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. Law Firm Owners: Who Is Serving Whom?

    4D AGO

    Law Firm Owners: Who Is Serving Whom?

    “The firm is supposed to serve you. You are not supposed to live in service to the firm.” – RJon Robins, author of Profit First for Lawyers Is your law firm improving your life, or consuming it? This episode explores one of the most important mindset shifts a law firm owner can make: your business is supposed to support your life, not the other way around. In clips from a 2021 Profit First for Lawyers livestream and the October 2023 Live Quarterly Meeting, RJon challenges law firm owners to rethink their relationship with their firms. Using a colorful analogy comparing a law firm to both a baby and a mule, he illustrates a critical distinction that can change how law firm owners approach business ownership. Exercise: 7 Parts of Every Successful (and Unsuccessful) Law Firm RJon encourages law firm owners to evaluate the seven core parts of their business to identify where the biggest operational gaps exist. The goal of this exercise is to be aware of key parts within your business that need the most attention. This isn’t about perfection. It is an opportunity to intentionally improve the weaker areas in your business. The 7 Parts exercise is outlined in more detail in the Profit First for Lawyers book. Resource: Business Plan Workbook The Business Plan Workbook resource is designed to help law firm owners evaluate the operational strengths and weaknesses inside their law firms. Download the Business Plan Workbook to begin building a business that supports your goals, your family, and your future. Key Takeaways Your law firm should serve your goals. Skill gaps and operational blind spots create unnecessary stress. Use the exercises and resources from this episode to identify where to begin. Low-performing areas of your business are opportunities for growth, not personal failures. Successful firms are built through intentional management, systems, and leadership. This episode may challenge law firm owners who think of their business as their baby. But ultimately, it’s meant to offer insight that can fundamentally shift how they lead, manage, and grow their firm. A healthy law firm should support the people it was designed to serve, including the owner. Connect Referenced in this episode:  How To Manage a Small Law Firm Waiting Room Business Plan Workbook 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! https://youtu.be/28CUMZRhncQ

    13 min
  2. Leveling Up Profit First

    6D AGO

    Leveling Up Profit First

    “Implementing Profit First in your law firm is a meaningful first step that you can take that will help you correct this costly and stressful misalignment between yourself and the clients of your law firm.” – RJon Robins, author of Profit First for Lawyers For many law firm owners, profit feels uncomfortable. Maybe even selfish. But what if profit isn’t the problem? In this episode, immigration attorney Jennifer Walker Gates shares how implementing Profit First transformed not just her law firm, but her entire relationship with money, ownership, and profitability. Coming from a nonprofit background and serving primarily working-class immigrant families, Jennifer admits she once viewed profit as a “dirty word.” Charging for legal services felt emotionally complicated, and looking closely at financial numbers often created anxiety instead of clarity. What Is Profit Really? Everything began to shift after reading Profit First by Mike Michalowicz. She now had a new way of thinking about profit, and that thinking was elevated even further after reading Profit First for Lawyers by RJon Robins. The law firm-specific focus helped her rethink what profitability could look like in the context of running a law firm. Not as greed. Not as taking from clients, but as a mutually beneficial exchange. This transformative understanding changed everything. By implementing Profit First methodology in her firm, she was prepared when an unexpected financial downturn occurred. She saw the benefits of Profit First in real time. That experience cemented the practical reality of prioritizing profit. From implementing Profit First accounting, reframing overhead as an investment, and overcoming fear around financial visibility, Jennifer shares how small changes in financial thinking created major changes in both her business and her life. Today, she views profit not as something to avoid, but as something that protects the future of her firm, the people she serves, and her family. Gaining Financial Clarity For Jennifer, one of the biggest mindset shifts was recognizing that profit and purpose are NOT opposites. A law firm that protects its profits is a law firm that can survive economic downturns, support its team, continue serving clients, and create stability for the owner’s family. When law firm owners avoid looking at their numbers, anxiety grows. But when they begin building systems that protect profit, they gain the confidence to make objective financial decisions. The result is not just a healthier business, but a healthier relationship with money itself. Connect Contact Jennifer Walker Gates directly: www.JLW.law Referenced in episode: Static and Dynamic Overhead episode  How To Manage a Small Law Firm Mentioned: Profit First by Mike Michalowicz 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!

    33 min
  3. Maintaining Momentum (Even When Things Are Scary)

    MAY 7

    Maintaining Momentum (Even When Things Are Scary)

    “To want your law firm to be anything less than all it can be, that’s abnormal. Especially when you consider that at least part of a law firm’s success is dependent upon the law firm helping more people.” – RJon Robins, author of Profit First for Lawyers Every law firm owner wants their business to be successful. So why do so many stay stuck in patterns that keep them from reaching their full potential? In this episode, we explore a counterintuitive truth: most people are more afraid of success than they are of failure. The Subconscious Comfort Zone Your subconscious loves to be comfortable. Anything familiar feels safe, even when it’s objectively harmful. Struggle becomes normal. Workarounds become routine. Friends who enable mediocrity become your circle. But success? That’s unfamiliar territory, and unfamiliar feels dangerous to your subconscious. What You’ll Discover Why struggling feels safer than succeeding to your subconscious mind Why you should give your subconscious the middle finger How to recognize when fear of success is masquerading as other excuses The basic business practices that create predictable results Why awareness is the first step to overcome hidden limitations Challenge yourself to step into the unknown and experience the kind of profitable life you have always dreamed of. It is possible. You can do it. Make the decision and ,more importantly, take the actions that will get you there… even when it’s scary. Connect 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!

    10 min
  4. Stop Settling: Build a Profitable Law Firm

    MAY 5

    Stop Settling: Build a Profitable Law Firm

    “To be called a financially successful business, a law firm must generate enough total owner benefit for you to live the way you want to live. Not just what you’re willing to settle for.” – RJon Robins, author of Profit First for Lawyers If your law firm is covering the bills, is that enough? For many law firm owners, the goal quietly becomes survival. Making payroll, paying expenses, and getting through month to month is considered success, but is it? Not according to RJon Robins. That’s not success. That’s settling. In this episode, estate planning attorney Adam Hicks shares how shifting from a mindset of survival to one of intentional profitability transformed both his firm and his life. After years of working in the billable hour model and later running a solo practice, Adam found himself stuck in the “doctrine of sacrifice.” He was doing just enough to get by, but never building a business that truly worked for him. From Settling to Profitability Everything began to change when he first implemented Profit First and then, a few years later, went deeper into the principles behind Profit First for Lawyers. That was when he began asking himself, “What do I actually want?” From there, Adam began building systems, tracking real data, and making decisions based on how his firm could support the life he envisioned using the same principles taught in Profit First for Lawyers. Today his firm has crossed the million-dollar mark, generates meaningful profit, and operates as a true business and not a job he owns. Key Takeaways Covering expenses is not success: A profitable law firm should support the life you actually want to live. Stop settling for survival: Most law firm owners aim for “enough” instead of building intentional profit. Profit First changes your behavior: Even small allocations shift your mindset and decision-making. Know you data, not just your numbers: Leads, conversions, and client flow determine your future results You are a business owner first: Growth begins when you stop thinking like only a lawyer. When you stop settling, everything changes. How you price your services, how you marketing your firm, how you hire your team, and how you lead your business. On the surface settling and profitability may look similar, but the produce completely different outcomes and completely different lives. Connect Contact Adam Hicks directly: www.lanierlegacylaw.com Referenced in episode: How To Manage a Small Law Firm 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! https://youtu.be/AluwQ-S2w00

    50 min
  5. Business Plan Numbers That Actually Matter

    APR 30

    Business Plan Numbers That Actually Matter

    “We want to build a business that is sustainable and we want to build a business that can operate independently of you and your brilliance.” – RJon Robins, author of Profit First for Lawyers Why Your Law Firm Needs a Plan (and the Math to Back It Up) If you wouldn’t take a case to trial without a plan, then why would you run your law firm without one? In this episode, we explore one of the most overlooked (and uncomfortable) topics for law firm owners: your written business plan. Featuring an exclusive audiobook clip from Profit First for Lawyers, RJon explains why a business without a clear plan for generating revenue and profit isn’t really a business at all. It’s just a job. This is NOT about writing a 40-page document that will gather dust on a shelf. It’s about building a simple and, more importantly, actionable plan that answers the only questions that really matter: How much money do you actually want to make? What does your firm need to produce to get there? And what has to happen in marketing, sales, and production to make it real? RJon walks through the math step by step, from defining your ideal lifestyle to calculating revenue targets, case volume, and the number of leads your firm needs each month. At the end of the day, your family doesn’t care about your conversion rates or your KPIs. They care about whether your firm can deliver the life you promised them. Key Takeaways: A business plan is not optional. Without one, your firm isn’t a business, it’s a job dependent on you. Start with what you WANT, and not what you’ll settle for. Reverse engineer your numbers to determine what it costs to support your life. Keep it simple and actionable. A business plan only works for you if you use it. A business plan built on the numbers that matter (and the actions your firm will take) is the difference between owning a business that works for you and owning a job that depends on you. On the surface, they may seem the same, but the ability to truly live the life you want is worlds apart. Resource: Free Business Plan Workbook Ready to build your plan? Scan the QR code or click this link to access your free Business Plan Workbook, which can also be found on page 94 of the Profit First for Lawyers book. Use this step-by-step workbook to create a simple and effective plan for your firm. Connect 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! https://youtu.be/cjkPPsh1E5c

    15 min
  6. A/R: The Profit-Eating Machine

    APR 28

    A/R: The Profit-Eating Machine

    In a well-run law firm, there is really no reason to ever have any accounts receivables at all. Not if you are using the IOLTA Client Property Trust Account the way it was actually invented and meant to be used.” – RJon Robins, author of Profit First for Lawyers The Hidden Profit Killer In this episode, Ed Gegan reveals how he stopped the profit-eating cycle that was destroying his cash flow and peace of mind. By adopting profit first accounting principles and taking action on the lessons learned from reading Profit First for Lawyers, Ed has seen tremendous law firm growth. He shares the shift his business, team, and family transformed when he stopped the “bill and pray” method of getting paid for his services. In a clip from the audiobook recording of Chapter 14 “For When You Really Take Profits Seriously”, RJon breaks down the devastating mathematics when clients don’t pay. One non-paying client creates a scenario where you are working multiple cases just to break even. The result? Exhausted owners with no enthusiasm left for the business. A Profitable Transformation Like Ed, most law firm owners don’t realize how accounts receivable systematically destroys their profitability. Once he took action and developed systems, processes, and procedures to educate clients and staff, things began to change dramatically. He went from avoiding his financial reports to having predictable cash flow that arrives on specific dates every month. His secret? Leveraging the IOLTA trust accounts the way they were originally intended to be used combined with a systematic approach that clients and staff prefer. Key Takeaways: Why the traditional “bill and pray” method is killing your profits The simple analogy that makes clients understand upfront payments How proper billing procedures create better client relationships (not worse ones) The unexpected secondary benefit of eliminating A/R How financial confidence enables law firm owners to take calculated risks and grow The Bottom Line As Ed puts it: “People don’t have an objection to paying for the services that they’re getting.” The fear of asking for payment upfront is often worse than the reality. Making that change is how he was able to grow his law firm from $270,000 to just under $1M in revenue in 3 1/2 years. Better yet, his specific system requires minimal staff involvement because much of it is automated. Which has made for a law firm that operates like a profitable well-oiled machine. Mentioned In This Episode Bookkeeping That Does Not Suck Episodes on Mindset and Profitability: Break Through Your Profit First Mindset Block Profit First: The Right Choice A Case for Profit First Your Invitation to Live a Profitable Life Connect Contact Ed Gegan directly: www.geganoffice.com or 813-248-8900 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! https://youtu.be/pC5kL9O5h40

    34 min
  7. Defining Success

    APR 23

    Defining Success

    “The problem is most people don’t take the time to think about their definition of success. Which is kind of ironic considering that as lawyers, we are trained that the first thing you do when you’re drafting a contract or making a settlement agreement is you have to define the terms.” – RJon Robins, author of Profit First for Lawyers Welcome to the latest season of the Profit First for Lawyers podcast. In this season premiere, we tackle the foundation that makes everything else possible: defining success in measurable terms. Most lawyers spend decades building their firms without ever defining what “successful” actually means to them. In this episode, RJon reveals his three-part framework and demonstrates exactly how to transform vague aspirations into trackable, achievable goals. The Success Framework Pulled directly from Chapter 4 in the Profit First for Lawyers book, RJon defines a successful law firm as one that achieves: Financial Success: Generates enough total owner benefits for you to live the way you WANT to live. Not just what you are willing to settle for. Personal Success: Operates with systems robust enough to give you freedom of time for every aspect of life. Professional Success: Generates revenue by helping people solve problems and create better futures. Make It Measurable RJon demonstrates the process of how to define success during a powerful clip from 2016 with a real law firm owner. He guides them through how to define and measure success financially, personally, and professionally. As RJon states, without measurable definitions, “there’s room to b******t yourself.” Beautiful sentiments about spending more time with family, or revenue or fitness goals are aspirational, but not measurable. By defining success objectively, it becomes a standard that can be tracked and therefore achievable. How you define success is entirely up to you. Not friends, family, colleagues, or neighbors. It is personal and only your opinion matters. Your definition must be personal, honest, and quantifiable. Take Action Today Define success in measurable terms: How much profit do you need to live the way you WANT? (Financial) What specific freedoms does your business need to provide? (Personal) How will you measure your professional impact? (Professional) How will you track progress toward these success goals? (Measurement) Connect 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! https://youtu.be/irTjJV9uoL0?si=ghzOc40Ga-FJm6Y_

    24 min
  8. A Profit First Epiphany

    11/12/2025

    A Profit First Epiphany

    “If you implement what has been explained throughout this book, your law firm will definitely become more profitable. You will feel more confidence, and you will begin to experience the unique satisfaction that comes from being able to reliably put more of the revenue collected by your law firm into your own personal bank account.” – RJon Robins In this season finale, we come full circle with RJon’s bold promise from the conclusion of Profit First for Lawyers: no hedge words then, no hedge words now. The reality is that implementing Profit First for yourself or your business yields results that surpass expectations. Karli shares her own Profit First epiphany only a few months after starting her own Profit First account. The No-Nonsense Truth In a powerful clip from the book’s conclusion, RJon doesn’t mince words: He didn’t write the book to teach. He wrote the book to help you get results. Most law firm owners will read, nod, make notes, then search for an easier way. But what works isn’t what’s easy; it’s what’s different from what everyone else has agreed is “normal” Real Voices, Real Results Hear directly from law firm owners about what happened to their business, their mindset, and the benefit they have seen in their lives when they took their profits first. Rebecca Peters (Peters Law Firm): “Before we started (Profit First) the most we made was…$100,000. This is my one year anniversary and the firm just hit a $600,000 run rate.” Daniel De Paz (De Paz Law): “You come to find out you have plenty of money and you can make more money if you take your profits first.” Veronica Stachurski (Ward & Stachurski, PLLC): “..like the idea of 99% to %100 …at first it gave me a lot of anxiety and then it didn’t, because it’s really not that big of a difference.” John Benson (Penglase & Benson): “When you start off at 1% and realize just how small that is…once you see you can do it…you have your profit no matter what..so it works out well.” Devon Slovensky (Slovensky Divorce & Family Law): Profit First since 2018 – “I can’t imagine organizing my books any other way.” The Promise Stands RJon’s promise from Chapter 1 remains unchanged: Implement what’s in this book and your law firm WILL become more profitable. You WILL feel more confident. You WILL experience the unique satisfaction of putting more revenue into your personal bank account every month, every quarter, every year. As RJon’s rallying cry says, “TAYEASTUYA: (Take all your excuses and shove them up your ass). And then? Take your profit first. If these episodes have challenged and motivated you to take action toward a more profitable life, we’d love to hear about it. Connect and Engage: Send us your Profit First for Lawyers stores: podcast@profitfirstforlawyers.com Mentioned: Karli commits to Profit First episode 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!

    13 min
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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
    84
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    ©2023-2025, Profit First For Lawyers - RJon Robins, All Rights Reserved
  • Show Website
    Profit First for Lawyers

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