Future Friday: Solo Leverage, Part II
A long time ago in Internet years, I wrote that solos and smalls must come up with ways to diversify their services. That doesn’t mean having cheap rates for certain clients and full fees for others, but rather developing different revenue streams to ensure that cash is coming through the door.
Back in 2008, the cloud was in its nascency and social media was just gaining traction. Fast forward, and we have other developments – like the internet of things that, according to this Harvard Business Review blog post is changing how non-legal businesses think about their business model.
From the article:
However, making money in the connected space is not limited to physical product sales; other revenue streams become possible after the initial product sale, including value-added services, subscriptions, and apps, which can easily exceed the initial purchase price. In a recent conversation, Renee DiResta, a Principal at O’Reilly AlphaTech Ventures, noted: “Things that generate recurring revenue are actually more appealing to venture capitalists. Otherwise, the business model is banking on the hope that prospective customers will be loyal and be compelled enough to come back to buy the second product.”
See any applicability for law firms?
This dovetails nicely with recent information which came out and said in the not too distant future we (not specifically lawyers) will not have careers but methods of income generation. Everything is being redefined, clearly the legal profession is part of this. Failure to recognize it and instead decry the degree gets you nowhere very fast. Better to look at the tools at hand and say, ‘how can I generate income’? I have a law degree, clients, but most clients unwilling to to pay based upon the old model. How can I look at my skill set and what clients need and the rules (recently evolving) and create cash flow in a worthwhile way for myself and those I want to reach? This is the future.
I have a crazy suggestion. Information products. Training materials for clients. eBooks. Obviously, offer some for promotion, but others for purchase. I actually was engaged by a client to prepare an online training video on social media based on my background as an adjunct professor.