Solo lawyers as developing countries?
The dilemma most small firm lawyers face -- especially when they first hang up their own shingle -- is a lack of resources. In a new article on the Harvard Business School Working Knowledge site, authors Donald N. Sull, Alejandro Ruelas-Gossi, and Martin Escobari talk about how innovation is often stymied in developing countries. The impediments to innovation faced by developing countries seemed much like those barriers I faced (and continue to face) when I decided to become a solo lawyer:
1. Developing countries generally lack a solid technology base of trained scientists and world-class research universities.
2. Companies in developing countries must manage to eke out a profit while serving customers with low disposable income; per capita gross domestic product in the advanced economies is on average ten times that of developing nations.
3. Managers in these companies must often innovate on a shoestring budget, since the high cost and scarcity of capital preclude massive spending on R&D. As a result, they must innovate from other areas of their business's structure, including manufacturing, logistics, marketing, and customer service
The three keys to innovating on a limited budget, the authors argue, are: knowing your customers' mindsets—intimately; innovating around—rather than through—the technology; and scouring the globe for good ideas. Each key comes with great examples from successful companies in the developing world. My favorite:
Employees of China's Haier, for example, discovered through visiting rural customers that they frequently used their washing machines not only to launder clothes but also to clean vegetables. By making a few minor modifications to the washers they manufactured, Haier was able to market the machines as versatile enough to wash both clothing and vegetables, and rapidly became the market leader in rural areas of its home country
.As a lawyer, a limited budget should not keep you from becoming an innovative service provider to your clienst. Listen to your customers, use your technology efficiently, and look outside the legal profession for great ideas.