"I see two mistakes comeuppance a lot: not having enough cash flow, and trying to do everything by yourself."
Gary Mitchell has been a business coach to lawyers for over 15 years. He takes attorneys through the entrepreneurial journey and help guide them to their goals. In his time in the industry, he has worked with some of the fastest-growing businesses across the country, written three books, and developed an app. It’s his passion to help others reach their dreams.
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Table of Contents
Tell us a little bit about your current projects. What exciting milestone would you like to share with our readers? (Don’t hesitate to delve into your achievements, they will inspire the audience)
Gary Mitchell: I recently launched the OnTrac Practice Builder App. This app has been years in the making, and I’m so excited to see my vision brought to reality.
I realised that everyone learns differently, and some people even prefer to learn on their own. So, I created this app for those who prefer to learn at their own pace. But it is also an excellent companion to traditional in-person coaching. The app was developed to take users through everything you’d need to know in order to start or to grow your law firm. No matter what stage you’re in or where you’re at in your legal career, you’ll be able to find value in it.
Was there somebody in your life that inspired you to take that specific journey with your business?
Gary Mitchell: My journey to become a coach, actually started when I was managing a political campaign. The candidate required a ton of coaching — they were incredibly smart, but they didn’t have a ton of people skills. So I began to work very closely with them, teaching them everything from shaking hands to public debating. And I began to see my client flourish before my eyes. It was incredibly rewarding.
That client had a friend who was a former lawyer. They told me to look into coaching lawyers on these soft business skills, as lawyers don’t often have a ton of business-savvy. Having loved the experience of coaching this candidate so much, I decided to look into the realm of coaching lawyers. After 9 months of research, I found that there was an opportunity to make this a career for myself.
He inspired me to take a leap into the business of coaching, and I never looked back.
What are the most common mistakes you see entrepreneurs make and what would you suggest they do?
Gary Mitchell: I see two mistakes comeuppance a lot: not having enough cash flow, and trying to do everything by yourself.
Money makes the world go round, and not having enough of it on hand when you start out can ultimately lead to a standstill. Many lawyers imagine they will have clients on day one — but this doesn’t happen. It takes time to get up and running. Before you embark on your journey, make sure you’ve got enough capital to make it through the growing pains of the early startup years.
Just because you’re starting a business, doesn’t mean you have to do everything on your own. I see this a lot with my clients — not wanting to spend money hiring others, and instead doing all the work by themselves. I recommend that my clients focus on being the best lawyer that they can possibly be, and leave the web design and other tasks to professionals. Build up an amazing team, and rely on them. This works to save you from undue stress and speed up the profitability process.
Resilience is critical in critical times like the ones we are going through now. How would you define resilience?
Gary Mitchell: To me, resilience means staying positive. This isn’t always easy.
Positivity is pretty open to interpretation, depending on who you are. But I tell myself and my clients to stick to the paths that bring joy.
The other prong to being positive is the ability to be nimble. There is no playbook for how to deal with the turmoil we’re facing in the world today. But having the ability to make changes quickly and streamline decision-making helps to feel like we have some semblance of control over our circumstances.
When you think of your company, 5 years from now, what do you see?
Gary Mitchell: In the next 5 years, I’d like to move my client base beyond the Canadian border. My dream is to one day have a global coaching business.
What do you consider are your strengths when dealing with staff workers, colleagues, senior management, and customers?
Gary Mitchell: One strength I have is the ability to really listen. As a coach, it’s one of, if not the most important skill to have. By listening well, I can diagnose what’s going wrong for my clients, and then offer a unique and personalised solution for them.
I’m also a serial entrepreneur. I absolutely love building businesses. And in this field of work, I get the chance to not only do it for myself, but for my clients every single say.
Being a CEO of the company, do you think that your personal brand reflects your company’s values?
Gary Mitchell: Absolutely! I created this brand — it has me, and my values written all over it.
The values I hold are then impressed upon my clients throughout the coaching process. I believe that it’s incredibly important that you understand your own values before opening up shop. Because it will be those values that ultimately attract your own clients one day.
How would you define “leadership”?
Gary Mitchell: I think that leadership is many things.
Great leaders cultivate more great leaders. They aren’t dictators — they build, inspire and grow an amazing team around them. They focus on mastering their craft, and becoming the best that they can possibly be.
The sign of a weak leader is one that surrounds themselves with lesser individuals. A great leader will choose to surround themselves with other great minds. They will seek out those that challenge and bring out the best in themselves.
Do you think entrepreneurship is something that you’re born with or something that you can learn along the way?
Gary Mitchell: I think you can be born an entrepreneur, and taught to become one.
In my own experience, I had nothing to back me up but my own instincts. Despite this I found success, and was able to start several successful ventures. I think I have the natural abilities it takes to be an entrepreneur.
If you don’t have these sensibilities, though, they can absolutely be taught! You just need to find the right mentor to coach you.
What’s your favorite “business” quote and how has it affected your business decisions?
Gary Mitchell: My favourite business quote comes from “Good to Great” by Jim Collins
“Get the right people on the bus,” which is then followed by, “Get them in the right seats.”
I can’t express enough how important it is to get the right people on your team, and having them working on the right roles. This is absolutely critical to building an organization.
Mike Weiss, VIP Contributor to ValiantCEO and the host of this interview would like to thank Gary Mitchell for taking the time to do this interview and share his knowledge and experience with our readers.
If you would like to get in touch with Gary Mitchell or his company, you can do it through his – Linkedin Page
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