We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Kelli Jones a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Kelli thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear about the early days of establishing your own firm. What can you share?

I started my own firm during the pandemic in the summer of 2020. Prior to June 2020, I was always adamant that I would never start my own law firm because I thought it would be too hard. Once the pandemic hit courts were closed, business was slowing down at the firm I was working at and the partners cut our pay. I was let go shortly after and began applying for new jobs and interviewing. I then realized this was the chance I had been waiting for to get out of litigation. I hated being in court, so it was either go find another job I would probably not like that much or go out on my own. I found a Facebook group of trademark attorneys, many of whom had their own firms. This is really what gave me the inspiration and courage to go out on my own. The group was filled with threads about starting your own firm and various issues that attorneys face, both in practicing trademark law and running a business. I realized there were lawyers out there who were willing to help answer questions and truly wanted others to succeed as well. Finding a community of people to go to, especially when you are just starting out is my best piece of advice for a lawyer starting their own firm or really anyone looking to start a business. Entrepreneurship is not easy and learning that you do not have to do it all alone is what I believe will get you further, faster.

The main challenge I faced with setting up my own firm was really just learning to tune out the noise and make the decisions I wanted to make. There are so many different ways that you can run a firm, market your business, handle client work, and manage your operations, and there will be a ton of people with opinions on which way is best. There is no way to learn it all, do it all, or please everyone, so eventually you need to make decisions, stick with them, and keep moving rather than letting indecision keep you stuck.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I am a business and trademark lawyer for small business owners and entrepreneurs. I help them legally protect their business, mostly with contracts and trademarks. My goal is to empower business owners to be proactive in handling the legal side of their business because there is only so much I can do to help when problems arise. It will be less costly, less stressful, and less time-consuming if your business is secure with lawyer-drafted contracts and you own your brand with a trademark.

My law firm has been open for almost 3 years; however, I have been practicing law for over 8 years. I began working for non-profits and then moved to a private firm. I had been using my Instagram account for a few years mainly for fitness, as I was a part-time spin instructor and fitness coach. Through that, I connected with many people in the fitness industry who either were still fitness entrepreneurs or had pivoted to another type of online business (social media coaching, business coaching, etc). When I started my firm, I primarily used that same Instagram account (just switched it from @kelsofitny to @lawyerkelli_) because I saw that they were now running these online businesses (fitness or other) and did not have the legal side of their business handled. I saw people getting burned with clients not paying because they didn’t have solid contracts, or their content getting stolen by other people, or a competitor popping up with a similar program name. These are now the things that I help my clients avoid by being proactive with their legal.

The legal stuff is boring. Nobody wants to talk about it, let alone spend the time or money dealing with it. I get it because I would much rather spend my own time and money on marketing for my business rather than handling my own trademarks or contracts! That is why I try to make it as “fun” as I possibly can with my marketing and as easy to understand for my clients. I’m not going to shame someone who comes to me with a legal issue that they could have avoided by handling sooner, I’m going to give them grace because nobody knows it all, and we’re going to figure out the best course of action with the reality we are faced with. No complicated legal jargon, no stiff suits, no shame or guilt, no BS.

One thing I am proud of is the brand I’ve created in my attempt to make the legal more accessible and understandable. A lot of my clients say the legal overwhelmed them and they were afraid to take care of it because of that and because they thought they would be judged for not handling it sooner. Many have said they were so relieved when we spoke because I didn’t judge them, they felt supported, not shamed, and felt like they were finally being a proactive CEO.

How did you build your audience on social media?

My story is a little unconventional as I started building my audience on social media as a fitness entrepreneur and had a few thousand followers when I then pivoted my Instagram account from fitness to legal. I have since grown more on Instagram and also built an audience on TikTok as well. If you are just starting to build a social media presence my best advice is to choose 1-2 platforms that you want to be on and get really comfortable with those. You can decide on these platforms either based on where you think your ideal audience spends more of their time (ex: if you are looking to be a speaker at big events or Universities, LinkedIn may be a better choice to focus on but if you’re looking to get brand deals with fashion companies, perhaps TIkTok is where you’ll start) but also based on what type of content you personally enjoy creating.

I think there is a lot of emphasis on creating content to build a business or brand, but not as much on creating content in a way that you enjoy. So many people struggle with showing up on social media and I think one of the main reasons why I don’t is because I focus a lot of content that I actually enjoy creating and I try to show up as myself as much as possible. I don’t do many Instagram lives, or vlog-style content, or long YouTube videos because I don’t love them so I know I won’t be consistent with it. However, I love creating short-form videos, educational posts, and sharing my sometimes unpopular (and a little spicy) opinions on business and legal topics. I’ve learned to get comfortable with the fact that building an audience can take a lot of time, you will often have content that will not do well and there will be dips in engagement. At the end of the day, done is better than perfect, the content that only 10 people see is still better and going to do more for you than the content that you overthink and keep sitting in your drafts. Keep going, virality is not the goal. Finding a way to make content creation feel easier and more fun is.

What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?

Although social media is a close second, referrals have always been the best source of new clients. This has come from building connections through social media and trying to always provide the best experience for my clients so they feel comfortable sharing about me on social media or referring people to me when they need a lawyer.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.lawyerkelli.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lawyerkelli_
• Other: TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lawyerkelli

Image Credits
Jatnna Garcia Photography (same credit for all photos provided)