In summer 2016 Heather Townsend revealed the 10 lessons that every potential partner needs to learn to an audience of 200 lawyers and accountants. In this short 2-minute video clip, Heather talks through the eighth lesson – the importance of treating your practice like a business. In this series of 10 lessons, I’m going to shine a light on what you have to do to make partner. This is the eighth lesson. Imagine the scene; there’s me, there’s my client, and there’s their sponsoring partner, we’re having a catch-up and reviewing what’s happening. There’s no notes on her desk, she’s just generally having a chit-chat. That was when I realised that she wasn’t ready for partner. Because the eighth lesson is, you need to treat your practice like a business. That’s after all what you’re going to be allowed to do when you’re partner, is own a part of the business. So you have to treat your practice like a business.
- That means that you always have your numbers to hand.
- That means you have your marketing plan with you when you’re talking to the partners that matter.
- That’s where you’re able to say ‘this has gone well, this hasn’t gone well, this is what we’re doing’.
- You need to be able to push stuff down and delegate it to others, and build a team up beneath you.
- You’ve got to demonstrate to your partners that you treat your practice like a business.
That’s the eighth lesson, treat your practice like a business.
