Professionals need a head for business
Independent doctors and advocates must prioritise business fundamentals to survive
PEOPLE tend to venture into their own business with a blind eye. This big step can be taken without any regard for the business fundamentals required to ensure that their business survives.
It goes without saying that I am a big advocate of people following their entrepreneurial aspirations. After all, we spend too much time thinking about whether we should take the plunge instead of just going ahead and learning along the way. The more that people can do this, the more we can get rid of the self-doubt that prevents many of us from ever even trying.
However, it is important to be honest about the loopholes that come with going at it blindly. Otherwise this puts you in the vulnerable position of having no idea what it is that you do not know.
At this point you can either be proactive about learning what is required to help make the business survive or risk making the inevitable rookie mistakes that people do when they are not aware of their own shortcomings.
We all have shortcomings. Those who suffer from theirs are those not willing to own up to them and work on rectifying them.
This challenge is especially true for entrepreneurs who come from professions where there is little to no exposure to the fundamentals of running a business.
Doctors and lawyers are an example. Many end up running their own practices, even though their training and education do not expose them to the necessary fundamentals. It is critical for them to invest time in learning the fundamentals needed to make sure that their practices last.
This was the reality faced by Buhle Lekokotla, who has been operating independently as an advocate for the past five years. She qualified at the young age of 25, after obtaining her LLB cum laude from the University of Pretoria and working as an attorney at Adams & Adams Attorneys.
She specialises in intellectual property matters.
It is an industry norm for advocates to operate independently. Even though many end up in a group that shares expenses — such as the Victoria Mxenge Group of Advocates that Lekokotla belongs to — they are still operating as independent businesses within that group.
Today, Lekokotla is grateful that she followed the approach adopted by many in her field, of first practising as an attorney in a law firm before going on to be an independent advocate.
While she was doing her articles to qualify as an attorney, there was a useful module on accounting and bookkeeping. This is not at all sufficient to help you know what it takes to run your own venture, but at least it is a start.
It would take a long time to transform the norms of how these industries prepare their professionals, but in the meantime people should at least be aware of their shortcomings at an individual level and invest in learning so that they comply with the minimum requirements.
Lekokotla was lucky to have been raised in a family of entrepreneurs — both her parents were business entrepreneurs. As a result, she was exposed to the business fundamentals that she uses to make her legal business work to this day. She also has a BCom in economics, which has come in handy.
She has noticed that one of the most important enablers of a successful advocate is the ability to effectively manage cash flow. It is hard to make it successfully as an advocate without knowing how to do that. Especially when the norm is that once the work has been done, clients have 97 days to pay the invoices issued. That can be a long time to wait for payment, especially when you have not done the necessary financial planning.
On top of that, you have to work the first year without pay to qualify as an advocate — which can be difficult if you did not plan for your financial needs ahead of time.
Lekokotla has observed that some of her peers prioritise only their legal tasks and overlook the importance of sending out invoices on time and following up on overdue accounts. The reality is that, unless these are prioritised, there will be no money to take home at the end of the day.
Lekokotla has noticed that the problem of money management sometimes drives black advocates out of the profession because they are scared to charge the large amounts due after spending a long time on a case. For some, this is the first time they have had to ask for an amount they perceive as big, even though it is justifiable. If we are to have any hope of improving and transforming the sector, this mentality needs to change.
As Confucius put it: “Real knowledge is to know the extent of one’s ignorance.” Better to learn what you do not know than to remain ignorant.
Problem of money management sometimes drives black advocates out of profession