Is a successful independent or freelance paralegal business in your future?
It’s not easy to run a successful small business and most take a few years to be profitable. You probably know the facts more than 50% of all small businesses fail. Is it possible to run a successful independent or freelance paralegal business, obtain clients and survive the opposition from the attorneys. Can it be done successfully? I think it can and have proof. In addition to my own business which is now 17 years old in Alameda, California, I have helped other paralegals be successful in this endeavor.
Take Alice, for example. Alice was one of the first providers to join our Divorce With Dignity Network. Alice had 20 years of paralegal experience and had even had her own independent paralegal business in the late 90’s but was unable to make a living, so she went back to working for attorneys. When she came to us, she had been laid off from a family law firm, and was tired of being at the beck and call of attorneys who really did not appreciate her dedication, knowledge and ethics. So Alice decided that she would once again open her own independent paralegal business, but this time she would try it under our umbrella.
Alice joined our organization and with our coaching opened an office in a major city. She did all the legwork but we were there to advise her on location, costs, etc., as one of the worse financial decisions you can make it to open a big office and spend a lot of money without any clients. We worked closely with Alice and developed her business and marketing plans, a pricing strategy, web presence and then she was ready to go!
We encouraged her to find a networking organization and commit to being totally involved in that organization as a way of getting referrals for her business. She decided to join a BNI in her area, and was devoting almost one day a week to building referrals through that organization. And now she has moved on to join an E-women group closer to her office.
Alice will celebrate her third year anniversary of opening her office this fall, and, she is getting very close to meeting her goals. In addition, she really enjoys the independence this gives her to make her own hours and spend quality time with her family. Her revenue for this year is about triple her first year, and she is starting to build her referral business and a list of clients for whom she has helped through a very difficult situation.
She finds this totally different from when she did it on her own as that’s when she operated from a home office and only helped clients with no property and no children. She now knows that she is able to help all sorts of clients, and if they are not in agreement, she has developed a quality list of referrals to help her clients.
Have you been considering opening your own Independent Paralegal business? Go for it—do it now—the climate is ripe to do this. You can then start to enjoy the independence that having your own business affords you—both personally and financially. It does take time to build your business, but if you really focus and stay committed, you can do it. And if you need help, we would love to help you.
