I mentioned a while back that something was in the works. Well, it's farther along since I signed the contract for the office space.
Back in '99, I got sick of working for others, so I hung out my own shingle and started a solo practice. Unfortunately, I kind of did it all wrong. I'm a great lawyer, I sucked at being a businesswoman. I did probably hundreds of thousands of dollars of work for which I never billed. I hired, kept, and continued to pay a secretary who was incredibly sweet but fairly useless in the office. I got in way over my head. In '04, I gave it up and went with a firm, and then in '07 with a different firm back in my own county.
Well, Eric and I have had a long talk and decided it's time to try again. This time, I have his support, financially and emotionally. This time, I have his technological expertise. This time, I have his health insurance - in the early part of the 2000s, I was without insurance for a few years, simply because I couldn't afford it. Thank god by the time I needed surgery in '05, I was working for a firm and had it.
This time, I'll do it right.
Technology has changed, things are less expensive...
I'll have a website, designed by me, executed by Eric. This is what he does. No one really had websites in '99.
I'll start with a virtual office. It's a wonderful concept: I get a business mailing address, phone number, phone attendant, and voice mail, all routed through a third-party company and forwarded to my home and cell numbers. When I need to meet with clients or adversaries, I have use of the office conference room. It's perfect. And I really like the guy who runs the company. I don't know if this existed in '99, but if it did I didn't know about it.
On Vistaprint, I can design free business cards and announcements. I didn't have this in '99.
Post-wedding, I changed my name on my bar admissions, so I'm not licensed to practice under my married name. Now I just need to finish drafting the text for my website, wait for the company to assign me my phone number so I can have announcements and cards printed, and buy a new fax machine. Mine was ancient.
And again, I go solo. This time I'll get it right.