For many law firm owners, the demands of daily client work leave little time to focus on the bigger picture. One firm owner, however, believes that striking the right balance between working in the business and on the business is crucial for long-term growth.
Speaking on a recent episode of The Boutique Lawyer Show, Rex Afrasiabi, the founder of Bond Property Lawyers, discussed how balancing the daily demands of client work with strategic growth initiatives can be challenging, but is ultimately essential to a firm’s success.
In the same episode, he explained that investing time in a consistent personal brand isn’t just optional – it’s a powerful way for firm owners to unlock growth and open new opportunities.
While crafting a personal brand demands a significant investment of time and careful juggling alongside his day-to-day responsibilities running two law firms, Afrasiabi explained that the effort has paid off handsomely.
“I used to have a social media person who used to do things for my firm and even for, they still do it for my show because that’s filmed properly and sent out by them. But all my personal branding I do myself,” he said.
“There is a time commitment to it, but the rewards far outweigh the time.”
Afrasiabi explained that the time and effort he invests in personal branding is more than worthwhile, highlighting why it’s critical to balance working on the business with working in it.
“I think when I’m focusing on my personal branding and putting content out there and attracting new clients and new opportunities. To me, that is worth more than me working on a file. That’s me working on my businesses as opposed to me working inside the business,” he said.
“My balance at the moment is probably 70 per cent working on the business and 30 per cent working in the business. As a result, both my law firms have had exceptional growth, and we’re hiring rapidly on both fronts.”
While many might assume that skills like personal branding or content creation are innate – and can’t be learnt if you don’t naturally have them – Afrasiabi’s journey proves otherwise, though he admits it has taken time to do it effectively.
“Initially, it took me a long time to produce a video because I stumbled, I didn’t know what to say, etc, but you get more in tune with it and it just becomes natural. So realistically, probably takes me an hour a week now, but initially, it took me a lot longer,” he said.
For lawyers looking to grow their practice and shift more of their focus towards working on the business rather than just in it, Rex highlighted the importance of identifying strategies that work specifically for them.
“Find what works for you, find what you’re targeting. Your marketing and creating a brand for yourself. First and foremost, I think a lot of lawyers don’t create a brand. They don’t have a brand,” he said.
In a profession where many lawyers operate anonymously, he emphasised the value of investing in a strong personal brand, noting that people often connect with individuals before they connect with a firm.
“If you look at Mark Bouris, Yellow Brick Road, he’s so active on his social media, he’s got his own podcast. A lot of successful businesses have a face behind [them]. I think people resonate with a person more than they resonate with a firm,” he said.
“So first and foremost, I think if people can build more of their own personal brand out there and bring more of themselves out, it’s going to be beneficial for their business.”
