The Importance of Being Yourself in a Solo Practice

Elisabeth Pickle is the founder of The Mindful Counsel, a boutique estate and trademark law firm based in Scottsdale, Arizona. After starting her career in medicine, Elisabeth realized that her true passion was in advocating for people. When her family lost her beloved grandfather’s farm due to a divorce, Elisabeth found her niche—making sure other families would not have to go through what hers went through.

Recently, Elisabeth realized that she wanted to stop being someone she wasn’t in her professional life. Since then, she has mastered the art of showing up authentically and attracting the right clients with her marketing.

 

Standing Out From Big Box Firms

Why is it important to show up as your authentic self as an attorney?

For some, this might be scary. Elisabeth realized that once the results started coming in, it was the best business decision she could have made. That’s because it allowed her to show potential clients that she is a lawyer they can confide in.

Like many solo law practitioners during 2020, Elisabeth struggled trying to figure out how to pivot at the beginning of the pandemic. However, during this time, The Mindful Counsel homed in on its mission and its target audience. This growth edge allowed Elisabeth to explore new ways to connect with her ideal client.

 

Authenticity Leads to Creativity

Elisabeth has managed to go where not many attorneys have gone before: TikTok. Elisabeth will be the first to admit that her TikTok presence was “never supposed to be a thing.” At first, Elisabeth used TikTok to watch other professionals—lawyers, doctors, dentists, and financial advisors—connect with their audiences.

Then she had an epiphany: TikTok could be an amazing channel for marketing her practice.

 

• Connect with potential clients using engaging content. TikTok is a great place to provide information that gets potential clients thinking about estate planning on an engaging platform.
• Create and share content inexpensively. A great thing about TikTok is that you can reach a lot of people with just a little bit of time invested.
• Generate demand for your services. Get the wheels spinning! Estate planning isn’t top-of-mind for everyone, but creating TikTok videos has helped Elisabeth plant the seed in the minds of her followers.
• Make “boring” topics interesting. Estate planning can be very It can be challenging to get people excited about following an estate planning practice. However, Elisabeth has gotten great positive feedback from the public.
• Show your audience that their attorney is a human being. Create authentic marketing that goes beyond perfectly-polished websites and ads content.

 

How to Attract Your Ideal Clients with Authentic Marketing

Despite finding success on TikTok and identifying her authentic voice for The Mindful Counsel, Elisabeth admits she couldn’t have planned it any better on a piece of paper. However, she does have advice for attorneys seeking authentic ways to reach their audience:

 

• Start small! You don’t need to become a TikTok star to show your “real” side. Create an unscripted YouTube video that tells viewers who you are, who you serve, and how you can help them.
• Make sure you’re reaching your audience in the right places. Elisabeth’s TikTok marketing works because she is trying to reach young and midlife professionals interested in planning ahead for their families. The message might be the same, but changing up the medium will help you reach new audiences.
• Take more risks. Even though lawyers are risk-averse by nature, when you’re running your own practice you have to take risks. It’s okay to try a new way to connect with your audience because it just might work out.

 

Discover Your Authentic Message

If Elisabeth’s story teaches us anything, it’s that you don’t have to be perfect to sell yourself as knowledgeable legal counsel. Whether through TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, or another marketing channel, consider taking a chance to show your human side to attract your ideal client.

 

Listen to Elisabeth’s episode on Solo de Facto here!