There’s a version of running a business I think a lot of us have in our heads.
You hire the right people, get your systems dialed in, figure out marketing, and eventually everything starts running the way it’s supposed to.
As someone who’s been self-employed for 20 years… I’m still waiting. HA!
One thing I know for sure is that fixing one problem usually uncovers another. It never really ends, and I don’t mean that negatively.
The goal is to keep solving better problems.
Think about how that happens inside a growing firm. At one point, you might need more cases, so you invest in marketing and start getting them. Now intake needs work because more leads are coming through. You fix intake and suddenly the team has more cases to manage.
You solved the original problem. The business grew because of it. Now you're dealing with a problem you weren't big enough to have before.
That’s progress, even when it doesn’t always feel like it.
Merritt Farmer is experiencing a version of that right now.
Merritt has been practicing since 2014, and he's currently thinking through what the next stage of The Farmer Law Firm looks like. That includes adding another attorney, improving intake, managing his existing caseload, and figuring out which tools and systems actually make sense for the business.
Once he started looking for answers, he realized just how much is out there. Between new tech, AI, different ways to structure the firm, and all the advice coming from other owners, you can learn enough to create twenty new things you think you should be doing before lunch.
But the point isn't to do all twenty.
It's to figure out which problem actually needs your attention next.
A friend once told him, “If your business isn't growing, it's dying.” His point was that once you reach one goal, there has to be another because someone else in your market is still trying to get better, become more efficient, and take market share.
I don't take that to mean you should chase growth for the sake of growth.
I take it to mean you can't get too comfortable with where the business is today.
There will always be another area to improve. The important part is figuring out what deserves your attention now instead of trying to fix everything at once.
And when you do identify it, don't assume you have to start from zero.
Someone has probably dealt with a version of that problem before.
I don’t think I’ve ever had a week in business where there wasn’t something that needed to be fixed.
What has changed is the kind of thing I’m fixing.
So here’s what I want you to do this week:
Pick the problem you’re tired of carrying forward.
Maybe it’s intake, hiring, getting yourself out of the day-to-day, or a process that keeps breaking as the firm grows. If you’ve been talking about it for the last year, make it the problem you actually solve next.
Send it to me.
Email me at [email protected] and tell me what you’re trying to fix.
If I’ve dealt with it, or know someone who has, I’m happy to share what I can.
You’re not supposed to run out of problems. Just make sure you’re not solving the same ones forever.
Until next week,
Kevin
Growth With You In Mind
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