When you opened your law firm, you may not have expected to have any slow seasons. After all, everyone needs lawyers, right?? Well, it appears that even lawyers have a slower time of the year. Your law firm’s slow season will be dependent on the type of law you are focusing on. So, you may see less of a workload during one month, while another law firm has their slow season a few months later. No matter when your slow season is, there are things you can do to prepare for this time when you don’t have as much money coming in.
Preparing Your Law Firm for the Slow Season
1. Utilize Your Time Wisely
Having a little bit of free time is always nice when you are running a business. Especially when that business is a law firm!
There are a few ways you can spend this downtime at your law firm. You can choose to take a much-needed vacation. You could always sit at your desk and simply enjoy the quiet since the phone isn’t ringing and emails aren’t dinging in the background.
Or you can use this time to see what else you may be able to add to your practice and bring in more clients during this downtime. If you choose to use your time wisely, you may find a way to make your usual slow season one of your busiest times!
2. Adjust Your Revenue Models
Clients are always searching for the best value for their money. If you are facing a slow season, you may want to see how you can adjust your revenue models. Adding more value can actually bring more people to your firm, even during your slow season.
I understand this isn’t always an easy thing for lawyers to do, since your work is basically cut and dry. However, it is worth a chance if it will help bring in more business.
3. Fund a Slow Season Account
Incoming revenue may dwindle down to almost nothing during your law firm’s slow season. Thankfully, one of the ways you can be prepared to cover all of your expenses is by funding a slow season account in advance.
Before you determine how much money to put into this account, I recommend adding up all of your expenses for a single month. Once you know how much money you will need in your slow season account, you can start adding money to this account each month.
The best way to do this is to divide the amount of money you will need during the months prior to your slow season. If you have ten months, divide the amount you will need by ten and deposit that amount every month.
If you are a little late to the game, you may only have a couple of months to prepare for your slow season this year. If that is the case, get as much money into your slow season account as possible. Then next year, plan ahead and deposit a certain amount each month.
One of the worst things you can do during your law firm’s slow season is sit down and worry about how your business will make it. I recommend being proactive by following my above tips and hopefully avoiding a slow season at your law firm. If you are ready to implement these tips at your law firm, contact me today. I would like to get to know more about your law firm and how my team can help you keep those revenues coming in.