Growth and Profit: uneasy bedfellows?

Profit and growth need to hold each other tight 💕 or they will split 💔. 
 
The old saying is “Revenue is vanity and profit is sanity”. 
 
By “profit”, I mean the kind that turns to cash 💷 quickly, not piles of WIP . 
 
It’s tempting to rush for growth but not think about delivery. 
 
I recall once a flurry of work from Google ads leaving the seniors scrambling to service it. 
 
Yes, great billing that month but not all quality and not handled efficiently. 
 
So, profitability first🥇. 
 
There are two keys to profitability:
 
1.       Efficient delivery of top quality service 
2.       Working for the right type of clients 
 
Before you start reaching out to get those best clients in you should be looking inside the firm 🏠 . 
 
A growing firm needs the lifeblood of CASH. 
 
How can you get the cash to fund growth? 
 
Cutting debtor days and unnecessary spend, money on account, faster billing will all yield cash. 
 
Better estimates, time capture and work scoping will mean less discounting. 
 
Fee increases should be planned including helping (not browbeating) your team to implement it. 
 
Next, review the organisation of the work. 
 
Is work being done at the right level? Are there training, supervision and support needs? Are your team fully prepared🏃‍♀️? 
 
You should also analyse the firm’s work to determine the most profitable. 
 
What types of work and client do you want more of? 
 
If you aren’t that profitable, you won’t grow profitably. 
 
To paraphrase Bill Clinton: “IT’S PROFITABILITY, STUPID!” 
 
To hear more about how I support law firms achieve profitable growth, DM me here.
 
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