Questions: Kindly give our readers an introduction to your business.
Answer: Law Quill was founded by Annette Choti, Esq., an attorney of over two decades. We provide comprehensive digital marketing services for law firms throughout the United States and Canada. We ensure that your legal marketing is legally accurate and ethically compliant. We understand both marketing AND the law!
Questions: Kindly give us a brief description of yourself.
Answer: Annette Choti, Esq. has over twenty years of legal and marketing experience. She was honored with the Secretary of Labor’s Exceptional Achievement Award during her time in the legal field, and spent nearly two decades with the Department of Labor. She has been honored to be a featured speaker at the American Bar Association and Bar Associations throughout the United States for CLE and marketing talks. She has appeared on dozens of podcasts, and is a weekly contributor to Above the Law, Attorney at Work, and Law Next online magazine. She has written the bestselling book Click Magnet: The Ultimate Digital Marketing Guide For Law Firms, and hosts the podcast Legal Marketing Lounge.
Questions: What inspired you to (start a new business venture) or (make significant changes in an existing business)? How did the idea for your business come about?
Answer: After working for several large digital marketing agencies, Annette realized that many of them were not providing the services they promised to law firms as they counted on the fact that lawyers simply did not understand marketing and search engine optimization. Additionally, they were providing content that was both legally inaccurate and ethically compliant. In response to these discoveries, Annette decided to found Law Quill, a full-service digital marketing agency by lawyers for lawyer.
Questions: What three pieces of advice would you give to budding entrepreneurs?
Answer:
1. Always think ahead and have systems in place before you need them.
2. Always believe you can succeed – if someone else is doing it, so can you.
3. Everything is figure-out-able.
Questions: What would you say are the top three skills needed to be a successful entrepreneur?
Answer:
1. A strong belief in yourself.
2. A strong belief in the services or products you provide.
3. A strong knowledge that your product or service is needed and that people are willing to pay for it.
Questions: To what do you most attribute your success?
Answer: I attribute my success to my hard work ethic and my strong support system.
Questions: How do you go about marketing your business? What has been your most successful form of marketing?
Answer: I have always believed that if you provide more value for free than services you try to sell, people will see you as an authority and expert in the industry. When they (or someone in their network) then need your services, you will be the first they turn to because they will remember your generosity. It’s a long game, but I wouldn’t do business any other way.
Questions: Where did your organization’s funding/capital come from and how did you go about getting it? How did you obtain investors for your venture?
Answer: I bootstrapped from the ground up and never took any loans!
Questions: What is the best way to achieve long-term success?
Answer: Make sure that you have a long-term game plan, systems to help you achieve it, and a strong support system that believes in you.
Questions: Where do you see yourself and your business in 5 – 10 years?
Answer: My goal is to be the premier legal digital marketing agency in the North America.
Questions: Excluding yours, what company or business do you admire the most?
Answer: Pat Flynn has built an amazing suite of companies that all operate from the foundational premise that it is more important to give away value than to try to sell. He created (and wrote the book) on Superfans, and I have attempted to emulate his strategy in my own business.
Questions: How important have good employees been to your success?
Answer: It is impossible to grow a business without a great team. I always take time before I make a decision to bring someone on board with Law Quill, because they will ultimately represent my brand, my image, and my services. Having great employees that are dedicated, hard-working, and truly feel a stake in the success of Law Quill has been the foundation of growing my company.
Questions: How long do you stick with an idea before giving up?
Answer: I learn the following three things:
1. Does someone need it?
2. Am I good at it?
3. Will someone pay for it?
Once I find out the answers to those questions, I quickly make a decision whether to pursue a service or drop it from further effort.
Questions: What motivates you?
Answer: Providing great legal marketing for law firms truly motivates me. Digital marketing and the internet as a whole has become the great equalizer in the competitive game between large and small law firms. Being able to get smaller law firms to beat larger ones online is incredibly satisfying and motivating.
Questions: What are your ideals?
Answer: My ideals for my business are to ensure that we are growing a law firm online, and providing value for the digital marketing dollars they are spending with us. We perform all of our services on a month-to-month basis, and never hold clients hostage in long-term contracts, which means that we want them to feel great about the money they are spending and see real, tangible results quickly.
Questions: How do you generate new ideas?
Answer: I ask questions and truly listen to my ideal clients. Many of my clients become my close friends, and I simply ask them what else they would like to learn, or what other services we could provide. This has been a pivotal component to my company’s growth – simply listening to my ideal clients and then giving them what they are asking for.
Questions: How do you define success?
Answer: Success as an entrepreneur is not a destination, but rather the feeling you get every day when you love what you do, and are excited to start your day!
Questions: How do you build a successful customer base?
Answer: The only way to build a really successful customer base is to always overdeliver on your promises. Distinguish yourself by personalizing the experience with your client, and performing far past their expectations, and you will have a client (and referral source) for life.
Questions: What is your favorite aspect of being an entrepreneur?
Answer: My favorite aspect of being an entrepreneur is the freedom that it gives me both professionally and personally. I absolutely love what I do when I am working to help law firms grow online, and I love the fact that the work I love affords me the opportunity to spend incredibly amounts of time with my family.
Questions: What has been your most satisfying moment in business?
Answer: My most satisfying moment in business was when the Dean of my law school’s alma mater (who was my first year law school professor) saw me at a Bar conference and told me she was proud of me, asked me to guest lecture at my law school, and said she would be permanently using my book as a textbook in her course for students to learn how to start a law firm. It was, hands down, the pinnacle of my career and was one of my most proud personal moments, as well.
Questions: What do you feel is the major difference between entrepreneurs and those who work for someone else?
Answer: Entrepreneurs believe in themselves even when there is no tangible proof to serve as evidence for their vision.
Questions: What kind of culture exists in your organization? How did you establish this tone and why did you institute this particular type of culture?
Answer:I worked for decades in a gray cubicle, where my talents were underutilized and my accomplishments were minimized. I make sure to tell my entire team all the time how proud I am of them, how appreciative I am, and how I could simply not do this without them. I want people to go the extra mile working for me because they know that they will be seen, appreciated, rewarded, and have my genuine gratitude.
Questions: In one word, characterize your life as an entrepreneur.
Answer: Amazing.
Questions: If you had the chance to start your career over again, what would you do differently?
Answer: Everything happens the way it is supposed to happen, and I wouldn’t appreciate the wonderful opportunities and incredible experiences as an entrepreneur if I hadn’t been stuck in a beige corporate cubicle for 20 years.
Questions: How has being an entrepreneur affected your family life?
Answer: My husband works both from home and travels for work, and my daughter attends an online accredited Christian high school. We spent the majority of the week together, and travel often. My husband and daughter are my best friends, and would never be able to spend this time together if it were not for my entrepreneur life.
Questions: What is your greatest fear, and how do you manage fear?
Answer: To be honest, I genuinely care about what others think of me. My greatest fear is that through some sort of misunderstanding, or through no fault of my own, a client would become dissatisfied with our work and not give me an opportunity to make things right. My integrity truly matters to me, and the work I do for my clients is intensely personal, so I would never want to have a circumstances where I was not able to clarify a misinterpretation or correct an error.
Questions: How did you decide on the location for your business?
Answer: I work from home, so the big choice for me every day is: Home Office or Screened In Porch?
Questions: Do you believe there is some sort of pattern or formula to becoming a successful entrepreneur?
Answer: The formula is simply give more than you try to sell, and people will start to truly know, like and trust you.
Questions: If you could talk to one person from history, who would it be and why?
Answer: Jesus. I’m a Christian and there is no other person more important to me that has ever, or will ever, walk the Earth.
Questions: Who has been your greatest inspiration?
Answer: My husband and daughter are my greatest inspirations. My husband worked his way up, with no college degree, and is now considered one of the best medical engineers in the United States. My daughter has balanced fierce ambition with hard work and kindness in such a way that I have been privileged to watch. I hope that I make them proud, as they have truly have been, and continue to be, my inspiration.
Questions: What book has inspired you the most? (OR what is your favorite book?)
Answer: The Bible is both my favorite book and the one that has inspired me the most. The full truth of our existence is there, and as such, there is nothing more important I could read. Although, I’ll give Lord of the Rings a strong second place. 🙂
Questions: What are some of the biggest mistakes you’ve made?
Answer: I have made the mistake of listening to someone else’s recommendation regarding my business, even though it did not feel right to me. The evidence all seemed to be there, and it seemed to be a strategic move that would grow my business. It did the opposite, and I learned a fantastic lesson quickly – to always trust my intuition when something didn’t feel right for my business.
Questions: How can you prevent mistakes or do damage control?
Answer: I have no idea how to fully prevent mistakes, however the best practice for damage control is always honesty. Fully admit any mistake you have made and then surprise someone with a heartfelt and generous response to remedy the situation. People recognize integrity and humility when it is genuine, so that is always that best practice to remedy any mistakes that have been made.
Questions: What are your hobbies? What do you do in your non-work time?
Answer: My hobbies include Bible studies, traveling (when time permits), crafting, watching/reading too many Sci-Fi shows/books, and breaking out into musical theatre songs with my daughter.
Questions: What makes you happy?
Answer: “This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.” Psalm 118:24 I am happy for each day that I am blessed with, to spend time with my family, own my own business, and help my clients grow their businesses as well.
Questions: What sacrifices have you had to make to be a successful entrepreneur?
Answer: In the beginning, I definitely sacrificed time with my family. There is no work/life balance when you are growing a new entrepreneurial venture. My family was incredibly supportive, and the payoff to now be able to spend time with them even more has been rewarding beyond my wildest dreams.
