To be successful at running your own professional practice or business, you need to not only know how to do the technical work or service that you offer, but you need to know how to run a profitable business.

Yet business skills aren’t taught in most professional service training courses (I’m thinking of law school, accountancy training, health certifications, architectural school, and many others).

Not only are business skills not taught at the professional training stage, but they’re often not part of the ongoing training that professionals receive when they start work.

Often, businesses are set up on the assumption that because the owner is good at what they do, the clients will just appear. Or the practice owner optimistically believes that the skills they need to attract clients and grow a legal practice will arrive by osmosis the day they hang up their (actual or metaphorical) ‘open for business’ sign. In most cases, they don’t.

I’ve just written an article for ‘The Business of Law’ blog on why lawyers need to improve their non-legal (i.e. business) skills if they want to be successful at ‘the business of law’ and which ones I recommend they consider improving first. Whether you are a lawyer or provide another kind of professional service, I think you’ll find it helpful. You can read the full article here.