Reward Customers with… Deactivation?!
Update – June 8, 11:20am The Fastcase CEO called to resolve this issue! 🙂
What if you found a company that provides a product you love? In fact, you love it so much, that you come in to buy it several times every day.
But the company’s security has a policy to prevent shoplifting: any patrons who enter the store more than once per day are automatically locked out. WHAT?! You’ve just been locked out of the store because you love them!
Sad, but true
This actually happened to me! I use a great legal research system called Fastcase. I love their interface, and the databases have excellent coverage.
I have been working on a research project that covers all 50 states. So I am using Fastcase a lot these days. But one evening Fastcase would not let me login.
It turns out that their system has a “security feature” that disables accounts automatically when they are using the system a lot. They don’t call or email first to ensure the usage is legitimate. They don’t provide a warning. They just lock the door!
What would Seth Godin do?
Seth just posted a similar question: Should you fire the voice mail guy?. He was frustrated (rightfully so) over misleading voice mail prompts.
I think Seth would say that whoever installed Fastcase’s “security feature” should be fired. Yesterday. As he put it: “If the person in charge were stealing laptops or peeing in the soup, it’s unlikely he’d still be around, no?”
I do love Fastcase
I almost didn’t write this post. And I almost left out Fastcase’s name. Because I do love their service!
Their national premium plan only costs $95 per month. And we get free access through the Virginia State Bar. It really is a great service for solo and small firm attorneys.
But they really need to remove this “feature.” Hopefully this post will help them reconsider locking the door on loyal customers.
What would you do if your favorite store locked you out?
Photo by Darwin Bell
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I’m on Zen Habits – Thanks Leo!
Thanks to my great friend, I have a guest post over at Zen Habits.
Check it out: 8 Frugal Tips for Legal Matters.
I’d love a Digg!: Digg the story.
I sent an email to friends and family three weeks ago when I was laid off. I wanted to let everyone know that my solo practice is now full time, and that I was available to help in any way possible.
Leo immediately offered to publish a guest post on his amazing blog. Talk about an awesome way to help out a friend!
Please help me thank Leo for his generosity by subscribing to Zen Habits. You’ll certainly be glad you did!
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Good Luck With Bar Exam Studying!
Now that May is almost over, thousands of law school graduates across the country are buckling down to study for the dreaded bar exam. To all of you, I say: good luck!
I just got some unsettling reader feedback, where one bar exam taker said she was already stressed out and my website made her even more stressed. She specifically asked me not to email her back, so I won’t. But I certainly hope all of you guys can have a relaxed and fruitful preparation time.
On that note, I dug up all the past posts I have published about the bar exam process. Hopefully you can get some good nuggets of wisdom out of my experience.
These posts are too late for summer bar exam takers, but hopefully you winter examinees will find them useful:
- Be Productive This Winter Break – Fill Out Your Bar Exam Applications
- Credit Report Aids with Bar Application
How much should you study for the bar exam? I did about 40 hours per week. How Many Hours Do You Work?
A little sarcasm will help release the stress of studying. 3 Reasons Why I Love the Bar Exam
Six tips for the final few stretch of preparation. Bar Exam Home Stretch – Tips for Success
When all else fails, pray! Actually, you should probably do that every day. Wise Bar Exam Words Heard at Church
I actually learned a few things from taking the exam. 5 Life Lessons from the Bar Exam
Look, dad: I passed! Virginia Bar Exam Results
Again, good luck to you all!
Photo by Tengis
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Lessons Learned by Being Laid Off
On Friday, May 9, one of the vice presidents walked into my office and fired me. Little did I know that I was the second casualty of five (10% of the staff) to be laid off on that Black Friday.
I’m headed to a better life with my own solo law firm. I have a small, growing client base, and new opportunities pop up every day.
But I want to highlight a couple things I learned by being laid off. It was unexpected, shocking, surreal, and enraging. Here is what it taught me:
Maintain your teeth
Last August was the first time in my life that I ever had dental insurance. My parents always took us for regular cleanings, but payments were out-of-pocket. When we were hired, my wife and I opted to get on the company dental plan, which really paid off.
Since August, I had my wisdom teeth extracted and three small cavities filled. Of course, I’ve had two regular cleanings as well. Most of the expense was paid by for by the dental insurance company!
Now that I’m self-employed, dental insurance sure is expensive, so I’m not going to get it. My teeth are all taken care of now, so I can afford to just pay for my cleanings.
It’s best to maintain your teeth, since you never know when that spiffy insurance will dry up.
Use the flex health plan
Have you opted into your employer’s flexible health savings plan? Here’s why you should.
In January, we decided to have $3,900 taken out for medical expenses for the year. At the time of our lay-off, we had spent about $3,200 on medical expenses. You can do that because you get the entire flexible spending amount on January 1. It’s sort-of like a medical expenses loan that gets taken out of your paycheck each week.
But the cool part is that only about $1,500 had been withheld from my paycheck by the time I was laid off. I was a bit worried that we’d have to pay the difference from my small severance pay, but we don’t. The employer bears the risk that you’ll leave the company in the hole with your health savings plan. Neat, isn’t it?
Keep your resume updated
I chose not to seek out another full time employment position. But if I had, my resume was ready. It’s always updated and at-the-ready.
To make my resume 100% ready for use, all I had to do was add the final date of my previous employment. I also made sure that my list of duties was accurate and updated.
Since you never know when opportunity will knock (or when you’ll be kicked to the curb), you should always have a resume ready. Here are my 52 resume tips, and Daily Writing Tips has 44 tips of their own.
Think about addresses
As an attorney, I’m a member of several professional associations and the Virginia State Bar. They all require contact information.
When I registered with these groups, I gave them my work address, phone, and email. But I see now that it was a mistake. One of the first things I had to do was update all this address information.
For this reason, I suggest considering the address that you use when registering with professional organizations. Your home address might be a good, stable choice.
Back to work…
That’s what I’ve learned so far. I’m trying to take this life change in stride. A door has closed, but God’s opening up many others.
And now I have to do some work for clients. That’s a good thing!
Photo by madebytess
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Our Two Wisest Purchases – Multitasker and Unitasker
I always like to reflect on things we have bought over the years and think if they were worth buying. Luckily my wife has gotten into the purging mood, so we have made several donation trips to Goodwill lately.
I wanted to highlight two purchases that I think were exceptionally smart.
Multitasking card table
We bought this standard folding table
- Dining table – Now we have a nice wooden table and chairs, but the folding table was our main dining table for a couple years. Not the fanciest arrangement, but it worked.
- Homework table – While my wife was working on her second degree (interior design), the folding table served as an extension to her desk.
- Craft table – My wife regularly uses the table for craft projects.
- Desk – Right now the folding table is the desk in my home office.
Unitasker hair clippers
One thing I love about Unclutterer is their Unitasker Wednesday posts. These posts highlight ridiculous things that we purchase that are intended for only one purpose. But Unclutterer is clear that unitaskers aren’t always bad.
My simple hair clipper kit
How many items have you purchased that gave you a 10X return on your investment? Probably not many. If you’re looking to cut your own hair, I recommend a kit like the Wahl 79900 Clip-N-Trim
What about you?
Have you made any good purchases like this? A small investment can sometimes be really smart. It just depends on what you buy.
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Support Local Businesses with Google Maps
Do you like supporting local businesses? Most people do. We should all take pride in the unique things that make our neighborhoods home. But did you know that you can use Google Maps to support them?
No more yellow pages
I keep trying to convince my wife that we can throw out the paper phone books. With Google Maps and its awesome local results, yellow pages are simply obsolete.
Why should I dig out a huge book and thumb through the pages looking for the crazy category that somebody decided to stick the business in? I can just type a keyword and zip code in Google (like “cafe 22407”) and find exactly what I want.
As one search industry expert wrote,
My gut feeling is that the Google Trends graph for searches for “yellow pages” is likely representative of a broad behavioral pattern of Internet users who are going to traditional Yellow Pages sites less and less. If we project the pattern out in time, we can see that searches for “yellow pages” might reduce down to nil by as soon as 2011
What are local businesses to do?
Get on Google Maps
Does your local coffee shop have a Google local listing? If not, encourage them to get with the program. The owners can add the listing, or you can even add it for them.
Now when people search for that business type in your area, they’ll find the mom & pop places. But there’s still more to do!
Review businesses!
We can all influence what businesses people use. That’s what the reviews are all about. When a Google local listing has reviews, the listing gets a little “X reviews” link next to it. Searchers can check out the reviews to see which business will best meet their needs.
I’m not saying that your review of a sandwich place will make their business soar. But if everything else is equal, a review will definitely tip the balance. And if several people review the business, that could really mean positive results.
Of course, the same applies to businesses that suck. Just because it’s local doesn’t mean it’s good. I’m a capitalist at heart. If the local print shop ruined your letterhead order, post a constructive and frank review in the Google listings. Don’t be rude, but provide your thoughts. The business can then hopefully learn from its mistakes.
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Finally Back, Check Out Interview
I just realized that I haven’t posted anything new at Legal Andrew in about five weeks. Wow! I know I have been busy, but I’m sorry for neglecting you guys for so long.
In a nutshell, I’ve been crazily busy with work. We have a major project at my day job that is taking off wildly, which is awesome and stressful. Combine that with an increase in my private client work, and blogging had to take a back seat. Sorry!
Cool group interview
I haven’t forgotten about the blogging world completely. My good friend, Mark Shead, is running a cool group interview over at Productivity 501. I answered a few questions with the group.
The coolest part of Mark’s interview is that you get to vote on the best answers. Go to the interview system and select which answers you like best. Then Mark will publish all the results. Cool, right?
Now to put up some great content for you guys. Stay tuned!
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Business Card Help – I Need Ideas
It’s time to make some professional business cards for myself. But I don’t want to be stodgy and boring. Can you provide any advice?
I want my cards to coordinate with my law firm website and letterhead. I plan to keep it fairly plain for now. Hopefully in a few months I can have a professional logo designed and re-image everything.
Erica Douglass has a great new card design that I just love. But I’m afraid that’s a bit too fun for a lawyer. Maybe not.
Would you be scared to hire a lawyer that has a creative business card? Or would you appreciate the uniqueness? Maybe I’m limiting myself too much.
Here’s what I have so far:
Front of card
The grey blob on the bottom left is my address. I don’t have my business address setup yet, so I blurred out my home address.
Back of card
The idea here is to provide a little insight into me. The fourth and fifth spots are for the recipient to fill in with info of his/her choosing.
What do you think?
I really would like your advice. You’ve seen thousands of business cards in your time. How do mine stack up?
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Sell Books Online – Get Cash for Textbooks
Ever since I wrote about selling textbooks online, a lot of people have read and used that advice. It’s definitely a popular post on this site.
Since the book selling season is approaching again (it’s almost April!), I thought you guys might appreciate a quick glance at the process.
We definitely don’t want anyone hoarding books like the guy in POSSESSED. If you haven’t watched that short documentary, do yourself a favor and check it out.
How to sell books online
My previous post focused on maximing your cash. But for this one, let’s just look at the basic process. Getting cash for your textbooks is quite simple.
In my opinion, BookByte is the best site for selling your books, and you can even buy textbooks there for 25% to 45% off.
Just follow these quick steps to get some textbook cash:
- Go to BookByte
- Enter the ISBN’s from the textbooks you want to sell
- Print your shipping label and packing list
- Mail in your books (they pay the shipping!)
- Get your cash in about 10 business days
Sell even more books
If you want to really increase your cash, you can become a volume seller. Collect textbooks at your school, send them to BookByte, and get paid in cash.
I think an enterprising college student could do well with this model. You could setup a table at your school to collect books. Have a laptop there to lookup the BookByte cash price for the used textbooks. Then give fellow students a little less cash. You do the work of sending them in, and you can pocket the difference. I’ll bet you could still beat the bookstore’s buy back price.
Have you ever tried to sell books online? What was your experience?
Photo by One Good Bumblebee
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Setting up a Home Office
To you regular readers, I apologize for the lack of updates lately. I’ve been working hard on some other ventures.
Specifically, I am actively building a private law practice during my evenings and weekends. I have no plans to leave my full time job, but I definitely want to help out private clients as well.
Have you ever tried to setup a home office? Some things are easy, but some are a little more complicated. For the past few weeks, I’ve been dealing with some basic decisions. And now I offer them for your perusal.
Home – Do you give clients your home address? There are definitely some downsides there. A lot of people wouldn’t want clients knowing exactly where they live. Can you imagine a criminal defense lawyer doing that? Scary!
Post office – What about a plain old post office box? UPS won’t deliver there. And I don’t have a post office that’s very handy.
Remote – You could go with a service like Earth Class Mail. I seriously thought about that, but it presents two problems: no third-party deliveries (like UPS and FedEx), and they have no Fredericksburg address.
Storefront mail box – That leaves us with a retail box like the UPS Store. It’s more costly than a standard post office box, but they can accept deliveries for you. And some UPS locations allow you to call in and ask if you have mail. That’s a real time-saver.
Phone
Today, this isn’t much of a problem. Phones are easy to handle.
Home line – You probably don’t want clients calling you at midnight and waking up the kids. So giving out your main home number might not be wise.
VoIP – If you have a service like Vonage, you can easily add a new business line. That lets you route clients to your office area, not the kitchen.
Cell – In today’s world, why not just give out your cell phone? Personally, if clients can’t respect that it’s my cell phone, I don’t think I want them as a client anyway.
GrandCentral – This could be your best option. Give out your GrandCentral number, and then you can route calls wherever you want. I plan to send clients to voicemail during my day job, and let them go to my cell phone the rest of the time. Call me: (540) 318-5824.
Workspace
The options for your home office workspace are only limited by your home.
Closet – That’s really all the space you need. Check out Chuck’s explanation.
Spare room – If you have a room with some extra space, setup a desk in the corner. This could be your guest room, exercise room, or even the baby’s room. It’s best to not work in your bedroom, but if you have to, do it.
Comfy chair – My home office consists of a $200 club chair we bought at Big Lots. I have a laptop, so I don’t really need a desk.
Be simple – Most importantly, I think a home office should be simple. That’s one benefit to working at home. Keep it to the basics. And there’s nothing more simple than a table and a computer, like Leo Babauta’s setup (photo at right, explained at Unclutterer).
What are your home office solutions?
Top photo by RaeA
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About Andrew Flusche
Lawyer, bicyclist, husband.
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