

BE THAT LAWYER
Steve Fretzin
BE THAT LAWYER is for attorneys who want more freedom, enjoyment and most importantly, control in their career. Topics will include business development, marketing, branding, technology, and law firm growth. The goal is to educate, entertain and share best practices related to these topics, so that you, the listener can get real value. This is primarily an interview show with great guests (attorneys and legal marketing professionals), sharing stories and analogies, as well as engaging in personal discussions that will keep you entertained and coming back week after week.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Nov 11, 2021 • 32min
Louis Goodman: From Yellow Pages to SEO - The Evolution of Law Firm Marketing
In this episode, Steve Fretzin and Louis Goodman discuss:Marketing a law practice in the 90s and how it has evolved today. The power of SEO for your website. Creating good content to encourage backlinks to your website. Utilizing content across multiple platforms. Key Takeaways:If you’re going to put money into marketing, put money into SEO. People pick up their phone and do Google searches now, rather than picking up a phone book. You need to be visible for those who have an immediate problem and need an immediate solution. Repurpose content that you create to work across multiple platforms and find ways to encourage others to share links to the content you’ve created. "The key is getting backlinks to your website. And the way you get backlinks to your website, is by having good content so that other websites will link to your website, and you want to encourage people to link to your website." — Louis Goodman Connect with Louis Goodman: Website: https://www.louisgoodman.com/Podcast: https://www.lovethylawyer.com/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2aeWsyfHKAfCEMgR7wD7bgTwitter: https://twitter.com/louisjgoodmanFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/Law-Office-of-Louis-J-Goodman-338125606393295/ Connect with Steve Fretzin:LinkedIn: Steve FretzinTwitter: @stevefretzinFacebook: Fretzin, Inc.Website: Fretzin.comEmail: Steve@Fretzin.comBook: The Ambitious Attorney: Your Guide to Doubling or Even Tripling Your Book of Business and more!YouTube: Steve FretzinCall Steve directly at 847-602-6911 Show notes by Podcastologist Chelsea Taylor-Sturkie Audio production by Turnkey Podcast Productions. You're the expert. Your podcast will prove it.

Nov 8, 2021 • 32min
Mat Rotenberg: Optimizing Your Organization and Communication
In this episode, Steve Fretzin and Mat Rotenberg discuss:Where lawyers are killing time and not communicating properly. Navigating technologies and programs for lawyers and law firms. The benefits of utilizing Dashboard Legal.Shifting mindset to a future focus, not just a precedent focus. Key Takeaways:Many lawyers are looking for ways to better organize their data and to better communicate with their teams. There are many different types of software out there that can assist lawyers to better organize and communicate, but many require time and understanding to set up appropriately which can be daunting for many lawyers. The vast majority of tech for lawyers is built by non-lawyers, which can make it difficult for lawyers to transition to how those tools are built. Choosing to be more entrepreneurial with your practice is where the practice of law is going and where personal benefits can be derived in a way that isn't happening at the moment. "It's using technology to start to manage the increased complexity. And lawyers have always done it...lawyers have always innovated. They are motivated to do it, they just need to see and understand the value that it brings." — Mat Rotenberg Connect with Mat Rotenberg: Website: https://dashboardlegal.com/Email: mat@dashboardlegal.comLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mathew-rotenberg-10528537/ Connect with Steve Fretzin:LinkedIn: Steve FretzinTwitter: @stevefretzinFacebook: Fretzin, Inc.Website: Fretzin.comEmail: Steve@Fretzin.comBook: The Ambitious Attorney: Your Guide to Doubling or Even Tripling Your Book of Business and more!YouTube: Steve FretzinCall Steve directly at 847-602-6911 Show notes by Podcastologist Chelsea Taylor-SturkieAudio production by Turnkey Podcast Productions. You're the expert. Your podcast will prove it.

Nov 4, 2021 • 35min
James Rodgers: Changing the Diversity Conversation
In this episode, Steve Fretzin and James Rodgers discuss:Controlling our natural, human tendencies that create barriers to productive relationships.Diversity is not just about the differences, but also about our similarities. Changing the conversation around diversity. Creating and executing a leadership strategy. Key Takeaways:The management role is about supporting, developing, and encouraging people. It is not about knowing their job or being able to replace them, but being in a support role.Diversity is about each individual, not about one side or the other. If you are looking for differences, that is what you are going to find. If you look for the similarities, even through language or other barriers, you will find something with everyone. Part of leadership is about what is coming, not what is happening today. "It's not about saying why black people deserve a shot. It's not about saying why women need equal representation in the boardroom. It is about simply one person, having to work with another person, having the skills and the equipment to comfortably and productively work with that other person." — James Rodgers Connect with James Rodgers: Website: https://thediversitycoach.com/ & https://jamesorodgers.com/Phone: 770-331-3246Book: https://thediversitycoach.com/publications/Show: https://jamesorodgers.com/podcasts/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/coachandstrategist/Twitter: https://twitter.com/jdiversitycoach Connect with Steve Fretzin:LinkedIn: Steve FretzinTwitter: @stevefretzinFacebook: Fretzin, Inc.Website: Fretzin.comEmail: Steve@Fretzin.comBook: The Ambitious Attorney: Your Guide to Doubling or Even Tripling Your Book of Business and more!YouTube: Steve FretzinCall Steve directly at 847-602-6911 Show notes by Podcastologist Chelsea Taylor-Sturkie Audio production by Turnkey Podcast Productions. You're the expert. Your podcast will prove it.

Nov 1, 2021 • 28min
Chelsea Williams: The Power of the Number Storyline
In this episode, Steve Fretzin and Chelsea Williams discuss:The importance of having financial clarity in all aspects of your life. The greatest financial bottlenecks for law firms. Parkinson’s Law as it applies to your finances. Flat fee versus hourly billing models. Key Takeaways:Create systems that capture your margins, but also contribute to your cash flow. Until you take getting paid seriously, nobody will take paying you seriously. There is a difference between a financial statement and a meaningful financial statement. Regardless of how you choose to bill, be transparent and upfront with your clients. "Once you understand the power of knowing your storyline, you will understand that you have the ability to be the author of that story and change the direction of your numbers and manipulate them into a direction of your choosing. That is powerful and freedom in and of itself, because then it's up to you." — Chelsea Williams Connect with Chelsea Williams: Website: https://www.yourcoresolution.com/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC80TT79FdeRwH2oNaSkqvQA?view_as=subscriberFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/yourcoresolution/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/core_solutions_group/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chelsea-m-williams-%F0%9F%92%B5%E2%9A%96%E2%8F%B1-8303b45a/Book Reference: The E-Myth Attorneyhttps://www.amazon.com/Myth-Attorney-Legal-Practices-About/dp/0470503653 Connect with Steve Fretzin:LinkedIn: Steve FretzinTwitter: @stevefretzinFacebook: Fretzin, Inc.Website: Fretzin.comEmail: Steve@Fretzin.comBook: The Ambitious Attorney: Your Guide to Doubling or Even Tripling Your Book of Business and more!YouTube: Steve FretzinCall Steve directly at 847-602-6911 Show notes by Podcastologist Chelsea Taylor-Sturkie Audio production by Turnkey Podcast Productions. You're the expert. Your podcast will prove it.

Oct 28, 2021 • 28min
Erik Olson: Investing in SEO for Referral Optimization
In this episode, Steve Fretzin and Erik Olson discuss:Best practices for online marketing (including following Google’s Best Practices). Understanding your marketing and advertising target and strategy. When to get help with marketing versus doing it yourself. Creating content with authors and timestamps. Key Takeaways:When you create content, you need to create with a strategy in place. Created content needs to be written for people, not just a smash of keywords or it won’t be picked up properly by search engines, such as Google. People are looking for more than just seeing the ad at the top of Google. The majority of people skip over them and go to the first organic search result. Do as much as you can on your own, at some point you will find your consistency drops off and you will want to get internal or external help. "We all know that referrals are the best source of leads, they have the highest trust factor. But the second best, at least within the Digital Marketing realm, is search engine optimization results." — Erik Olson Connect with Erik Olson: Website: https://arraylaw.com/Show: https://arraylaw.com/managing-partners-podcast/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWsbJqhtLMS5wmWmXulpY2ALinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/iamerikjolson/Twitter: https://twitter.com/thisisarrayFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/thisisarrayInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/array.digital/ Connect with Steve Fretzin:LinkedIn: Steve FretzinTwitter: @stevefretzinFacebook: Fretzin, Inc.Website: Fretzin.comEmail: Steve@Fretzin.comBook: The Ambitious Attorney: Your Guide to Doubling or Even Tripling Your Book of Business and more!YouTube: Steve FretzinCall Steve directly at 847-602-6911 Show notes by Podcastologist Chelsea Taylor-Sturkie Audio production by Turnkey Podcast Productions. You're the expert. Your podcast will prove it.

Oct 25, 2021 • 33min
Sharon Christie: Understanding What Your Firm Needs Now
In this episode, Steve Fretzin and Sharon Christie discuss:Getting a coach so you aren’t reinventing the wheel. The four things you need to get right in your law firm. Being strategic when you are changing your practice of law. Running your business, not letting your business run you. Key Takeaways:There are ways to say no that lead to more referral work from the very same people you say no to. Very first, you have to get your head on straight with the fact that you are running a business, then you need to understand exactly who your client avatar is and every aspect of that client. Understand the aspects of your business that you need to be doing, and what can be done by someone else. By meeting your own needs, you will be able to meet your client’s needs. "The first thing you have to get straight in your head is that this is a business, just like any other service business. We have different professional rules, but we are service based and you have to look at it that way in order to be successful." — Sharon Christie Connect with Sharon Christie: Website: https://boldwomenlawyers.com/ & https://sharonchristielaw.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/boldwomenlawyers/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sharon-christie-3849961/Twitter: https://twitter.com/sharonchristie?lang=en Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/boldwomenlawyers & https://www.facebook.com/SharonChristieLaw/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/SharonChristieLaw & https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMUuiVbln7SvvjD5iYYUDmg Connect with Steve Fretzin:LinkedIn: Steve FretzinTwitter: @stevefretzinFacebook: Fretzin, Inc.Website: Fretzin.comEmail: Steve@Fretzin.comBook: The Ambitious Attorney: Your Guide to Doubling or Even Tripling Your Book of Business and more!YouTube: Steve FretzinCall Steve directly at 847-602-6911Book Reference: You are the Brand by Mike Kim https://www.amazon.com/You-Are-Brand-Profitable-Personally/dp/1631953478 Show notes by Podcastologist Chelsea Taylor-Sturkie Audio production by Turnkey Podcast Productions. You're the expert. Your podcast will prove it.

Oct 21, 2021 • 38min
Brooke Lively: From Panic to Profit in Your Law Firm
In this episode, Steve Fretzin and Brooke Lively discuss:Running your law firm by the numbers. Secrets from Brooke’s book, From Panic to Profit.Finding your baseline to manage and improve your numbers. The ideal ratio in your law firm's financials. Key Takeaways:We have to pay more attention to the way we're running the firm and running it like a business than we used to.Rather than a budget, call it a profit plan to help you stay on track to hit your goals. If you know your revenue is going to be good for 3-4 months, then you can take marketing risks or even take a vacation. The further you look out, the more strategic you can become. "If you don't know what it is you have nowhere to start, you have no way to improve it. Once we find that baseline, we start to manage that number, and things start to improve. " — Brooke Lively Connect with Brooke Lively: Website: https://brookelively.com/ & https://www.cathcap.com/Email: Brooke@CathCap.comBook: https://brookelively.com/books/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCg1JD7XBFwGjizaa9_566sg?reload=9LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brookelively/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CathedralCapitalInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/cathedralcapital/ Connect with Steve Fretzin:LinkedIn: Steve FretzinTwitter: @stevefretzinFacebook: Fretzin, Inc.Website: Fretzin.comEmail: Steve@Fretzin.comBook: The Ambitious Attorney: Your Guide to Doubling or Even Tripling Your Book of Business and more!YouTube: Steve FretzinCall Steve directly at 847-602-6911 Show notes by Podcastologist Chelsea Taylor-Sturkie Audio production by Turnkey Podcast Productions. You're the expert. Your podcast will prove it.

Oct 18, 2021 • 38min
Ali Awad: Creating a Growth Mindset for Financial Freedom
In this episode, Steve Fretzin and Ali Awad discuss:How to get engagement on your company’s social media. Mindset and the future of law. Hanging around others outside of the law field to learn other forms of business. Delegating low level tasks and firing yourself every step of the way. Key Takeaways:If you’re trying to get business from social media, make sure your page is public and you are giving valuable content, not just posting ads. Your law firm is a business, not a law practice. Run it like a business. You need to determine, are you self-employed or do you have a high-paying job? How are you working in and building your business?One great employee is better than 3-5 mediocre employees, and will make you more than 3-5 mediocre employees ever could. "You need to be willing to try things that are uncertain when there is potential for massive success." — Ali Awad Connect with Ali Awad: Website: https://aliawadlaw.com/Personal LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ceolawyer/Company LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/aliawadlawFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/ceolawyer/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ceolawyer/?hl=en Connect with Steve Fretzin:LinkedIn: Steve FretzinTwitter: @stevefretzinFacebook: Fretzin, Inc.Website: Fretzin.comEmail: Steve@Fretzin.comBook: The Ambitious Attorney: Your Guide to Doubling or Even Tripling Your Book of Business and more!YouTube: Steve FretzinCall Steve directly at 847-602-6911 Show notes by Podcastologist Chelsea Taylor-Sturkie Audio production by Turnkey Podcast Productions. You're the expert. Your podcast will prove it.

Oct 14, 2021 • 34min
Mathew Kerbis: Subscription Models for Your Law Firm
In this episode, Steve Fretzin and Mathew Kerbis discuss:Being a young lawyer and building relationships. Resources for young, staring attorneys. The billable hour versus the subscription model. The changing of the law firm business model. Key Takeaways:The sky's the limit as a private practice attorney. Bringing in business, even at a larger firm, not only brings in more money, it gives you control over your career. The law firm model needs to be modified as other companies are starting to profitize legal services. "For the billable hour, all you could do is hire more lawyers to bill more hours, because there's only so many hours in the day. With a subscription model, you could scale like never before." — Mathew Kerbis Connect with Mathew Kerbis: Website: https://www.condoncook.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mathewrobertkerbis/Twitter: https://twitter.com/MathewKerbisYoung Lawyer Rising Podcast: https://legaltalknetwork.com/podcasts/aba-young-lawyer-rising-podcast/ Book Reference: https://www.amazon.com/Subscribed-Subscription-Model-Companys-Future/dp/0525536469 Connect with Steve Fretzin:LinkedIn: Steve FretzinTwitter: @stevefretzinFacebook: Fretzin, Inc.Website: Fretzin.comEmail: Steve@Fretzin.comBook: The Ambitious Attorney: Your Guide to Doubling or Even Tripling Your Book of Business and more!YouTube: Steve FretzinCall Steve directly at 847-602-6911 Show notes by Podcastologist Chelsea Taylor-Sturkie Audio production by Turnkey Podcast Productions. You're the expert. Your podcast will prove it.

Oct 11, 2021 • 32min
Justin Stivers: Owning Your Calendar to Succeed in Marketing
In this episode, Steve Fretzin and Justin Stivers discuss:Why lawyers struggle with maintaining marketing consistency. Figuring out where to begin with marketing. Taking control of your calendar (and the repercussions for breaking commitments to yourself). Doing the things you enjoy doing and delegating the other, valuable, items. Key Takeaways:Step one to marketing is finding out what you want your life to look like. There are many options that will work for what you want. Different platforms work for different audiences. Before you leave the office, look at your calendar for the next day and create the day you want before the next day begins. Understand why you are doing the marketing you are choosing to do and why you are wanting to stay top of mind. "That's been my secret - I put it on the calendar, and, as much as I can, I stay as disciplined to that calendar and do what's on there." — Justin Stivers Connect with Justin Stivers: Website: https://www.probatefirm.com/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcIyGEpme0t_h2R73CdKOBwLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justin-stivers-289b38100/Twitter: https://twitter.com/justinbstiversFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheProbateLawFirmInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/theprobatelawfirm/ Connect with Steve Fretzin:LinkedIn: Steve FretzinTwitter: @stevefretzinFacebook: Fretzin, Inc.Website: Fretzin.comEmail: Steve@Fretzin.comBook: The Ambitious Attorney: Your Guide to Doubling or Even Tripling Your Book of Business and more!YouTube: Steve FretzinCall Steve directly at 847-602-6911 Show notes by Podcastologist Chelsea Taylor-Sturkie Audio production by Turnkey Podcast Productions. You're the expert. Your podcast will prove it.