“Should I enjoy my summer and take time off or spend time thinking about how to build my practice?” a law firm partner recently asked. My response, “I think you can do both, just not at the same time.”
While time off is vital, 46% of US workers don’t take their paid time off (according to the Pew Research Center), I was certainly one of those who never felt comfortable with this when I worked in-house.
Maybe it’s age or just hindsight, but I know now that it’s vital to take a break, see new things, and have new adventures.
For the business development days of summer, here are a few things lawyers and other professionals can take in small steps to shore up their practice. (I love a good, or in this case not-so-good, pun.)
1. Make a list of the clients you’ve served year to date, as well as in 2023. Consider how they came to you and what you can do to thank and garner more from referral sources.
2. Consider what marketing activities may have incrementally contributed to your hiring over the past year and consider whether they make sense to continue or to dial down.
3. Imagine ways to cross-serve within your firm.
Consider who you want to have as your practice’s clients. Ask yourself what industry or practice areas your firm might already serve in order to cross-serve these clients. Visit with the relevant individual partners and discuss where opportunities may overlap.
4. Add to your LinkedIn contacts.
While having a good LinkedIn profile and providing thoughtful content is essential, building your network on the platform is just as important.
Connect with those people you know or may have worked with in the past. Then, reach out to acquaintances and those you may only know tangentially. Be sure to write a note inviting them to LinkedIn, explaining how you know one another, why you would like to connect, and how you can be helpful (without selling anything.)
5. Revisit your practice plan or personal plan.
June is a good midpoint for most of our planning processes. Revisit your objectives and strategies for achieving them. If necessary, recalibrate.
6. Play with Chat GPT, Claude, and other AI.
This is technology that will change our future. Once you see what is possible, it may help you generate other ideas to improve your practice or at least better understand how AI is changing things for many of your clients.
7. Explore new ways to be mindful or to help you relax once the pace picks up in the fall.
Whether it’s yoga or other exercise, deep breathing, meditation or gardening, take time to learn new ways to handle stress. The ability to meditate and recall some of your memories from a good summer is just one method that may work magic.
What is on your to-do list for summer business development?
