Thanks for checking in, everyone. I thought about providing a bit of an update but haven't been on the forums much lately due to a lot of work and a lot of travel. Here's some bullet points.
(1) My last day at my old office was April 11. I spent April 12 setting up a bank account, filing everything with the secretary of state, meeting to obtain an office space, and doing all the other behind the scenes things that make a law firm churn.
(2) I am very grateful for the advice here and working on my business plan for the past year. I knew exactly what I wanted with everything -- where to get business cards, where to set up a bank, where to set up a website, where to look for office space, what computer to buy (Lenovo Thinkpad), etc. This avoided a lot of "analysis by paralysis." Everything -- and I mean everything -- is pretty much up and running at this point.
(3) I moved into my new office on April 22 and I absolutely love it. The other attorneys are great and refer me work. Granted, my space is about 8.5x9 feet, and it's more of a workspace than an office, but it's well organized and gives me access to internet, two conference rooms, fax line, phone line, receptionist, copier, scanner, unlimited paper, IT support, etc., AND it's in a great location, for just $400/month. Can't beat it.
(4) All my clients came with me, including a huge trade secrets case that should carry me through the summer/early fall. I refused to take any clients from my old boss, even though they wanted to come with me, because it just wasn't worth the dispute that I knew would ensue.
(5) Looking back on my previous transition, I think one of the big mistakes I made was going right from my firm job to the job with the solo with zero break. To avoid making the same mistake twice, I spent most of April just giving myself time to breathe and working on my website, business cards, stationary, marketing strategy, etc. I am very pleased with how all of this turned out, and I feel mentally ready.
(If you want to see my website and give me some feedback, feel free to PM me.)
(6) Startup costs were a little more expensive than I anticipated, but not too bad. Everything has so far been put on a 0% AmEx and my balance is at about $2,100. I don't see needing to buy anything in the near future.
(7) I did not send out any invoices in April due to the limited work being performed, but I have them ready to be sent out the end of this month. These invoices total about $10,000, mostly due to that trade secrets case.
(8) The best marketing thing I've done is browse dockets for credit card companies and mail out of town counsel that I am available to cover hearings. I am covering 2-3 of these hearings per week for $100/hearing. I've covered 7 so far in May (only started doing this a couple weeks ago), so that's $700. My fixed expenses are about $700, so this alone covers it. This is the easiest money there is.
(9) Now that I left my old boss, I can't tell you how many lawyers have said, "Ya, when I heard you left [firm] for [solo lawyer], I knew that was a bad idea." It's been unanimous. I only wish people were this candid prior to my leaving, but now I'm here, so oh well.
(10) I'm still debating whether to do appointment work or not. I may sign up at the municipal courts (minor traffic offenses and misdemeanors), but covering for the credit card companies provides a similar per diem and is way easier. I'll see how cash flow is here in the first couple months.
Probably the three biggest things:
(1) Living "mustachian" has flat out given me the opportunity to feel quite independent right now. I live in a small home, drive a used Honda, my wife has a paid off Toyota, we don't have cable, we shop at Aldi's, etc. Our monthly expenses are about $2,600 for necessities and averaging $3,800 total (lots of travel/weddings so far this year). My wife earns (net) about $4,000 per month when she's not contributing to retirement accounts, so these couple months have given me the opportunity to get my practice up and off the ground without worrying about money. My wife gets paid three times in June (so income should be around $6,000), which means that I can focus on big picture things instead of taking everything that goes through the door.
(2) The reason I think this is going so well is two-fold: I'm a control freak and have a short attention span. The control freak part is obvious (always knew I would like doing my own business cards, website, etc.), but I underestimated how much I'd enjoy the other aspects of running a small business. The law law law law stuff gets old when it's day-in-day-out, so I like days (like today) where I'm focusing on marketing, accounting, and business development. It provides a great break for me.
(3) Most importantly, my wife is the greatest spouse of all time. She has been so god damn supportive that it makes my head hurt. She listens to me babble on during our long walks, she shares in my successes, and she has been working hard and picking up extra hours to make sure we are comfortable. Hell, this week, we are going on our one-year anniversary trip to DC, and instead of just putting in PTO time for Thursday and Friday, she worked yesterday and is putting in three 10 hour days M-T-W, thus saving the PTO time in case we need it later in the year. She's just been so great, and I'm really indebted to her.
So, this went longer than anticipated, but things are going well. I've spent the last two weeks doing work work work, so this week I'm taking a step back and focusing on finances and marketing again. I'm really enjoying this so far, and again, I thank you all for the encouragement and advice.