Accidental Entrepreneurs

Can you start your own firm if you’re not entrepreneurially inclined? A few months back, I said yes. And now, as added confirmation, here’s an article from CNN about accidental entrepreneurs – folks who never intended to start their own businesses but wound up succeeding beyond their wildest dreams.

Take the story of Terri Urbash, a court reporter who quit her job to spend more time at home as a freelancer. Her business exploded and today she heads a 30 person company that generates $2 million a year in business. Another one of those profiled, John Tredennick was a partner at a large firm who had an affinity for technology. He created a document management system for his firm that eventually caught the attention of others. So Tredennick set up a company to develop the software, first partnering with his firm then splitting off into a company that’s grown to $29 million a year.

Perhaps you never envisioned yourself as a solo, running your own law firm.  Yet, you couldn’t find a job or felt suffocated at your existing firm.  Now, here you are – a solo by involuntary choice – but somehow, you’ve made it work.  More than that, after a few months or perhaps, a few years, you’ve discovered that just maybe you have a knack for solos practice – for dealing with clients and figuring out ways to attract new business.  In short, it’s just the fit you were searching for all along.

For those who always dreamed of starting a firm from Day 1, starting and building a successful practice represents an enormous accomplishment; a culmination of hard work and vision.  Likewise,  those of us who stumbled into solo practice and found opportunities feel similar pride – but also gratitude that we didn’t miss out on a chance to have a career and a life that we  never imagined.

Additional reading:  The Accidental Practice.