I read about a recent law school graduate who has $200,000 in student loans and can’t get a legal job. Not surprisingly, he questions the efficacy of taking on large loans for a spec legal career. But what if he did get the job he thought he would? Me thinks he might be playing a different tune.

We invest money in law school because we think we’ll be able to pay it back and make a handsome return on our investment. We do the same thing when we open a law office.

We also invest our time. We spend years getting our education, and more years working long hours for inadequate pay, with the knowledge that some day, it will be worth it.

When things go right, nobody blinks. When they don’t, that’s all anyone talks about.

The past is past. You either made a good investment or you didn’t. Don’t look back. Look forward.

Wherever you are right now, ask yourself what you are willing to invest in your future.

How much money? How much time? Especially time.

How many hours per week are you willing to invest in marketing and building your practice? How many networking events are you willing to go to without seeing an immediate return? How many blog posts or articles are you willing to write this week, this month, this year?

When I opened my first office, I spent the little funds I had on furniture, rent, and a typewriter. I needed the rest for living expenses. I didn’t have money but I had lots of time. Later, when my practice grew, I had money and no time. To continue to grow, I had to find the time because I couldn’t compete with the big budget advertisers in my market.

I found the time by delegating as much of my work as possible. I gave up personal time. And I invested this time in building my practice.

I talk to a lot of lawyers who tell me they don’t have time for marketing. Borrow the time. You’d borrow the money if you needed it, why can’t you borrow the time?

How much time are willing to invest in your law practice? The Formula will help you create a marketing plan.