Profit First Step-by-Step
In episode 16 we learned the basics of the Profit First system of Mike Michaleowicz and now we will do a Profit First method deep dive helping business owners to do a mindet shift with how they are managing their total income. With these steps from the profit first formula, you’ll learn how to manage your money to create a healthy profitable business as a business owner.
One Time Setup
When you first start this specific type of money management, there are three steps to setting up the Profit First system and you only have to do it once.
Step #1
Set up five accounts.
You and/or your accountant will most likely have some resistance to this. You may be worried about:
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Cost
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Paperwork
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Excess Bookkeeping
Don’t worry about the cost because there are different ways you can get the fees waived.
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Some banks don’t have fees
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Some will waive the fees if you have a certain amount in the account
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Some will waive the fees if you use multiple services from...
Creating a Stellar Client Experience with Jarrod Upton
By creating a great client experience, your clients will become your best salespeople.
When clients are happy with their experience, they will on their own compliment you and your firm to all their friends. Not only that, when they hear about someone with a similar issue that they had, your name will be the first thing out of their mouth.
To accomplish that we need a well structured process for our clients, but how do we go about doing that?
Creating a Stellar Client Experience
There are five steps to take to make the perfect client experience.
1. Personal Conversation
- What brings them there?
- Did they work with an attorney before?
- What are their values?
- What are their concerns?
- What are their goals?
- What are their short term and long term outcomes they hope for?
2. Aligning Your Values
- You both should share similar core values.
- You want to work with someone who is on the same page as you.
3. Your History and Mission
- People resonate with stories.
- Being able to connect will...
Take Your Profit First
Is your firm struggling with cash? Are you not bringing home enough money?
If the answer is yes, then it’s time to implement the Profit First system (from the book Profit First by Mike Michalowicz).
Owner’s Pay v.s. Profit
Before we get into anything let’s define Owner’s Pay and Profit.
Owner’s Pay is your salary for working.
Profit is what the firm made after all expenses were paid.
The Problem
What is causing this cash problem?
The root of the problem is human nature.
Mike Michalowicz likes to call what we do “bank balanced accounting” and that is where we naturally look at our bank accounts each morning and one of three things will happen:
- The account is negative and now you have to get it to positive before you get a penalty.
- There is little money in the bank, so you try to get extra work so you can get the money you know you’ll need.
- There is plenty of cash and what happens next is called Parkinson’s Law.
Parkinson’s...
Good Debt - Does That Really Exist?
Our lives revolve around money and we don’t always make the right decisions about how to handle our money.
There was a time many years ago that I did not handle my money correctly and I went through bankruptcy. All my money was going to child support and religious school tuition (a part of the legalized divorce agreement), so to survive I took out loans. In the end I couldn’t pay them off and I couldn’t get more loans, so I went through bankruptcy.
There was no way I would allow that to happen again. I analyzed my situation and where I went wrong, so I wouldn’t make the same mistake twice. I want to share my knowledge of debt with you, so that you won’t make the same mistakes I did.
What makes debt bad?
- Affordability. If you can’t afford to pay off your debt.
- It shortens the decision cycle. It allows you to make the decision to purchase something much faster, not giving you the proper amount of time you normally would have taken to think the...
Law Firm Finances Simplified
Do your taxes pile up to impossible numbers? Are you not taking home the amount of money you should be?
Why is that?
There are a lot of things that contribute to this, for example:
- Your top line number
- Revenue v.s. Profit
- Taxes
- Bank balance
- Cash Flow
- Accounts receivable
- Contingency cases
- Bookkeeping software v.s. Spreadsheet
Your Top line Number
Everyone has a top line number they want their firm to achieve. You’ll aim for that number, but that number on its own is irrelevant. You have all your expenses you need to take into consideration.
Revenue v.s. Profit
The difference between these two is that
Revenue = the amount of money you make before any expenses
Profit = the money you take home after all expenses are paid
So, the revenue number (like your top line number) is irrelevant. All it means is that you’re getting clients. If you’re expenses are twice the amount of your revenue, then that’s a problem.
What you need to be looking at is your...
Marketing Basics - Where Do I Start?
It’s important to understand marketing before you start marketing or getting someone else to market for your firm.
We’re going to get into the very basics and work our way through the different concepts of marketing.
What is marketing?
Marketing is the progression of a prospect on the journey from unaware to a promoter.
These are the steps the prospect will take on their journey:
- Aware - when they first discover you/your firm and that there is a solution to their problem
- Engage - they can engage by going to your website, calling you, etc.
- Subscribe - subscribe to your email list or a different offer you have out there
- Convert - they become a customer by exchanging value. That could be paying for the initial consultation or it could be they give you their contact information in exchange for knowledge (like a workshop)
- Excite - get them excited about the promise you’re giving them
- Ascend - once their happy with you and what you can provide them they...
Marketing Strategy That Gets Law Firms More Clients with Christopher Small
Are you working tirelessly for hours on end?
Well guess what? You don’t have to.
We interviewed Chris Small, a SUCCESSFUL law firm owner who ONLY works 25 hours a week for his firm.
That can be you because we are going to share his marketing strategy with you right now.
Chris Using SEO
Christopher Small used to use SEO, but that doesn’t work anymore. Now he uses what he calls “Longtail SEO”. Which means he creates a lot of content to put out there. He does a Facebook live video every day and then turns it into a video, podcast, blog post, and transcript.
Also, when creating the content he tries to do it in answer to a question someone might be typing into Google. This way, he can provide excellent service to people.
Moshe has a similar strategy as well. When someone reaches out concerns to you, think about what their first question would be. Now handle that question in a blog post and create it to be an ad. People are more likely to click on an...
Thatā€™s Not Ethical
Who said that, that wasn’t ethical?
I’ve found that many law firm owners shy away from certain business practices, claiming that they are unethical. Now, there may be some nuances that aren’t allowed, but most of the time that is untrue. Most of these business practices are perfectly fine to do.
Ethics are definitely not something to mess with, but there are many things that people think are unethical that are simply just not true. Here are four examples of common misunderstandings when it comes to ethics:
(It could be that some states have laws against these practices or certain aspects of them, so make sure to double check the ethical guidelines, but don’t assume that they’re not allowed)
- Contacting past clients to either sell them another service or to get referrals. There is nothing wrong with trying to provide you services to other people that may need them
- Asking for information on your website in exchange for information or a free...
When to Say Yes - The Ultimate Decision Matrix
When you are being marketed to, it can be quite convincing to get that product/solution. How do you know if it’s something that is worth your time and money? You can’t say yes to it all, so how do you make sure you are saying yes to the right things, the things that will improve your business while costing less money and being less time-consuming?
First, you have to understand the different types of marketing and how they affect you. There are two types of marketing:
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Response Marketing is when you are looking for a certain product or solution to a problem you know you have. So, you give over your information and in return you are now marketed to. You look for response marketing and are happy when you are given materials and offers on what you were looking for.
2. Interruption Based Marketing is when you are unaware of a problem matrix or that this particular solution existed and you are interrupted and made aware of a problem you have or given a solution you...
It's Never Too Late To Become A Law Firm Owner with Neil Tyra
Both Neil and Moshe have had multiple careers and they manage to balance work, family, and other activities they enjoy. How do they do it? Where do they manage to get the time? Continue reading to find out the different ways you can create more time for yourself. (All resource links are located at the bottom)
Mindset
Your mind has a lot of control over whether you’re successful or not. When you are positive and you put your mind to something you can be successful in anything you set out to do.
“Even if you fail, you’re going to fail forward. If you don’t do it, you’re going to fail by not doing it” - Moshe
Saying No
You don’t have to say “yes” to everything. Save your “yes”s for the things you actually want to do. Saying “no” doesn’t mean you’re losing out. On the contrary, you’ll be creating new opportunities for yourself, to do the things you truly want to do.
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Author
Moshe Amsel
Author
Moshe Amsel the host of the Profit with Law podcast is not an attorney. As the owner of a successful accounting firm DreamBuilder Financial and Law Firm Growth coaching organization Profit with Law, Moshe has proven that there are better and different ways for a law firm to do business and be successful.
