As a solopreneur, I am still figuring out what I “do.”

That is both good and bad.

Good is that:
—No one criticizes me.
—No one dictates my schedule.
—No one tells me what work to do.

Bad is that:
—I criticize myself more than any boss would.
—I do better when I have a schedule.
—What work should I do???

You see, when you start a brand new business at my ripe old age, you realize there is actually a broad universe of things you could teach.

The hard part is narrowing down the universe.

I have to factor in answers to:
— what do I enjoy most?
— what has a market so I can be paid?
— what “gigs” become more trouble than they’re worth?

So one way I did narrow my scope a few years back was electing NOT to give presentations at law firms.

— Speaking in public always makes me really nervous.
— Preparing to do it also always takes me a really long time.

So even though I used to give sexual harassment training and legal-writing CLEs for many years as a lawyer, meaning I certainly could do presentations, I chose not to.

The result pained me:

I had to turn away so many offers for law-firm speaking engagements when my book came out.

—I simply didn’t have anything prepared and ready to go. 😞

But I am constantly revisiting things, and today I’ve agreed to speak at Matt’s firm.

I’ll be speaking about legal writing:
—some key advice learned from judges’ interviews
—universal pet-peeves to watch out for
—current trends
—AI

The talk is at his firm’s monthly Litigation meeting, and there’ll be both senior partners and new associates there, making it a mixed and potentially challenging group.

Please wish me luck!

I’ll give you a report and share some takeaways afterwards, I promise.

Sending cheer to you all, always—

💌 Amanda

#DearLegalWriter

P.S. Who knows, maybe presentations SHOULD be something I start doing more of?