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What if you could hang out with successful women lawyers, ask them about growing their firms, managing resources like time, team and systems, mastering money issues, and more; then take an insight or two to help you build a wealth-generating law firm? That’s what we do each week on the Wealthy Woman Lawyer podcast. Hosted by Davina Frederick, founder and CEO of Wealthy Woman Lawyer –– every episode is an in-depth look at how to think like a CEO, attract clients who you love to serve (and will pay you on time), and create a profitable, sustainable firm you love. The goal is to give you the information you need to scale your law firm business from 6 to 7 figures in gross annual revenue so you can fully fund, and still have time to enjoy, the lifestyle of your dreams.
The impact that my work has on the world. I've helped hundreds of women's better themselves and their families financially. I've helped them have the courage and the confidence to create jobs for other people, so that those people can better themselves and their families financially. I like to think of myself as like a pebble in a pond creating infinite circles of positive impact, hopefully, with lasting effects for 100, if not 1000 of people that I've helped and their families. What I think most people fail to discuss is that meaningful work work that makes difference in the world is a privilege.
Intro:Welcome to the Wealthy Woman Lawyer podcast. What if you could hang out with successful women lawyers? Ask them about growing their firms, managing resources like time, team, and systems, mastering money issues, and more. Then take an insight or 2 to help you build a wealth generating law firm. Each week, your host, Davina Frederick, takes an in-depth look at how to think like a CEO, attract clients who you love to serve and will pay you on time, and create a profitable, sustainable firm you love.
Intro:Devina is founder and CEO of Wealthy Woman Lawyer, and her goal is to give you the information you need to scale your law firm business from 6 to 7 figures in gross annual revenue so you can fully fund and still have time to enjoy the lifestyle of your dreams. Now, here's Divina.
Davina:Hi, everyone, and welcome back to the Wealthy Woman Lawyer podcast. I'm your host, Divina Frederick. And today's episode starts a series of episodes called the dumbest thing I've heard lately. It's a series because, unfortunately, I'm reading and hearing dumb things all the time on these social media streets, and I just can't take it anymore. I have to say something about these things that I'm reading.
Davina:And so I'm not talking about politics or Gen z or TikTok or Justin Timberlake or anything, kind of in the current news out there. I'm talking about dumb business advice and words that are supposed to be inspirational, but that may actually be harmful. So let's jump in and get started on the dumbest thing I've heard lately. In the last couple weeks, I ran ads to promote Wealthy Woman Lawyer League, which is a membership program for women law firm owners to help you scale your law firm business so you can make more money while working fewer hours in your business. And the theme of one of the ads was something like take longer vacations.
Davina:Because I know most of you, like me, love to travel, and you wanna spend your time jet setting around the globe. And to do that, you need a business that can make you money in your sleep and allow you to leave without worrying that everything will fall apart in your absence. So, of course, a mediocre white man, is what I call them, felt the need to comment on this ad because, well, when do men ever feel a need not to comment on a post that's meant to be encouraging, empowering for women? It was an ad that was obviously not directed to men at all, but there he was. He was hell bent on educating little old me.
Davina:His comment was something to the effect of, if you hate being an attorney so much, then go do something else that you don't feel like you need a vacation from. And the old and so, basically, he was tapping into that old cliche of build a life you don't need to escape from. So where do I begin? First of all, no one said anything about hating being an attorney. Just because you want a vacation every now and then doesn't mean that you hate your wife or your job or what you're doing.
Davina:It was so stupid. 2nd, and this is the dumbest thing to me. Since when do people hate their lives just because they wanna build a business that continues to operate smoothly and generate money, revenue while they are away from it. I'm sure you've seen this supposedly inspirational quote many times, build a life you don't need to escape from. It's all over Instagram.
Davina:But let's be real here for a minute. Just because one wants to travel and take vacations does not mean one also does not and cannot find meaning and purpose in their work. There seems to be this myth perpetuated by social media influencers that work equals bad and permanent vacation equals good. And I really could not disagree more. So let's talk about some facts.
Davina:In the US, as of 2023, there were only 735 billionaires. And when you think of billionaire, who do you think of? Here are some names that came to mind for me. Taylor Swift, Oprah, Brianna, Sara Blakely, Kim Kardashian, Sheryl Sandberg, Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk, Warren Buffett, Jeff Bezos. How many of those billionaires did not work to make their billions?
Davina:0. 0 on this list that I just named off. In fact, all of these names that I just read off to you, all of these people work their butts off to get where they are, and most of them are still working even if they're not working in the company they founded. Why? Because having a purpose in life is critical to a life well lived.
Davina:Now you may have judgments about billionaires and and how they should be taxed more or they should give more back to the people and that kind of thing. We're not talking about that today. What I'm talking about is that they worked. They had meaning and purpose in their life. They weren't handed that money.
Davina:And if you haven't read Stephen Covey's 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, in which he discusses why we should strive to live a purpose driven life. I highly recommend you do so after you finish listening to this podcast episode. Are these are there billionaires and millionaires in the world who inherited their wealth and did not work for it? Absolutely. So I imagine but I imagine though that even those millionaires and billionaires, the majority, there's always the one spoiled rich kid, but the majority find meeting through some type of full philanthropic work.
Davina:They find meaning in their life in some other way. Because to live a well lived life, it has to have some meaning and some purpose. So, also, let's face it. That's not going to be most of us. Most of you listening to this podcast are not billionaires.
Davina:Most of you are not even millionaires yet. Even if you are a millionaire, you likely still work for a reason. Maybe you aspire to make a better life for yourself and your family, and you know to do that, you require more resources because more resources, AKA money and connections, means more options for you and your kids. Most of you probably really like the satisfaction you get from being an attorney as well. The intelligence, the prestige, the powerful feeling you get from people helping people who could not help themselves without someone like you by their side.
Davina:Some of you may want to work a job you enjoy while paying your bills, paying off your student loan debt, taking vacations with your kids a few times a year. There are all kinds of reasons why we work that go beyond this sort of work, save all this money, and retire early kind of concept. Me, I work because I'm not going to inherit any money. I came from a long line of poor folks. I paid my way through college.
Davina:I paid my way through law school by working. It's up to me to secure my financial future and the financial future of my family. I have people who depend on me. Plus, I like to eat well and I like to fly 1st class. It's the only way I fly these days.
Davina:So there's that. Vacations enhance my life, but they are not my life. Traveling is something I do because I enjoy it. But I also enjoy many, many, many other things as well. For instance, I love the impact that my work has on the world.
Davina:I've helped hundreds of women's better themselves and their families financially. I've helped them have the courage and the confidence to create jobs for other people so that those people can better themselves and their families financially. I like to think of myself as like a pebble in a pond creating infinite circles of positive impact, hopefully, with lasting effects for 100, if not thousands of people that I've helped and their family. What I think most people fail to discuss is that meaningful work, work that makes a difference in the world is a privilege. It's certainly a privilege to be highly educated and in this industry that holds a massive amount of wealth.
Davina:In 2022, the top 100 leading law firms generated a total revenue of almost 131,000,000,000, that's billion with a b, dollars in the US. Estimates suggest that the entire US legal market size exceeds 47, $437,000,000,000 accounting for over half of the global market. And 39%, 39%, almost 40%, or 108,000,000,000 was spent on services provided by small law firms with 1 to 29 attorneys. I get not wanting to put off travel and rest and relaxation until you retire at the ripe old age of 65. Too many of us have witnessed parents or loved ones who did that, and then they passed away shortly after retirement, and they never got to enjoy the fruits of their labor.
Davina:I get wanting to live your life to the fullest every day to enjoy the present and the now. But when in the world did we decide that a life well lived is only one that begins and ends on a tropical beach. Does a life well lived include helping a person stay out of jail and go home to their families? Does a life well lived include helping a person get the resources and money they need to help them recover after a horrible, debilitating, life altering accident? Does a life well lived include helping a family through the passing of a loved one?
Davina:Does a life well lived include helping an individual escape a bad marriage and move forward to a happier life? Does a life well live include raising children, taking care of aging parents, spending meaningful time with friends, loving our pets, enjoying our hobbies. Can you engage in meaningful work and help other people while you're traveling the grow globe? For some people, absolutely. For others, maybe not right now because they've made choices that tie them to a specific place during this particular season of their lives.
Davina:But that doesn't mean that they want to escape their lives just because they've made that choice. That's absolutely asinine. Yes. There are people who are stuck in jobs that they hate. Some people have to do really hard jobs just to survive and help their families survive.
Davina:There's definitely a divide between the haves and the have nots in this country. Many, many lawyers I know are doing their best to help support those who struggle most in life because of circumstances into which they were born. But you, with your education, your intelligent and in intelligence, and in many cases, economic privilege that comes from your hard work and dedication to your craft as a lawyer and as a business owner are likely you are likely not digging ditches to make ends meet. Stop letting people make you feel bad because you are not on permanent vacation. Stop buying into that social media hype.
Davina:Take vacations every chance you get. Travel the world. Experience life. But also remember there is tremendous value in the work you're doing and the daily life you are living even if it feels routine and mundane at times. Meaningful work is not something from which you need to escape.
Davina:It only it not only allows you to serve and create an impact and legacy in this world, it also broadens your mind and it enriches your life, and it introduces you to people you might otherwise never had the privilege of meeting. It's all just part of this intricate tapestry of your life. Is it not better to find joy in every day, no matter where you are and what you're doing, than to buy into the narrative that unless you are escaping, you're not living, and that you have to be on permanent vacation. Otherwise, you're not doing life right. I hope you enjoyed this week's episode.
Davina:I'd love to hear your thoughts. You can click on the link below to send me a message about this topic or other dumb things you've heard this week that you might wanna share with me. Also, I've linked in the show notes, Forbes richest self made women in America 2024 list for your enjoyment. I really enjoyed seeing who was on the list, and I know you will too. I'll be back next week with more content prepared specifically for women law firm owners just like you, and I'll see you then.
Intro:If you're ready to create more of what you truly desire in your business and your life, then you'll want to visit us at wealthy woman lawyer.com to learn more about how we help our clients create wealth generating law firms with ease.