Maximum Lawyer

After handling his wife’s immigration papers, lawyer Erick Widman had a fire lit in himself to niche down to family and business immigration. His law firm is now 10 years old, with all the ups and downs that come from being an entrepreneur and owning your own firm. One of the biggest challenges Erick faced was being unprepared for how difficult it would be to handle employees. And all of the coaching you have to do for the employees - and so Erick became a high performance coach. How do you manage people all day? How do you manage all the different personalities you work with? How do you come to grips with that (especially if you are an entrepreneur)? That and more is what we are talking about today. Let’s listen in. 02:00 Meet Erick where he was a part of the minority group in school, was an exchange student in Japan, and taught law in Hungary where he met his now wife. 4:25 Experiences from Japan helping Erick become a better business owner. 5:19 What's your favorite part of owning a law firm? And what’s the least favorite part of owning your own law firm?8:00 Managing people on your team better even when you are an introvert …  9:54 Becoming a high performance coach started when Erick realized I don’t need to play the same game that other people are.12:15 Reading the happiness advantage — training yourself to find the positive - becoming the positive person in your life and making the positive things come out!13:35 What has been the biggest challenge for you when running your own firm? 15:28 What most immigration lawyers don't know about marketing and being an entrepreneur. 18:02 Talking about vision - have you done the vision work for your firm? Have you placed value on that? Jim’s Hack: Read the book by Napoleon Hill “Think and Grow Rich'' - it’s a little woo woo and a little outdated but the central message makes it worth it. — and that message is — That  anything that we want to have happened has to begin as a thought and that the only changes  that happened in the world happened as a thought and our job is to keep that thought alive until it manifests itself into an action. Erick’s Tip: Watch the documentary “All or Nothing Arsenal” which has a soccer coach rally the leadership of a failing team.Tyson’s Tip: Use an app to place the text on the bottom of the marketing video you created for social media called CapCut with a free and paid version. 🎥 Watch the full video on YouTube or read here.Connect with Eric:WebsiteFacebookTwitterYoutubePersonal WebsiteResources:Join the Guild MembershipMeet us in Austin, TX! The ZAPATHON Automation Workshop featuring Kelsey Bratcher! Become a member to purchase your ticket.Subscribe to the Maximum Lawyer Youtube ChannelFollow us on InstagramJoin the Facebook GroupFollow the Facebook PageFollow us on LinkedIn Resources:Join the Guild MembershipSubscribe to the Maximum Lawyer Youtube ChannelFollow us on InstagramJoin the Facebook GroupFollow the Facebook PageFollow us on LinkedIn

Marketing your own law firm is an ongoing job for us entrepreneurs. A job that RizeUp Media has taken off owners plates, as they offer marketing services. In this episode Travis and Vaidas deep dive into the do’s and don'ts for lawyer websites. As well as short term and long term marketing strategies according to your firm's needs. Let’s dive in!1:12 RizeUp Media’s sweetspot and how they help lawyers market themselves!2:47 What does this “help”look like for lawyers? 4:28 Step one: you need to know your marketing need …9:20  Lawyer websites done INCORRECTLY! 🫣15:22 How different is better than better —- but what about the things that are similar on lawyers websites!?19:40 Tips for people who need to get cases in the door right NOW!Jim’s Hack: Use the app Read Wise which takes all your Kindle reader highlights and it will email them! Which is great to retrigger some of the thoughts that you had about the book you read. Travis’s Tip: Make sure you are tracking all of your different campaigns separately. You need to KNOW where your people are coming from.Vaidas’s Tip: Answer the phone when it rings with a human! After all the work and money you’ve put into marketing make sure this next step is in place. As well as, know how your staff is interacting with your potential clients.Tyson’s Tip: Use the Google Chrome extension called Checker Plus for Gmail. It allows you a quick peek into your email. You can send out a quick email or check a top priority email without getting sucked into email. 🎥 Watch the full video on YouTube or read the show notes here.Connect with RizeUp Media:WebsiteInstagramFacebookLinkedinTwitterResources:Join the Guild MembershipMeet us in Austin, TX! The ZAPATHON Automation Workshop featuring Kelsey Bratcher! Become a member to purchase your ticket.Subscribe to the Maximum Lawyer Youtube ChannelFollow us on InstagramJoin the Facebook GroupFollow the Facebook PageFollow us on LinkedIn Resources:Join the Guild MembershipSubscribe to the Maximum Lawyer Youtube ChannelFollow us on InstagramJoin the Facebook GroupFollow the Facebook PageFollow us on LinkedIn

Taking the leap into running your own law firm is scary. We know it! In today’s episode Jim and Tyson chat about the top six things they love about being a law firm owner and why they would never go back. If you are thinking of going off on your own and starting your own firm, or maybe you just need a pep talk to keep going the entrepreneur lawyer course — this episode is for you. It’s okay to be afraid of failing, but don't let that stop you.Listen in!1:55 - Number One: Autonomy & freedom! This is the top reason Jim and Tyson love being their own boss. To be able to leave the office at any time for any reason is the best part of owning a law firm. 4:06 - Number Two:  Not having a boss! There is no one telling you what to do and we think this is a priceless reason to own a law firm. Add the joy back into your life by being your boss.7:56 - Number Three: Knowing how much you make is directly tied to your work! This involves your ideas, your strategy, and how you implement them. NOT about working harder and faster. It’s a powerful mindset and energy that sets in after you get the first few clients, that it’s up to you to make happen.  11:03 - Number Four: The creative and problem solving aspect of owning your own firm! You are the one that gets to spot issues (and have other people fix them) and this exercises a creative part of your brain and spirit. This freedom also comes with the caveat that you also get to make the decision to change your mind! 13:56 - Number Five: We are building! Everyday that goes by we are building a business that we can watch shift and grow and evolve. 16:53 - Number Six: Competing with yourself and always trying to up your game! You are always trying to improve all aspects of your law firm. Doing better than we did before, which is a huge motivation for continuing on. Jim’s Hack: Find yourself a good friend! It’s invaluable. 🎥 Watch the full video of Jim’s transformation and encouragement here. Tyson’s Tip: Take the time to survey clients via a call or email. The data is invaluable. With these questions: On average how do our clients feel about our communion. On average, how do our clients feel about how we respond to their questions? On average, how do our clients feel about the trustworthiness of the firm? On average, how do our clients feel about the professionalism of the firm?🎥 Watch the full video on YouTube. 🎧 Tune in to today’s episode and checkout the full show notes here. Resources:Join the Guild MembershipMeet us in San Diego! The final quarterly mastermind of 2022 still has tickets available! Become a member to purchase your ticket.Subscribe to the Maximum Lawyer Youtube ChannelFollow us on InstagramJoin the Facebook GroupFollow the Facebook PageFollow us on LinkedIn Resources:Join the Guild MembershipSubscribe to the Maximum Lawyer Youtube ChannelFollow us on InstagramJoin the Facebook GroupFollow the Facebook PageFollow us on LinkedIn

Ready to get control of your demands and distractions? Then you need to meet today’s guest, Mridu Parikh.The founder of Life Is Organized, Mridu is a time management guru passionate about teaching business owners how to focus, get out of the weeds, and take back control of their day. Her best-selling book, Accomplish It, and Productivity On Purpose podcast share simple strategies to ditch mental drama – from procrastination to perfectionism. Mridu's teachings on mastering tasks and habits have been featured in The Huffington Post, Forbes, US News & World Report, and Real Simple.When she’s not wrangling a list or schedule, you can usually find this former professional organizer turned productivity pro with her two teens and one husband in Nashville enjoying a Malbec2:24 How Mridu started productivity and time management 4:25 When you are ready to go for the week and you’re feeling super motivated but get hit with a problem in the office first thing Monday morning — What do you do?! 6:05 How do you move into a more mindful morning routine? 7:20 How much of the “ideal” morning routine is total nonsense? 11:11 The top productivity tip to change someone from a super procrastinator to someone very efficient is … 14:56 All about people being control freaks! And tips for letting go of the perfectionism 17:15 Recommended productivity tools to help other people!  19:07 Tips for the end of the day work routine23:23 Managing the things that are out of your control and frustrating because it throws everything off Jim’s Hack: Set Loom at 1.7X for listening speed.Mridu’s Tip: “What will make me feel most successful when my head hits the pillow tonight?” ask yourself this question everyday. And use a Timecube like this one: https://amzn.to/3RD44pd to help you stay focused. Tyson’s Tip: Have an agenda for each meeting you have in the calendar invite. 🎥 Watch the full video on YouTube. https://youtu.be/uqomzUDiam4Connect with Mridu:WebsiteInstagramFacebookLinkedInResources:Join the Guild MembershipMeet us in San Diego! The final quarterly mastermind of 2022 still has tickets available! Become a member to purchase your ticket.Subscribe to the Maximum Lawyer Youtube ChannelFollow us on InstagramJoin the Facebook GroupFollow the Facebook PageFollow us on LinkedIn Resources:Join the Guild MembershipSubscribe to the Maximum Lawyer Youtube ChannelFollow us on InstagramJoin the Facebook GroupFollow the Facebook PageFollow us on LinkedIn

Where is your best dollar spent in marketing your law firm? What do you need to have in place before you get started? What are the biggest marketing mistakes lawyers need to be aware of? This and more is what our guest, Chris Casseday gives advice about on today’s podcast episode. Chris is the director of operations at GNGF. He specializes in creating strategic marketing plans for law firms across the country.Over the past decade, Chris has helped drive millions of dollars of revenue for clients and is a strategic marketing leader over 15 years of SEO and is Google ad certified. Seeing his client's online presence and revenue growth motivates Chris to work with energy and passion every single day. 2:45 Meet Chris 4:27 Where is the best dollar spent for the next 5 to 10 years? 6:36 What are some of the things structurally that people need to be thinking about before marketing?8:33 What is a marketing funnel with strategies and tactics that need to be thought through? 10:32 How do you move the wrong people out of the funnel and why is this important?11:37 Web 2.0? Is it a thing?12:29 Let talk about the mindset of leading with value first …15:00 What to use as a lead magnet? Is there something working now?18:03 2 to 3 biggest mistakes that lawyers make in marketing …20:06 Is Google getting worse?22:16 The importance of small victories when marketing Jim’s Hack: So for my hack of the week, I want you to think like an Eagle Scout. They have to do a project. A project they can not do all by themselves.They have to get help. So ask yourself — Who can I get to help with this? What can I delegate and how can I get different people involved in the project? Chris’s Hack: Schedule your 2023 and beyond, from goals to marketing meeting, Then pull in help when you need to, but if you don't schedule that meeting, it's gonna be March before you know it, and you're gonna be behind the eight ball and not reach your goals for 2023. Get it done! Tyson’s Tip:  Audit the potential new client experience from the leads perspective. How easy or difficult is it for them to reach out to you? I would assume that all of us will probably find that it's not nearly as good as what we would hope. 🎥 Watch the full video on YouTube.Connect with Chris:WebsiteInstagramTwitterLinkedInFacebookResources:Join the Guild MembershipMeet us in San Diego! The final quarterly mastermind of 2022 still has tickets available! Become a member to purchase your ticket.Subscribe to the Maximum Lawyer Youtube ChannelFollow us on InstagramJoin the Facebook GroupFollow the Facebook PageFollow us on LinkedIn Resources:Join the Guild MembershipSubscribe to the Maximum Lawyer Youtube ChannelFollow us on InstagramJoin the Facebook GroupFollow the Facebook PageFollow us on LinkedIn

What if you could grow your leads, following and relationships with clients using social media marketing that cost you nothing? That is what our guest on the show, Kathleen Martinez did with TikTok. Showing off her funny, controversial, and passion for immigration law, Kathleen has grown her TikTok following to over 800K+ by showing up consistently and being herself. In this episode she goes over tips and tricks she’s learned along the way of growing her TikTok following as a law firm owner. She also dives into an easy way you can get started today on social media. Including biggest marketing challenges and making sure you set up an easy funnel for your leads to reach you AFTER they watch your videos and consume your content. Listen in!1:54 Meet Kathleen2:58 How to be a full-time virtual law firm?! 4:07 What would be your biggest challenge as a law firm owner?! Including the biggest mistakes on TikTok …6:02 TikTok process from Kathleen … including a call to action  10:38 How long until you see traction on TikTok12:55 How to post on TikTok AND Instagram … 13:46 Using TikTok as a funnel 14:36 What's upcoming in TikTok land?!  16:23 TikTok as a search engine?! And will TikTok overtake YouTube 18:57 Starting out on TikTok?! Listen to Kathleen’s first steps here … Jim’s Hack: Jerry Seinfeld quote from an interview that he gave with a Harvard business:“It's very important to know what you don't like. A big part of innovation is saying, you know what I'm really sick of? For me, that was talk shows where music plays. Somebody walks out to a desk, shakes hands with the host and sits down. How are you? You look great. I'm also sick of people who are really there just to sell their show or. So what am I really sick of? Is a great place for innovation to begin.”So I just love that we can ask ourselves “What's something that's annoying me or that I really don't like?” and then go against the grain and do something else.Kathleen’s Tip: Do not be afraid to not only use social media, BUT be yourself on it! There are no judges on TikTok, their just regular people who wanna get to know you as a person, also as a lawyer. So show up as “yourself!” Tyson’s Tip: A trick to “be yourself on social media” is to visualize yourself being yourself and being that positive presence, in front of the camera. It's an effective and simple tool that I recommend.🎥 Watch the full video on YouTube. Read the show notes over at: https://maximumlawyer.com/kathleenmartinez486 Connect with Kathleen:Website > www.martinezimmigration.netInstagram > https://www.instagram.com/attorneymartinez/Facebook > https://www.facebook.com/martinezimmigrationglobalYoutube > https://www.youtube.com/c/AskTheImmigrationAttorneyTikTok > https://www.tiktok.com/@attorneymartinezResources:Join the Guild MembershipMeet us in San Diego! The final quarterly mastermind of 2022 still has tickets available! Become a member to purchase your ticket.Subscribe to the Maximum Lawyer Youtube ChannelFollow us on InstagramJoin the Facebook GroupFollow the Facebook PageFollow us on LinkedIn Resources:Join the Guild MembershipSubscribe to the Maximum Lawyer Youtube ChannelFollow us on InstagramJoin the Facebook GroupFollow the Facebook PageFollow us on LinkedIn

Do you have a deep desire to travel the world? See different places? Most importantly, meet all the different people? For some people traveling the world is on their bucket list of what they will be doing when they retire.Today’s podcast episode guest Don McClure took a different approach and sold his house, his cars, packed up his family and now slowly travels the world. All while running his own law firm. To hear:➡️ Why he made this switch➡️ What made him finally take a step towards this dream ➡️ What his family all sold to get out of the US ➡️ Where he is living now ➡️ How is it physically possible to run a law firm that is stationed in a different time zone than you … Then listen in. 🎧1:05 Meet Don5:31 When off on an adventure, what do you do with your house? And the office? And your cars? 6:49 The decision making process: from law office to living aboard 9:20 How clients are reacting to the BIG move - how do you tell them? 11:34 Marketing your law firm while on a “World Tour” 13:31 How do you deal with the finances and banking? 14:48 Things that surprised Don from living a laptop lifestyle 16:12 Favorite moments on the World Tour trip so far? 17:30 What are some steps that people can do to get ready for a World Trip with the family. 18:43 Challenges when traveling and practicing law20:13 Was there any time that you wished you were in the States? And do you wish to move out of the States permanently? 22:52 Coordinating with a team when you are in different time zones? Jim’s Hack: A Quote from Guy Kawasaki from Tim Ferris's book, Tools of Titans: https://amzn.to/3Gk9yjB“If you run into an asshole in the morning, you ran into an asshole. If you run into assholes all day, you are the asshole.” Don’s Tip: Listen to James Schramko and his one gem strategy where he talks about “Owning the Racetrack”. And with your business this means NOT building a platform on Facebook only, but what are the things you can control? Marketing to my past clients, my present clients, and even my future clients. Those are things that I can control: https://amzn.to/3ifoeITTyson’s Tip: Use Cam.link: https://amzn.to/3Qg69a8 — to turn any camera device into a streaming device. It allows Tyson to connect his LUMIX camera to my computer with an HDMI cable and stream from his camera. Order, download and go for an easy tech double duty solution. 🎥 Watch the full video on YouTube: https://youtu.be/DDdGA1gJP_4https://maximumlawyer.com/donmcclure485Connect with Don:WebsiteFacebookYoutubeTravel WebsiteTravel TikTokTravel FacebookTravel InstagramTravel YouTube Resources:Join the Guild MembershipMeet us in San Diego! The final quarterly mastermind of 2022 still has tickets available! Become a member to purchase your ticket.Subscribe to the Maximum Lawyer Youtube ChannelFollow us on InstagramJoin the Facebook GroupFollow the Facebook PageFollow us on LinkedIn Resources:Join the Guild MembershipSubscribe to the Maximum Lawyer Youtube ChannelFollow us on InstagramJoin the Facebook GroupFollow the Facebook PageFollow us on LinkedIn

Let’s talk about running a law firm but instead of talking about running it the “right” way — let’s talk about what NOT to do and the mistakes that Jim and Tyson have made. Here are six mistakes that cost them financially that they wish they could go back and fix. Hopefully you find this helpful and hopefully you can shortcut some of these mistakes to save yourself the financial headache. Mistakes of: ➡️ Starting your own firm and not knowing your first hire➡️ Riding a financial roller coaster ride of “rich” to “broke” ➡️ Confusing people with your marketing message ➡️ Hesitating with hiring a team ➡️ Being the #allthethingslawyer2:57  Set up your books and hire a bookkeeper on day one … DO NOT WAIT! 5:48 Niche down as much as you can as early as possible8:18 Let go of the niches that your heart is not in, it’s not worth hanging on and screws up your marketing with mixed messages about what you do11:26 Waiting too long to hire a team of people to help move the firm forward 15:26 Know your numbers. What numbers are important? What numbers aren’t important?  What do the important numbers mean to you and your firm, both in the short term and the long term? 18:16 Not paying yourself a salary Jim’s Hack: Read a book called Stillness is the Key by Ryan Holiday. Tyson’s Tip: Need a pump up of motivation? Go to YouTube and search “I Want More Levels with Kevin Hart.” 🎥 Watch the full video on YouTube.Resources:Join the Guild MembershipMeet us in San Diego! The final quarterly mastermind of 2022 still has tickets available! Become a member to purchase your ticket.Subscribe to the Maximum Lawyer Youtube ChannelFollow us on InstagramJoin the Facebook GroupFollow the Facebook PageFollow us on LinkedIn Resources:Join the Guild MembershipSubscribe to the Maximum Lawyer Youtube ChannelFollow us on InstagramJoin the Facebook GroupFollow the Facebook PageFollow us on LinkedIn

If you’ve been around Maximum Lawyer for a hot minute you may have seen and heard about Jim’s health transform this past year. Losing 75+lbs in the last four months with the coaching help of our guest today, Charles D'Angelo. Charles knows first hand what it's like to feel stuck, once weighing 360lbs as a bullied teen. He took charge of his own life, dropped 160lbs, and for the last two decades has been on a mission to help others reclaim theirs. His unique coaching program focuses on changing your mindset so that you can change your life. It’s recognizing that you have to set aside blame and excuses, and ask yourself the question “How am I gonna move forward?”Listen to this episode where Charles shares the first three steps you can take today to start making changes in your life for the future you want. Which will uplevel everything. Your home life, work life and everything in between. Let’s dive in. 01:50 Charles journey from a 360lbs teenager to a decision to life changing result03:53  Charles’s unique approach to a healthy life 08:01 How to get people motivated to change ... The core issue is NOT what you think12:10 Helping other helpers become more effective and more efficient 16:37 Let talk about negative self-talk …19:43 Why you really need someone you can trust to talk to … a.k.a sanity is best outsourced.21:26 Cool tools that Charles would recommend to people … and it’s not what you think Jim’s Hack: Sweat, sweat, sweat. That 5:00 AM on the treadmill. That is you telling yourself, you're a priority! Charles Tip: Step one: Write down all the things that you'd like to see happen in your life. Step two: Go through and label each item on your list with how many years it will take you this creates a vision for your life. Step three: Start reading about the topics of the plans on your vision list to shorten the time it takes to get you there. Tyson Tips: In the Apple watch, when in the, fitness app, you can turn your dial whenever, you're running and it shows you what zone you’re in especially handy if you want to do some zone two training, 🎥 Watch the full video on YouTube: https://youtu.be/nYd_UUd-lD8Connect with Charles:WebsiteInstagramFacebookYoutube TwitterResources:Join the Guild MembershipMeet us in San Diego! The final quarterly mastermind of 2022 still has tickets available! Become a member to purchase your ticket.Subscribe to the Maximum Lawyer Youtube ChannelFollow us on InstagramJoin the Facebook GroupFollow the Facebook PageFollow us on LinkedIn Resources:Join the Guild MembershipSubscribe to the Maximum Lawyer Youtube ChannelFollow us on InstagramJoin the Facebook GroupFollow the Facebook PageFollow us on LinkedIn

Ever thought about buying or selling a law practice?! Our guest on the podcast today, Tom Lenfestey, helps lawyers buy and sell law practices. Law firm real-estate anyone?! It's a topic that people ask us about all the time and it's interesting because one thing we always hear people say is, “I wanna sell my firm. I'm gonna make it to some name that doesn't have MY name in it.” It’s like the branding and naming is the afterthought to what your end goal with your law firm is. If you are opening a law firm, what's your exit strategy? This and more is what we talk about in today’s episode. Listen in!Episode Highlights:01:30 Meet Tom and hear how he got started in the Law Practice Exchange04:15 Why it doesn't work for lawyers to sell their practice and just walk out the door, like a dentist05:50 What mistakes do lawyers make at the beginning when they found their firm AND what structural naming issues pop up when people want to get out. Tom’s advice:Have clean financialsSet up a firm brand that is apart from youBuild out your systemsTrain your peopleTrain and operate people on those systems10:35 How do you tell people you are selling your law firm practice? 13:26 What should people that are thinking about taking over a practice of another think about and ask about?17:13 What are some red flags you want to look for when you are thinking about acquiring a law firm?20:13 What is it like to work with Tom and his team to brokerage a deal and acquire a law firm Jim’s Hack: Find what motivates you! For me its reading books that get me fired up, like: “The 12 Week Year” or “Zone To Win”. You got to fill your brain with positive and idea generating material. Tom’s Tip: Read the book: Built to Sell: Creating a Business That Can Thrive Without You by John Warrillow Tyson's Tip: Read the book: “Measuring what Matters” By John Doerr. It's about how to track things in your business. What you should and shouldn’t track.  🎥 Watch the full video on YouTube.Connect with Tom:Website Twitter Facebook LinkedinLinkedin with Tom Youtube Resources:Join the Guild MembershipMeet us in San Diego! The final quarterly mastermind of 2022 still has tickets available! Become a member to purchase your ticket.Subscribe to the Maximum Lawyer Youtube ChannelFollow us on InstagramJoin the Facebook GroupFollow the Facebook PageFollow us on LinkedIn Resources:Join the Guild MembershipSubscribe to the Maximum Lawyer Youtube ChannelFollow us on InstagramJoin the Facebook GroupFollow the Facebook PageFollow us on LinkedIn