Starting Out Stories – Kira Gagarin
I graduated Law School in 2009 and the prospect for jobs out there was bleak, to say the least. I decided that my best option was to wait it out a year, get a Masters degree (hey, can never have too many letters next to your name, right? Or at least that’s what my parents always say…) and I was certain that by the time I was done with that the job market would be better and all my friends from school would have jobs and would be able to get my resume on some desks.
So off I went to Madrid for a year to study International Law and intern at Ernst and Young. If I was going to get another year before the real world, I may as well take advantage, right? Fast forward to a year later and all my friends were still jobless and the prospects of getting ANY job, let alone a job where I could actually put my skills to work, were depressing. I did some document review. I may have even shed a tear being rejected for a job after the third interview. I did some more document review. I filled my refrigerator with “thanks, but no thanks” letters from jobs I had applied to as far as 6 months back and had forgotten about. I did some mooooore document review.
Then a friend suggested something crazy. Why don’t we open our own law office?? We sat down, did some math (as much math as a lawyer can do), and the idea started getting less crazy and more exciting and feasible. Document review (and living with my parents, shhh!) had certainly allowed me to save up a good chunk of funds. Why not take the plunge? Ok, there are a few reasons why not… But, my family had immigrated to the US from Russia in 1989 and made their own path so why was I so scared to make my own when no opportunities were coming my way.
After much thinking and much more dreaming, the idea slowly became a reality. My friend, whose “crazy” idea initiated the brainstorming, ended up not being able to follow through because of a 90 thousand dollar public service grant she would have to repay if she went into private practice. Nonetheless, I took off running (maybe zig-zag style at first) and have never looked back. I even moved out of my parents’ house! Now, I am grateful for the lagging economy and the opportunity to create my own opportunity and build and grow something I am proud of.
I treat my clients the way I think people should be treated. I have been confused (to say the least!) and reached out for help and am so thankful for the generosity of seasoned practitioners. I go to court as the lead attorney on my cases. I have argued a case before the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (and won!). I can take an afternoon off to go for a walk with my mother. And, if I am at work all day on a Saturday I know it is for my own business, not so that someone else can take credit for my work. I still have days where I think it’s a crazy idea, but crazy doesn’t always have to be bad, right?
*Kira Gagarin, Esq. is an immigration attorney practicing in Framingham. She is fluent in Russian and Spanish and is conversational in Portuguese.*
Starting Out Solo and Calling It Quits
Guest post by Attorney S.H.
This is the story of a girl who went solo and called it quits. My story begins in May 2008 when I graduated from law school. I spent that summer studying for the bar and planning for a wedding. I got married in September 2008 and started my two year clerkship term in October 2008. My plan was to finish out my two year term as a clerk and hopefully start to work at a law firm focusing on employment law.
Knowing that my clerkship was going to end in October 2010, I started to look for a new job in the beginning of 2010. After sending out countless cover letters, resumes, and writing samples, it quickly became clear that the job market was very competitive, and there was not much out there. I only received one interview after sending out many, many applications. Things were not looking good.
Then my job search came to a halt in June 2010 when I had my son. I decided to take a break from the job search, and I took the summer off for maternity leave. I returned to work at the end of the summer, and ended my clerkship in October 2010. I was sad my clerkship was ending, but I was happy to lose my three hour round trip commute each day. While I love Boston, it was too far away from my home and I hated losing all that time each day commuting.
The job search began once again. I quickly realized that almost everything that was posted was in Boston and I did not want to work in Boston. It was also very discouraging to send out application after application and receive not one interview. So slowly, but surely, with encouragement from my family I started to think about hanging my shingle. My husband had steady income and he carried out health insurance so it was an option. I attended the MCLE course “Hanging Your Shingle” along with the LOMAP start-up meeting. Both of these courses were excellent resources. I read some books, talked to some friends, and away I went!
I was very, very cautious about spending money. It took me almost three months to decide on a location. I thought about virtual office space, but there was nothing close enough to my house that would be convenient. I looked into renting office space, but I was way too nervous to commit to a one year lease when I did not have one client. On a whim, I emailed a local attorney I had never met and asked if I could use her space to meet clients and I would pay her on a per use basis. She called me right away and said that arrangement would be fine with her. She also agreed that I could use her office for my business address. It was essentially a virtual law office, but only 10 minutes from my home and I could use it as often as I wanted. I was so excited!
As for the rest of my expenses, I purchased a new computer, printer, scanner, and Dymo LabelWriter. I changed my home phone number to use for my business phone, got a fax number through an online service, set up a website and email through godaddy.com, and ordered some business cards. I purchased my liability insurance and set up an IOLTA account. I also went to an IOLTA training seminar through the Office of Bar Counsel. I set up my office in the basement of my house and I was ready to go.
I decided to focus on real estate since I knew some people in the real estate industry. Even though the real estate market was not the best, I figured it was a way I could get a steady stream of income initially. I contacted some real estate attorneys and got advice about how to become an agent for a title insurance company. I attended some MCLE courses and read everything I could about Massachusetts real estate.
I received my first real estate deal in March of this year. It was the first time I had to make all the decisions in the workplace. I had no coworkers or boss to look to for guidance. I felt very vulnerable and nervous. Luckily, I had a friend who was a real estate attorney. I also reached out to a fellow Starting Out Solo member who basically saved my life. She walked me through everything I needed to know. I was up very late the night before my first closing balancing my HUD and going over my final numbers with her. I will forever be grateful for how much she helped me! I would not have ever got through that deal without her.
I knew I needed to build up my business so I joined some bar associations and my local chamber of commerce. I am a social person, so going to networking events was always fun. I gave out my business card and made small talk. However, I had a hard time dealing with the lack of results for the amount of time I felt I was putting into networking. I remember Jared from LOMAP stressing the marketing aspect of the business. However, marketing was just not my thing! The marketing aspect of the business quickly became a thorn in my side. I realized that I am an impatient person who does not like rejection. Summer came along, and I started to rethink going solo…
And them BAM, my husband got laid off. I tried to be calm, cool, and collected but inside I was panicked. He carried our health insurance. I was making barely any money. How could this work? How could we afford health insurance if my husband did not have a job? The job market was awful, and every day more gloom and doom reports came on the news about how things were not going to get better any time soon. Our son was 14 months old, and doctor appointments at that age are a frequent occurrence. I was already rethinking going solo, and at that point I knew I had to start applying for jobs.
So I applied. And I applied. And I applied. I applied to everything everywhere. Attorney positions. Non-attorney positions. I did not care. As long as the job had decent pay and health insurance, I was applying. I received many rejection letters and one interview. The job was for a non-attorney position with a very reputable company. I had high hopes, but I did not land the job. I tried to remain positive, but when you have a young child and a mortgage and bills to pay, you start to panic.
And then it seems that all the stars aligned. A job was posted for a firm looking to hire a litigation associate only 25 minutes from my house. No litigation experience necessary. I applied right away, and two days later I got an interview. Then I got a second interview. And then I waited for a phone call….
It was Labor Day weekend. We packed up the family and headed to my in-laws up North. Once we arrived my husband got a phone call. He received a job offer for a better position with health insurance benefits. We were so excited! We celebrated all weekend. And then the week after I received a job offer from the firm close to my house! I could not wait to receive a steady paycheck again.
I started with my new firm at the end of September. I had some real estate closings to wrap up for my firm and I just did my last closing last week. I am now in the process of fully winding down my solo practice. It was a one year journey that I will never forget. I loved being my own boss, making my own hours, and calling all the shots. I did not like the marketing, rejection, and anxiety that came along with having my own practice. I simply could not handle the business aspect of the business. I wanted to practice law. I did not want to run a business and I am glad I quickly came to that realization. I am happy I tried it, but I am also happy that I made the decision to close up when I did. Going solo works out for a lot of people. It did not work out for me and I am ok with that. I am proud of myself for putting myself out there and trying to do something very difficult.
I am thankful that I had the support of my family, friends, and most importantly Starting Out Solo. I do not know how I would have made it through this year without this group of attorneys. I have never met many of you, but I feel like I know you well. You made the scary journey of going solo not as scary and provided many laughs along the way! I cannot thank you enough.
Six Lessons I’ve Learned Since I Started Working for Myself
This is a repost from Robert Green’s DIY.
In May of 2009, I was living in North Dakota and formed 2 LLCs: Green Web Publishing, LLC and Battery Powered Games, LLC. I formed two because the 2 businesses are unrelated and have totally different risks. LLCs and Corporations are specifically to mitigate risk so it made sense to do that and I’m still glad I did because if one crashes for any reason, I still have the other making money. I have a few active websites run by GWP and 5 games now published under BPG. Both businesses are profitable in that they make money even when I only do the bare minimum maintenance work. That’s nice because it gives me time to continue investing in them and is the exact reason I chose the businesses I did.
If you’re looking to work for yourself, here are some of my experiences and suggestions:
1) Give yourself lots of time.
It usually takes a lot longer to get good solid money coming in than you planned on. Don’t underestimate this. I remember last summer when I was honestly convinced I could publish a game that would reliably make me 50k in the next year. Not true! Of course there are exceptions but when you’re in a highly competitive market with low margins and fickle consumers – you can’t bet on anything! Give yourself LOTS of time to get started. A full year MINIMUM. 2 would be good. In my experience and with talking to others in the same boat, it seems like it’s a good 2 years of R&D and learning about the market and how to sell your products before you’re making what you originally thought you should be at 2 months.2) Keep your overhead LOW! Running out of money is horribly stressful.
You don’t have a regular paycheck. On a good month, you’ll make a few thousand. On a bad month, you’ll make next to nothing. Business expenses will pile up, including new equipment costs, contracting, legal fees and other. If it costs you $2500 per month just to stay afloat and you only have 10k in savings or 10k available as credit, you’re not going to last long! You must get your monthly expenses down if you’re serious about doing this. That means selling your car if you’ve got a car payment. It means buying cheap groceries and rarely ordering food or eating out for a year. It means cancelling cable/sat tv – you won’t have time to watch anyway. My wife and I found ways to rent really cheap or house sit for people we knew for over a year. That saved probably $1000/month for a year. It may not be an option to most people but don’t rule any cost savings out. You NEED to keep your overhead low because you won’t be able to make good decisions when you’re desperate.3) Network. Network with everyone.
Find local common interest groups and go. Talk when you’re there! I go to game development and mobile interest groups here in my local area and I’ve met some of the most valuable leads in my life at them. I’ve also seen people who show up and don’t say a word, getting very little out of the ordeal. Just go and get to know everyone. Most people are very friendly at those things and you may end up making a few good friends out of the deal as well 🙂4) Make yourself known.
This blog alone has developed into good leads for my business. All I’ve done is blog about the Android development that I’ve done and even though I haven’t really written much in the last year, it seems that what I wrote has been enough to get the attention of a few important people here and there and it’s given me opportunities I couldn’t have dreamed of before.5) Be persistent.
Your first attempt at what you’re doing may very well fail. In fact, the second and third attempts might also be unfruitful. It gets tough – especially when you’ve got those glistening, big bright eyes staring at the prize and it all seems to slip through your fingers as the game, app or website you’ve developed simply doesn’t take off. There’s a lot to learn about designing, developing and marketing a product that really takes hold. For 99.9% of us – it doesn’t happen overnight and certainly doesn’t happen on the first attempt. I’m still searching for that magic bit of gluey game design that makes people rave about a title. I haven’t quite found it but get a little closer with every try.6) Be patient.
This may be reiterating a point made above but these things take time. Though it’s happened to a few, don’t plan on winning the lottery with your first bit of IP. Stay the course, keep refining and improving and keep calm.This may seem very abstract if you haven’t started anything up yet but it’ll make more sense down the road. Of course there are always exceptions but these things have been very important for me so far in my venture.
Working For Yourself: Part 1 [Robert Green’s DIY]
John Grisham – in his own words – Started Out Solo
There are a million reason why we start out solo and then a million roads we can take to reach success. Some people’s success is a profitable firm and a family to go home to. Some people’s success is growing beyond a solo. Then there’s John Grisham’s success, which turned out to be a novelist.
This is his story.
Starting Out Stories – Gabriel Cheong
I graduated law school May, 2007 and passed the MA bar on November, 2007. I opened up my solo practice the day after I passed the bar exam. This decision came out of both necessity and determination.
I went to law school at Northeastern University School of Law in Boston, MA. They really helped to prepare me for my solo practice work through their mandated coop program. Their coop program is an internship program that is worked into their 3-year curriculum. The first year of law school is a traditional, 2-semester course work load. Beginning the second year and continuing to the third, students rotate between going to school full time and working full time at an internship of their choice. The school year was broken up into 3-month quarters so courses were tightly packed and summer vacation was non-existent. All in all, during my 3 years in law school, I worked at 4 different places ranging from corporate taxation at the Department of Revenue, clerking for a federal judge, divorce and advocacy work for victims of domestic violence, and lastly for the small firm Infinity Law Group (more on this later).
Upon graduation from law school, I quickly sent out what seemed like a million resumes to firms all around Massachusetts. I knew early on that I did not like the Big Firm environment because I wanted to practice family law litigation. In a big firm I would never get the opportunity to litigate or even meet with clients, which is part of why I became a lawyer – to help and relate to people. So I sent out resumes to mostly small and solo firms. It was at this time that the economy started to take a turn for the worse and many small firms were not hiring new lawyers. Some that posted for job openings were only willing to talk to experienced attorneys practicing 5+ years.
I was discouraged by the bad economy but eventually landed a job with a solo practitioner. I worked for this attorney for less than two weeks before I was let go. I’m not sure if it was a lack of need for my services, ill performance on my part, or personality conflicts, or even a combination of those things that led to me being let go. I realized a few days into the job that I woke up every morning dreading the prospect of another day at work. It was at this time that I gave practicing on my own serious thought. Life is too short to be unhappy and miserable doing a job. And if others won’t give you opportunities, you have to make them for yourself.
So I made up letterhead, got my own liability insurance and started out on my own. I worked out of my home but rented an office space with the small firm that I had interned for in law school. About a year into my solo practice, the owner of the small firm, Infinity Law Group, decided to close down shop for personal reasons. At that point, I made the decision to purchase the law firm from her to reboot my branding and marketing efforts.
It’s now been 3-years since I passed the bar. I have an established family law and estate planning practice. I hired an associate to handle bankruptcy work and employ a northeastern intern every quarter (paying it forward). My practice and firm is growing despite the economy.
In the beginning, I was confronted daily with doubts on opening my own firm, both from myself and also some of my family who didn’t believe I should’ve gone through with the decision. But I learned that I have to do what makes me happy and success and money will follow only if I am happy with what I do. After 3 years in solo practice, I wake up everyday loving what I do. I look forward to Mondays just as much as Fridays. That feeling of happiness alone keeps me going.