Is now the perfect time to start a solo practice?

The short answer: Yes. I'm totally aware of the inner hysteria most people are feeling about our economy. After all, the government finally declared that America has been in a recession since December 2006! You feel you need to take a Valium before you open your 401k statement every month. You're watching your property taxes increase while your home value drops like an elevator with broken cables. You've either been laid off or can't get your first job. I get it. Trust me, I do.

History tells us that shaky economic times are the best times to start a new business. Did you know that 16 of the 30 companies that make up the Dow Jones Industrial Average were started during a recession or depression? These little companies include Disney, McDonald's, Proctor & Gamble, Alcoa, General Electric and Johnson & Johnson.

Go back to 1973-75, when the U.S. was captained by an unpopular president, embroiled in the Watergate scandal and at the hind end of the expensive and polarizing Vietnam War. Within two years, gasoline prices had increased by more than 50 percent. Credit was very tight. And consumer confidence was at historic lows. (Does this sound painfully familiar?)

And in these terrible times a few entrepreneurs you may know figured 'what the heck?' Those tumultuous 1970s saw the beginnings of Famous Amos Cookies, Supercuts, Chili's, Cablevision, Oakley and the start of a fairly well-known company called Microsoft. (Wonder where Bill Gates is expanding to right now?) Other notable businesses launched during recessionary times: Costco, Applebees, J. Crew, Whole Foods and Intuit.

You're asking yourself, "How is this possible? Don't most business fail?" With times so tough, starting a new business seems the height of insanity. Not really. It is during these times that entrepreneurs (and very smart business people) realize they have nothing to lose and everything to gain. The world is crashing down around them anyway. The very things that might have prevented those from starting a business before are no longer present -- the opportunity cost is low.

Yes, it's a little concept called "opportunity costs." When times are good and many law firms are hiring, turning down a good job means giving up the "opportunity" of job security with a steady salary, health insurance, paid vacation and sick time, and matching 401k. You are giving up this known and quantifiable opportunity for the unknown adventure called solo practice, something for which you are totally responsible.

But what if, in times like these, there are no good jobs being offered to you? What if you just passed the bar and no one is hiring? What if you are a low-level associate knowing you are going to get pink-slipped or have been already? You can stay home and bemoan your fate while your student loan bills mount. Or you can take your skills and open your own practice. There is little opportunity cost to do the latter as the alternative is sulking, fretting and competing for a minimum-wage job only to be told you are over-educated for the cashier's position at Target.

SHAKING OFF PARALYSIS

When bad times hit, the world as we know it changes. Economies experience severe upheaval and disruption. The earth moves as it deconstructs and rapid change becomes the norm. For most, paralysis sets in. But those who shake off the paralysis, who see opportunities where others only see misery, are the entrepreneurs. They search the rubble of "what was" and look for opportunities to create "what will be."

When the economy is bad, here is what happens in our legal world (and the rest of the world, too):

Competitors weaken. We are all reading about BigLaw layoffs, partners jumping ship, small firms that became complacent and forgot the business components of running a law firm. Many of those lawyers you viewed as competition with tremendous overhead, fancy offices and excess staff are facing challenging times. Maybe they are deciding it's time to close up shop or downsize and outsource work.

Clients get restless. When the status quo is acceptable, clients are more likely than not to stay with their current lawyers even if there are more innovative, creative and better lawyers out there. When money tightens, clients start shopping around, looking for cheaper legal services or more value for the dollars they do spend. This lends validity to the statement, "In difficult times, market, market, market."

There is a palpable shift in the flow of business and those who push a great message into the public arena will get new business. It is not a time to tighten your belt on marketing. Clients still have needs. You better be promoting your solutions.

BigLaw cuts back. Big firms make the huge mistake of reducing their marketing budget and even their services, especially to smaller or less valued clients. These smaller clients may be a perfect fit for you.

Target those clients who are using more expensive, traditional legal service providers and show them there is an alternative to what they currently know. Show them in lean times fixed fees are superior to billable hours. Be the low cost and/or high value solution to your competition's clients and they will be receptive to listening to your message.

The economic times we are in will rock many a client's world. Be entrepreneurial, innovative and aggressively seek out business while still maintaining your ethics. When the dust settles, those who realized this was a time of great opportunity will be profitable.

Now is not the time to fade away and lick your wounds. Now is the time to gather yourself up by your professional bootstraps and say, "It's time to take charge."

Susan Cartier Liebel is a full-time coach/consultant for solos and small firms, an attorney who started her own practice right out of law school, a former adjunct professor at Quinnipiac University School of Law for eight years teaching law students how to open their own legal practices right out of law school, and a columnist for The Complete Lawyer writing on issues facing solos. She also produces Build A Solo Practice and Solo Practice University.

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