Lawyer? Miserable? With only 116 days of 2024 left, here are 3 key things to think about if you’re considering Consultancy in 2025…

How much do I need to earn?

A bit brutal this one. But vital!

We all have our figure that’s required to keep the metaphorical lights on.

What is that number? Can you bridge it with savings? If so, for how long? Can you bridge it with another household income? Can you make some changes now that will reduce that number? Do you want to!

There’s no right or wrong answer here and everyone’s circumstances are individual. However, you’re about to become a business owner so knowing what you need to get out of it and by when is absolutely crucial.

What does that figure translate to in hours/fees billed?

Here you may be pleasantly surprised!

Say you’re looking to replace a £75,000 salary.

If you’re now keeping 75% of your billings that’s an annual turnover of £100,000.

Which is £8,333.33 a month or £2,272.72 a week - using a 44 week working year i.e. taking all 8 Bank Holidays and 32 additional days holiday.

Going even more granular, it’s £454.55 a day. At a Regional Band 1 SCCO Grade A Hourly Rate of £278 an hour, that’s just 1.6 billable hours a day…

Imagine how much more time you’d have for life and the things you love and how much more value you could deliver for clients if you only had to bill 1.6 hours a day!

Where is the work going to come from?

Now, you may have a pre-existing portable and profitable caseload*. In which case the initial answer to this question is easy.

But, whatever your circumstances, where the work is going to come from in the first instance and how you’re going to sustain it over the longer term needs some proper thought.

Who are your ideal clients? Where do they hang out? How do you reach them there? Are there services/products/billing models they’ve always wanted that you’re not currently allowed to provide? What would that look like? How can you deliver that? What is your niche? How do you add value (and I mean *really* add value) to clients? And why do you want to help them?

Who are your referrers? How can you help them? Can you refer work in to them? Can you offer them services/add ons that make you money and make them look great for their clients? Can you do joint events? How do you expand your network of said referrers. And why should they send their clients to you not anyone else?

And, crucially, keep your former colleagues, trainee intake and professional connections close. Never underestimate the value of being considered a safe pair of hands/decent human being and how keen people are to help you succeed.

This might all seem scary. It isn’t. I think you’ll surprise yourself with what you could do. But it *is* important to do the preparation. Because becoming a legal business owner is a big decision. Even if I’m sure you won’t regret it if you do!

*If so, then, seriously, what are you waiting for!