Choose one character to bully

‘So it’s settled. We head north.’ Her hand resting lightly on the pommel of her sword, Saltar looked at each of her companions in turn. Pheos returned her gaze coolly, sparks of shadow flickering around his gloved hands. Gramble shrugged and hefted his axe from one compact, muscled shoulder to the other. ‘No objections?’ said Saltar. ‘Then we ride as soon as...’ She hesitated. ‘Where’s Dingleton?’

‘Curse him!’ muttered Gramble, looking around. ‘Stupid wretched creature.’ Pheos smiled archly.

‘I believe our diminutive friend is currently relieving himself,’ he said, nodding towards a nearby bush.

‘Sorry!’ said the bush. ‘Sorry! Hang on, I’m just...’ The bush rustled and Dingleton fell out, his trousers round his ankles. ‘Wooaah!’ He tumbled head over heels down the muddy slope, his hands stuck in his belt as he tried desperately to pull his pants up.

‘Dingleton!’ snapped Saltar. ‘Get up. We’re heading north. Where did you tie up the horses?’

‘Tie up?’ said Dingleton, a baffled expression on his face. ‘They were... um...’

‘I’ll murder him!’ yelled Gramble, gripping his axe. Saltar sighed.

‘At least tell me you picked up the bag with the holy amulet in,’ she said.

‘The thing about that...’ Dingleton began, before losing his balance and falling flat on his face.

‘Why is he here again?’ hissed Pheos.

‘I don’t know,’ Dingleton moaned quietly to himself. ‘I really don’t know. I’m not equipped for this. It seems cruel even to have brought me. When you think about it...’ Whatever he had been about to say, it was muffled by the bird faeces that fell directly into his mouth at that exact moment.

Wise Words about Passion in Writing

One of my students alerted me to this excellent NPR review of Stanley Fish's new book, How to Write a Sentence.  But even more fun is the excerpt from the book, which is below the review.

I'm posting the link here (click on the words "NPR review" above), to share with you one writer's passion for writing.  It inspired me to read it, and I hope it'll ignite your own passion for your words, sentences, paragraphs, and pages.  So for this week's exercise, enjoy this excerpt from How to Write a Sentence.  Maybe go out and buy or borrow the book.

Then spend some time reflecting on your passion for words.

Do you swim in the joy of them, as this writer does?
Why or why not?

Secrets of Style: French Chic

If you need some real-life French inspiration, take a few minutes to play this video. French women are born with it. The rest of us need a little assistance.

Cue Marjorie...

Starting a Law Firm | Taxes

This is going to be a short post today, mainly because I can't think of much to write about. But, since tax season is fast approaching, I thought I'd tell you a little bit about what I do along those lines. Here's a hint - not much.

When you are starting a law firm there are two things that you can be pretty sure of. First, you aren't going to be making a ton of money your first year. Second, especially if it's just you, there are going to be basically two line items, income and expenses. Amortization, depreciation, and capital expenditures probably aren't going to be entering the mix much.

So why make it more complicated than it needs to be? For me,up until this year (2011) I didn't even use quickbooks. I just had a spreadsheet. When money came in I noted it. When I paid a bill or incurred an expense I noted it. Then at the end of the year I added it all up and figured out what my tax liabilities were (if any). And there weren't many.

I haven't done my taxes for 2010 yet, but I must admit I'm a little bit nervous. I made a little bit of money ($45,000 or so - net) so I know I need to be paying some tax on that. But I don't know exactly how much. That's what's making me nervous. I could end up owing some decent money, which is going to be painful to part with.

This year, in hopes of lessening that burden, I'm putting money away every month into a money market account. I'll make a little bit of cash on it and then have it available when it's time to pay Uncle Sam. Better that than to reach the end of the line and realize I don't have enough to foot the bill.

What are your tax strategies? When do you think it's time to hire on a CPA to help you out? For me, that's probably coming up soon. But the thought of it's a little scary.

Have a great weekend.

How to Seduce

Yesterday I had a hair appointment to keep. In the almost three hours I was there (I know) I read a lot of magazines. Thankfully they had plenty of new Australian Vogues and Marie Claires. One magazine, Grazia, had a great article on -

How to Seduce a Man

Well, I had to take notes. All the suggestions were so good, I thought they would benefit me in day-to-day life and also, even though I am already married, with my husband. You see, they aren’t all just about seduction, but how to be attractive generally. I really love articles like that.

I wrote down the headings, and now I’m going to remember, paraphrase and add my own notes.

Wear red. This colour makes you more attractive to men. I too often notice how nice a woman looks when they wear red. It makes your skin look a little flushed perhaps, in a good way. Whatever colour you wear (on your top half at least), picks up the colour on your face. That’s why pinks and peaches are so flattering as well, and perhaps could be a less intense option for a top. And why black is not ideal, even though we all love wearing it – it picks up black circles under the eyes!

Show 40% of skin. I think this was aimed more at dressing up for an evening out. 40% is the ideal amount. Anything less and you risk sinking into dowdy territory, any more and you will end up seducing your man in a less chic way, and showing yourself off as being very available. It probably would work for daytime too. A French women is famous for showcasing just one part of herself, whether it's great legs, toned arms or a silky-smooth decolletage. If every single part is covered up you wouldn't really notice, but imagine a women in well-fitted jeans and slender-cut t-shirt, that when she turns around shows a back-revealing detail. Ooh la la.

Be well-rested. This article claimed that men were shown pictures of women from two groups – one group had plenty of sleep and one group had no sleep. Of course they chose the well-rested group as more attractive. I can’t argue with that. And for heavens sake don’t wear a black top on a day when you didn’t get enough sleep!

Smile 35 times an hour. Women who smiled every 1.7 minutes were considered more attractive than those who smiled less. Does that seem like a lot of smiling? I remember from my (second) wedding day I had sore cheeks the next day from smiling for photos and well-wishers. So perhaps a little less smiling than that. The charity shop near me has the most pinch-faced old bat behind the counter. Even when I am dropping off really nice donations she can’t force a smile out. I bought a book from there a few days ago and she handed me my book and change and I actually waited until she made eye contact with me and then smiled at her and waited for the return smile... it eventually came, a tight, miser-ish little smile. Geesh, they don't cost anything love. I feel a bit mean about 'making' her smile, but it was fun. And on the other side of the scale, people I've met who I often think 'aren't they just so nice' are the ones that smile, a lot.

Touch him subtly. When you’re talking to a man, whether it’s someone you met in a bar, your boyfriend or your husband, make a point to subtly touch him to make a point. Perhaps on the arm or shoulder. Not too much though, don't be one of those women (an over-toucher Seinfeld would probably call her). I think non-bedroom touching is very important in a relationship. A quick shoulder-rub going past your man when he's sitting down, a touch on the hand, quick kiss on the neck.

Wear a spicy-floral fragrance. Apparently you will appear 5kg / 10 pounds thinner. And who doesn’t want that? I was pleased to see that Chanel No. 5 has spicy components as well as powdery florals. There are many other spicy-florals that aren’t as heavy as straight out oriental perfumes. Dolce Vita I know is one, from my days at Dior, as is the original Dior Addict in the dark blue bottle. One of my husband’s friends used to give me a hug when he saw me and exclaim in raptures whenever I wore Dior Addict. After he met his wife, he did it a few times and then stopped. I think she had words with him that she'd rather he went into raptures over her instead. I don’t blame her!

Be charitable and a better person. Even if they don’t know it, men are always sizing up a potential female partner as the mother of his children. If he sees that you are a kind person he is likely to think more of you. I’ve read often that men want their women to be a better version of themselves. They put us up on a pedestal and look to us as the moral guider. That’s a tall ask I know. It also makes me try and be a better person. Again, in my observations of other women, isn’t it a not-nice shock to discover that someone you admired and thought to be lovely ended up being a bit sneaky or mean-spirited? I don’t want to be one of those women. I want my husband to think I am saint-like, heavenly and kind-hearted.

Talk to him with head slightly tilted forward. Something about looking up at him and being slightly submissive. It sounds quite hard to do without looking silly. What I do know though, when you see aggressive women on tv (likely in a reality show like Top Model) they talk with their head held back and up, and look arrogant and aggressive. They don’t exactly come across as feminine or even remotely likeable.

Wear a little makeup. Finally, the article says men may profess to like women a la naturale, with no makeup at all. The study shows another story though. The women with scrubbed clean faces were rated as less attractive as women who were very lightly made up. The key point was a contrast between features and skin. So mascara, lipstick, blush and defined brows are important. What I think it is that men don't like is makeup put on with a trowel and spider-leg eyelashes.

What would you add to this list? Care to refute anything? I would love to hear your comments. Wanting to be feminine and have men find you attractive is quite controversial in our modern Western society. But isn’t that what French women have been doing forever? I know it’s not for everyone, but for me, I love talking about all this girly stuff.

Include unnecessary linguistic redundancies of language

Kevin entered his PIN number into the ATM machine at a rapid rate of speed. He had a preplanned date arrangement with a female woman and didn’t want to be delayed by lateness. If he compared and contrasted Olivia with previous girlfriends he’d dated before, she was universally superior and better in every way.

‘Hurry quickly,’ he whispered under his breath, his hand advancing forward towards the cash slot where money would come out. He glanced at the LCD display, which was showing an advertising commercial. ‘I’m in too much of a rush to have time for this,’ he muttered. ‘You can keep your added bonus free gift.’

Finally at last, his cash money emerged into view and he grabbed it with his hand. Irregardless of this delay, the end result of his date arrangement would be a new beginning at this moment in time. Little did he know or realise, but his goals and objectives were about to be completely and utterly met in a way and manner it was impossible to over-exaggerate.

Marketing a Law Firm | Avvo.com, Social Media, "Networking" and You

Before I get too far into this post, I want to put it into context. I am not trying to be mean. I am not trying to be harsh. I am trying to give you the information you need to start and run a successful law firm. I'm not really that good at sugar coating things (ask my mom and my wife!), so I'm just going to give it to you straight.

I'm not going to say any names, but I met with another guy last night over beers who is venturing out to start his own law firm. He was a great guy, pretty fresh out of law school (though with a lot of legal experience considering), who, because of the present economic state of the country, doesn't have many job prospects.

We sat down to talk and I asked him what I always ask people when I first meet them to talk about this stuff: (1) what is your practice area; and (2) what plan do you have in place to be successful. He knew what his practice area was, which was a good thing, but when we started talking about what his plan was I got the same look I probably gave when my contracts professor asked me a question about anything - sheer terror.

And that's okay. Most of us don't have a plan when we set out, particularly when, like this guy's situation, the necessity of starting a law firm is thrust upon us. So I decided to break it down a little bit further and ask what is really the most important question you need to be able to answer to be successful - what are you doing to get clients?

Now, before I tell you what his answer is, if you are seriously considering opening a law firm, I want you to do me a favor - take five minutes, right now, and make a list of the things you can think of to get clients. And the ideas can be as crazy as you can make them. Okay, go.

Interlude - the Process

I wanted to make this exercise a little bit easier for you, so I'm trying to fill some space between the question and the answer. So we'll talk about something else for a minute, something that is law firm marketing related. The process.

When you aren't thinking and working to get new clients, you should be thinking and working on the processes your firm is going to have in place to handle clients once the phone starts ringing. The best way to do this is to put yourself in the shoes of the client, from the very beginning of the process.

It should go something like this: client has a problem; client seeks out help for that problem (this is where you need to be); client finds your website or hears about you; client is looking for specific information to determine if you know what you are doing and if they can trust you (provide that information); client decides they want to talk to you, how do they do that; client calls, how do you answer the phone?; are you setting a meeting?; what information do you need from them?; what do you do when you get off the phone?; and the list goes on and on. Each time you think you've got all the answers, break it down into smaller pieces.

And, as you are figuring all of this out, write it down. That way you don't forget, and when you hire people to help you (which you will because you'll be busy with clients) they can hit the ground running by just reading the law firm manual you've created.

Law Firm Marketing - the Plan

Okay, back to the original question. I asked the guy "what are you doing to get clients," and he gave the answer I bet a lot of you immediately thought of. He said, "I'm doing a lot of social media stuff, participating on avvo.com, I'm active in the solo/small firm section of the bar association, and I'm meeting with a ton of attorneys."

Oh boy.

I then asked the million dollar question - "getting any clients from this?" I already knew the answer.

Here's the thing about those three or four methods of "marketing." They make us feel really great, like we're really doing something. We're getting our name out there, we're answering people's questions, we are exchanging business cards. But the problem with that is that it's too easy. And generally, in business, when something is easy, it's ineffective. And easy and cheap, which all of those are, drops the effectiveness down to near zero.

The problem with all of those marketing ideas is that they don't do what marketing is meant to do - put you in front of your target client. All of your marketing efforts should be funneling people that need your business your way.

So, what is my suggestion? Here it is. Stop posting on avvo. Keep your profile and try to get your clients to review you. When you do something good, post it on your profile (when people google you, and they will, they can find out what a great lawyer you are). But other than that, stay away.

Have a facebook page for your business and try to get everyone you know to like your page. Don't expect to get new clients directly from it, but use it as a way to keep your former clients and friends informed about what is going on with your firm and to "remind" people what you do. The best thing that can happen from keeping up a facebook page is someone who likes it is sitting around the water cooler with a friend who talks about a problem they have that you can fix. They just saw your page, so you're top of mind, and they tell that friend to call you.

Networking events. Don't use these for business generation, at least for immediate business generation. Use these events as an opportunity to have a great time and get to know others in your community. Tell people what you do but then learn about them. Networking is all about building long term relationships. They do result in referrals, but months and years down the road after you've built up trust with people you've met.

So, what should you do? Easy. Take some time, sit down, and think of some ways that you can get in front of clients. I know one great place most people go for legal services - the internet. Figure out how to get seen on the internet and start working at it. Like I told the guy I met yesterday, anyone can do it, but it takes a lot of hard work. But that should be okay, because that's what's going to separate you from everyone else.

Another idea - hold a seminar. Invite your friends and talk about what you do in an interesting way. I've given presentations on how to deal with the cops. I put some funny videos in, tell them about myself, and answer questions afterward. Get everyone's contact information at the presentation, and then tell them you'll be giving another one in two months and if they know anyone that might appreciate it they should let them know about it.

Getting clients is only hard because we feel safe doing what everyone else does. Branch out, be creative, and do what other people aren't. Next thing you know, the clients will be rolling in.

The ending should have a twist... or should it?

Sarah sank into an armchair and let out a satisfied sigh. It was good to be home. As remarkable as it seemed, the house was just as she’d left it, all those weeks ago. Or if there were differences, they were small things – a layer of dust on the furniture, a pile of unopened letters in the hallway, the gentle click of a pistol being cocked. Wait, what?

‘Get down on the floor!’ screamed the masked gunman, kicking open the kitchen door. ‘Face down! Face down!’ Sarah hesitated for a moment.

‘Freddie?’ she said. ‘Freddie, is that you?’ The gunman froze.

‘No,’ he said.

‘What are you doing?’ asked Sarah. ‘I thought we were a team.’

‘We were,’ whispered Freddie. ‘But that was before...’ He reached up to his face and gripped his mask. Sarah braced herself. ‘Before...’ He pulled aside the fabric. Sarah couldn’t look. ‘Before this,’ he said, throwing the mask to the floor. ‘Look at me, Sarah. Look at what you’ve done to me.’ She slowly raised her eyes to his. A second passed. ‘You did this, Sarah,’ he said. ‘You gave me this big smile by being so lovely.’ Sarah grinned back at him.

‘You big silly,’ she said. ‘You had me worried there.’

‘Worried? He laughed. ‘What could there possibly be to worry about? It’s all safe again. We won, Sarah.’

‘I think you mean I won,’ said Sarah, turning into a werewolf which she had been all along and eating him.

Earthquake

Please keep New Zealand in your thoughts and prayers. A massive earthquake hit the Christchurch region today. There have been many aftershocks and earthquakes since the first big one in September last year but this is the most dreadful yet. Sadly people have lost their lives and the damage seems to be far worse.

Thank you so much to readers who emailed to see if I was ok. I live in the North Island so am not near the earthquake area. As far as I know, family I have down there are not hurt. Many others aren't so lucky though and it is heartbreaking to think of the lives of many that have been ripped apart, again, today.

It changes ones view from insular to global very quickly.

Gaining more energy

I started an outdoor fitness group last night. This unusual behaviour was prompted by a customer who is also a fitness trainer (he used to train me when I went to the gym, quite a few years ago). He now runs his own outdoor fitness company and invited me to join a ten-week programme, for free. He's such a great guy and said 'just come along, join in'. The class started a two minute walk from work, I had no excuses! So I did.

There were eleven other people in the group and we did all sorts of mad things. It took me almost 16 minutes to run up a mountain (as you do). I had to walk/run most of the way, but I still got there. It brought home to me just how unfit I am. Walking and yoga, as much as I love them, don't get your heart rate up.

I had a little bit of a headache at the top of the mountain, and had visions of me all burnt out and shaky like after a full-on aerobics workout, but I will just take it easy and know my limits.

The class is twice a week so I will be off again on Thursday. I'm so happy that I was offered the opportunity to try this class as I would never have gone looking for it on my own. It reminded me how much I enjoy running and exerting myself. It's such a pleasure to exercise outside too. I just can't get excited about being inside a gym, walking nowhere on a treadmill.

After my shower when I arrived home I was like a jellyfish. It felt so good. I slept the sleep of the dead too.

I've been feeling a bit lately like something is missing - and it is high energy. I've been so 'busy' wafting around being serene that I've not been that productive. I need to get busier at the shop and finish all my work projects and I need to be more organised with my time at home.

I've been keeping on top of things at home but my main stressor which I want to resolve is our small home-office. Usually it is reasonably tidy with my sewing machine and overlocker, a bookshelf with my French Chic folders, knitting and embroidery supplies, wrapping paper, ribbons and cards etc.

Then recently my grandmother-in-law went into a rest home (at 98, good effort!) and her home which she had lived in for seventy years was cleaned out. Because I am the only one in the family who is even faintly crafty, I have inherited all her knitting yarn, tapestry wool, vintage sewing and knitting patterns, fabrics, buttons and fascinating old sewing equipment.

It is all wonderful stuff, I feel so blessed to have it, and I have been sorting through it, putting like things together. Next I have to merge it with my 'stuff' and declutter at the same time. The poor little office is rather full right now.

One of my days off I want to pull everything out of the office (which could take over the entire living room it is attached to) and then put back in order, editing as I go. I will have to start this first thing in the morning if I want to finish by dinner time.

But for now, looking at fitting two more exercise classes into my schedule each week is testing my time management skills (and meal planning since we get home an hour later than normal). I am making sure being busy forces me to be more organised and motivated, rather than feeling awash, like I have been lately.

Get fixated on a particular reference point

Geoff craned his neck and looked up at the building.

‘Soon they’ll be everywhere,’ he muttered. ‘Pinkman and Grist Associates, sweeping across the financial district like Genghis Khan, destroying everything in their path.’

‘Not if we stop them,’ said Felicity, quietly. Geoff shook his head.

‘We’re like unarmed Chinese peasants,’ he said. ‘They’ll run us down on horseback.’

‘But the antitrust investigation...’ began Felicity.

‘Useless,’ Geoff interrupted. ‘Like a bamboo hut. They’ll lie to the regulators, they’ll lie to the courts, they’ll do whatever it takes and come out clutching the still-beating heart of the bonds market like a newborn Genghis Khan emerging from his mother’s womb clutching a bloodclot – a story which, whether apocryphal or not, indicates the high regard in which Genghis Khan’s capacity for bloodthirstiness was held by his people.’

‘I know,’ said Felicity. ‘That’s what you always say.’ She stared down at her shoes, made of the same kind of leather as Genghis Khan’s saddle would once have been. Geoff’s gaze was still on the skyscraper above them.

‘How tall would you say it is?’ he mused. ‘If you got two hundred Genghis Khans and stood them on each other’s shoulders...’

Writing Dialogue: How People Really Talk on the Page

A friend recently sent me this wonderful article, published in the Wall Street Journal's Wordcraft column, about how people really talk on the page.  I like this column, I'm more impressed with the WSJ since it began including it to its usual lineup.  The article is short, like all of the Wordcraft essays, but gives good food for thought.

So many writers in my classes have questions about how to write dialogue.  It truly takes
skill, and in my experience it also takes years of practice.  But the most important technique I've learned for writing good dialogue is an ability to listen between the lines.

In the WSJ article, the writer makes some good points about how written dialogue differs from spoken dialogue, how people on the page are more revealed by what's not said than what is.  The writer referred to a Hemingway short story to illustrate exactly how this is done.  The story is called "Hills Like White Elephants."

I perked up, reading this, because "Hills Like White Elephants" happens to be one of my favorite Hemingway stories.  I like Hemingway's writing; I've read almost everything he wrote.  I admire his sparseness even though it's far from my own style.  But this story is really brilliant in how it reveals, through what's not being said, the intense undercurrents that pass between people in struggle

A man and a woman are sitting in a cafe in a train station somewhere in Spain.  They are having drinks and waiting.  The woman remarks that the distant hills look like white elephants.  The dialogue is somewhat inane, if you just look at it line by line, but taken as a whole it reveals this huge subject that's not being discussed, a subject that's quite profound.  The man wants the woman to have an abortion.  She is resisting, and in that resistance is the whole of their relationship.  It's actually not about anything they're discussing.  It's about what can't be discussed--whether she is truly loved and whether he is seeing her beneath everything that is happening in their lives.  It's a situation that speaks of profound despair, in my mind.

But the dialogue.  That's the cool thing about studying this story.  You start to see the layers peel off as the dialogue moves along.  First layer is the obvious--they are ordering drinks, the drink tastes like anise, the hills are like elephants seen faintly through the trees.  Then there's the main topic--the abortion that the man is advocating.  But it's Hemingway's brilliance that brings in the third layer, which is the real meat of this tiny story.  What's not fixable about us humans, about people's twists and turns and their basic unhappiness with what they end up with. 

We won't ever get the brilliance of Hemingway in our books, perhaps.  But we can learn a lot from studying his dialogue.

So this week, if you're wanting to build your dialogue skills, try the exercise below.  Do it more than once, if you can.  It takes lots of practice to develop the listening ear, then the writing of dialogue.  Try to first hear, then scribe, the undercurrents.  Your dialogue will begin to explore what's not being said--and that's where the true literary conversations take place.

This Week's Writing Exercise
1.  Find a busy place to sit for a while with your writer's notebook and take notes.  Cafes are good.  Or bus stations or doctor's offices or airports.

2.  Eavesdrop.  Take notes on how people talk.  Write down all the jigs and jags of human speech.

3.  Pay attention to the rhythms you're hearing, how many times people interrupt or talk around the topic or use partial sentences.

4.  After an hour or so, or however much time you can spend, take what you've written and read it over.  Underline the best three lines, the ones that speak about something that not's being said.

5.  Using one of these, begin a freewrite for 20 minutes (no editing) for a scene from your book.  Write the overheard line of dialogue at the top of your page and start adding responses until you've crafted a conversation.

6.  Look it over.  Decide what's not being said (the subtext).  Is it a strong current under your characters' words?

A Poodle's Birthday

Our precious wee boy is fifteen today. Just for fun, we (I) decided to borrow Adrienne at The Rich Life (on a budget)'s family tradition. It involves treating the birthday doggie to a McD's hamburger. Here Atlas is on his way to the drive-thru. He alternates looking around (above) with napping (below).

His day started quite well too, with cold roast chicken from last night for breakfast. Roast chicken is his favourite, I'm pretty sure he would do anything for a plate.


First we check out the height restriction. Phew, he will fit under the 2.6 metre barrier, being roughly knee-height tall.


Atlas peruses the menu, even though he knows it's the tradition to have a plain hamburger. We saw the car in front of us's order on the screen. Wow, they spent $41.90. Our total was $2.00. They did have a whole family in the car though and we were only feeding a dog.

It sounds pretty bad when you put it like that. My man looked at me when we were ordering and said 'We are such sad people, going through the drive-thru for one hamburger. It must be their smallest order ever'. But he does what I say, and that's all you can ask of a good husband.


We checked if Atlas thought it smelled good. He did.


As a responsible(-ish) elderly-poodle caregiver I made the decision to remove the bread buns. I didn't want to choke him on his birthday (or any other day, really).


After a hesitant start (one of the few times when a McDonalds burger is actually hot, my husband noted), Atlas was off and scoffing.


Mere minutes later his birthday hamburger was just a distant memory, and a big drink of water was in order.


A typical teenage boy, Atlas walks off leaving his dishes, tripping on the wrapper on the way.


Happy Birthday little poodle! And thanks to Adrienne for a fun idea!

Can You Dress for Success?

This is a two part question that actually got me thinking after I read two separate blog posts (although to be specific it was one blog post that referenced another). The post was by the author of Simple Justice, a blog I think is fantastic (to translate fully, I'm suggesting you go take a look). It's a criminal defense blog, but it's more than that. Scott Greenfield, the author, discusses topics ranging from criminal defense to marketing to practicing law generally to a select group of individuals he describes as the "slackoise," which I might actually be a part of.

But I digress. The post I saw today was entitled "The Easy Answer: Change Clothes." Here's a quick recap before I give my two cents. Scott read a blog post by Susan Cartier Liebel, who runs Solo Marketing University (that, by the way, is not an endorsement - I don't anything about the business, how it's run, or if it's good). The gist of her post was that people are always judging you so it's better to be well dressed and presentable at all times - "Better they make a snap positive assessment" than a negative one.

That's all well and good, and the first point I'll talk about below. But Scott, as he is wont to do, takes the post a step further and discusses the story from a lawyering standpoint. His lesson from this story, which is the second point I'll talk about, only I'll bring it back to a starting a law firm perspective, is that we are communicators and persuaders. If you want to persuade you've got to know your audience and frame your presentation in a way that makes them understand what you are saying. His point is that it doesn't matter what you are wearing if you are just going to talk at someone or talk over them. If you aren't effectively communicating you have no chance of success.

Now that you have the background, here are my two cents to answer the question, "Can You Dress for Success?"

You Don't Get a Second Chance to Make a First Impression

This saying used to be a commercial for some type of beauty care product - soap, deodorant, or something like that. The idea behind the commercial was if you stink, people aren't going to like you. And that makes sense.

The same goes with being a lawyer. People have in their heads an idea of what an attorney is supposed to look like, what one is supposed to sound like, and how one is supposed to act. Going against those assumptions for the simple sake of being different, isn't going to help you get more clients. It's going to make people that meet you and are considering hiring you uncomfortable. You want to exceed client expectations not fail them.

Whether we want to believe it or not, we are being evaluated at all times on many different levels. Our looks are definitely one of those evaluation criteria. So why not control something you have complete control over and look your best? If I can instill an added sense of trust and competency with opposing counsel and the judge because I look nice, why wouldn't I do that? That's advocacy, whether you want to believe it or not.

My only point of disagreement with Susan's ideas relate to dressing well all the time. And I think Scott agrees with me a least a little because he tells a story about a guy that used to mow his lawn with a tie on. It's true that everyone out there may be a potential client for you - but it's also true that you are more than just a lawyer. You may be a rock climber or a golfer, a swimmer or a Harry Potter fanatic. Whatever it is, you may not always be able to wear a suit. And that's okay.

When people are meeting you as an attorney, they need to "see" you as an attorney. If I met someone at the grocery store on a Saturday and they were wearing a suit, unless they were coming from a funeral or worked at a hotel I'd think it was kind of weird. No one thinks you should be wearing a suit all the time. So don't.

The Art of Persuasion

If Susan's post was the frosting, Scott's is the cake. He delves a little bit deeper into the art of persuasion (which is our business and the business of running a law firm). Scott's post, however, feels like his viewpoint is not that of a marketer, but of a legal professional. And he's right and wrong.

His point is that being a lawyer is about sending and receiving (communication, in other words). If you are sending, but it's not being received correctly, then that's a you problem, not a them problem. You haven't tailored your message to sway the person you are talking to to adopt your point of view (or hire you).

While this is a critical skill as a lawyer when you are practicing law, it's also a critical skill when you are running a law firm. If you have an idea for the kind of message you want to present to the world about what your law firm stands for, then you need to make sure the signals you are sending are being received in a convincing manner.

What does that mean? In short, it means taking a step back, thinking about who your client really is, and then putting yourself in their shoes and finding out what it is they are looking from from a service provider like yourself. When you think you know what that is, assuming it's something you can provide, figure out how to demonstrate that your law firm has that ability and then go do that.

Sorry if this Post Sucks

I'm not proofreading this post and I'm not changing it, even though I feel like it's really disjointed. I'm just too lazy. Hopefully you can cut through my bad writing to see that there are two really good points in there: (1) that you need to dress nicely (not extravagantly, but your suit should fit you); and (2) that ultimately you are trying to be persuasive in many different ways - a nice suit won't make you persuasive, it takes really getting to know your audience and then crafting your message so they can allow themselves to believe you are right - and this is a marketing and practical lesson.

Have a great weekend! And, as always, if you have comments or questions, please let me know.

My Trip to Paris

In 2001 I went to Paris. I spent a mere two nights/three days there on the way to London, but I’m so happy I have actually been to Paris. I travelled with a female friend who was running the London marathon. She had planned on going by herself and was talking about the trip.

Someone then said ‘why don’t you go too Fiona?’ I was recently single after my first husband deserting me. I had just started a new job and was living in a new, much bigger city (by my choice, I didn’t want to be single in the small-ish town I grew up in). I shared a house with my sister and two other flatmates.

I had the money, I just didn’t know if I could get a month off work. Normally you have to work there for over a year to accrue three weeks, and I had only been there less than ten months. I’d never been to Europe though, and decided that if my boss would let me have the time off, I’d go.

He agreed! Somehow we worked out the extra days, maybe some were unpaid, or he carried them over to the next year.

Paris was our first stopover on the way to London, but funnily enough we flew into London and then onto Paris. From New Zealand it’s a long trip. It was almost a full 24 hours later than we arrived at Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris.

My travel companion is much more gung-ho, can-do and gutsy than I am, so rather than pay for a taxi, we hopped onto the train. Amazingly we got to our hotel alright, near the Paris Opera. We stayed in a gorgeous French decor hotel (Millennium Opera), with a tiny lift that the metal cage doors rattled shut.

Our hotel was on Boulevard Haussmann and very central, which meant that Galaries Lafayette, the famed department store was a mere stroll down the road. My travel companion wore knit track-pants, a sweatshirt, running shoes and a bumbag. Oh dear. We weren’t very close friends - my sister had rented a room in her house and that’s how I knew her. In Paris I dressed up more than on any other stop on my trip.

On the first day I suggested we sightsee separately, saying to her that she would be bored with all the shopping I planned to do (she wasn’t a very girly girl and shopping was low on her agenda). Even though I love nice things, I didn’t plan to do much shopping at all, but I did plan to soak up the Paris atmosphere.

I wore a black knit just-below-the-knee skirt, a dark charcoal fine merino round neck long-sleeve top, maxi-net tights (like a large fishnet) or perhaps it was stockings, I don’t remember. High heels, a grey faux-fur scarf, a camel-coloured leather shoulder bag and my blonde hair dried straight and pulled back into a low ponytail completed my Paris look.

I loved just strolling through the shops and up the back streets pretending I lived there and was out for an afternoon’s shopping. Sabine was alive and well ten years ago, in fact I think I’ve always been a day-dreamer.

How to Start a Law Firm | Two Marketing Ideas Shot Down

I can't help it. I think it's just in my blood now. But I am constantly thinking of ways to increase my conversion rate for potential clients (i.e. calls from the website) and thinking of ways to get more people to want to choose me over the other options out there. It might be obvious, but it comes down to being different from everyone else, in a good way, and also giving people what they are looking for.

I'm rolling out a new website in the next week or so, (and, by the way, you can see it here, and I'd love to hear comments from the perspective of a potential client - you have about 48 hours before it's set in stone) and that got me to thinking about things that I could add to the site to make my firm more appealing. And I came up with two ideas, which I'll share with you now.

But before I get to the ideas, I wanted to let you know I've been reading a lot about persuasion and marketing lately (two more books in addition to the two that I reviewed the last time - if you want to hear about them I'll review them, they are fascinating). The idea for this reading is twofold. First, I want to market my firm better from a general standpoint - I want to drill down what the identity of the firm is so I can make business decisions in the future based on that defined perspective.

And second, I want to make it easier to sign up potential clients. If you've just started working on opening your own law firm or are in the thinking stages I can tell you there is no better feeling than someone that walks into your office and just wants to sign up. They already know a lot about you and just want to take care of the formality of signing the paperwork.

Anyway, back to the subject. My two ideas were these: (1) limit the number of DUI cases a week that I take to two; and (2) provide a service based money back guarantee. I can feel all of you going bonkers right now telling the computer screen how stupid I am for dreaming up both of these ideas.

But you are in luck. Because the purpose of this blog is not to just tell you what I'm doing but to walk you through the thought process, I'm going to do that. You might still think I'm stupid, but at least you'll know it was reasoned stupidity.

Limiting the Number of Clients I Take - aka Scarcity

There are two schools of thought out there when it comes to the number of clients your firm will take on at a time. The first is to take on as many as possible and figure out the details later (I would describe this as almost every firm - the fear of the phone not ringing is a large motivating factor here). The second is to take on a reasonable number of clients, maybe at a bit of a higher price, and do exceptional work for them. Limiting the number of clients is obviously in line with the second school of thought.

I'm not finished yet, though. The idea isn't just to limit the number of clients to two per week, but to let all potential clients in the meeting know that this was the case. That means once one signed up all meeting for the rest of the week would be told that there is one spot left for this great service. If you call too late, we won't be able to take your case. It's a classic business device to help potential clients make sales.

I ran this idea by Kelsey, my assistant, because she's got a pretty good business sense, and she immediately didn't like the idea. I don't really remember why, but she didn't. So, like anyone that wants to have someone tell them their idea is good so they can run with it, I told someone else - RJon of starting a law firm fame (the big box on the right side of the page) - and he didn't really like it either. I remember his answer because I wrote it down, but it had something to do with the idea that my firm is already a boutique type firm - the exclusivity is inherent in its structure. There's no reason to ramp it up another notch.

Two nos is a sign, but this idea isn't completely off the shelf yet - it's just not going to be incorporated into the website.

The Service Based Money Back Guarantee

I can picture the horror on your faces at just reading this.

"Aren't people just going to say they aren't satisfied so they can get their money back?"

"What if you end up paying out a bunch of money and working for free?"

For me, the bottom line here is I know I already provide great customer service - that is actually one of the things that separates me from other firms. So I'm not as worried about people asking for their money back, even with a DUI practice where things can go haywire from time to time.

Ask anyone that provides a money back guarantee and they'll tell you there are many more people that are convinced by that guarantee to sign up than scammers that will go back on you when the job is done. RJon so much as admitted this to me (he's got a money back guarantee on his services).

No, that wasn't the hang up for me. The hang up was a different thing RJon mentioned that got me thinking (and, for the record, Kelsey was against this two - rarely am I wrong - I'm the owner, right? - and rarely am I wrong twice in one day - I think she relished that just a bit) about a potential problem with this idea.

RJon mentioned the fact that contingency cases aren't allowed in criminal cases. Duh. His concern was that others might not see my service based guarantee any different than a results guarantee. I disagree, but that got me thinking about something else that might cause more headaches than it's worth.

If I offer a money back guarantee, there is an argument there that I haven't actually earned the fee until the matter is over and the client tells me they are satisfied with the work. That begs the question, do all of those fees go into an IOLTA account until they are "earned" or are they still "earned upon receipt" and only subject to be returned if the contract clause comes to fruition. I have my ideas but decided at the end of the day it wasn't worth the headache.

I'm on a big time marketing kick right now, which is good for you and good for me. After all, a big part of having a successful law firm is having enough clients to allow you to eat. You get that down and you can figure out everything else, right?

Please take a look at my site and let me know what you think. Your opinion matters to me (though no stealing, okay?!). And, as always, if you have any other questions, let me know.

The Perfect Watch

Janet of The Gardeners Cottage has shown us her perfect accessory – the perfect black flat. Generously, Janet offered the rest of us to share ours. She asked us 'What is your perfect accessory?'

When asked a question one must always go with their first instinct.

What you see above is the answer for me - the Cartier Tank Francais watch, steel and gold, small size.

I’ve always loved a good watch, and seem to have mostly veered towards a rectangle or square. I never went looking for a non-round watch, but when I bought the Cartier, realised as well as this one, my previous two watches (inexpensive ones) had square/rectangle faces. After coveting the Cartier Tank Americaine for most of my 20s, when it came down to it I chose the Tank Francais for my own 30th birthday present.

I’ve worn it for 10 years now, every single day, and it will hang on my wrist until the day I return to the earth. And it will be worth every cent. To me, a watch is not just useful, it can be a beautiful piece of jewellery too.

On the Cartier website they don’t call it a watch, it’s a timepiece. Of course.

Thanks Janet for a great idea. I look forward to reading others posts on their perfect accessory.

Weeding through the Mess: How to Make Sense of Your First Draft

A reader from New York has been working hard on her first draft of a novel for over a year.  First drafts aren't easy.  Initially they require sitting down and writing a lot.  Not necessarily from chapter 1 to The End, but a lot of scenes need to accumulate.  This is the benefit of writing classes, writing marathons, and writing practice.  This is why Nanowrimo is so popular.  You can accumulate pages toward this first draft.

But after all the pages are written, you don't really have a book yet.  To take the mess to first draft, you have to find a pathway through it.  Something a reader can make sense of. This is where the writer from New York was stuck.  

"I'm on the edge," she told me.  "There is almost a ream of paper with different chapters.  There are different beginnings.  There are different endings.  How do I weed through all this?"

How to Create a Map of Your Book

In my online classes, we're learning to create maps of our books.  We divide our weekly time between writing (accumulating those pages) and assessing where the pages might fit within a first draft.  To help this map-making process, I created a video of something called storyboarding.  Storyboarding is the easiest way I know to figure out the map through the mess.

Some writers don't like maps.  When I was younger and newer to book writing, I didn't either.  I didn't use maps for my travel, so why did I need them for my writing?  Wasn't it better just to let it flow? 

When I was exploring Europe one summer at nineteen, I only took along a good train schedule and my Eurail pass, a little bit of money, and my love of adventure.  Lucky I didn't know I was ignorantly hitchhiking in Greece during the anti-American protests.  Luckily, a German woman helped me out when I was trying to pass through East Germany without having the right stamp on my passport.  I was too innocent to know the danger I was narrowly avoiding, because my ideal was travel from a casual, unplanned perspective.  

I went to France a few summers ago and much of the adventure came in planning where to visit.  I found good maps.  I used them.  I had just as much--probably more--fun.

My early books were mapless too.  But when I began publishing back in the 1980s, my publisher assigned me an in-house editor.  He had a map, a good one.  

I use the W storyboard as my initial map when I am trying to make sense of reams of writing.  In a W there are five points, one for the beginning and ending and three at the end of the W's legs.  You first need to find these five points.  Once you discover them, you can build your map.  This week's exercise takes you through the steps.

Weeding your way to a good first draft takes time.  Set aside a storyboard retreat weekend, if you can.  You may come away with a map that will serve you well the rest of your book journey.    

Your Weekly Writing Exercise:  Map-Making

 1.  Watch the video from last week (scroll just below this post to see the link).

2.  Get a posterboard or large sheet of paper.  Draw a big W on it. 

3.  On a separate page, list all the key dramatic points in your story so far.  What has a real dramatic effect, with something happening outwardly?  What have you written about? 

4.  Read through these and see if you can choose the 5 most dramatic moments.  Place them on the 5 points of the W in logical order.  Review the video for the triggering event and ending event's requirements. 

5.  To see if you've chosen well, ask yourself if they follow the rising and falling action of their position on the W.  (See the video for more information on this.)  Begin to flow the other scenes you've written.  

6.  Place them between the 5 points on the W, using Post-It notes. 

Book Review Friday | The Dip | It's Not About the Money

Something amazing happened to me last night. I was looking around on my local library's website and I found out that they have a ton of books in PDF format that you can download instantly to your computer! As I am apt to do whenever I discover a resource for books, I took advantage of it. Last night I went through two books, both related to business, and I thought I'd write about them today. Here we go.

The Dip | Seth Godin

I'm not sure if you know who Seth Godin is. Though I don't know him personally, I do know he's written more than a few books about marketing and business. This is just one of them. "The Dip" is about how to work through that time that every business faces, when the going gets tough, there's a lull in business (or it's flat) and you need to decide the direction you are going to go.

The idea of the book is simple. If you want to have a successful business, you need to be the best in the world at it. And when I say best, I mean best for your client, right now, based on what they believe and know, and when I say world, I mean the client's world, what they have access to. This "best is subjective" in the sense that your clients get to decide what is best. And an important factor on clients thinking you're the best is you've got to think it yourself.

What The Dip is is that time between when you first start out and when you are the best in the world. It is that tough time, the time when you've got to slug it out, to "pay your dues" and rise above everyone else. Many people don't survive the dip, or at least get out of it. It is "the long slog between starting and mastery."

And I am officially in the dip right now. At two years into my business, the newness is over. I'm still excited to come to work and to do the work that I'm doing, but the freshness of being out on my own, of being able to do what I want, has worn off. Now I'm focusing on success. I'm thinking and acting in ways that are related less to survival and more to becoming the best DUI attorney that's out there.

But the road is not easy. There is a lot of work to do. Mastery of your craft, being the best, is a long and arduous road. You've got to be dedicated to making it there or you'll find yourself trying to walk up a down escalator. At best you'll be doing everything you can just to stay where you are at.

There are two main points to the book. First, when you hit the dip, you've got to decide if this is something you can be successful at. If not, it's time to get out. Quitting for success is I think the way he describes it. And second, assuming you decide that what you're doing can be successful, is to fight through hard part to get to the end. DON'T QUIT WHEN IT HURTS.

My two choices for facing this dip are to quit or to become exceptional. I think you all know where I'm headed on this one. And for me, exceptional means two things. First, it means becoming a true master of my craft. I've been practicing for five years, but I know I've still got a lot of learning left to do. Second, it means continually thinking about ways to let people who need my services know I'm available and let them know why I am right for them.

I'd highly recommend this book. It's only 80 pages long, it's filled with a lot of anecdotes, and it's a great motivator to get you working hard to be successful.

It's Not About the Money

This book is a complete 180 in a lot of ways from the Dip. This book is about personal growth. It is about finding out what your relationship is to money so you can do two things: (1) enjoy more of what is happening right now; and (2) avoid some of the classic pitfalls that are associated with your financial archetype.

The premise of "It's Not About the Money" is this: we all have our own experiences with money and we are all hardwired, biologically, to always want more. This underlying foundation of "not enough," however, undermines our life right now. It keeps us from enjoying the experiences we are a part of now, and if not acknowledged can cause us to make bad decisions.

One important aspect of taking control over your subconscious desire to want more is to understand what your core story is when it comes to money. Typically this core story is formed at a very early age by your life experiences. For example, in the book, the author tells a story about a guy who's family was very poor. They had some cousins who were comfortable financially and it was a visit to their house that cemented his core story - that he would do whatever it took to not be in the situation he and his family were in. The result was, when he was older, that he was great at saving and spending his money wisely, but he was always anxious that at some point it could all be lost.

I'm not necessarily going to tell you about my core story, but I'll tell you this about me - I'm part guardian and part empire builder when it comes to my financial archetype. The book describes the pitfalls of a guardian archetype as worry and anxiety and the gifts of alertness and prudence. The pitfalls of the empire builder are greed and domination and the gifts are innovation and decisiveness. I must say I can see those things in my actions. Here's just one example.

I've told you a lot about my talks with RJon and I actually discussed this exact interaction with him in an earlier post. We met in person when he was in Seattle and we did a mastermind session. The exercise we did at the meeting was to write down our three biggest problems with our business. One of mine was wasting too much time doing administrative tasks.

As we discussed what I was feeling RJon just said "why don't you just hire someone to help you?" At that moment a palpable set of anxiety ran through me. My immediate thought was "what if I hire someone and then the phone stops ringing and I can't pay for them?" Any rational observer of the situation would point out that the money had been coming in pretty steadily and the chances of it drying up completely are almost zero. But getting over that hurdle for me was hard because of the inner guardian.

This is important information to know and understand as you are starting a law firm for a couple of reasons. First, there are good things and bad things with whatever archetype you determine you carry (and you can have parts of many). The important part is being introspective enough to recognize when something you are thinking or feeling may be based more on your "core story" than in reality. My example demonstrates this exactly. And, by the way, I immediately hired an assistant and it has completely transformed my practice, in a good way - and people are still calling!

Second, if you know what your strengths and weaknesses are you can take steps to accentuate the positive and diminish the negative. Part of being a Guardian is being prudent and alert. If I can use that to keep myself informed as to the actual financial state of my firm, I can reduce the anxiety and worry I fear when it's time to make a financial decision.

If you've got some free time I'd definitely take a look at this book, and I'd recommend doing the exercises within. They may feel a bit cheesy, and I'll warn you there is a lot of Eastern religious practice intertwined throughout (that is part of the idea of finding the freedom from wanting), but there is a lot of good information that you can use to help you as you venture out and start your own law firm.

Questions, Comments, Suggestions? And Disclaimer

Have any of you read either of these books? What did you think?

Just to be completely forthcoming here, these are true book reviews. I'm not making any money on these, no one asked me to write these reviews, and if you check them out and buy them I don't make any money. I just thought they were helpful. Enjoy!

And, as always, questions and comments are welcome.

Hermes Sale

If you are a lover of the French Chic way of life as I am, you will likely have enjoyed reading Stephanie's former blogs Bonjour Madame and C'est Si Bon when they were around. Stephanie always had fun, chic and thought-provoking topics she posted on, and is an extremely inspirational declutterer. Such focus! And if you can remember the pictures of her petite home sparingly decorated with French style antique furniture... Le swoon.

Recently Stephanie wrote a fantastic guest post on My French Corner about the editing of her scarf collection. She talks about putting almost her entire scarf collection on eBay. But for a few weeks before that (as in now), she has started a temporary blog, Editing My Closet, to sell them to anyone in the US who is interested.

You simply must take a look, even if just to window-shop. Stephanie has many beautiful pieces. Enjoy!

Editing My Closet

Starting a Law Firm | Testing Your Assumptions

Hi! Welcome to another edition of how to start a law firm. I know the Wednesday post is typically about marketing, and I will talk a little bit about it at the end, but I wanted to start with something a little bit different. I want to talk about discovering your fears and questioning your assumptions to maximize the success of your business (and really anything else that you do).

If you can't tell from my writing, I love the business of running a law firm. I like thinking about ways to get clients to me, I like to think about ways to get them to sign up once they get here, and I like thinking about what to do to make my firm run like a well oiled machine. While this probably sounds fun to you too, there's a lot more to it than just having a check list to run down to get things done. We all do things to get in our own way and sabotage what might be a great thing. The key is identifying what those things are and moving past them.

To help me with this side of running a law firm, I read a lot of books about business, read a lot of blogs about business, and just think a lot about business. One of the blogs I read a lot is called "I will teach you to be rich." It's run by a guy named Ramit Sethi (pronounced Ram-meet, in case you were wondering - I did for a long time). He's a small business owner who's business is helping people make money. I've never bought any of his products, so I can't vouch for his paid stuff, but his free stuff is amazing.

I was reading one of his posts today, entitled, "Testing Your Assumptions" and I thought it would be a great thing to write about here today. I've linked to the post so you can go and read it, and I'm only going to briefly discuss what he's said. What I'm going to write about are some of my assumptions and the ways they may be holding me back. Like always, you are going to get a first hand look at what I think is holding me back.

Our Assumptions - a Little Background

A funny thing about human beings is that we are pretty scared a lot of the time, but we aren't really great about identifying those fears and figuring out how to move past them. What we are great about doing is internalizing those fears and rationalizing our way around them. The good news with the way we handle fear is that we often don't have to face them. The bad news is we don't get to accomplish everything we should be.

Now, I know you, Mr. or Ms. Reader, don't internalize your fears and rationalize your way out of taking action. I'm talking about the other guy or girl. I know that when you find yourself saying these things like:

"I shouldn't pick a niche area because the money simply won't be there" or

"So many people fail when they start out I probably shouldn't do it" or

"You've got to have a lot of money to start and I don't so..." or

"I don't have enough experience to open my own law firm"

that you just move right on past them and actually test your assumptions instead of letting them control you.

I'm going to tell you about some assumptions I have below and what I'm doing to test them out. What I want you to take out of this article today is this: Failure is Good. What I mean by that is you've got to be constantly checking your assumptions to see if they are reality or a result of your rationalization of fear of failure. Sometimes you'll find you're right, sometimes you'll find your assumptions were dead wrong. Failure is okay if it comes from testing your assumptions. That's the only way you can eliminate the bad and implement the good.

Three of My Assumptions and How I'm Testing Them

When I first started out I had a lot of demons following me around. A lot of tiny voices in my head telling me why I wasn't going to be successful at what I was doing.

Assumption Number 1 - "I look too young for anyone to hire me."

I don't know if you've seen a picture of me, but I do look pretty young. If I told you I was 25 you'd probably believe me.

This assumption was holding me back in several ways when I first started. Although I didn't specifically address it, whenever I'd meet with a potential client, it would be running through the back of my mind. "Are they wondering how old I am?" "Are they just waiting to get out of here so they can go talk to an attorney with gray hair?" These were actually things I was thinking about.

The first great step for me here was identifying that I was making an assumption that was holding me back. I assumed that people didn't want an attorney that looked young. And even though I wasn't actually discussing it in my potential client meetings, I think that self-doubt was creeping through on a sub-conscious level and affecting my meetings.

So I talked to some people about it. I talked to RJon (who I've referenced here several times) and I talked to a colleague that was in a similar situation. I quickly realized two things. First, not everyone is looking for an old attorney. In fact, the people I'd probably most like to have as clients (younger professionals) probably are looking for someone just like me (a go getter who knows his stuff, has enough guts to go out on a limb and can relate to their situation). I'd never thought of that because I'd been so locked in with my assumption.

When I talked to my friend about it with the same problem, she just said "it's not a problem for me. I've got my sales pitch down and it works more often than it doesn't. You just have to go in there like you deserve to be their attorney." Light bulb moment.

Although I wasn't completely sold on what she'd told me, her and RJon seemed to be making a lot of sense. So I tested out my assumption by mixing up my sales presentation. For some potential clients I'd bring up the fact that I looked young and talk about it. For others I would simply talk to them like I knew I belonged to be there and they deserved my help. Lo and behold, when I didn't talk about it and projected confidence, people started signing up. When I talked about my youthful appearance they didn't. I think at the end of the day people don't think about it as much as I thought they did. My assumption as really hurting my business!

Assumption Number 2 - "People Don't Have Enough Money to Pay My Fee"

I'm not going to lie to you, this is one I'm dealing with right now. It doesn't really require that much background. I'm just not signing up as many people as I think I should be, and I'm getting a lot of "I don't have enough money." It's easy to assume that that's the case, but I think there's more to it than that.

I'm assuming it's a them problem, when, at the end of the day, it's a me problem.

Bottom line here is that I haven't demonstrated to them that I'm providing the value for the fee I'm proposing. I need to do a better job showing them what I'm going to do for them, why I'm the one to do it, and why my fee is a reasonable fee for it.

My assumption that people don't have enough money to pay me is keeping me from realizing the full potential of my business.

So, I'm going to test this assumption by completely revamping my potential client meeting process. Not only am I going to come up with some new ways to demonstrate value to them, I'm going to come up with some ways to help my potential clients find the money to pay for my services that they didn't know they had. No, I'm not going to be pushy, I'm not going to give the hard sell, I'm just going to be prepared to educate them so they can make an informed decision.

I'll keep you in loop on what I'm doing.

Assumption Number 3 - "I don't have enough time to do everything I want"

This is probably something that we can all relate to. There is this constant feeling that time is running out, that nothing is ever going to get done, and that deadlines are always looming.

This assumption, for everyone, is wrong. I don't care who you are.

To test this assumption out, I want you to do a few simple things. First, make a list of all the things you do in a day. When you check your email and facebook write it down. When you post to twitter write it down. When you work, write it down (and write down what you are working on). When you surf the internet, write it down.

Do this for one week and then take a look at all the time you are wasting. Now, I'm not suggesting you should stop checking facebook and your email. That's something even I couldn't do. What I'm suggesting is coming up with a system that maximizes your time.

What I've tried to start doing is checking my email only every 2 hours. I check it when I get to the office, at 10:00 a.m., at noon, at 2:00 p.m., and at 4:00 p.m. Trust me when I say if you're checking it every two hours you aren't going to miss anything. Same with facebook and twitter. Figure out all the time you are wasting and stop wasting it.

The second thing you should do is stop doing the minutia and anything that isn't productive. For example, are you doing all of your own filing and stuff like that? Why? Get someone in there to do it. Pay them or have them work for free (there are a lot of people out there that would work for free to put your law firm on their resume). But stop doing the things you have no business doing.

And stop making yourself busy just so you feel good. For example, in the last two days I've said no twice and it's felt amazing. The first no was to a request to be on a committee. I won't get into details but it was not going to be productive. After the first meeting I went to I told the person I couldn't be on the committee - my time is too valuable and I didn't think I'd be able to contribute anything worthwhile. The second thing was a meeting of small firm lawyers. I thought the topic of discussion was interesting, but I knew I wouldn't get anything new out of it because of the precise details of this meeting. So I didn't go. I'm writing this instead!

Telling yourself you don't have enough time to do something is the easiest way to rationalize not doing something. I bet if someone offered to take you on an all expenses paid vacation you'd find the time to do it. Make the time for these things too.

I know I said I was going to talk about something marketing related at the end, but this post is already too long. What I can promise you is that coming up very soon I'm going to let you in on the secret to my reaching number one in Google for my search terms. Hope that's got you excited!

Refuse to give names to characters

A tall man with glinting eyes stepped meaningfully from the ship’s gangplank and surveyed the dock.

‘Where is she?’ he demanded, gesturing at a stooped and subservient man beside him.

‘Sorry, sir?’ the servile man asked. The tall man with the smooth black walking stick clicked his tongue impatiently.

‘You know who,’ he said. ‘The demure woman with the scarf.’

‘I’ll make enquiries, sir,’ the balding, diminutive man replied (the same man who had been talking a moment before).

‘Well make them quickly,’ interrupted a tall man with shining eyes. This was not the same tall man with glinting eyes who had so far been conducting the conversation, but a new, even taller man with eyes that shone rather than glinted, who had just disembarked behind the two figures already standing on the dock.

‘You!’ hissed the tall (merely tall – not taller) man with glinting rather than shining eyes. ‘I should have known you would try to interfere.’

‘Interfere?’ queried the tallest available man with the really quite unsettlingly shiny eyes. ‘I would never interfere. I am merely concerned for our mutual acquaintance’s wellbeing.’

‘The demure woman?’ asked the second-tallest man.

‘I would describe her as more reserved than demure.’

‘Ah.’ The still-actually-quite-tall-though-short-comparatively-speaking man said. ‘I’m not entirely convinced we’re talking about the same woman.’

The Atlas Update

Atlas hasn't been in these pages lately, so here's a little of what he's been up to. Our little man is very much part of the family, we both adore him (which is an understatement). Above, Atlas is harnessed in his safety car seat-belt. He's off to be groomed. All that wool is a little toasty in the heat of summer.

Here is his before picture.


And after. So fluffy and trim!


And a close up at work of his new look.


With 'poodle feet'.


A few weeks ago Atlas and I took a road trip (about 45 minutes away from where I live) to visit his former owner's partner. She was not able to take on both his dogs when Atlas' owner died, and so Atlas was adopted out. The new owners didn't want him after a while and tried to give him back to Poodle Rescue.

He really is the sweetest boy, I don't know how they could. His little heart must have been broken for the past 2-3 years. I am glad we are now able to make the rest of his retirement a happy one.

His former 'mum' Pamela was so glad and emotional to see him and we had a lovely few hours. I met his poodle 'brother' Samson and heard how much his first owner John loved his poodles. They even went to his funeral.

Pamela gave me a little bag of goodies for Atlas - some of his favourite toys, his vet records, a little jersey for the winter and a framed portrait of Atlas as a puppy (only two months old). Do you think he looks like an owl?


From talking to Pamela I found out Atlas is actually 14, and not 12. What do you say to that? He wasn't young when he came to us, now he's just a little older. After I brought his goodie bag home I thought to myself 'his birthday will probably be on his vet records, then we'll know when to throw him a party'. I checked, it's in a few weeks time - he will be FIFTEEN! Could Atlas be in the Guinness Book of Poodle Records?

Considering his grand age though, he's very spritely and adaptable. He gets very excited about coming or going. Atlas is all bouncy when I put his harness on in the morning to go to work, and equally happy to arrive somewhere, practically launching himself out the open car door when we get there. He's nothing if not fearless.

And here, just because he is very handsome in his new jacket, is Atlas modelling this winter's look for chilly poodles. He won't be needing it for a couple of months at least. I'm hoping I haven't bought it too soon... (I find black humour works well in situations of elderly-to-the-extreme poodle adoptions).


Just in case you think otherwise, we are so happy to have Atlas in our life. He has added much richness and fun. For as long as we have him we will consider ourselves very, very lucky.