Starting a Law Firm | Staying Motivated

I'm still really knew at my life as the owner of a DUI defense law firm. In fact, I'm still in my first year. The reality is, though, that starting a law firm, as fun as it is over the long run, is from day to day a pretty big grinder. Sure, I get to cash the checks, I get to make the important business decisions, and I get to take on as clients the people I want, but it is still possible to get bogged down in the day to day monotony of work.

And being a Seattle DUI attorney and owning a law firm provide a lot of work to get monotonous. So, how do I get through the monotony? How do I continue pushing forward and making things work? There are a couple of ways.

First, and I think this applies to any business owner, there is always the fear in the back of your mind that business is going to some day dry up and disappear forever. This fear, while stressful at times, is an important motivator in the grand scheme of things. For example, it's got me writing this post at 10:00 p.m. on a Sunday (as much as I love helping you all out, this helps me too).

Second, a lot of responsibility comes with being a Seattle DUI lawyer. People are relying on me to help them out of sticky situations. And I don't want to let them down. They push me to continue looking through the breath test databases for errors, to continue sifting through their police reports with a fine toothed comb, and to continue to negotiate with the vigor that gets results.

Third, and finally, I stay motivated by recognizing that I've got a lot of goals. I've got short term goals, which I try to meet every day. I've medium term goals, which I try to meet every month. And I've got long term goals, which stretch to the end of this year and beyond. The only way to reach any of these goals is to get started today pursuing them. Sometimes that means doing boring stuff. But it makes it so much easier when you are reaching and exceeding those goals you've laid out for yourself.

If you are starting a law firm and aren't sure if you have what it takes, don't think about all the things that can go wrong. Think about whether or not you have the guts and the drive to make things turn out right for you. It's no secret that you get out of life what you make of it. And there is opportunity out there to be grasped. All you have to do is jump out there and grab it.