Oh. My. Goodness. The Birth of a Firm part 1
Who knew that having a new business was just like having a new baby?
No, don't laugh. Listen to this story.
It was about a year and a half ago that Mr Angel Jem read this book, The Litigators, by John Grisham. I love JG, I read a lot of JG for the same reason I watch a lot of courtroom dramas and sit on a Sunday watching football. Mr AJ likes them, so there's a lot of it about and it's well worth sharing an interest together (and, no, he CANNOT crochet, although his Mum used to dressmake and he has a lot of respect for useful crafts.)
The role of the book is crucial in our story. The hero, David Zinc, has it all; a good job in a big firm, a big BIG firm. But it takes all his time and he is working for the firm. So one day he walks out. Just goes, sets off, gets well drunk in a bar and wanders off to a very dubious part of town where he meanders into a 'boutique' (meaning small) law firm and asks for a job.
We were in London. Seriously. Staying for a week in Harrow, walking around and feeling trapped in a corporate career that was not as fulfilling as we wanted. I was on supply, and poor Mr was thinking about his bosses and doing a Yosser. (What did you say? You're too young to remember Yosser Hughes? Go see the You Tube clip of him AT ONCE!) He kept saying," I could do that. I could run my own company. I could be my own boss."
And the book was the last straw. I read it after him, with a funny tickly feeling in my stomach, thinking all the while, "Yes, he could. Mr AJ could really do something like this; a small firm, a really small firm. He could work from home..."
But the money keeps you in the office. The fear keeps you from voicing the idea out loud. The worry (that dreaded 'what if???') keeps you from a leap of faith, much like some women are forever saying, "It's not the right time.", "I need to earn more money before I have a baby." "It's too much of a lifestyle change."
And the weeks passed by, with the two of us circling a thorny issue; was it the right thing to do? What would it mean? Who is going to say anything first? It was just like I remember the thorny issue of when should we start trying; can you really mark out a right time?
In the end it was a flash argument. A heated Kitchen discussion. And the fateful words, "Well, WHY DON'T YOU JUST START UP YOUR OWN FIRM THEN AND STOP COMPLAINING????"
And then the pregnant pause; the two of us looking at each other and thinking it was a possibility. That was just before Christmas 2012. And we began to whisper about it to each other. If we started our company, we could do this, if we worked from home we could do this... if you are home full time then I can work full time when the Princess goes to Secondary school.
So we read up everything we could; we found books on running your own firm, setting up a legal practice, being a free range human. We started writing down what it would cost, what we needed to keep us for a year, what we could do without and what we wanted to keep. And then, we sat down one day and said yes. YES LET'S.
To Be Continued.....
This is the first part of the story of how Mr A J and I set up our new firm, Peter Kneale Solicitors. Mr AJ is the lawyer, I'm just the IT technician. If you read this blog, even if you only lurk, please go to our website and if you feel happy to, link back to us. Even just a share on Facebook is useful in promoting a small firm.
No, don't laugh. Listen to this story.
It was about a year and a half ago that Mr Angel Jem read this book, The Litigators, by John Grisham. I love JG, I read a lot of JG for the same reason I watch a lot of courtroom dramas and sit on a Sunday watching football. Mr AJ likes them, so there's a lot of it about and it's well worth sharing an interest together (and, no, he CANNOT crochet, although his Mum used to dressmake and he has a lot of respect for useful crafts.)
The role of the book is crucial in our story. The hero, David Zinc, has it all; a good job in a big firm, a big BIG firm. But it takes all his time and he is working for the firm. So one day he walks out. Just goes, sets off, gets well drunk in a bar and wanders off to a very dubious part of town where he meanders into a 'boutique' (meaning small) law firm and asks for a job.
We were in London. Seriously. Staying for a week in Harrow, walking around and feeling trapped in a corporate career that was not as fulfilling as we wanted. I was on supply, and poor Mr was thinking about his bosses and doing a Yosser. (What did you say? You're too young to remember Yosser Hughes? Go see the You Tube clip of him AT ONCE!) He kept saying," I could do that. I could run my own company. I could be my own boss."
And the book was the last straw. I read it after him, with a funny tickly feeling in my stomach, thinking all the while, "Yes, he could. Mr AJ could really do something like this; a small firm, a really small firm. He could work from home..."
But the money keeps you in the office. The fear keeps you from voicing the idea out loud. The worry (that dreaded 'what if???') keeps you from a leap of faith, much like some women are forever saying, "It's not the right time.", "I need to earn more money before I have a baby." "It's too much of a lifestyle change."
And the weeks passed by, with the two of us circling a thorny issue; was it the right thing to do? What would it mean? Who is going to say anything first? It was just like I remember the thorny issue of when should we start trying; can you really mark out a right time?
In the end it was a flash argument. A heated Kitchen discussion. And the fateful words, "Well, WHY DON'T YOU JUST START UP YOUR OWN FIRM THEN AND STOP COMPLAINING????"
And then the pregnant pause; the two of us looking at each other and thinking it was a possibility. That was just before Christmas 2012. And we began to whisper about it to each other. If we started our company, we could do this, if we worked from home we could do this... if you are home full time then I can work full time when the Princess goes to Secondary school.
So we read up everything we could; we found books on running your own firm, setting up a legal practice, being a free range human. We started writing down what it would cost, what we needed to keep us for a year, what we could do without and what we wanted to keep. And then, we sat down one day and said yes. YES LET'S.
To Be Continued.....
This is the first part of the story of how Mr A J and I set up our new firm, Peter Kneale Solicitors. Mr AJ is the lawyer, I'm just the IT technician. If you read this blog, even if you only lurk, please go to our website and if you feel happy to, link back to us. Even just a share on Facebook is useful in promoting a small firm.
Very well done to you both and I wish you all the love and success in your venture.
ReplyDeleteWell done both of you! Its always daunting trying something new especially when you are used to having a certain income, but nothing ventured, nothing gained! Hope it goes well!
ReplyDeleteYou'e obviously put so much an awful lot of time and effort and love into this decision.
ReplyDeleteI wish you both all the success in the world.
Lisa x