Re: Startup costs of my own practice are not the problem, bu

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On 11/30/06, Smith wrote:
> RRR,
>
> You hit the nail on the head several times. I have read this
> board for years, but posted little. I thought you were doing
> well. Did someting suddenly happen?

I quit solo practice to teach at a College. I have a handful of
special clients I still do work for. However, just so people
understand, I did the solo grind for 5 years. I should have quit
after the first 2, would have saved me a lot of heartache. My sister
made more money accidently by buying a house at the right time then I
made in Solo Practice. Thats enough to drive me crazy, if I wasn't
already. :)

If I had gone the Insurance Defense Route, and just bought one house,
and two rentals, I could retire right now. But instead I went solo,
and I'm still digging myself out of the hole. Such is life.

Overhead will kill you, you can gross $100K and net $30K. Never trust
a Vendor offering "marketing solutions". Its all snake oil.

>
>
> On 11/30/06, rrr wrote:
>> I think you might have gotten the leper treatment because you've
>> asked the same question thats been asked 1000's of times and has
>> been answered and discussed that many times. You could have
>> searched the past threads of this page and found enough
>> information to write a book (in fact at least one person has).
>> When I first read your post, I didn't even make a connection
>> between the website you mentioned and spamming. I just thought
>> you were lazy.
>>
>> What would I change... I wouldn't have gone solo. I had a job
>> offer from a Construction Defect Insurance Defense Firm. Years
>> and years of mindless billable hours. I rejected it for what I
>> thought were good reasons at the time. And I went Solo.
>>
>> Everything else I could tell you has already been written many
>> many times before.
>>
>> I guess I would ask you the threshold question...
>>
>> How big is your rolodex? How are you going to generate business
>> when the time comes? Are you really connected? Are you
>> specialized in a Niche field? Are you in (or planning to be in)
> a
>> location where there is a shortage of Attorneys or at least a
>> shortage in your Niche?
>>
>> You will be bombarded by thousands of vendors all trying to sell
>> you a solution to your marketing problem. They are all liars.
> All
>> of them. Yellow Page reps, directory reps, direct mail,
>> newspaper, T.V./Radio/Internet sales people. Liars, all of them.
>> Worse then liars. You are almost better off buying lottery
>> tickets, because the mass market prospects they can deliver are
>> the worst of the worst possible clients.
>>
>> So if your answer to business generation is any of the above,
>> then you're going to burn through your savings, credit, and
>> earnings brutally quick and have nothing to show for it but a
>> bunch of Vendor salespeople laughing at you, as they spend the
>> money that used to be yours.
>>
>>
>> On 11/29/06, Carl Jackson wrote:
>>>
>>> I'm just looking for some insight, and you, rrr, are so far
>>> the only one who has said anything useful. Other people so
>>> far are hostile which surprises me a little given other
>>> threads on this board. All I did was mention another website
>>> and I'm being treated like a leper.
>>
>>> Well, I'm not looking for anything in particular or anybody to
>>> tell me anything, but since you did say your practice was a
>>> disaster and you put a gun to your head, could you be a little
>>> more specific about what went on? Furthermore, what might you
>>> have done differently if you could do it over again?
>>>
>>> Just trying to scope this out as best I can!
>>>
>>> Thanks!
>>>