Sunday Six Word Memoir

I’ve had an unsettling week.  Unsettling in a good way, that is.  It all started a little while back when I scored a copy of Dave Navaro’s ebook, 7 Steps To Playing A Much Bigger Game.  Which is not hard to do, since he’s giving it away on his website, how cool is that.  Although I think I got it from somewhere else. 

In any event, reading and working through it has been challenged my thinking quite a bit, as I’m struggling to build my little great big freelance and virtual paralegal business in a difficult economy.  It’s challenged me to ask myself if I’m really "all in" on this project, and if I really am, then what else am I prepared to do to succeed.  Beyond that, how much further can I take my ideas; what additional services or products can I provide that might benefit my clients even more, while yielding greater income for me?  What am I willing to invest, of my time and effort and resources, in order to insure my success?

As a result I’m in the midst of adding to my marketing arsenal, and planning new approaches for reaching new clients.  I’m far from finished working these ideas out, but in the interim, here is the next in my series of Six Word Memoirs – a memoir to encapsulate my week:
 

Be all in; go all out!

Got your own Six Word Memoir?  Feel free to share it in the Comments!

Face Time, or, Working That Room!

Networking events were not part of my life when I was employed in Big Law – or at least I didn’t perceive what I was doing to be “networking.”  I rubbed shoulders with other paralegals and legal support professionals at MCLEs and other seminars, and of course met people in other industries at MeetUps and other gatherings.  I made friends where I could, noted interesting information I came across, but didn’t consider such events essential for my livelihood.
 

Now that I’m a business owner, events where I can meet fellow entrepreneurs and other legal professionals have become hugely important.  I seek out such gatherings wherever I can, and I make it a priority to show up.  Of course my direct mail, email and internet marketing are all worthwhile, but there’s something irreplaceable about meeting someone face to face.  I remember the people I meet, and what I’ve learned about what they do and what they need.  And I hope they remember me!
 

I attend county Bar Association events, paralegal association meetings, e-discovery seminars, as well as local business networking events whenever I can.  I still try to make friends.  I still note interesting information I come across.  If I meet someone who could benefit from my contract paralegal services someday, of course I make a special effort to learn about her firm and practice.  However, I find that people in other industries are great connections to make as well.  I never know when I might have a need for the expertise of someone I meet outside the legal profession, or whether I will meet someone I can refer to them.

Last week I attended an event hosted by the Napa Chamber of Commerce at the beautiful Artesa Winery.  It was a gorgeous setting and a beautiful mild summer evening.  I met interesting people in the wine industry, video and internet marketing fields, direct mail and network marketing areas, and yes, the legal industry too.  The wines and the food items from local restaurants were excellent, and it all made for a lovely and beneficial evening.
 

Yes, I still experience some initial reticence to striking up conversations with strangers, but once I get going I do love to chat with people I meet, learn about how they’re operating their businesses, and compare notes on marketing strategies and the economy, etc.  I try to focus on making friends rather than doing a hard-sell about my services, and I try to follow up with emails to everyone I meet that I want to stay in touch with.
 

Will I get business directly from such networking events?  I certainly hope so, but it isn’t solely about that.  Rather, it’s about making connections in my local community, establishing friendships with people I can help and who can perhaps help me one day.  It’s about Whuffie.
 

For another take on networking events, I highly recommend these:  Chere Estrin’s wonderful post, You Call This Networking?? – boy, can I relate to this anxiety!  Also, an inspiring post from Women Grow Business called,  Want to Grow Your Business? Get Out Of Your Comfort Zone. 
 

So what about you – do you network?  Feel free to share your stories in the comments!

Some of the Things I Need to Know I Didn’t Learn in Kindergarten

Whatever our chosen profession, we’re always learning.  I’ve tried to learn most of my paralegal skills through formal education, observing others more experienced than myself, being mentored, etc.  However, I’ve got to admit that some of my greatest lessons I learned from my mistakes!
 
Early in my career, I was a paralegal in some small law firms, where I was mentored by some very skilled attorneys, and had the chance to do some fairly substantive work.  But as I say, I was inexperienced, and mistakes were made.  By me, that is.  Now I look back on that time fondly because it was formative and my mistakes made me a much better paralegal.
 
One of my attorneys frequently tasked me with writing letters and drafting discovery requests for her, and she was irritated when I gave her drafts containing typographical errors.  It only took a few occasions of being thus taken to task before I learned to proofread everything I wrote.  Again.  And again.  And even backwards.  And I’m grateful to her, because there is really no excuse for giving a supervisor a draft containing typos.  Why shouldn’t my work be as flawless as it can be?  Why should I ever strive for anything less? 
 
There was a day when one of my attorneys phoned me from a deposition quite concerned because he had no court reporter, and it turned out this was because I had failed to schedule one.  Yikes!  I immediately phoned our favorite court reporter who, in a great stroke of luck, happened to be available.  She got to the deposition in record time and saved the day, while I learned a big lesson about keeping deposition checklists to assure everything was scheduled in advance and every detail was in order.

I worked with another attorney whose biggest peeve was people making excuses.  He could forgive any mistake (my failure to reschedule an expert's trial testimony comes to mind!) if one would only own up to it.  So when something went wrong, I learned to make a beeline to his office to talk it over with him, ready with a proposal for fixing it and ready to take my lumps and do whatever had to be done.  He may have been disappointed at the error, but he respected my frankness, and this habit of taking responsibility for my mistakes has served me well ever since.
 
There was another occasion early in my career when I was put in charge of a large filing with a lot of evidence, much of which had to be filed under seal.  I delegated the project of preparing declaration exhibits to a junior clerk.  This was the right thing to do, because she was bright and hardworking, and I couldn’t get everything done myself.  But my mistake was in blithely handling my part of the filing without adequately supervising her portion of the project.  When I checked in on her and her crew mid-afternoon and found they were far behind schedule, I realized we were in danger of missing the filing deadline.  PANIC! 

I rushed to my supervising attorney, described the problem, and we devised a Plan B and made our deadline, but I’ve never forgotten this lesson.  It is a good idea to delegate tasks, but I cannot delegate supervision.  I need to see the big picture, stay on top of all the moving parts, check in on my team, make sure everything is on schedule and if it’s not, readjust immediately.  Often this means doing less of the work myself, in order to supervise the work others are doing more effectively.  The experience made me a much better manager of staff and projects, which is an important skill for a paralegal to have.
 
Got your own stories of lessons learned?  Feel free to share them in the comments!

Apologies to lovers of Robert Fulghum's All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten, with a note to say many things I did learn in kindergarten still serve me quite well too.

How to Succeed in Business . . . by Really, Really Trying

Occasionally I read an article or blog post I find so thought provoking, I cannot shake it off. 

Such as last month, when I read Sonia Simone’s CopyBlogger piece, The Three Surprisingly Simple Keys to Success.  What was provocative about this piece for me was the discussion of things that I typically view as outside my control which may actually be very much within my control.

What are the three keys, and are they within my grasp after all?  The article starts with the well-known premise that in order to succeed – in whatever you’re trying to succeed in – you need any two of the three following things: talent, luck, or persistence.  Now, the last one, persistence, may be challenging, but at least it's up to me and me alone to persist or not.  But what if I’m neither talented enough nor lucky enough?

Talent

I’ve been accustomed to thinking talent is innate.  Something I was born to be good at.  Some “gift” that always came naturally to me.  (Phrased that way, how many of these do I actually have?!?  Hmm . . .)  For example, I had a bit of an ear for music when I was young, and thought of it as a “talent” I had been born with - possibly discounting too much the 1-2 hours per day I practiced (which is of course nothing by musicians’ standards - but still).  But Simone suggests that what we think of as talent is more often something we love so much that we do it a lot, in which case does the success stem from innate ability, or from “nonstop, almost obsessive practice”? 

Thought provoking question!  If some activity I need to make my business succeed - such as successful marketing, thoughtful use of social media, writing useful articles - doesn’t come naturally to me, do I give up on talent and turn to the other two Keys to Success?  Nope.  I keep marketing.  I keep working at communicating.  I write, and write, and write some more. 

As Simone writes, “The more you work, the more talented you get.”  Which is actually a huge relief!

Luck

Luck is obviously completely outside my realm of influence - or so I thought.  But what if luck isn’t really “luck”?  If a brand new client phones me because my marketing piece lands on her desk the very day she needs help, is that luck?  Maybe, but if I strew my marketing pieces wider and farther and more strategically and more often, can I improve the odds of such a thing happening?

If I bump into three potential clients at a social event and spark their interest in my business primarily because I’m likable and I express confidence that I can benefit them, is that lucky?  Perhaps a bit, but if I get out more often and meet more people, and if I’m putting my most likable self forward at all times, do I improve my odds? 

What if I’m always striving to be kind, be helpful, be generous, improve my karma, and increase my whuffie?  What if these things, over time, bring me more business and happier clients?  Is that luck?

As Simone says, “The more you work, the luckier you get.”  Good news!

Persistence

I’m not suggesting this one is easy; however it is a lot easier for me to realize that this particular key to success is within my control.  I need to keep at it and not give up.  Keep working hard and well for my clients.  Keep dreaming up new avenues for finding and attracting clients.  Keep marketing.  Keep writing.  Keep interacting.  Keep striving to be generous.  Keep doing my best work.  Relentlessly.  Every day.  No matter what.  Without fail.

So when I’m tempted to feel discouraged that things aren’t going my way, not falling into place, not progressing quickly enough, this article is an excellent reminder to me that if I just persist, keep working hard at all the tasks before me, perhaps I can increase my talent, create my own luck, and my business will become a success.