Lisa's blog

Have a Plan.

Fri, 11/07/2008 - 10:14 — Lisa

In my first blog I compared business ownership to parenthood. I want elaborate more on that analogy today.

Generally speaking, we don’t just wake up one day and say “I’m going to have a baby today. My dog/cat/mouse ran away so I might as well have a kid today.” I’m afraid with the state of the economy many people are starting to feel like they don’t have a choice but to start their own business. While this is certainly a reason to start your own business, I do not think it is necessarily the best reason.

I hold a Juris Doctor degree from the Norman Adrian Wiggins School of Law at Campbell University. This means I went to school for at least 7 years (4 years undergraduate + 3 years of law school) to attain that degree. However, while it qualifies me to practice law (after taking the grueling two-day North Carolina Bar Exam) it does not qualify me to own/run a business (and/or have employees).

So, like any parent (or entrepreneur), I needed a plan before I embarked on my endeavor. Every web resource and “Dummies” book recommended drafting a business plan. I must confess, I had no idea what one even looked like (they don’t teach you that at law school). So, like any red-blooded American, I googled “law practice business plans”. (I got 1,610,000 results – in case you’re interested). I spent several weeks browsing the results until I picked one that worked for me. I spent about $100.00 on some downloadable software that had fill-in forms and samples but allowed me to mold it into a personalized plan.

To be honest, this was the best hundred bucks I spent. Drafting my own business plan made me sit down and think about what I wanted to do with my business and how I was going to do it. I mostly guessed with some of the figures (but that’s what parents are for – to tell you your numbers aren’t “realistic”). I went through about six drafts of my plan before I had something I could present to banks. I’m proud of my plan and I’m proud of me for doing it myself.

You can certainly hire an attorney, M.B.A, C.P.A., M.O.M. or D.A.D. to draft your business plan for you, but I recommend against it. Have the above individuals review your plan, but try doing it yourself. Just as the decision to have children (or how to raise children) is personal so is a business plan. Nobody knows you, your abilities or your management style better than YOU!! If I can do it, YOU can do it!!

Just Say No to Gimmicky Items!

Tue, 11/04/2008 - 11:31 — Lisa

One thing I have learned as a business owner is that I’m pretty vain! Because I am the registered agent for my corporation, I am the target of an obscene number of direct mail solicitations. You see, solicitors monitor the North Carolina Secretary of State’s (actually every Secretary of State) corporate filings to find out who has incorporated (or registered their business) in North Carolina. They then capture the name and address of the registered agent and add it to their mailing lists.

I have gotten solicitations for ink pens, key chains, holiday cards, clothing, mugs, you name it and I have gotten it!! Now, I have served as registered agent for other corporations before, but I generally just tossed the “junk mail” in the trash to spare my clients the trouble. However, seeing my own name on a pen, etc., I just couldn’t resist. I spent precious dollars from my small budget on a gimmicky item. I confess that while it turned out to be a good marketing tool, I would nevertheless recommend resisting the urge to waste too much of your budget on these “gimmicky” items (simply because your name is on it). Go ahead . . . buy one! It is pretty cool to have a pen with your name on it. But, stop at one--if you don’t you will be on every junk email list for the rest of your business’s life.

My First Blog!

Wed, 08/06/2008 - 22:24 — Lisa

As Peter Paul and Mary once crooned “the times they are a-changin’.” Today I change from an associate attorney in a firm owned by someone else, into a solo practitioner responsible for a staff of ½ (I have a part time receptionist). Over the past 10 years I have gone from a legal assistant, to a law student, to an associate attorney and now to an owner of my own law firm! I look forward to this new challenge; after all it can’t be harder than motherhood . . . can it? Actually, I have found motherhood and business formation/ownership are surprisingly similar.

Both motherhood and business ownership start with a hope, a dream for the future. You plan, you worry, you count your pennies, you ask family and friends for advice (and money), you expect, you celebrate and finally you’re exhausted when the big day finally arrives. Things did not go exactly as you planned, but seemed to workout anyhow.

The interesting thing is I thought I was adequately prepared for both motherhood and business ownership. I read all of the books. I checked out all of the websites. Heck, I had even helped dozens of others form their own North Carolina businesses. The legal process was not a problem for me. It was the personal touches with regard to the planning, organizing, budgeting, marketing and coordinating that proved more difficult than I imagined. It’s easy to advise clients on what type of entity to form, what types of agreements they will need, possible sources of investment capital and then sit back and draft all of the documents needed.

These so-called “personal touches” are where business formation is like motherhood. My husband and I labored for MONTHS over what to name our children. We didn’t want something too modern. We wanted a Biblical middle name, but not one of the weird Biblical names. We wanted something that was memorable and rolled smoothly off the tongue. I similarly labored over what to call my business. Not only does the Secretary of State have certain naming restrictions, so does the State Bar. I didn’t want to use my last name first, because in the Yellow Pages, I would come toward the end of the listings. Any alternative had to contain my surname . . . what to do?? I decided on “Law Office of Lisa Schreiner, P.A. It doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue, but it does meet all of the statutory requirements and I won’t be at the end of the Yellow Page listings. Bonus!

Over the next several blogs, I will chronicle some of the other gold nuggets I have discovered along my practical journey into business formation/ownership. I hope some of my gold nuggets help you. If you want to add some of your own gold nuggets, please feel free!