today is
an exciting
milestone
for the
hourly
to exit
podcast.
This is
episode
100, and
it is also
the last
episode, at
least for
now, I'll be
taking the
summer off.
And when I
return in
the fall,
we will have
a new title
and a new
brand that
reflects the
evolution of
my thinking
over the
last three
years.
It's hard
to believe
it's been 3
years since
I started
podcast.
So I love to
talk about
the hourly
to exit
journey,
moving
from that
unscalable
hourly
billing
model to
moving to
a revenue
model that
is scalable.
And to build
a business
that we can
hopefully
sell
someday.
But if
you've been
hanging
around here
for a little
while, you
know, that
my focus has
really been
on the legal
protections
required
to create
leverage.
So no
protection,
no leverage
that has
been kind
of the drum
I've been
beating
on a lot.
And so
looking
forward,
expect
to find a
lot more
information
that's Lane,
which is
that legal
protection
regarding
creating
leverage.
It's better
for you.
I can really
give you
a lot more
value from
focusing
on your
questions.
And I get
lots of
questions
about, how
to, make
sure you're
protecting
your
expertise.
And it
also helps
me better
define
my market
position,
the hourly
to exit
title.
Great title,
love that
title, but
people think
I'm an exit
planner
sometimes,
or they
think I'm
a business
coach and
I am not.
I am a
lawyer.
So speaking
of business
coaches
and exit
planners,
those
are great
referral
partners.
I love
working
with them.
it is not.
Possible
to build
a scalable
or saleable
expertise
based
business
without
having
those legal
protections
in place
using the
power of
intellectual
property
law and
contracts.
So we make
perfect
partners.
I just love
the title.
I really
like it.
It's so
cool.
and I really
like it, but
at the end
of the day,
I really
do want to
make sure,
you know,
being clear
is always
better
than being
clever.
I know a
wise man
told me
that, I
think it
was Jonathan
Stark
actually.
And speaking
of which,
when I first
chose the
title hourly
exit, it was
in response
to something
that
Jonathan
said about
creating
that solar
system
that you
talk about.
And when you
are starting
a podcast
you're
thinking,
how am I
going to
find enough
topics to
talk about.
looking at
this blank
screen of,
deciding
What you're
going to
talk about
week in and
week out,
having the
biggest
solar system
possible
made a lot
of sense.
And there
was some
comfort in
it, by going
with hourly
to exit
everything
from that
entire
journey, to
selling the
business.
and so it
made a ton
of sense,
but now as.
My work with
you has,
developed,
getting
feedback
from you,
hearing
the things
that you're
worried
about, the
questions
that you
have, it
has made it
really clear
that my
focus should
be really
digging
in on the
protection
of your
expertise.
now the
future
content will
emit from
a single
bright star.
And that
is, you how.
To protect
your
expertise
so that you
can grow
legally,
safely, and
profitably.
And those
three
elements
growing
legally, we
think about,
do I own
what I think
I own, and
if I don't
own it, do
I have the
right to
use it very
important
to make sure
that you
have the
legal rights
to use the
elements
in your
training
or product.
And I talk
about.
the
increased
risk when
we move from
one on one
services
to one to
several to
one to many.
So it's
really
important
to make
sure we have
the legal
rights to
use those
elements,
safely.
We want
to be able
to get
our ideas
out there
without
losing
control
of them.
People
play small
because
they're
afraid
people are
going to
steal their
stuff.
How do we
make sure
that you can
grow safely?
And we want
to make sure
we have the
protections
in place to
make sure
that our
competitors
and our
clients
aren't using
or reusing
Our work
without our
permission
or without
getting
paid for it.
And then we
want to be
able to grow
profitably.
That's when
we get the
leverage
piece.
How do
we create
income
streams
that are
decoupled
from our
time?
And the
only way
to do that,
of course,
is through
intellectual
property
assets.
that is our
profitability
piece.
So for old
time sakes,
before I
retire the
hourly to
exit title
completely,
I wanted
to give you
an update
on what's
happening
and think
beyond IP
and, kind
of going
through the
hourly to
exit self
assessment.
So I was
looking in
my notes
and the last
time I did
this was
February
2022.
Where did
the last two
and a half
years go?
if you
are not
familiar,
the hourly
to exit,
self
assessment
is a
beautiful
graphic.
I'm going
to share
my screen
if you're
watching
this on
YouTube.
that has
it, but, if
you don't
have it,
if you're
listening
to this on
audio only,
I'll have
links to
it in the
show notes.
And of
course,
anywhere
you find the
podcast on
YouTube, on
LinkedIn,
it is a
graphic that
illustrates
through 19
different
variables,
what the
indicators
are, where
you are on
that hourly
to exit
journey.
Are you
still
at that
unsustainable
freelance
model?
Or have you
moved along
to more
sustainable
expertise
based All
the way to
the fully
saleable,
complete
independence
from the
owner
ownership of
assets that
can be sold,
revenue,
visibility,
client
diversity,
all sorts of
good things.
And so that
is what it
looks at.
So where is
think beyond
IP on this
journey?
and here
are the 19
variables.
Starting
from
unsustainable,
the
freelancer
model,
operator
model,
CEO model,
and legacy
model.
And these
are kind
of your
mindsets.
What kind
of business
are you
thinking of
yourself as?
So where
am I?
right now
I am moving
from the
operator
mindset
to the CEO
mindset.
And why am
I kind of
stuck here?
I am a
lawyer and I
am the only
lawyer in
my business.
I absolutely
have a team.
I depend
on them
very much.
but I'm kind
of stuck
here so long
as I am the
only lawyer
providing
legal
services.
but what
I am
transitioning
to is really
building
out, my
team,
especially
with respect
to the
things that
I don't
have to be
a lawyer
for that.
You don't
have to be a
lawyer for.
I am still
doing too
much of the
marketing
and too
much,
frankly, of
the sales.
And so I
am going
to build a
marketing
and sales
function
that
requires
less of me
and lets
me kind
of stay up
here at the
CEO level.
on the
authority,
I, uh, Am
viewed as
a business
partner.
Actually,
I just,
kind of
mentioned,
earlier,
the way I
think about
working
with,
business
coaches,
and exit
planners
is that I'm
not just the
lawyer, but
I'm also the
person that
can help
get results
for the end
clients.
They
recognize
as an
authority.
Obviously,
I do this
stuff all
the time.
I talk
everywhere
and creating
more content
to help
build the
authority.
I like to
think that,
when I look
at niche and
specialization
that I
really have,
unlike many
lawyers.
Created this
niche of
expertise
based
business,
especially
those who
work with
corporate
clients.
I have my
career.
I've been
working
with large
corporate
clients.
So I really
understand
their
issues and
obviously
the
intellectual
property
issues
as well.
So, both
niche and
expertise.
specialization,
I do think
I am working
my way
into the
authority
there, the
business
model.
this is
a tough
1 again,
because of
the legal
service,
what's
the legal
services?
I do have
some.
Productized
services,
that are
solution
based, but
in some ways
they're also
time based.
And that is,
something
that I am
working on
is really
to get away
from any
time based
solutions.
I don't
bill hourly,
but I do
sometimes
price things
with a rough
estimate
of how
long it not
completely,
but there's
something in
there that
still Gets
me so I am
working on
completely
decoupling
my pricing
from time.
my
exclusivity.
as we
speak, I'm
developing
a number
of, Products
that will
be available
for sale,
that will,
be exclusive
to me.
And so
I will,
register
them, for
copyright
protection
and those
will be
mine.
they'll
have enough,
creativity
that they're
eligible for
copyright
protection.
And so I'm
definitely
working
on the
saleable end
for that.
For
visibility,
definitely
better.
Like I can
pretty much
predict how
many leads
I'm going
to get and,
understand
what my
sales
will be.
I don't have
complete
visibility
cause it's
definitely
referral
based.
I'm very
referral
based.
Or, know,
people who
will follow
me for a
while and
then they'll
be ready.
So it's not
something
that I can
turn on and
off like
you can,
like someone
who has a
very large,
audience,
they can
kind of
turn it on.
They
can say,
okay, I'm
launching
something
and they
can turn it
on and they
can have it.
And I
don't have
that yet.
I'm in the
scalable
right now.
Standardization.
This is a
big part
of creating
my team.
lots of,
and I am
the worst
at this,
but that's
what the
team is for.
And we have
lots of, S.
O.
P.
S.
that we're
putting in
place and
standardizing
some issues.
So I'm
feeling
pretty good.
We're not
manuals.
Well, I
guess,
you know,
if it's
digital,
it's in
click up.
I guess that
makes it
a manual.
we're kind
of between
scalable
and scalable
here.
absolutely.
professional
liability
insurance
is a must
when you're
a lawyer.
and then
also risk
mitigation.
That's
something
that I
think about
as I have
products
that.
Provide
legal
education,
but don't
provide
legal
services.
So that is
definitely
part of the
next stage.
I did
it again
delegation.
Also, my
revenue
generating
tasks are
mostly legal
services.
I'm the
only lawyer.
So, as I.
Develop
products
that don't
require me
and a team
that can
sell them.
I will
definitely
be moving
over from
scalable to
saleable,
client
concentration.
again, the
more variety
of the ways
you can
engage with
me, the more
diverse my
client base
will be.
If it's Only
me, then
there's a
certain,
you know,
fee involved
with that.
And I'm
going to
have fewer
clients,
but as I
have more
variety of
offers, then
my, client
base will
get more
diverse,
profitability,
increases
in revenue
results and
increases in
profitability.
there are
ways to
do that.
Also while
providing
one on one
services, I
can still,
increase my
profitability
by having
those
services,
the.
Better I
get at them,
the more
efficiently
I can
deliver
them.
The more
I can read
my client's
minds and
get to the
solution
quicker.
And that
increases
profits.
So it's not
just about
products.
It's also
just about
becoming
more
efficient,
always sign
contracts.
And I
do have
standardized
ones as
well.
effective
use of
automation.
I realized
that I
created
this, you
know, two
and a half
years ago
before AI
was really
a thing.
and I
do, have
implemented
some AI in
my business,
mostly
regarding,
when I
think about
some of my
content, I
use it as
a starting
point,
obviously,
I mean, you
know, my
voice and
you know,
what, comes,
what gets
published
is different
than what I
got out of
AI, but I
do use it.
And I use
it to think
through
something.
Sometimes
I'm not
anti AI, as
you know,
and you can
effectively
use
automation.
expertise
based
services.
Yes, that is
absolutely.
what.
I am working
on both
in what
I provide
directly
to clients
and in the
products
that I
will be
developing a
standardized
sales
pipeline
and process.
that is
something
that I'm
working on.
That will be
part of the
marketing
team that's
coming
on that
will get
a better,
process
in place.
Leveraged
business
model.
yeah, I left
behind the
hourly based
a while ago.
So I do
have the
leveraged
business
model
through,
kind of
having
productized
services.
I still
tend to
like someone
needs
something
that's a
little bit
custom.
I'll still
do that.
We're
working with
corporate
client,
your B2B
client with
corporate
clients and
the issues
regarding
your
copyright,
know,
protecting
your
expertise.
I'm still
sticking in
that so I
can create
a leveraged
business
models
around
that and
paid upon
engagement.
All my
engagements,
you pay me
in advance
to book the
time and my.
Income
decoupled
from
founder's
time.
it's not
completely
decoupled
from my
time again,
because I'm
the only
lawyer.
So as I move
into some of
these, other
offerings,
then I will
be moving
over there
as well.
So again,
you can
get this
assessment.
On the
website
and all
the places.
If you
can't find
it, just
email me and
we'll get
it to you.
So have a
wonderful
summer.
I'm looking
forward to
coming back
with some
new ideas.
in the fall,
of course,
I'm always
happy to
hear your
ideas and
what you'd
like to hear
more of.
and thanks
again for
hanging out
with me for
the last 100
episodes.
don't forget
IP is fuel.