A commenter on my You/Tube channel has asked me about the future of the sole practitioner, and whether it was at risk.
Firstly, he was referring to solicitor sole practitioners and not other professionals who are sole traders or solo entrepreneurs.
But my response here, I believe, can be applied equally across other professions such as accountants, tax consultants, psychologists, management consultants, small business consultants, and other professionals.
My response is the future for the sole practitioner is bright provided he/she treats his practice like a business and runs it like a small business. The practice of law for a sole practitioner can only be carried on if the solicitor is able to stay in business in the first instance.
Remember the first rule of investing is not to lose your money. The first rule of succeeding as a sole practitioner is to stay in business. You can only dispense legal services or justice if you stay in the game.
The same could be said of the other professions. You must approach your professional practice as a business in the first place. Without that approach you may be on the side-lines before you can do any good in your chosen field of endeavour.
I have no concerns about the future of sole practitioners provided they have some commercial savvy, some nous, a soupcon of street smarts. Without these things the sole solicitor will struggle.
Because she simply won’t be able to generate sufficient clients to keep going and stay in the game.
Let me ask you these questions: how many Irish solicitors have YouTube channels? How many have podcasts? How many have useful, up to date social media pages or blogs? How many produces regular free content to build trust and authority with the audience they seek to serve?
Being a professional or having professional qualifications is not enough. You must have a commercial approach.
The future is bright if the sole practitioner recognises that the professional qualification only allows her in the game. The next step is to stay in the game. This can only be done by generating queries, leads, and clients.
Fee paying clients.
Anyway, that’s my rant for today. I have written a book about this too: The Art of Marketing Your Services Based Business Online