We recently connected with Andrew Goodwyn and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Andrew thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What do you think it takes to be successful?

I think there are many different ways to be successful and even more ways to define success. My story may be different from others, and my success may not seem like success in everyone’s eyes. For me, success meant having control over my day to day, and to accomplish this I started my own law firm. There are certainly many risks when starting your own company and choosing not to go the typical 9-5 route, however, it can definitely be worth it. The first few years are definitely a grind and you may not be as “successful” as some of your peers in the short term, but in the long term you will likely be earning a similar salary and have even more control over your life. Not answering to anyone (other than your clients) is the perfect measure of success to me.

Andrew, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I founded an entertainment law firm with my friend three years ago in Nashville, Tennessee. We service clients in all areas of entertainment including esports (competitive video games), music, television, film, and social media influencers. Not only do we work with the creatives themselves, but also the business that intersects with entertainment. I always knew I wanted to help creatives accomplish their goals and make careers out of their talents.

I am most proud of the law firm not flopping! We started four months before Covid began which posed some very difficult situations for our new law firm. First, we had to figure out how to get clients if we could not meet them in person. For this reason we focused a lot of our efforts in establishing an online presence. Fortunately, we were able to climb the ranks in Google which helped us generate business from cold calls. That, along with some valuable connections we made earlier on were pivotal moves that helped our business remain open during Covid.

At the end of the day the thing that I enjoy the most is helping my clients accomplish their goals and alleviate their anxiety around their tough business decisions.

We’d love to hear about you met your business partner.

I met my co-founder, Holland Hendley in our legal writing class in law school. Holland and I both had similar goals in that we both wanted to work in entertainment and avoid wearing a suit as much as possible (a difficult thing in the legal profession). We joined the same study group and quickly became great friends. We would play music together in his garage during law school and commiserate on the difficulties of law school and that is where we really bonded. After three years in law school, we decided to start a firm was what we had to do.

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

If you are in the entertainment industry, Donald Passman wrote a book titled “All You Need to Know About the Music Business” which is a must read. I find myself referencing it on a very frequent basis.

Contact Info:

• Website: hendleygoodwyn.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/andrewgoodwyn
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewgoodwyn/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/AndrewGoodwyn