Right now it is 6:17 AM, I’ve been up since 4:20 AM, and I have to admit, I’m struggling.
I’m sitting at the kitchen table of our beachfront condo at Wild Dunes Resort on Isle of Palms. The view is spectacular, but the weather is balmy, even at this early hour. Today is the last day of our 2015 summer beach vacation.
The view from our balcony…
After much beach time, more hours at the pool than I could possibly count, several children’s museums, and visits to a plantation and petting zoo, we are getting ready to head home.
I’ve been out of the office for a week, and while I am nervous about what awaits me when I return home, I’m also excited and refreshed.
Vacation is a wonderful time for reflecting on where you are at with your firm and where you want to go in the weeks and months ahead.
I did a lot of that this week. I also completely fell off the wagon with my diet and drank a few too many alcoholic beverages, but that’s a story for another day… 😉
What I did realize is that while I am generally happy with the state of my law practice, there are some things that I want to change as well. I’ve already made the decision that I am no longer accepting any litigation files into my practice, but now I’ve decided that I am going to begin the process of building into a second practice area that I have no prior experience in.
Why am I doing this? For three main reasons:
1. I am currently handling divorce cases. I’ve been doing this for over 10 years. It’s burning me out – to be completely honest. While I love the clients that I work with, the pain and suffering that many of them are going through is very difficult for me to handle. Even though I am not going through the divorce, I can relate to what these clients are feeling, and am starting to feel emotionally involved in some of my cases.
2. Through Legal Marketing Made Easy and some of the networking/mastermind groups I’ve gotten involved with in the past almost 2 years, I’ve developed relationships with people in a different niche that has a definite need for legal services. This niche is much more positive and upbeat, and is one that I feel that I can provide a lot of value to. Not to mention, I really enjoy working with and socializing with the people in this niche.
3. I’d like to document my transition into this new practice area and let you know how it goes. I’ll be sending periodic “updates” as to what I’m doing to break into this niche, step-by-step, so that you can follow along and “look over my shoulder” to learn from my mistakes and also discover what is working for me as well.
Sound like a plan? Good.
Well, I’m exhausted, and my kids are going to be up soon. I’ve got to load up a minivan and drive home 6 hours to Cary.
The fam and me after dinner last night… Kids are ready to get home, and so am I!
I think I need another cup of coffee, maybe two.
If you are taking a vacation this month, be safe and enjoy your trip. If not, think about taking a long weekend soon to recharge your batteries for the rest up for the remainder of the year. Let’s finish 2015 out strong.
Take care, and we’ll talk soon.
Jim
PS – In case you were wondering, Infusionsoft (automated marketing software) and Call Ruby (my virtual receptionist for almost 5 years) have been lifesavers of mine while I’ve been out of the office. I don’t know what I would do without them.
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