Welcome back to Come Back With A Warrant podcast.I'm Brandon Denitz.And I'm Monica Shack.Before we kickstart this week's episode, this is your reminder that this podcast is not legal advice.It's real, unfiltered, and for entertainment purposes only.If you need to speak with a lawyer, call one.Or better yet, call us.We are back, talking about life as an entrepreneur and balancing that as a criminal defense attorney.SoI think that's the nicest way of saying we're here to discuss the shit that stresses us out.Yes.Exactly.Right?Like that is what, I mean, because in law school, you're not necessarily taught how to run payroll, run a TikTok, deal with hate messages on your social media, deal with clients that are very angry and frustrated and cursing you out in one moment and crying to you the next moment.Making sure you're getting future business.Right.Making sure you're covering overhead, paying your employees as they should be paid.SoWell, now that we vented.Oh my gosh, no.But I, like, before we get into all of this, I do want to say, I, despite the crazy, despite all of the shit that we deal with in one day, I wouldAnd by the way, we didn't mention that this c- we also run a podcast.That's another job.Yeah.But I- But we do this for them.We do this for the listeners.Everybody's probably like, "You are full of shit."Yeah, you're totally full of shit.Yeah.Yeah, I am?But I, there is literally no place I would rather be.No, I, I agree.I loveEven on my hardest days, I love doing what, what I do and I'm grateful that I'm doing it for, like, under my name.And not for another firm.You know what I mean?Like- Yeah.I'm enduring this suffering for the sake of my business.Not someone else's.The sanity suffering.Yeah.Right.So you, you started talking about a lot of different aspects of running a business but we also have another full-time job which is being actual lawyers, showing up to court, handling our clients, managing our caseloads, making sure we're identifying all of the legal issues in the cases.If we're going to trial, we're prepping for trial just like all other lawyers are.We just have to also manage our business.Right.And that is a second job.Yeah.Running, running the actual business of a law is a job within itself.And that is everything from payroll to finances, overhead, you were talking about marketing, budgeting.There's a ton of things that go into- Accounting, bookkeeping.There's so much.That all go into your, that all go into your just the business side.And then when you have a passion and you do this at a certain level like we do, you take on another job where you have the social media aspect.And then you, for us, we take it a, another step further and we do this podcast and you do other speaking engagements and, um, you know, we wear a lot of different hats.And it's funny, you said, you know, our other job, like, as lawyers, like, that is the main gig is when we're going to court and we're advocating and we're fighting for our clients.Like, that's the main job.But that is only a portion of what we do.And we choose to do this.We choose to take on the extra stuff and I agree with you.I love, I love doing this.I love the flexibility of working for myself because I can do multiple things, I can do multiple projects.I can, you know, be in court in the morning, shoot a podcast in the afternoon and pick up my son before the end of school.Like, that is awesome.Yeah.Like I have, I get to check a lot of boxes in a given day and I'm very happy about that.Yeah, yeah.Yeah.So it's like the reward is high but the cost is also high and we'll talk about that.Right.Because there is an aspect of starting up your business where you are investing.So I don't want to say losing money because you're using this money to build whatever it is you're building but you're not getting paid the way you would at a firm or at an employed job.Like, you are now working for yourself and the priority is that the business makes money and then you, as the owner or employee of the business, get paid second.So there is, as, I don't wantThe reason why I'm saying that is because I feel like you're, you're having a great day and you kind of just described it.You had, you know, court in the morning, podcast in the afternoon and picking up Jackson before, you know, t- it's time to actually pick him up or whatever.Whatever.So it's, it's great but there's also an aspect of it where you're really putting a lot on the line and you're just like, "Okay, I'm gonna hope for the best and do my best and whatever comes of it will come of it."And that's why we are literally everywhere marketing all the time but there is an aspect where you have to just risk it all and like, hope that you will, you know, get paid at a stable rate that you would at an employed job or whatever 'cause there's benefits to, to working for somebody.You know?Right, no, I get that.The idea of having a salary and having a bonus structure or just knowing that you have a steady paycheck coming in and that you don't have to worry about overhead and that you don't have to worry about the small different areas that you don't really think about, um, when you think about running a, a law firm.Um, you know, we have to have accountants, we have to have other lawyers that handle, know, other things for us- Yeah.like trademarks.You know?Yeah.You have to haveDon't think a- and marketing companies.Yeah.I mean, you have a lot of different people that help you run the firm because anybody can open a law firm but to want to be successful and to want to grow, you need to do it the right way, you need to hire the right team and continue to build the right team because just right now, you know, you can beAnd we were talking about this.You can have a social media team that you're happy with or not happy with, and that means, okay, there are thousands of social media teams out there.If I don't like my social media team, I need to get a new social media team, and that means I need to start looking for another team, and I need to- Yes.start researching, and I need to start interview.And it's like- Trial and error.that's a whole other part of the, of the gig just to get your social media going, and that is just so you can make some videos, grow your brand in the chance that somebody sees that and then takes the step of hiring you.So you're doing all of this stuff just to get back around to the actual part of the gig where we're representing them in court and going to court.We have to take on all of these extra steps to get there, but we choose to do that.And we like doing that.It's fun.Yeah.It's part of this.And there's aspects of the job I didn't really sign up for.I'm not gonna lie.Like, I have a great assistant.She is amazing.But there is a learning curve with, like, managing an assistant and, like, making sure that, you know, I'm now somebody's boss, so I need to like, you know, do training, prepare her to do her job, help her do her job, and make sure that all her questions are answered, make sure she has resources to look for answers when I'm unavailable.Like, there are things that I didn't really think through until I gotor, like, I don't wanna say things, but parts of my job that I didn't really think I would have to do as early as I did because I just wasn't mentally prepared for it.Hmm.And I'm so grateful to be in this, like, position, and I think she's amazing, but it's- just comes with a lot more responsibility than you really think.So that being said, you and I transitioned into solo practice differently 'cause I came from civil litigation without- kind of having been removed from criminal defense for a while, so I didn't have, like, clientele to bring with me.Oftentimes people who go fromAnd I'm not assuming 'cause I don't know, and this is what my question is to you.But, like, many times when people make a transition within an area of law, they already have clientele in that area, and so their clients will choose to follow them or still send them business or call them.Because when I left the public defender's office and I was in civil litigation, I was getting clients from my old PD clients and- calls from my old PD clients, and they were like, "Hey," like, "Where are you at?"Like, "Can I hire you?"And I'm like, "No, I'm not practicing criminal right now."And so, you know, I didn't have that clientele to bring with me, so I really just winged it in that sense.Like, I didn't have that.I was, likeliterally had just a budget to put into my firm and was like, "Okay, this is- the money I have is what I need to use to end up growing what I can and find the clients that will help me build my firm."But you came from a different background where you were always in criminal, you were at the state's office, you went into criminal defense for a significant time leading up to solo criminal defense practice, so what was that transition like for you?IWell, I mean, just to touch upon the one thing that you mentioned, I took a handful of clients with me, it wasn't a lot.And the reason that I only took a handful is, when you're talking about changing firms as a client, as a criminal defense client, you have to repay to go to a different place.Yep.So the clients that I was representing at my prior firm, in order for them to leave and come with me, they would have tounless I'm willing to just waive it all together, would have to pay me a new retainer, which in one or 2 cases I think I probably was, but it was already at the end of the case, you know.Yeah.But I had a couple- a few clients that I took with me, and then I was very lucky that I had developed a large network of former clients and a network of attorneys that referred me cases, and that's what got me going- Yeah.because I had 0, um, web presence.Yeah.I didn't have a website.Yeah.I didn't have a social media presence at all, so I started from scratch.And even though I was in the profession, I n- I wasn't running a business at that time, so I was watching some people that were doing it and running a business, and running a business well.The model that they have, they were doing it well.I was seeing that, but I wasn't part of running the business, and I alsoSo, I didn't have to think about the marketing yet.I didn't have to think about, um, you know, the parts of the job that we're talking about outside of going to court and dealing with clients and signing cases.Aside from that, I wasn't dealing with, you know, any of the new stuff that we would have and we would take on.Yeah.Well, I do find that word of mouth referrals from former clients is huge, becauseAt least I haven't personally experienced this in my firm yet, because I've been in solo practice forI'm going on my second year, so.Very cool.But anyways, yes.Congratulations.Thank you.But when I was working for a solo a few years ago, most of his clienteleHe has a great web pre- presence, all the things, but still, most of his clientele was from his former clients referring X, Y and Z name to his firm.So, that is a huge way to likeAnd there's like aI think there's a statistic on this that's like, they're 99% more likely to close with you if somebody personally recommended or said your name in that conversation.So again, like I'm saying a statistic like this, I never would've known this before my current role.Like I- Mm-hmm.don't look this stuff up for fun.Like, this is things I need to constantly- Yeah.educate myself on because it's now a part of my roles and duties and jobs as not just an attorney, but a solo attorney at least, or a, an attorney that runs their firm.SoAnd we are gonnaI th- I think it's, it's like there is an aspect of legal practice whereOr I shouldn't say legal practice.I should say kind of running your business in general, doesn't matter what you're doing, but you have to market yourself online.You have to be online.Everybody's online.If you're not online, and I, I get it, maybe the f- first person, like the first thing you're gonna do when you get arrested is probably not go on TikTok and Instagram to look for your lawyer.You're probably gonna do a Google search, and that's why we have websites.But now, social media is being integrated into SEO and they are like now a hand-in-hand thing, so it doesn't evenArgument doesn't really even matter to say like, you know, people aren't going to be going on social to look for their criminal defense attorney, but at the same time, it's having a brand, making sure that people, like, know that you're top of mind, you're the person to go to for that specific industry, not just criminal defense.Like, whatever it is.And that is a part of the reason why we chose to do Come Back With A Warrant, because this is a part of our brand.Like, this is a part of our, you know- Marketing.it's a separate company.Yeah.Yeah, like it's, it's its own entity, but at the end of the day, we are talking about, we're educating our audience on what we do, who we are, and what we see on a daily basis and our expertise, and that is a part of staying top of mind.And I mean, IIt's, it's a f- it's the fun part of marketing because, you know, recording yourself, I record myself, I know you don't, but recording content, you know, in front of a camera for hours at a time, it's not what I choose to do for fun.So, you know, it's something that is an obligation at this point because people don't open up Yellow Pages.Like, you, you have to be on the internet.You have to be accessible to the general public in some way, shape, or form, and the best way to do that is to be on all social media platforms.And so, that'sI didn't really see the value in that because it's a lot to do all the things we're doing, so as a result, we have to delegate, right?Mm-hmm.We have to delegate our social, we have to delegate like our website people.Like, I don't know how to run a website.I don't know how to do any of that, so like, I need to hire the expert to do that.So, it wasn't even on my radar to invest in like social media people until I went out solo and I was trying to create my own content and put it out online and reach out to like local people to help me record and all the things.And I was coming up with my own content, doing my own content strategy, which is like its own thing now.You know, people haveAre experts at that alone, and I got approached by people online and they were likeNow, IPeople are always trying to sell me stuff, but at the time I was like, "I guess this is a good investment."And it, it was, thankfully, 'cause it's now my, still my social media team, but they help me manage all things social media because I don't have the expertise to do that, or the time or energy to do that.Like, I have to already create and record the content.Like, they can post and deal with everything else on the back end.But it's all about providing value at the same time too.Right.You know?Yeah.I mean, and whatever we're doing, we're trying to provide value, especially even with this project itself, this podcast, we wanna give value, and part of that value is entertaining people and giving them something to, you know, to do while they're doing their daily, their morning drive to work- Yeah.or whatever that, that may be, but yeah, ultimately, it goes back to this being another branch of marketing that we're doing for us, and it is an add-on to all of the other work that we're, we're already doing.I mean, I have, you know, I have a, umMy strategy in the way that I handle my social media is I try to do at least one day a month where I'm dedicating to recording for social media.Yeah.And then I can spread that out over the course of a, of the month, and then I have a team that, that does that for me.And, you know, they're gonna do that with some of this content.I mean, that's- Exactly.But the thing that what we're, what we're ultimately getting at is content, and in order for you to expand, you need to have content.And something that you mentioned was, I don't know if youYou didn't really go into it, but you said SEO, and that's search engine optimization, and that's one of the biggest things for building an online presence at all.And I'm certainly no expert in this.Uh, barely understand it, to be honest with you.The thing that I am taking away is, you know, everything that can be searched in terms of trying to find you as a lawyer, you're trying to find ways to cast a net so that you can capture the people that are searching for whatever they're searching for and however they're searching for it, that they find you and they find your website, and that they, you know, that you are top of mind or that your brand is top of charts.And it is all about strategy on how you do that.You can spend money on your website for your website to be big, and you can spend money with Google to have ads that move you up higher and rank you higher, and itA lot of that is very, very expensive.Yeah.We've talked about that.Super expensive.You could have- you could be paying hundreds or thousands of dollars for leads that- You don't even close.don't ever close, and it could be somebody asking me, you know, about their taxes in the middle of the night-.because that's another thing that we didn't mention.This is a 24-hour gig, 365.You are always on.The ph- your phone is always on.You can get calls in the middle of the night, and you need to be able to handle all aspects of your business 24 hours of, of the day.Which allows for the flexibility, you know- True.because, like, sometimes I'll go to the gym at 1:00 PM, you know, but I'm working at 8:00 PM that night.You know what I mean?So it's like, whatever works for my calendar, whatever works and everything, everything, I have never been so reliant on my calendar.Like, even my workouts, my walks, I time block what I need to do when I'm in my office and, like, have days where I'm like, "Okay, like, I have 4 hours today behind the desk," or, like, "I'm not in court or in meetings.What am I doing with those 4 hours?"And I have toBecause if you don't have that discipline, if I don't do that, I'm not gonna have the discipline, so that's why I have to do it- Mm-hmm.and if I don't do that, you're not go- your work's not gonna get done.You are governing yourself, you know what I mean?Like, you don't have HR, you don't have a boss that's, like, standing over your shoulder.Like, if you don't do it, the work doesn't get done, so you have to be disciplined in a sense where, yeah, you're always on, but you also need toIn order to not always be anxious or, you know, in order to have some sort of boundary so you can have a personal life, I think you need to use your calendar, and I know you use your calendar.I don't know if you use it to the extent that I do, but- Probably not.I- Probably not as much as I should.But it's- you still use it and you need it- Yeah.as a part of- Yeah, 0 of course.Yeah, like- All my cases and everything, uh, my wife sends me calendar invites- Invites.so that way, we're, we keep track of stuff, the personal stuff that we need to, you know- Exactly.so we know when we can, when I have the flexibility to, to be scheduling something and do something like this and know what my personal plans are right after this or earlier in the day, whatever my obligations are, you know?Because there is no 9to5 anymore.No, there's not.The only thing that really 9to5, how 9to5 affects my job is that the court system is, revolves around 9 to 5, so, like, for instance, if I need to get ahold of a prosecutor or need a judge to sign an order, if I send it at 6:00 PM, I know it's not going to be signed till the next day.Right.But otherwise, 9to5 affects me zero and the way I run my business 0%, so.So much of our job is post 5:00-.you know?Yeah.Because you have to think about it, people that are calling criminal defense attorneys, if they are, if they have a situation, but it's not an, a current emergency, like, it's not a warrant open or it's a, not a brand-new case, if it's a case that's open and they don't have court for, you know, another few weeks or whatever the case may be, they are gonna make the phone call to a lawyer after work when they're not in work.And so, at 6:00, you're getting phone calls from people that are no, no longer on the clock at their job, but now they're dealing with their personal life, which is a, a potential criminal case, and that case is something that I'm n- now talking to them at 6:00.Yeah.That's so true.There's no, you knowAnd, yeah, it's not like, "Oh, it's 6:00.I'll, I'll talk to you in the morning."Like, no.Right.We're gonna talk about it at 6:00 PM.Right.I have a consult scheduled after this, and that'll be after 5:00 PM, so.And there are times where I have to set boundaries with clients because they take advantage of, uh, of my availability after hours.You know, if I'm getting constant calls from a client at 10:00 at night, and I know it's not an, an emergency- Urgent.you know, sometimes I'll set a, a, you know, a boundary and be like, "Hey, look, call me during some more regular hours."Or whatever the case.But more often than not- For the most part, yeah.no, I'll, I'll take a call at whatever time and because the people that are calling us are usually freaking out.And- Yeah.they're not looking at the clock when they're calling us.They are just- Yeah.calling and, and hoping that we can give them something that will let them sleep a little bit better that night.Yeah, I've definitely done consults at midnight before.Yeah.On the weekend.Of course.Oh, yeah.Or answered at dinner with my friends.Yeah.Like, "I gotta step outside."But that's, again, that's like people can choose to have their phones off during those times.Like, there is a way to s- to have boundaries.But it's also like up to you how you wanna have that work/life balance.Not to say I don't have it, but that's why I need to schedule everything, because otherwise, I will let myself like be forgotten.Right.So- You could have a call, you could have a call service that answers your calls after hours.There's so many ways, yeah.And, and then takes messages for you, so you're not the one doing it.And conceivably, you could have times where you turn off your phone.But it's not realistic when you're starting up a business- Yes.by yourself to do that.That's a, a significant financial resource that is just, it's not realistic right now.So, we have to be the ones that take those calls.But I think the point that you're making is so im-you can't lose yourself in the shuffle, and you have to make sure that you're scheduling time to care for yourself.Yeah.Whether that's working out, whether that's meditating, whether, whatever that is for you, you have to do that, and you have to make that as important as scheduling the most important meeting for the day.Yeah.It's gotta be up there and it's gotta be a priority because you have to prioriti- prioritize your own mental wellbeing in order to take on- More.the type of things that we take on.Yeah, yeah.And to take on more of it, to keep the business running and going.Right.That's so true.That's so true.It's so real.Like, taking care of your mental health, your physical health, your family.Like, sometimes rest is, like, something that should make our to-do list.Like, honestly, like, I follow all these people on TikTok and Instagram that are all about like pour back into yourself, because that is something I always like struggle with, because I love what I do.And because I love what I do and I'm so passionate about it, I'm willing to let Monica be forgotten.And if that's the case, it's not going to beLike, I'm not goingIf I'm not the one that's making sure I'm taken care of, nobody else is going to.And then I can't take on X, Y, and Z for my clients, and then run my business in the best way I can.So, that's so real.And there was another aspect that you did discuss where it was about hate comments, managing hate comments.Which at first I was like, you know, when I was gettingI like had one, my first viral video, and I was like getting so much hate.Like, I get this comment all the time, like, "Don't listen to TikTok Lawyer."Like, do you wanna see me do a closing argument?No, I'm just kidding.Um, but people are haters.I got called a chump.Wasn't very nice.I- Wasn't very nice.I got a funny one that was mean, and it was about my appearance.But it was so funny.I was like, "That's a good one."Like honestly, like I can't even be mad.It was a video aboutI don't know if I told you this.But it was a video about you can get credit if you, like from an airline, if they like cancel your flight.And it was like the tiers of the credit.So, I was like explaining it.And someone commented, "She figured out this information when she missed her flight to get a rhinoplasty."Oh, that's not nice.But I thought it was so funny.Like- Oh, that's not nice, but it's funny.But no, but other people came for him.And I was like, "You know what?I'm not mad about this back and forth."Yeah, so you got the, you got the protectors on there too.Yes, yes.Exactly.My fans came to my rescue.No, I got, I got some good hate on my height when I did the proposal video with, uh, Jen, because you can tell Jen's a little bit taller than me in that video.So, I got some good, some good hate for being, for being short.And I was like, "All right.I'll take it."Like, "Whatever."My God, that's funny.Could- People are mean.Uh, yeah, could be worse.But honestly- Yeah.I- It doesn't bother me anymore.But initially, it definitely was likeYeah, it was the first, the first few comments that I got that like were not the nicest, like I was just like, "All right, well, like you're the one that chose to sit there-" I've g- "and watch the fucking video."Yeah.Some like anti-Semitic comments on mine.On yours?Yeah.Well, they are barking up the wrong tree.Literally.Haven't gotten any on mine yet.You're like, "It's coming, though."Oh, it is.I have been waiting for it.But people are mean.And honestly, the haters have helped me go viral even more.That's the truth.And whenever I comment back, they comment, they continue commenting and it starts this basically this battle online that makes my video get seen.And I'm like, "Okay.Well, thank you so much, hater."Yeah, IAt this point, they are another viewer, another comment.It's good.Yeah, you're boosting my- Yeah.my stuff on the, in the algorithm.And also, the more controversial the stuff that you put up, the- Yeah.and the more responses it gets, and the conversation gets started.It's, you know, it's cool to seeSometimes it's cool to see how the people react to stuff you put up.And other times, it's like, I didn't need to put myself out there if this was what I was gonna get back.But- Yeah.I mean, that's few and far between.And also, you get to a point where you, you don't care about that anymore.No.Like, I don't care.I mean, we also aren't getting like crazy death threats or anything, so it's easy for us to say this.But- Not yet.our general haters currently, y'all don't faze us.Yeah.No, the current level of haters are very low- Yeah.very low level.We don't have anyone that's- Low level- Yeah, we don't have anything-low level criminal.Yeah.We have low level- Low level- Yeah.low level haters.Low level haters, low level criminals.Not really- Mm-hmm.We're not really pulling any big, any big problems yet.Yeah.Well, thereSo, there is something we talked about before where it was like, what is a day even inLike, a day in the life ofLike, if we wereSomeone to a- were to ask you, "What is a day in the life like for you?"WhatHow would you describe it?'Cause you did say, like, you dedicate one day to recording social media a month.Like, I do that too.Yeah.I try to record all my stuff on one day.I think e- every day is different.I don't have a typical day structure anymore like I used to when I worked at the State Attorney's office or when I worked at my prior firm when you would be showing up at the office, staying at the office for the whole day, and that was your job, or going to court, court or the office.My job now is, you know, when it comes to court in the morning, if I have court, I'm there.If not, I'm in the office pretty early and I am in the office until I have an appointment or if I don't have an appointment, I am out.But I have the flexibility of doing things like this.And I also get to say, okay, it's, like, 3:00, I'm gonna go, you know, pick up Jackson or I'm gonna go take myyeah, take my son to the zoo this afternoon.I can do- Whatever.whatever.But it also means that I could have a lunch in the middle of the day that is- Yeah.a long lunch if I want.I can meet with clients in the middle of the day.I can go to the gym first thing in the morning, which I don't do.My wife's gonna laugh when she hears me say that-'cause she's gonna be like, "You do not do that."Yeah, "You're full of shit."Yeah.Totally full of it.But I could- Yeah.If you wanted to.because I've got some flexibility-as a business owner.If you really wanted.Every day is, every day is a little bit, is a little bit different and-the way that I schedule certain things in a, a month, you know, whether it's shooting this podcast or shooting social media stuff, I try to make those set to specific days so that way the rest of the month is flexible for whatever comes up.Because a new client can call me and they may have court- Yeah.you know, tomorrow and that'sI gotta be flexible to, to adapt to that.Our schedule, even when recording this, or doing anything else, we make sure we leave the window of time in the morning open so that way if we need to go to first appearances for someone that was arrested the day before, or if somebody just waited until the last minute to hire a lawyer and they need help the next day, that we're ready and available to do that.Yeah.That's so funny that you goSo, I have same answer but I neverIf I don't have court or if I don't have to be in the office, I will not go.I don't care to be there.I am a by-appointment-only girlie.Like, if you wanna see me, you gotta let me know.You can't just show up here, which happens a lot.Clients are like banging on the door.They're calling my office and they're like, "We're outside the door."I'm like, "You can't do that.You can't do that."Can't just show up at your office.No.You cannot do that.I am home.I am a work from home person.Mm-hmm.I love working from home.If I'm not in court or, like, have an in-person meeting, I'm home working.Like, I'm notWhich allows me to have, like, slow mornings ifYou know, sometimes I will go for a walk outside and, like, listen to our podcasts for, you know, edits and all the things and, like, still getting work done.But I'm still, like, doing what I wanna do and having the morning I wanna have.Go to the office, likeI love being in the office.That's crazy.I really do.I, I justI feel like there's, uhI have a different level of focus in the office.The only thing I don't like about the office is I can't bring my dogs and I don't have a, a bunch of people working there like I used to- Yeah.whenin my previous jobs.Other than, other than that, I mean, it'sI can get in.I can focus.I have, you know, my office set up with my computer and my screen and my desk and the things that way- It's like your work station.Right.And I can go into that mode and, you know, do exactly what I need to do, whether that's planning out stuff for social media, writing motions for my clients, getting emails out, getting phone calls done.I mean- Yeah.so much of our job is being on the phone and beingtalking andor being able to email people and getting a hold of people quickly.Like, that's, that's so much of our job.So, yeah.Wow.Kinda lost what I was saying there, but- No.You were saying that you're an, you're, you're an in-office person.But I- I mean, yeah, that's just my- that's my- You get your work done there.You're- you're focused there.I have that too, but I have it at home and I have it at the office.But I'm just most comfortable at home too 'cause I, like, have my food there.I don't have to worry about what I'm gonna eat.I don't have to worry about buying lunch.Like, I can feed myself here.I can be in my comfortable clothing here.Ooh, I love working from home.I am so grateful that COVID changed the times because but for thatI'm not saying I'm grateful for COVID.Right.NotCorrect.You're not.We're not saying that.I'm just saying that I'm very grateful that vi- being virtual is a thing, so.And, like, being- being able to do remote court sometimes is just so convenient because, like- Sometimes it is.today I had to be in 2 places at once.Technically, I didn't have to 'cause you could've covered me.Well, right.I didn't have somebody to cover me.I was able to remote into court and still show up to another courthouse and handle multiple hearings at one time.Ben- Totally benefits.So, that's really what I meant.But, anyways.Yeah.So, Monica and the people who bring you Zoom are really thrilled about COVID.Yeah.Yeah.Yeah.Very grateful.Thank you, China.Like, there is just no day that is alike.And I will say that part of running your business is also investing in your team.And even though you may not have employed people working for you directly, there is, like, contract work where you're paying your social media team, your website people.And I have people specifically for LinkedIn, where I have my posts.I post on there separate content than I do in my social con- my other social content.And I see all these people that contract with my firm as extensions of my team.Like, I have group chats with these people.We are always, like, collaborate- collaborating, strategizing on, like, what the best way we can enhance marketing and branding because I don't pay for a lead source.And that's another aspect of running a business, is that attorneys can pay for, like similar to Google Ads, where it's like pay per call or pay per click.You're paying for a closed lead, or hopefully not a closed lead, but a more funneled lead.And there are companies that provide those services to attorneys specifically, and I don't invest in that, and most- I would say most firms do, from what I've seen.And so, that is the reason why I so heavily invest in my own personal brand, and in my marketing team, and in my LinkedIn team, and in my website team, because those are the people that are making sure I am getting business.Because otherwise, 0 obviously I show up to, you know, happy hours, I network, I do all those things, but most of my- most of my leads come from an online referral, where people see my content, whether it's another attorney or another professional, and they end up knowing somebody, or maybe somebody I know from my past that saw my content and was like, "Hey, like, you know, I actually recently dealt with this issue," or, "I have a friend that is asking about this.Can you help them?"You know, so that's- that's also something to think about.It's like, where are you gonna get your clients or your quote unquote customers who are going to fund your firm in order for you to then, obviously, pay it back- pay it back into the firm and then pay you eventually?So, there is an aspect of that where it's like, maybe you're not necessarily managing a team.Like, there's so many parts of this job, like, I did not ever think, like, that would be a role of mine.I think there are new parts of the job that I learn that I need new people to help me with often.I think thereAnd maybe that's a really good sign, and that's a sign that I'm in a position where I'm growing, so I need to find continued help, and I can afford to bring in that help, and that's really, really great.But in order to build, in order to grow, you're right, you need to have- Unless you are someone who is- Jack of all trades.extremely gifted with computers and with marketing, and you have the best- It's not doable.you know- Even if you are-charisma, like, and you're an amazing content creator, there's just- You can't- I don't think you can do it all- Yeah.and do it all effectively.Yeah.You need- you need a team around you, because there are areas where, you know, yeah, sure, you could be doing your social media, and you're the one that shoots all of your own social media stuff, and you're the one that does all of your own content, but then you start running into problems with the content being repetitive or the content all looking the same or, um, they're lacking something that takes you to the next level.And you have to be willing to do what it takes to get to the next level in order to e- expand, and that is continuing to bring up- bring in new team, you know, expand your team, um, develop- And that's-new resources, things like that.Admitting also that you're not a know-it-all.Like, you have to, like- In order to win in this, like, you have to know that you're not going to be the best at everything, and that you need to get the experts at what they do to, like- the experts to handle each department in your business.And so, like, what you're saying is huge 'cause, like, I think a lot of people let their ego get in the way of their own success.It's like a way of self-sabotage.It's- It will never work if you think that you can handle everything, 'cause I- This is my second business.My first business was wedding planning, which was mentioned, I think on Jen's- Jen mentioned it.That it was a business.I never- I never talked about it before.But this is my second busi- My first business, it- I really was like, "Oh, I'll handle it.I'll handle it," and it really wasn't likeI wouldn't even consider it a real business.It was, like, more of a just a side hustle.And I don't want to dismiss other people's side hustles that actually run as businesses, that, like, employ people or whatever.I did not reach my full potential because I believed that I could do it all, and I reallycouldn't because at 1 point, it got successful enough where I should haveI needed to either close it or hand the ball to someone.And I, that's when I decided to start my firm.So I was like, "Okay, I ne- I'm just gonna close and start my own firm."But that got in the way of my own success at the time, so at least in wedding planning.So it's definitelyThere's a lot of kind of, like, personal growth, I would say, like, with my journey, in terms of, like, throughout this whole process, whether it was before I started my firm and, and so on.But it comes with a lot of, like, facing yourself, your issues, your maybe you don't have a good relationship with money.You have a s- like, a mindset where you feel like you're never gonna be able to get it back, or if you're not willing to take the risk.Like, there is a big fear component with stepping out into the whim when you've been employed for so long.Right.And you actually have a family.Like, for me, I kinda saw it, likeTo be honest, when I went out on my own, I saw it as, like, risk-free because I was like, "What am I gonna lose?A few thousand dollars?"Like, I know that sounds kind of privileged but at the end of the day, it's like, money's, money comes and goes, and it's replaceable, and I willI'm so confident in my ability as a lawyer that I will find another job if this is unsuccessful.Right.So I really wasn't worried, and I have a supportive family.And I saved from my wedding planet.Like, I had things set up for me that I was like, "This is kind of a no-brainer.It's risk-free."But you didn't have that tr- same, like, same comfort.Like, you have a family.You have responsibilities.You have, you have a child.Like, you're a father and a husband, and you have to provide.No pressure.We talk about teams and the importance of teams and building a team.And I have the best team at home, and that allows me to do what I need to do.You know, my family, I put above all else.And I could take jobs that would make me more money than I make now, but I wouldn't get the same time and abilities that I have to be with my family and spend the type of time I do, and I have that.But I wouldn't be able to do what I do without, uh, my wife- Yeah.and my, my partner and that team at home.And then, also, wanting to keep doing all of this and keep getting better and bigger for them is so much more motivation that I, you know, IA lot of the fears and things about, uh, taking risks and, and stepping out there, it's, I'm not evenIt doesn't even faze me because I, uh, I wanna push forward and do it and build for them.And that's, that's what it's all about.Yeah.I mean, it, it's such motivation- Mm-hmm.and fuel for me that I never looked at it like, you knowObviously, I understand starting my own business is a risk, and there are, you know, the concerns about what if, what if, if it doesn't work out, what do you do?But I know my, my outlook forward is just that.It's looking forward.I'm not concerned about some of the, the smaller things, and I do it for them.Yeah.Wow.And this works.That's amazing.So far, so good.Good forYeah, that's amazing 'cause, like, I say that I did it in a way where I felt, like, risk-free in a way, but that's the conclusion I ultimately came to.But the process to get there wasn't necessarily like, "Oh, yeah, I knew "Like, I was scared, for sure, but to hear, like, that you're like, "No, I know that it's gonna be s- like, I'm gonna work my ass off so hard for my family that it's going to work out."It's g- yeah.It's, it's a lot of positive outlook.Yes.We joke all the time, and I think w- it, there's a kind of a serious aspect to it.But we talk about, like, the growth of this podcast, and it's like, you have to kind of be a little delulu to, like- Y- yeah.And it's not even delusion because it becomes a reality, but from th- when you're in, like, the baby stages, it is kind of, you are kind of being delusional because it's, like, not realistic yet.And so, you just, I think, have to have this, like, overly positive attitude that it will work out because you're showing up, you're doing your best, and everything always ends up working out because you are doing those things.And you're doing it for the right reasons, you know.like you're dedicating, you know, whether you're doing it for yourself or you're doing it for yourif you're, putting the right motivation behind you and you're doing things the right way and for the right reasons and doing it with people you enjoy, like, and spending time, you know, out there building and growing, you're gonna be, it's gonna turn itself back in and, and you'll, you know, you'll reap the rewards from it.How did you, like, know how to start a firm?How did I know how to s- I didn't know how to start a firm.The Florida Bar gives you- Yeah.like a whole printout on how to start a law firm.It's very clear.And I went to them and they, they gave me a beautiful chart and I think a PowerPoint- Yeah.show and, uh- It was very detailed.That's how I, that's how I, I did it.But I had no idea.Um, I have family that were entrepreneurs and I have family that were business owners.None of them were ever involved in the law, so I didn't have any help or guidance from them on how to open up a, a law firm.And my legal, my background other than law school, I studied international business and world trade in college.So like, I had a business-ish- Background.So I did that.Uh, I figured, you know, like, I kind of understood and I've, you know, I understand how to, I'm pretty good with my money.Like, I don't think I'm necessarily bad with my money.I save a good amount and I don't know, I figured like, it's, there's a lot of people that start law firms and they- Right outta school.don't put in as much effort as I'm willing to put in and they do fine.Yeah.I figure if I'm willing to put in the effort that I am and I'm doing it with the right motivation, shiit.So true.Yeah.And so many people, like, graduate law school and start their own firms and, like, after having done that, many, I don't wanna say many, many years into practice, but years into practice, I was like, "How do people figure this out?"Like, you have the learning curve of actually practicing law plus running a business.Like, my gosh.I don't know how people do it.I wanted to also talk about, like, the wins, the wins in, in running, like, running a business in terms ofBecause it's not all gloomy and depressing- Yeah.and stressful to run a business.Yeah.No, you're right.It's not.So, but also, like, how do I say this?When we get a client call, it is very hard on the other side of theBut for us, we can help them.Mm-hmm.That's our service.So, as a result, when a client calls us, we get pretty excited, right?Like, that's a win.SoThe phone ringing, yeah.That is, that is th- the name of the game is getting the phone to ring.Exactly.All the marketing, everything we're doing is getting the phone to ring.And that's how you know it's working.Right.Exactly.That's it.Every, is, if the phone is ringing, that's how you know.When we're done shooting this episode, when we look at our phones and we see how many people have contacted us or not contacted us, we have a sense of, "You know what?All of that shit that I'm doing is working."Exactly.That's how you can gauge it- Exactly.is this, is the phone ringing?So then when you have 2, 3 days in a row where that phone doesn't ring-and you start looking and you're like, "Oh man, I'm put, I'm spending how much money on social media?"Exactly.That is exactly where I was getting at because there are days, well, initially in the begi- in the startup stages, there are weeks and months, at least for me, my phone wasn't ringing.Nobody had my number.My website was still under construction.I didn't have social media content out there.None of my lawyer friends even knew I was in criminal practice aga- like, I would just come fra- like, it was just, I was just not out there.And I had weeks and months of silence and no calls and no leads and all the things.And now when I look at my phone, I'm going to probably get, you know, a little anxiety for a moment because of the amount of- People you have to return.people, yeah, getting in touch with me.But that is literally the point, like, that is the goal.So, I'm glad you got, you got to the point right away 'cause I was like, "Yes.Hell yeah.That's exactly what I was gonna say."There's just so many aspects of this and I feel like we can talk more specifically on like the importance of like brand building maybe on another episode with someone who's like an expert on it.Sure.Um, but overall it's, I'm s- Travis, why are you laughing?I literally- Sorry.I'm like, did I do something?Oh, no.Oh, okay.Okay, okay, okay.No, I'm not laughing- I thought I said something.I'm like, "Did I miss something?"Okay.No, it's fine.Yeah.I think we're gonna wrap up anyways.No.What were you saying?Wait, what was, what I'm, now I'm confused why you're laughing.That's what I'm saying, what was funny?What did I say?'Cause it w- yeah, that's how you know if it'sOh, that was funny?So then an expert will be like, your-" Yeah, exactly.Exactly.Yeah.Right." more things."Right.Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.Okay, okay, okay.I, I got you.Okay.I get it now.Yeah.You sure?I mean, I- I'm just making sure before we go that we covered everything.I don't know if there's anything else.I'll, we can talk about the aspect of like s- cases that like we get to pick what cases we work on, our caseload.Um, yeah.If you want to.Nah.No?Wrap it up?We could wrap, we could wrap it up.Okay.Good.But just have like a finishing thought, likeOkay.That you wanna like s- say.Overall, I think that there's so many just different aspects of our job that we have to kind of transition.And I always post this on my story.It's like always some version of this reel or photo or meme or whatever and it's always like business owner, entrepreneur, and it has like all of the roles that you have to, like all the different hats that we wear where it's like social media.For us it would be like lawyer and the other one would be like artist, creator, like all these different hats that we wear.And I always repost it 'cause it's like hits home every time and I'm always like, but I'm so, like again, like it's not fake when I say I'm so grateful because I like actually am.I love to do what I do.I love ri- like I didn't realize I would actually love being a business owner as much as I do.Yeah, I love it too.Yeah.Even though it's like the hardest, it actually is the hardest thing I've ever done.Um- It's stressful.Yeah.But very grateful.And so, we will definitely do more episodes, I think, on this topic.Yeah.But this is definitely going to be the conclusion of our episode.And if you liked listening to us, make sure you like, comment, and subscribe to all of our platforms, comebackwithawarrant.pod, and make sure you leave us a five star review.And if you don't like, if you don't like listening to usCome back with a warrant.