Profit First for Lawyers

Team RJon | RJon Robins
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The Profit First for Lawyers podcast is the companion show to the book, Profit First for Lawyers by RJon Robins. The goal of the book and podcast are to empower lawyers with practical and actionable information to help them improve their lives by putting their family, their firm, and their Profits First.

  1. 1d ago ·  Bonus

    BONUS: Love Thy Lawyer

    “If you’ve got no profit, then you can’t do great marketing that gives you the option to say, ‘No thank you,’ to a bad client or even the wrong client with the wrong case.” – RJon Robins on Love Thy Lawyer podcast In this special bonus episode, we’re sharing RJon’s appearance on the Love Thy Lawyer podcast, hosted by Louis Goodman. The conversation goes beyond the principles in Profit First for Lawyers to explore what shaped RJon’s philosophy on law firm management. He reflects on the lessons he learned as a young law firm owner, the guidance that changed the course of his career, and why helping lawyers build profitable businesses became his life’s work. Those experiences became the foundation of what eventually became How To Manage a Small Law Firm. When it comes to profit, RJon offers practical, real-world insight into why so many law firm owners struggle with the business side of their firms. He shares why profitability creates more than financial security. It gives law firm owners the freedom to make better decisions for their clients, their teams, and their families. These are the same core concepts found throughout Profit First for Lawyers. This episode includes a pre-order announcement for RJon’s forthcoming book, Truth, Lies, Mistakes, or B******t, co-authored with John David Mann. Mentioned: Love Thy Lawyer podcast hosted by Louis Goodman – RJon Robins Interview podcast audio or podcast video Pre-order: Truth, Lies, Mistakes, or B******t by RJon Robins and John David Mann Learn more about How To Manage a Small Law Firm Connect Subscribe to the Profit First for Lawyers podcast Watch episodes on YouTube And most importantly, order your copy of Profit First for Lawyers today!

    BONUS: Love Thy Lawyer

  2. 6d ago

    Growth Eats Cash

    “Let’s keep in mind, rapid growth consumes cash. You burn cash to grow your firm.” – RJon Robins, author of Profit First for Lawyers Growing your law firm requires more than wishful thinking. It requires a deliberate plan. This episode pulls from RJon’s original 2021 livestream, where he spoke through the material that would eventually become Profit First for Lawyers. The core message is simple, yet one that is often misunderstood: temporarily sacrificing higher profit margins can be a smart investment when it’s part of a long-term strategy for building a stronger, more profitable firm that serves more people. A Tale of Two Law Firms Through a simple comparison of two law firms, RJon demonstrates why a firm growing according to a deliberate business plan may report lower profit margins today while creating significantly greater profit, stability, and opportunity in the future. Growth consumes cash. Hiring talented team members, investing in better systems, improving marketing, and expanding your firm’s capacity all require financial resources. The key isn’t avoiding those investments. It’s making them intentionally with a clear plan for where you’re headed. Intentional Growth Requires Investment Some of the most valuable returns on intentional growth never appear on a profit and loss statement. As RJon explains, a strong law firm creates more than financial profit. It creates greater personal freedom, increased stability, and the confidence that your business can continue operating even when you step away. The goal isn’t simply to maximize today’s profit percentage. It is to build a law firm that creates greater value over time. Mentioned Episode 75: Defining Success Chapter 9 of Profit First for Lawyers Connect Subscribe to the Profit First for Lawyers podcast Watch episodes on YouTube And most importantly, order your copy of Profit First for Lawyers today!

    Growth Eats Cash

  3. Jul 14

    Beyond the Numbers: Redefining Profit

    “There is no place on the balance sheet for the freedom of getting to live life on your terms.” – RJon Robins, author of Profit First for Lawyers Profit means something different to law firm owner John Cannon today than it did when he opened his law firm in 2019. In this episode, John shares how his understanding of profit has evolved since reading Profit First for Lawyers and implementing Profit First in his practice. John shares a powerful clip from Chapter 9 of the Profit First for Lawyers audiobook. It explores the idea that true profitability extends beyond dollars and cents to include freedom, intentionality, and building a business that supports the life you want to live. Beyond the Numbers Early in his career, self-described Type A personality John Cannon’s focus was simple: generate more revenue and grow the firm. As his firm matured, so did his definition of profit. Today, profit also means having the freedom to spend time with family, confidence in his leadership team, and the ability to step away from the daily practice of law while knowing the business continues to serve clients and his community well. Building a Business That Supports Your Life Implementing Profit First allowed John to build a business that reflects his personal priorities while also growing a profitable law firm. He emphasized how strategic planning, developing strong systems, delegating responsibilities, and consistently working toward his big-picture goals have been key to his success. He encourages law firm owners to define what a profitable life looks like for themselves and intentionally build a business that supports that vision instead of only measuring success by financial performance. Action Steps Define what profit means to you beyond financial results. Build your business intentionally to align with the life you’re trying to live. Remember that profit can include more than money: time, freedom, family, flexibility, and peace of mind. Connect Connect with John Cannon directly at: www.cannonandassociates.com Subscribe to the Profit First for Lawyers podcast Watch episodes on YouTube And most importantly, order your copy of Profit First for Lawyers today!

    Beyond the Numbers: Redefining Profit

  4. Jul 9

    Core Working Capital: Why It Matters

    “If you’re not paying attention to core working capital, it’s like waking up one day and all of a sudden you’re in the middle of a shit storm. And you’re like, “How did this happen?!” – RJon Robins, author of Profit First for Lawyers In the final episode of our seven-part Financial Literacy Series, RJon introduces one of the most important concepts for long-term business stability: core working capital. Drawing from both the Profit First for Lawyers audiobook and the 2019 live workshop, he explains why maintaining adequate working capital isn’t about fear. It’s about creating the financial cushion that allows you to grow intentionally instead of constantly reacting to cash flow challenges. Throughout this series, we have talked about understanding your numbers, calculating Total Owner Benefit, determining your normalized salary, implementing Profit First, and strategically getting out of production. Core working capital brings all those lessons together. What Financial Literacy Adds to Your Life Our exploration into what it means to become financially literate as a law firm owner has been about understanding the story your numbers are telling you. This knowledge can help you make better decisions for your business, your family, and your future. Action Steps Review your firm’s monthly operating expenses and determine how much core working capital you currently have available. Meet with your leadership and financial team to discuss your growth goals and whether your current financial cushion supports those plans. Use what you’ve learned throughout this Financial Literacy Series to make intentional, well-informed decisions that strengthen your business for the long term. While financial literacy does not eliminate uncertainty, it does give you the confidence to make informed decisions about your business growth. As RJon has explained throughout the series, the goal isn’t to simply accumulate cash. It is to build a business that gives you more options, greater stability, and the freedom to think beyond today’s challenges. Mentioned Parts 1-6 of the Financial Literacy Series Part 1: You’re Not Bad With Numbers Part 2: Understanding the Stages of a Law Firm’s Growth Part 3: Calculating Your Total Owner Benefit Part 4: What Is Your Normalized Salary? Part 5: How Profit First Actually Works Part 6: Getting Out of Production Chapter 9: Total Owner Benefits: Core Working Capital Speak with How To Manage a Small Law Firm team Connect Subscribe to the Profit First for Lawyers podcast Watch episodes on YouTube And most importantly, order your copy of Profit First for Lawyers today!

    Core Working Capital: Why It Matters

  5. Jul 8

    One Book. One Decision. A Different Law Firm: A Profit First for Lawyers Success Story

    “If your law school experience was anything like mine, chances are they taught you nothing in law school about the business of how to manage a law firm.” – RJon Robins, author of Profit First for Lawyers Sometimes the right book arrives at the right moment. For estate planning attorney Colleen Robinson, Profit First for Lawyers arrived in the mail just as she was in the midst of looking for solutions. She didn’t know what was missing, only that there must be a better way to run a law firm that would give her the clarity, control, and future she wanted. In this episode, Colleen shares how one unexpected gift became the catalyst for a completely different way of thinking about running a law firm. She didn’t just read the book from cover to cover. She acted on what she learned. Each step created forward momentum, ultimately changing her business model and implementing Profit First. Throughout this process, she was able to significantly increase her firm’s revenue while redefining what profit means for her and her family. One Decision Led to the Next Colleen began by learning the Seven Main Parts of Every Successful Law Firm and writing her first business plan. Working with her CEO helped clarify her vision for a business that aligned with her personal, professional, and financial definition of profit. Along the way, she discovered that running a successful law firm wasn’t simply about practicing law better. It was about intentionally building a better business. Profit Changed More Than the Numbers Implementing Profit First changed more than Colleen’s finances. It changed the way she experiences business ownership. Instead of worrying about unexpected tax bills, she sets those funds aside before they’re due. More importantly, she has redefined profit to include time with her family, flexibility in her schedule, and the Total Owner Benefit her business provides. Now the business she is building reflects the life she wants to live, not the other way around. Colleen’s transformative journey began with a book in the mail and a willingness to learn, the courage to act, and the discipline to keep moving forward one decision at a time. Action Steps Complete an honest assessment of why you started your law firm and define what success looks like for you. Create or revisit your business plan with your long-term personal and business goals in mind. If you’ve been waiting for the “perfect” time to implement Profit First, start small and begin today. Mentioned Chapter 5: The Seven Main Parts of Every Law Firm Business Plan Workbook How To Manage a Small Law Firm: Business Diagnostic Boot Camp Practical Profitable Mindset lessons in The Exponential Entrepreneur podcast Connect and Engage Connect directly with Colleen Robinson: www.protectyourfamily.law Subscribe to the Profit First for Lawyers podcast Watch episodes on YouTube Follow Profit First For Lawyers on social media: LinkedIn | Instagram | Facebook And most importantly, order your copy of Profit First for Lawyers today!

    One Book. One Decision. A Different Law Firm: A Profit First for Lawyers Success Story

  6. Jul 2

    Getting Out of Production

    “The law firm that cannot function without its owner or owners being there every single day doesn’t really have a business. They have a job.” – RJon Robins, author of Profit First for Lawyers Do you dream of a day when you can step away from the daily production work inside your law firm? You’re not alone. Many law firm owners find themselves so immersed in the practice of law that they have little time to build a business that can operate without them. So, where do you begin? In part six of our seven-part financial literacy series, RJon explains why getting out of production is not an overnight decision, but a gradual transition. This episode builds on concepts introduced in Part 4: What Is Your Normalized Salary? RJon takes things a step further by exploring one of the biggest challenges law firm owners will face as they begin replacing themselves inside the business. Replacing Yourself Takes a Plan Every role you perform in your firm has value. Whether you are acting as a senior associate, marketing director, salesperson, IT specialist, or janitor, someone must perform that work. The goal is not to stop doing valuable work. The goal is to intentionally replace yourself where it makes strategic sense while increasing the firm’s profitability enough to support new hires. In a candid Q&A session with law firm owners held during the 2019 Profit First for Lawyers workshop, RJon lays out a practical truth many law firm owners avoid: When you stop doing a job, the business should stop paying you for that job. The only way to maintain or increase your compensation is to create enough profit to replace the value you once produced. Transitioning out of production doesn’t happen overnight. It requires intentional planning and disciplined execution. If you’re ready to begin making that transition, this episode is for you! Action Steps Take inventory of every role you currently perform inside your law firm. (If you completed this exercise in Part 4, review your list and use it as your starting point.) Identify which roles you genuinely enjoy and which ones are draining the life out of you. Keep doing the work you love and make a plan to delegate the rest. Start the process of replacing yourself one job at a time. This will take planning, patience, and discipline. The goal isn’t to simply stop working. It is to build a business that can keep its promises to clients, team members, vendors, and you, even when you are not there every day. That kind of freedom is earned by intentionally building a stronger business. Stay tuned for the seventh and final episode in the Financial Literacy Series, where RJon brings together everything you’ve learned. You’ll understand why financial literacy is one of the most important skills a law firm owner can develop. Mentioned Parts 1-5 of the Financial Literacy Series Part 1: You’re Not Bad With Numbers Part 2: Understanding the Stages of a Law Firm’s Growth Part 3: Calculating Your Total Owner Benefit Part 4: What Is Your Normalized Salary? Part 5: How Profit First Actually Works Emergency Access Only segment from Chapter 4 (page 20) of Profit First for Lawyers Connect Subscribe to the Profit First for Lawyers podcast Watch episodes on YouTube And most importantly, order your copy of Profit First for Lawyers today!

    Getting Out of Production

  7. Jun 30

    Fear of Profit

    “Entrepreneurially immature people won’t deal with unpleasant emotions, which is why they just end up trapped in this cycle of mediocrity their whole life.” – RJon Robins, from The Exponential Entrepreneur podcast This week we’re doing something a little different. Instead of our regular Profit First for Lawyers format, we are sharing a special episode from The Exponential Entrepreneur podcast hosted by Erika Ferenczi. The clip in this episode was originally recorded as part of the Practical Profitable Mindset program while RJon was recording the Profit First for Lawyers audiobook. This lesson explores one of the most surprising obstacles to business growth: the fear of profit. Profit Requires Discomfort According to RJon, profit requires doing things that feel uncomfortable: Raising prices Sending invoices Collecting payments Making difficult hiring and firing decisions Having honest conversations Fear naturally tells us to avoid discomfort. But when we avoid discomfort, we wind up avoiding profit as well. And there is science to back up this instinctive behavior. Drawing on the science behind the fight-or-flight response, RJon explains how fear affects our thinking, why our brains begin rationalizing emotionally safe decisions, and how those decisions can quietly limit both personal and financial growth. What Kind of Profit Are You Choosing? One of the most thought-provoking ideas in this lesson is that every voluntary exchange creates some kind of profit. Some entrepreneurs choose emotional profit over financial profit. One example is undercharging a client or failing to send invoices because they want to avoid rejection. By recognizing these patterns, business owners gain the opportunity to make more intentional decisions that align with both their personal values and their business goals. The question is not whether we are making a profit. The real question is: What kind of profit are you choosing? Mentioned The Exponential Entrepreneur podcast Break Through Your Profit First Mindset Blocks with Erika Ferenczi Take Flight: Elevate Your Mindset to Profitability with Alejandra Leibovich Does Your Accountant Have An Entrepreneurial Mindset? with Oscar Ferenczi Connect Subscribe to the Profit First for Lawyers podcast Watch episodes on YouTube And most importantly, order your copy of Profit First for Lawyers today!

  8. Jun 25

    How Profit First Actually Works

    “When you’ve taken your profit off the top, like we talk about in Profit First for Lawyers, and you’ve only got what you’ve only got to cover expenses, it forces you to be more honest with yourself. It forces you to grow up as a business owner and make better decisions.” – RJon Robins, author of Profit First for Lawyers What if the way you’ve been taught to think about profit is actually keeping your law firm stuck? This eye-opening episode will answer that question clearly. In part five of our seven-part financial literacy series, RJon breaks down the fundamental difference between traditional accounting and the Profit First approach. This is a small but powerful shift that forces your business to grow up. Why Discipline Forces Creativity In the 2019 workshop, RJon walks How To Manage a Small Law Firm members through the real numbers showing what happens when expenses outgrow income. The traditional approach leaves room to tolerate unmeasured marketing, underperforming staff, and bad processes. Implementing Profit First removes that cushion and forces honest conversations and decisive action about what’s really working in your business. As RJon writes in Chapter 8: “When you put profits first, you force creativity, ingenuity, and innovation into your business.” This means, instead of accepting low standards because there’s money to cover them, you’re forced to find smarter ways to get the same results more efficiently. Take Action Look at your own law firm and ask yourself, “If I protected my profit first, what would I have to stop tolerating in my business that is currently taking my profit?” And that’s it. Just sit with that question. The reality is you already know the answer. So what actions will you take now that you’ve taken the time to recognize that honest truth? Next Time: Join us for Part 6 where RJon walks through the practical application of stepping away from some of the various roles you currently hold in your law firm without tanking your income. Mentioned: Financial Literacy Series: Part 1: You’re Not Bad With Numbers Part 2: Understanding the Stages of a Law Firm’s Growth Part 3: Calculating Your Total Owner Benefits Part 4: What Is Your Normalized Salary? Chapter 8: Why Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) Are Not Meant for You (pages 70-71 in the Profit First for Lawyers book) Email podcast@profitfirstforlawyers.com with subject: “Debt Ladder” for a future episode Connect Subscribe to the Profit First for Lawyers podcast Watch episodes on YouTube And most importantly, order your copy of Profit First for Lawyers today!

    How Profit First Actually Works
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About

The Profit First for Lawyers podcast is the companion show to the book, Profit First for Lawyers by RJon Robins. The goal of the book and podcast are to empower lawyers with practical and actionable information to help them improve their lives by putting their family, their firm, and their Profits First.

Information

  • Creator
    Team RJon | RJon Robins
  • Years Active
    2023 - 2026
  • Episodes
    103
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    ©2023-2025, Profit First For Lawyers - RJon Robins, All Rights Reserved
  • Show Website
    Profit First for Lawyers

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