This one is a little different. Anita had been struggling for a couple of years with doing a web site (she couldn’t quiet find the right look, she wanted it to have a lot of useful content) and a direct mail newsletter (that she never quite found the time to create a mailing list for). So I found this article on her computer, written for one of the two, I forget which. I love reading her writing style because she writes exactly like she talks.
Here she is trying to connect with small business owners as a lawyer – and people hate lawyers. Eventually she ditched this approach and approached people focusing on their needs and struggles, taking away the focus on law and being a lawyer. The common thread through her practice was that she genuinely wanted to help people and not be stereotyped.
Let me cut right to the chase … you, as a small business owner, deserve a lawyer.
That’s right. That’s what I said. You are important to our economy. You matter. You really do. You deserve professional counsel to help you run your business better and avoid the legal pitfalls that could lead to business failure. Bottom line – you deserve a lawyer. Period.
Does this seem like an unusual approach?
Well, I used to think it was unusual, too. Until I started talking to small business owners. And then I began working with small business owners. And time and time again, I kept hearing things like this:
- “Why do I need a lawyer?”
- “Lawyers are too expensive.”
- “I’ve never been sued.”
- “I’m not doing anything wrong.”
- “I don’t need to talk to a lawyer.”
OK. Fine. But if these things are true, then why is it that each time I sit down with a group of small business owners, or give a presentation to small business owners, I am bombarded with questions?
- “My business partner is taking money out of the business checking account against my wishes. What can I do about it?”
- “I’ve signed this lease with a copier company, and now they are telling me I’m locked in even though the copier doesn’t work. What can I do about it?”
- “One of our customers has disputed a charge that we put on his credit card, but he agreed, in writing, to pay the money for the service beforehand. Now his credit card company is refusing to pay us. What can I do about it?”
I worked on behalf of big, Fortune 500 companies for the first 8 years of my legal career. And you know what? They always have lawyers. Always.
It’s not because big companies have more money to throw away than you do. Big companies have big shareholders, and big shareholders watch the bottom line . . . very, very closely. Big companies wouldn’t spend money on anything that did not make the business run better.
It’s not because big companies are more important than you are. More than 99% of businesses in the U.S. are small, and contributed more net new jobs than Google, etc. Trust me, you are very important.
I think it’s simple. Big companies understand that professional counsel is a necessity in order to do business. Well, in order to do business well. To protect their assets. To avoid liability. That’s what legal counsel is all about.
So if big companies deserve someone who can answer their questions and keep them out of trouble, don’t you?
