you screw it up.
(10:27):
Because you don't believe it's possible.
If you walked out of here and steppedonto the staircase, but you didn't believe
the stairs would support your weight andlead you safely to the ground, you'd find
a way not to go on those stairs, right?
Because the marketing is very predictable.
(10:48):
It's fairly mechanical.
But the problem is you're goingto say, 'Well, that couldn't
possibly be all there is to it.'
'It's gotta be morecomplicated!' But it doesn't.
And I'm going to show you everythingyou need to know about sales to
build a million dollar business.
(11:10):
But the problem is youdon't believe that's true.
You don't believe this possible.
You think 'It's gotta be morecomplicated!' 'It's got to be because,
the people with a million dollar businesshave better connections than me.'
'That's it.'
'It's gotta be that the peoplewith a million dollar business are
extroverts and I'm an introvert.'
(11:31):
'That's it.'
'It's gotta be that they're taller.'
'No, no, no.'
'Tall people are intimidating.'
'So it's gotta be that they're shorter.'
'No.'
'Uh, it's gotta be thatthey're better looking.'
'Cause I read somewhere that betterlooking people have some sort of an
advantage in certain situations.'
'Except that we got people who aren't thatgood looking who make a lot of money.'
(11:54):
And what happens is your mind, remember Italked about what keeps people stuck here?
I said what keeps people stuck here is thebelief that it's okay to be stuck here.
What causes people to mess up themarketing, and mess up the sales, and
mess up the factory, and mess up theirrelationships with their people who they
have working with them, and mess up theirphysical plant, and either fail to install
(12:20):
appropriate metrics or ignore the numberswhen the numbers are screaming at them,
'Hire someone!'
'Hire someone!'
'Hire someone!'
'Go take a class!'
'Learn how to do this!'
'Get a better office!'
'Get a bigger office!'
What causes people to ignore thosemetrics is they don't believe that the
(12:41):
ultimate effect is actually possible.
I'm looking at your faces.
I wish you could see what I'mseeing because I know who the
seven figure business owners inthe room are, and they're all
laughing and nodding their heads.
And they're not laughing at you.
(13:03):
I promise you.
We are not laughing at you.
We're laughing at ourselves because we'rethinking about how many years, they're
like nodding in unison at this point.
We're laughing at ourselves because werealize how silly it was, how much harder
we made everything than it had to be.
That's why it's so importantto do these exercises.
(13:25):
That's why it's so important toimmerse yourself in this community.
Karli Royer (13:30):
If your law firm has plateaued, or if you've been struggling
to grow or to scale or even justto make a profit, then this episode
should get you really excited.
Because running a law firm really isas simple as this when we boil it down.
And that's why theseconcepts still work today.
They have been proven.
(13:51):
We work with hundreds of law firm ownerswho are thriving, and you can be too.
Now look, I don't normally say this in thecourse of these episodes, but I really do
hope that you've been taking advantage ofthe free resources that I've been curating
for you personally throughout this season.
Please do the exercises.
Create your business plan.
(14:12):
Simplify, simplify, simplify.
And grab on with both hands to the betterlife that you've always dreamed of.
And that's what we'vegot for you today, folks.
Stay tuned next time as we speak with CMOBrian Horn and learn some of the tips and
tricks that his clients have been usingto substantially grow their client base.
(14:32):
We'll see you there.
Thank you for joining us on anotherepisode of Profit First for Lawyers.
If you're enjoying whatyou're hearing, tell a friend.
And visit ProfitFirstForLawyers.com/actionto download the resources that
are going to help you put theseconcepts to work for your law firm.
Your future self will thank you forit, and we will see you next time.
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