By Kristina Schneider, Practice Success Coach Burnout is real and it’s affecting businesses all over the world. Whether you’re an estate planning professional who owns your own practice or not or perhaps you’re a support staff (employee), it is important that you are aware of the signs of burnout and do what you can right now to make necessary corrections to resolve the issue. If you don’t, your own physical and mental health will be dramatically affected and possibly your business (or employment), which will then impact your personal life as well. What Is Burnout? Before I get into the…
The Success of Your Business Starts with a Happy Work Environment
By Kristina Schneider, Practice-Building & Marketing Specialist “Businesses often forget about the culture and ultimately suffer for it because you can’t deliver good service from unhappy employees.” – Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos An often overlooked aspect of developing a successful business is really taking the time to look at the employees, the work environment and the company culture. The fact is, if you have a disorderly, stressful, and hostile work environment, chances are that you have unhappy employees who don’t like coming into work every day. And the bold truth of it is that your business will suffer…
Are You Missing Out on the Lucrative “New” Estate Planning Market?
By Philip J. Kavesh, J.D., LL.M. (Taxation), CFP®, ChFC, California State Bar Certified Specialist in Estate Planning, Trust & Probate Law Over the past 15 years or so, I’ve seen a big shift in the new client market. It used to be that a large percentage of the people coming to our office had no Living Trust or other estate plan. Today, the market has almost completely flipped, with many if not most people coming in with an existing trust or plan. Why has this market shift occurred? Like it or not, the truth I’ve witnessed (and you likely will…
Kick-Start Your Boss’ Calendar in the Right Direction for 2022
By Kristina Schneider, Practice Success Coach It’s hard to believe that we are already heading into the final months of 2021. As the former Executive Assistant to busy attorney, Philip Kavesh, what this time of year typically meant for me is that I would be typically preparing Phil’s calendar for the next year so that we can maximize the best use of his time, while also making sure that I don’t overlook important items that need to get onto his calendar. Here are some tips for laying out the 2022 calendar for your boss (whether he or she is an…
Top 10 E-mail Etiquette Rules for Estate Planning Professionals (and Their Assistants and Staff)
By Kristina Schneider, Practice Success Coach Electronic mail (otherwise known as e-mail) plays an important part in any business these days. It’s helped make communicating and doing business far more efficient and simpler. However, as with most things in business, there are certain rules that professionals should follow when it comes to using e-mail. If not done correctly, it can actually create unnecessary confusion, chaos, and an unnecessary amount of miscommunication (and maybe even legal liability!). Below, you will find what I consider to be the ten most important e-mail etiquette rules to live and work by. (NOTE: These are…
Free Checkup Meetings Generate Lots of Revenue!
By Philip J. Kavesh, J.D., LL.M. (Taxation), CFP®, ChFC, California State Bar Certified Specialist in Estate Planning, Trust & Probate Law In a prior article, we discussed the “free service package” alternative to an annual maintenance fee program. The package included a free attorney checkup meeting every three years. You may be wondering, “How do you get your existing clients to come back in for these checkup meetings and actually generate additional revenue from them?” (Before I address these questions, let me first note that, even if you do have and decide to keep your current maintenance plan, periodic checkup…
Tips for Boosting Morale In Your Office This Thanksgiving
By Kristina Schneider, Practice-Building & Marketing Specialist There’s no doubt that this year has been a challenging one for many people – – both professionally and personally. There’s been a whirlwind of things going on this year and it’s hard to just “check it at the door” when you come into the office. Speaking with numerous attorneys about their current challenges in their practice, one thing seems certain. Office morale is down. Low morale at the office usually results in reduced productivity, compromised work performance, tardiness and absences, and even personal conflicts and emotional outbursts. As we wind down the…
Six Big Mistakes When Choosing an Associate Attorney
By Philip J. Kavesh, J.D., LL.M. (Taxation), CFP®, ChFC, California State Bar Certified Specialist in Estate Planning, Trust & Probate Law Although attorneys are trained in the technical aspects of the law, we haven’t been taught how to run a successful business, often relying upon trial and error as costly teachers. In the process of building my own practice, I have made each and every one of the following mistakes when hiring associate attorneys, so I am speaking to you from experience. Mistake #1: Focusing mainly on the associate’s law school, credentials, experience and technical expertise. As educated and experienced…
Tips for Managing the Top 5 Interruptions at the Workplace
By Kristina Schneider, Practice-Building & Marketing Specialist One of the most costly killers of productivity in the workplace is interruptions. There are some startling statistics about how much interruptions really cost a business. It is believed that interruptions can cost a company up to over 6 hours per day in productivity, which equates to over 30 hours in a week (almost an entire full-time employee!). It’s also estimated that social media alone costs the U.S. economy over $650 billion per year in all of the lost production. Crazy, right? Interruptions are pretty much impossible to avoid, but there are definitely…
Summer Vacation Might Be Different This Year, But Be Sure to Take a Break!
By Kristina Schneider, Practice-Building & Marketing Specialist There is no denying that this summer feels is different. No, let me actually just call it for what it is—IT IS WEIRD! With all that’s going on in 2020, there’s no telling what tomorrow will bring (did we miss the murder hornets, cause it feels like we skipped those…). This comes as here in California, we just got ordered back to working from home and a lot of things that just opened up less than a month ago are closed back up. All that being said, I have found myself thinking that…