A little less than 4 months, I struck out entirely on my own and opened the doors to the Selchick Venture Law Firm. It went fast, I admit, which I realize now is more and more true as I am 9 days away from my wedding after a year and a half long engagement! In that short period of time, I have gone through three .com domains, 4 different email addresses, 5 different sets of business cards, three different offices and more "all-nighters" of work than I care to admit - ultimately, this was and is a MAJOR learning process. These are some of my reflections. I am not saying I "made it" or that I am raking in the cash. I can say that I am happy. This is an update. A reflective moment for me as I take the next step in my legal career. A chance for all of those who wonder where I am living in the "cloud" of legal practice and technology to hear some of my story from one perspective. Before I go on my rant, with respect to the "cloud" I must be entirely forthright - when my father first saw my "office" his reaction was something like this:

Fast forward to present. I am now a partner in The Wagoner Law Firm, PLLC, where I lead up the Firm's Emerging Growth & Venture Law practice, representing hedge funds, entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, small businesses, alternative investment funds, tech start-ups and well, people. Sure, there is an organization out in front, one that I likely incorporated, but at the heart of it are the drivers of the car; the best part of my day; the creative and brilliant minds I am pleased to work with on a daily basis. From traffic court to structuring complex ventures and investments, the journey is just beginning. I work with them all, as they say, "the finders, the minders and the grinders." In this short time, I learned some lessons although this is not intended to be an educational post. Just my observations. Here they are!

Lesson One: It is all about the people you work with, not "for". If you care about their story as much as you care about your own, honestly, there is value in that, in my opinion. Last month AT&T either loved me or hated me as I logged over 7000 minutes on my cell phone talking to prospective clients and clients. Set aside the emails and the text messages for a moment; that is a lot of time. A true yet funny reality about who I am, which I am only now starting to realize, is this - I really enjoy and like people (I already know that I am a chatty cathy. One of my faults.). People from all different parts of the world with varying viewpoints and perspectives on just about everything. I love hearing about new ventures. I hear about their goals, objectives, their families, their concerns and frankly, they hear about mine as well. Much of my work is done on a flat fee basis so dispel the thought that those conversations are "billable" for me. Quite the contrary, they are a cost but to me they are not a cost - those hours are what keep the lights on and they provide me with the chance or maybe even just the opportunity to gain a friend and a client for life instead of handling one deal, transaction or matter. It is the "we grow together" process.

Lesson Two: A law firm is a business like any other and when I first started my firm was nothing but a one man start-up run out of my house. While I have a substantial amount of business and legal experience all over the board, frankly, I never considered just how much I would have to rely upon my knowledge of the law and my business experience. I learned a lot of tough lessons about money management, payroll, time management, work life balance - these are things I continue to work on and learn more about daily - sometimes the easy way but most of the time, the hard way. Happily, that can be a good thing because it equates to experience. But experience is only as good as the lesson you take away from the experience. For example, not being able to say no. I was so used to working as a salaried in house counsel/attorney, that I could not (read: sometimes I still cannot) say no. I want to help. I want to say yes. Admittedly, I say no more often now than I thought I ever would but not in the traditional sense. It plays out more like this: I give out more free legal advice than most lawyers are willing to and I frequently tell prospective clients when they do NOT need my services even though they are trying to hire me and PAY me.

Lesson Three: Being your own boss gives you the ability to do what you think is right, everyday, whether you are wrong or right. Dealing with issues like I mentioned above results in two things - loss of sleep and the ability to sleep with a clear conscience. Why? Because it was the truth and the right decision for them (I still do this; it feels right, it feels good and while it may mean less cash flow, the goodwill is worth every dollar I "miss out" on. This is leaving money on the table based upon principle, period. As a businessman, I would normally go crazy over that but working for myself and now with Matt, I also got to leave a massive dry cleaning bill in the dust! So does it equal out? Maybe. Maybe not. But it certainly feels like it does because what I do for a living is not a job, it is who I am. It never feels like work . . . okay, sometimes it does).

Lesson Four: You will never work as hard for someone else as you will for yourself. From managing employees and clients to personally managing each client matter to taking out the trash, for once I can say that I am truly in love with what I do. Janitor. Keeper of the records. Administrative assistant. Chief marketing officer. General Counsel. Bill collector . . . (hate that part). So, wait, why do I enjoy this so much? Because it comes with flexibility and it is rewarding in many ways and I do not mean financially. Yes, I said it, which brings me to "lesson five", in quotes because it is more of an opportunity than a lesson.

Lesson Five: The work is out there and so is the need. With less jobs to be had and millennials dedicated to creativity with access to business accelerators, incubators (and parental start up funds at times . . . ) start ups are everywhere, particularly in NY. My practice managed to quickly develop and I am happy to report that it expanded quickly with new offices with Albany, Troy, Schenectady and NYC, a full time paralegal, a great crew of clients of a new law partner I see eye to eye with (well, not physically but you get the point). The ever-changing and growing community of entrepreneurs, the rise in various forms of angel investing and critically, the need for legal services with a price tag so different from that of a large law firm that it appears to command interest, at a minimum, are all drivers for the growth of solo / small boutique firms in New York (if not across the country).

Lesson Six: Flexibility is FUN. Since I went out on my own, I got involved in all different types of ventures I always "wished" I had time for. FREEEEDOOOMMMM! Ok, bad Braveheart reference. Really weak actually. Delete. I am the COO & GC of an international tech company, an advisory board member to a unique web platform and the founder of a new initiative for solo practitioners - the Tech Valley / Capital District CoLawborative (site is coming soon at www.colawborative.com but I did get the MeetUp site set up!). All of these things not only keep me busy but they are FUN. Next on my list?

Webinars. Seminars. Go to more CLEs in person. Attend speaking events and hear speakers talk about their lives and experiences. Be supportive of others. Read more books for pure enjoyment. Continue to care less about "time" and more about "value." Help others figure out what is the right fit for them. We shall see.

I do not know much. Mostly, what I do know is that "I don't know anything." This post does not have an end yet and I hope it does not for a long time so I leave you with a corny quote from Jerry McGuire: "To be honest, in life, I failed as often as I succeeded. But I love my wife. I love my life. And I wish you my kind of success."

Be happy. Be healthy. Be well. Cheers!