Dear Nina:
You have been one of our expert guest writers for the last several years, and our readers have received great advice from you. Thank you for your contribution. We would like to learn more about you and your business this time.
EB. Could you tell us about your background and your decision to start your own business?
Nina Kaufman
EB. What were the biggest challenges you faced as you started growing your business? How did you overcome them?
NK. I wish I could say it was a well thought out plan, complete with market research, long experience in my field, and a full-blown written business plan. Well, it wasn’t. I had been practicing law for about four years when I recognized four important truths about my experience working for other law firms: (1) I was not seeing women become partners of these firms . . . which made me concerned about my career advancement prospects; (2) the attorneys were not being taught within the firm to develop specialized skills–rather, they were hired from other firms because they already had those skills (for example, trial advocacy skills); and (3) I was not encouraged to learn about networking and to develop my own client base. The fourth “truth” was that I was really unhappy in these job situations. Deep down, I believed that the issue (for me) was not the legal profession itself, but that I had not yet found the place where I could feel fulfilled practicing law.