Tom’s Trek: Balancing Short Term Loss for Long Term Growth

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In this episode, we continue tracking attorney Tom Hardin's journey building his Long Island family law practice from scratch. This monthly check-in provides transparent insights into the real numbers, challenges, and strategic decisions that go into growing a successful legal practice.

Tom shares his March financials in complete transparency: $10,242 in top-line revenue (his second-highest month), with expenses reaching $6,800 ($3,500 for marketing with Rocket Clicks and $3,300 for office space and miscellaneous expenses). While his top-line revenue continues its upward trajectory, his short-term profit has temporarily decreased as he strategically invests in future growth through marketing and a second office location.

Tom reflects that hitting the $10K monthly revenue mark represents an important psychological milestone, as this would be sufficient to comfortably support his family without supplemental income. However, he's not content to plateau at this level and is investing in additional marketing and operational capacity to accelerate growth.

Strategic Goals & Timelines:

Tom has refined his growth targets with specific revenue benchmarks.

These ambitious targets reflect Tom's commitment to building a substantial practice rather than settling for solo practitioner status. While the 6-month jump from $16K to $30K is significant, it's achievable with the right operational infrastructure in place.

Marketing & Operational Developments:

Tom details his experience working with Rocket Clicks. After some initial technical challenges accessing his Webflow-based website, the team is now implementing significant improvements:

- Creating location-specific service area pages for both Nassau and Suffolk County offices
- Building out neighborhood-specific content
- Implementing call tracking and enhanced Google Business Profile optimization
- Developing comprehensive site mapping and link-building strategies

Tom is also exploring an answering service implementation before his upcoming Disney vacation, recognizing the critical importance of not missing potential client calls. This is an area where quality should not be compromised, as initial client contact significantly impacts conversion rates.

Professional Networking Opportunities:

Tom shares his meeting with successful personal injury attorney Tom Tona, who invited him to join a professional networking group called TIP (The International Professional). This structured networking organization.

While Tom is interested in the potential high-quality referrals, he's weighing the time commitment against his already packed schedule balancing two jobs and family obligations. He's also seeking a chapter with an opening for a family law attorney, as Tom Tona's group already has one.

Client Management Challenges:
Tom candidly discusses the challenges of managing difficult clients and setting appropriate expectations, particularly with two upcoming trials (one custody case and one child support case). He's navigating the delicate balance between:

- Maintaining strong client relationships
- Setting realistic expectations about possible outcomes
- Dealing with client frustration that's misdirected at him
- Adjusting his approach when facing particularly aggressive opposing counsel

Developing the skill to set solid expectations while still offering hope is particularly challenging in family law, especially without decades of experience to draw upon.

Case Quality vs. Quantity:

Tom makes an important distinction between case volume and case value. While he signed 5 cases in February compared to only 3 in March, he expects the March cases to generate significantly more revenue because:

Two are contested matters rather than simple uncontested divorces
One is a high-asset divorce involving multiple businesses and properties
Another involves potential orders of protection and emergency proceedings

This illustrates the strategic importance of targeting higher-value cases rather than simply maximizing client count, particularly for a growing practice.

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❗️DISCLAIMER❗️ Not legal advice. I AM NOT YOUR LAWYER. All content is informational only. Consult your attorney for specific issues. No attorney-client relationship is formed. Non-licensed clips used for fair use commentary, criticism, and education. See Hosseinzadeh v. Klein (S.D.N.Y. 2017); Equals Three v. Jukin Media (C.D. Cal. 2015).