Michael Reed: Doubled Revenue Quarter Over Quarter

I'm excited to present the case study of Michael Reed of the Law Offices of Michael Reed.  Despite coming into Upward Acceleration feeling nervous and lacking confidence, Michael has taken action, prioritizing his focus and following the structured, " not cookie cutter" process.  

Here are some highlights from his story:

• Michael has doubled his revenue quarter over quarter with more phone calls coming in every week.
• He's prioritized his time for the results he wants to achieve, allowing him to devote his undivided attention to clients while also creating time for his personal life
• Michael has a stronger network and a new level of confidence in himself and his ability to create success for his business clients.

Watch the video for the full details of Michael's story or read the transcript below.

Transcript

Rachel Steininger  00:00

I am so excited to be here today. I'm here with Michael Reed of the Law Office of Michael Reed. And I'm very excited to hear about Michael's experience inside of Upward Acceleration over these past couple of months.

Rachel Steininger  00:11

So Michael, welcome. I'm so excited to have you here today.

Michael Reed  00:14

Thank you for having me, Rachel. It's been great being part of the program.  It's really helped out my business a lot.

Rachel Steininger  00:20

Fantastic. I can't wait to hear more about that.  Before you go into the results, I'd like you to share a little bit with me about where you were when you started this journey. What was going on for you in your business? How were you feeling about things?

Michael Reed  00:31

Yeah, I was feeling pretty nervous when I started this process. I had started my business immediately before the pandemic in 2019. And then, obviously, things became a little precarious in 2020. And then 2021 felt like a bit of a wash. And I started to pick things back up in 2022.

Michael Reed  00:52

And I wasn't sure exactly where my business needed to go, what I needed to be doing to begin to think strategically about it. And I have to admit, I didn't have a lot of confidence.

Michael Reed  01:03

At the beginning of my work with you, my attention was divided, I had a lot of different things going on in my life at at that time. And after our first conversation, I think you told me that your attention is always going to be divided. You just need to prioritize and make sure that you're staying focused. And honestly, that was that was a huge help. To me, that is that is really helped me narrow down my paths for each day, stay on top of the things that I need to get done, and, you know, feel like my practice is really going somewhere.

Rachel Steininger  01:37

That's amazing. It sounds like, so before we met, before you got started in the program, really you were dealing with... well, I think for a lot of businesses, right? I mean, I know I started a little bit before the pandemic and having that pandemic hit, sort of threw a wrinkle for a lot, in the plans for a lot of businesses. But you're coming back out of it and you're like, what do I do? There's so many things to do. It's very busy trying to figure out what, how do you juggle all this, right? And how do you actually keep it going and keep that momentum going so you have a real business and you feel like this is going to sustain you, I guess. Does that make sense? Is that am I getting that right?

Michael Reed  02:12

Yeah. And that's I mean, that was that was one of the things that I was concerned about figuring out... How I can scale the business, how I can keep it, you know, the way that I like it while I'm scaling. I mean, I'm somebody who likes to keep everything close, I'm somebody who likes to be very hands on, and I want to feel like I'm giving each client, you know, my undivided attention while I'm working with them.

Michael Reed  02:35

That means that I have to be very good with my time and I have to prioritize certain tasks and make sure that, that I know what I'm supposed to be doing, really at all hours. And knowing that this is part of my journey, and you helping to explain to myself and the other people who are part of the program, you know, how everybody's going to be going on this journey and in a different way and that's, that's okay.

Michael Reed  03:01

You know, honestly, hearing that and, you know, listening to the other people talk about their businesses, hearing just the general advice that you have as well as the specific advice when you open things up for questioning, when we're able to get direct feedback from other business owners who are part of the program and being able to listen to that and also chime in, it felt...

Michael Reed  03:22

This whole process felt very collaborative. It made me feel like you know, I'm not way behind, not like incapable of running a business in the ways that I want to and that I know that I'm capable of doing. So this process has been enlightening for me, as well as very encouraging.

Rachel Steininger  03:41

I'm so glad. So it sounds like you love the collaboration part of it and giving you that confidence that you can do this, right? I think hearing from other business owners is always helpful, that understanding that you're not alone in this struggle, even though you're alone sometimes in your business. But being able to balance that desire to give all that attention to your clients that also would be good to build this business and the business that works for you. It sounds like, right, this isn't the business that somebody else wants you to have. It's the business that you want to have for yourself.

Michael Reed  04:11

Exactly. Yeah, this hasn't been a cookie cutter process. You have some great experience that you bring to these discussions. I really like how structured certain parts of the process have been. That's given me a lot to reflect on. But you haven't been telling me that I need to be running my business in a specific way. You're not taking an example of like a big law firm that has an entire skyscraper to themselves downtown saying, "Michael, this is what your business needs to look like if it's going to be success." You've helped me recognize ways for myself to recognize success within reach and within range of my own priorities.

Rachel Steininger  04:14

Great.  That's amazing to hear. I'm so glad that those have been some of the things you've taken from this. What are some key takeaways that as you go forward in your business, that you'll carry with you? Some of the things what you've learned or really were impacted by through the program?

Michael Reed  05:05

Well one of the things that I learned was that I need to be talking with people constantly, that I need to be getting in front of people, every single day and promoting my business. I learned through this process that I can do that, that people want to hear from me that they want to see me that they're looking for someone with my skills.

Michael Reed  05:21

The discussions about marketing, the discussions about content creation, your encouragement in those areas, that's been really helpful. And I feel like one of my big takeaways is that I can network for my business.  I’m good at networking. On top of that, we were working on some types of content that present my firm to people and get them to aid some much needed attention to me.  I recognize that, hey, I can actually help them achieve their goals and promote their business. And so like what you did for me help my business become more successful, I can do that for other people as well. In my own way.

Rachel Steininger  05:55

I'd love to hear from you, so we've heard a little bit where you were before you started the program, some of your key takeaways, just really recognizing that value and being out in front of the market that they really do want to hear from you and you have so much to add. Can you share a little bit about what's going on with your firm now? What are some of the tangible things that have happened for you in your business and your outlook at this point in time having been through the program?

Michael Reed  06:19

Well, one of the things that I've done is I've joined a networking group. And after having a less than stellar experience with this particular type of networking group in the past, I found one that really works for me, and that has a great group of people who are very supportive.  I'm very happy to become a part of that group.

Michael Reed  06:35

Also just materially, my numbers are up quite a bit. I am getting more phone calls in per week, the numbers are significantly higher than this time last year, and also the money that I'm bringing in... I doubled the amount that I made last quarter in 2022. So I mean, I think the results speak for themselves, honestly.

Michael Reed  06:55

And I have to attribute it to your encouragement to me putting myself out there, with people prioritizing my time, ensuring that I have a good idea of exactly what I need to be doing, when I need to be doing it, as well as well, just the competence that I bring to my work now as well. I think that that has also helped me tremendously in these past couple of months.

Rachel Steininger  07:19

Yeah, if you could talk a little bit about that. I love hearing about the revenue gain - that is very exciting. So I think for any small business, it's like we need the... that's the lifeblood, right, of keeping the business alive. I love that you've got more of these opportunities coming in and that it's rolling this way. But talk about what that has meant for you personally, those feelings of confidence or any other things that that's... how is that affecting your personal life?

Michael Reed  07:42

My personal life, frankly...

Rachel Steininger  07:44

Or personal outlook on things...  Personal outlook on the professional side maybe.

Michael Reed  07:47

My personal outlook on... Okay, yeah. Yeah. Yeah, let me think on that for a second.

Michael Reed  07:55

So personally, structuring my business better and having, you know, a clearer idea of what I need to be doing to help my business, it has actually helped me personally as well. I've always had the goal of, you know, getting up early in the morning and going to the gym and making sure that I'm taking care of myself and eating right, getting enough sleep. And it's just been a struggle really, since law school to get on any kind of a regular schedule and to really be looking after myself.

Michael Reed  08:24

In the last couple of months though, as my business is starting to come together, you know, I have been making those personal improvements as well. Getting up early before work, going to the gym, getting in, you know, a couple of miles on the treadmill. After work, ensure that I'm doing some strength training. You know, I started cooking for myself and my partner on the weekends. Previously, she did the cooking, I did the dishes. We switched things up on on weekends, although I still end up doing the dishes.  It's fine though (laughing). I tend to be more thorough when it comes to the dishes. So I prefer to do them anyway. Yeah. And I just feel like I have a better handle on on my life in general, now that my business is coming together.

Rachel Steininger  09:10

Good. Good. Yeah, I love hearing about the whole person ramifications of this sort of thing, right? It's never just one area. But I'm amazed. I love seeing the transition between when we met at the very beginning of the program and where you are now. It's very exciting and honoring for me to have you in the program and to see you take the action, right.  You know, I can give as much information and as much advice as I want to. But if you're not taking action, right, it doesn't happen. So kudos to you for taking the action for setting the priorities and going and putting yourself out there. So I'm very excited and happy for you.

Rachel Steininger  09:46

I have one more question for you before we sign off on this and that is, if you're talking to somebody who is considering enrolling in Upward Acceleration, what would you say to them? What would your advice be to them?

Michael Reed  09:59

Yes, if you're ready to understand what steps you need to take next to improve your business, and you're not figuring that out on your own, it's always good to talk to somebody. Rachel's really good at that. She's very, very organized, very clear in her communications. And she's not going to force something on you that isn't right.  She's not going to be trying to put you in a box. She's going to be there to give you information and encourage you to the extent that you need it.

Michael Reed  10:27

So if someone is feeling like they maybe are not seeing the type of growth that they want to in their business, feel like it could be restructured in some ways, or maybe just is looking for some advice on what to do next with their business, I would definitely encourage them to at least get on the phone with you and maybe have a 15 minute conversation if not go through the entire program. It's helped me. So obviously, I endorse it.

Rachel Steininger  10:50

Oh, thank you so much, Michael. It's been a pleasure having you on today. And I wish you all the best of luck with what goes on with your business from here. I just think you're in a great position and I'm very excited to have you part of this program.

Michael Reed  11:03

Oh, thank you very much. Yeah, it was great being on. Thanks, Rachel.

Rachel Steininger  11:07

Thank you.