Making Ends Meet When Starting A Firm

This article, Money Matters, from Small Firm Business (12/6/04) offers new shinglers advice on money matters, from how to make ends meet when starting out to funding retirement.  The article is really too brief to be of much value, but it does make the point about the importance of keeping overhead low in the beginning, a challenge made easier by the ever-declining cost of computers and cell phones.

Can’t say I agree with all of the advice, however.   For example, the article describes one attorney who worked on overflow work for other attorneys in exchange for office space.  True, it apparently worked for her, but I’ve heard of similar scenarios which did not work out as well.  This was primarily because the new attorney underestimate the value of their labor and thus, essentially over pay for the space through their work.

Readers – any tips you’d like to share about how you kept expenses low your first year?  Post them as comments below.

2 Comments

  1. Donna Schneider on December 11, 2004 at 6:17 pm

    In my view, unless you are seeking to develop a walk-in clientele or business clients that expect a certain office presence, you can initially lease a “virtual presence” for very little money, or simply rent a post office box for incoming mail and work from home to minimize office overhead in the first six months, when the money bleeds out and trickles in.
    As for space for services, it sometimes works and sometimes doesn’t. Jay Foonberg recommends exchanging checks with no expectations and I think that’s a good piece of advice.
    There’s a lot of controversy about “rolling your own” letterhead, and again it depends on the kind of practice you seek to develop. I practice primarily criminal defense and elder law, and laser printed letterhead on high quality bond and envelopes works fine for me, and I won’t have a bunch of useless stock left over if/when I move.



  2. Donna Schneider on December 11, 2004 at 6:17 pm

    In my view, unless you are seeking to develop a walk-in clientele or business clients that expect a certain office presence, you can initially lease a “virtual presence” for very little money, or simply rent a post office box for incoming mail and work from home to minimize office overhead in the first six months, when the money bleeds out and trickles in.
    As for space for services, it sometimes works and sometimes doesn’t. Jay Foonberg recommends exchanging checks with no expectations and I think that’s a good piece of advice.
    There’s a lot of controversy about “rolling your own” letterhead, and again it depends on the kind of practice you seek to develop. I practice primarily criminal defense and elder law, and laser printed letterhead on high quality bond and envelopes works fine for me, and I won’t have a bunch of useless stock left over if/when I move.



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