We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Kamilah Jolly. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Kamilah below.
Hi Kamilah, thanks for joining us today. Was there an experience or lesson you learned at a previous job that’s benefited your career afterwards?
When I started my legal career, I worked as an administrative hearings officer. Essentially I would conduct hearings. all day. I would listen to people present information about why they should or shouldn’t receive unemployment benefits. It was already a grueling job, but it became especially brutal at the time because the country was in a recession. I would sit for hours and hours on end and hear stories upon stories about how people got fired or left their jobs and wanted unemployment. I usually heard at least 40 cases a week and was encouraged to increase my caseload if I could. I learned so much about efficiency and paying attention to detail. Even though I had a heavy caseload, and many of the cases seemed to have the same facts, they were all different from each other and had to be treated that way. If you pay attention to ALL the details initially, you can spot the differences easier. It makes it so much easier to help people when I know how their case is different from everyone else’s. It helps me see how they are different from everyone else and I can provide them with a customized legal solution for their needs.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I have ALWAYS been business-minded. In middle school, I helped my friends figure out which chips to pair with which juices & candies to increase the sales of their “snack packs.” When they listened to my suggestions, the sales of their “snack packs” increased tremendously. In my elementary school autobiography, I wrote that I would become a business lawyer and own my own law firm. I strayed away from that and it wasn’t until my senior year of college that I revisited becoming a lawyer. Now I don’t think I could do anything else. I love how business and law intersect. I truly believe that if you want to create generational wealth, you do so through business and entrepreneurship. No matter what the service or product is, it is not enough to just create or start a business. Entrepreneurs have to have a good legal foundation and actively work on protecting the things they have created so they can have wealth. My goal is to help as many Florida Business owners to build their businesses, protect their profits, and create their wealth.
Have you ever had to pivot?
While I was working as an administrative officer, I was becoming drained. I eventually had an opportunity to work at a Bankruptcy law firm. I loved it because I was helping people close one chapter but continue another chapter in their lives. However, I had helped a bunch of my friends open up their own law firms and they were doing well. I knew I could do the same. When the opportunity presented itself for me to have my own law firm, I pivoted. I devoted 100% of my energy to my law firm.
Can you talk to us about how your funded your business?
I was fortunate that I had some money saved up and I had some help from my parents. I already had a new laptop. Google had just released Google apps, and it was free for business owners. I used Google Apps for email and all the other productivity stuff. I signed up with a lead generation service for a month. I used my savings to get a $500 fully furnished month-to-month office space to meet clients. I also got a VOIP phone and professional liability insurance. When I got my first call for a consult, I met with the client and they paid half of their case fees upfront. I bought the software I needed to prepare the paperwork for their case. I got the rest of the money from the client on the day I filed their case. My law firm has been self-funded ever since.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.jollyesquire.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jollyesquire/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JollyEsquire/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/jollyesquire
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/jollyesquire
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/user/jollyesquire
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/jolly-esquire-north-miami-beach
- Other: Google My Business https://g.page/jollyesquire?share TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@jollyesquire