Running your own firm can be challenging at the best of times. You are expected to be an expert in finance, human resources and marketing. Yet our professional training neglects to properly equip us with such expertise. It is just assumed that “you’ll pick it up” as you go along.
Outsourcing
You already outsource some of your management functions to your bookkeeper, accountant or trusted members of staff. You can easily add marketing to that list.
Now, to make your website stand out, you will need unique, engaging content. To research, write, edit and produce an engaging blog post will probably take you at least a few hours… A few otherwise billable hours.
Why not give it a go? Now factor in spending those few hours next week doing something similar… and then the week after, and so on.
Outsourcing the creation of your unique, engaging content will save you that time. It will save you money too. It is that simple.
“It’s economics, stupid”
Adam Smith, in The Wealth of Nations (1776), cited the example of a pin factory to demonstrate how specialisation can impact enormously upon productivity:
One man draws out the wire, another straights it, a third cuts it, a fourth points it, a fifth grinds it at the top for receiving the head; to make the head requires two or three distinct operations; to put it on, is a peculiar business, to whiten the pins is another; it is even a trade by itself to put them into the paper; and the important business of making a pin is, in this manner, divided into about eighteen distinct operations, which, in some manufactories, are all performed by distinct hands, though in others the same man will sometimes perform two or three of them.
What is your hourly rate, beyond a mere aspiration? Although it may seem outmoded, an hourly rate can still provide you with a good rule of thumb.
It makes sense to outsource aspects of running your practice to allow you to concentrate on doing what you do best: being a solicitor!
Matchmaking
Outsourcing seems to be synonymous with call centres on the Indian subcontinent. At the end of the day, you get what you pay for. You will be presenting your content to your client base to show off your knowledge and expertise.
To do this, you will want your content to be written by someone who shares that knowledge and expertise. Add in professional marketing expertise, and your mind will be made up!
Can’t someone else do it?
The Simpsons (Episode #200)
Yes. We can!