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If one of your New Year's resolutions is to start or jump-start your law firm, here are a few tips and pieces of advice that are paradoxically both obvious and often given little or no attention. To make the best use of this advice, consider and implement it in the order presented.

1. Choose a niche practice area after careful research of the risks, rewards, and opportunities.  You'll want to practice in a segment of the market that provides a rich pool of clients.  To do that you'll need to notice and analyze trends in your external environment, which are beyond your control to change.  Accept reality that is beyond your control to change before making decisions about your business.  Too often lawyers end up fishing for clients in a poorly-stocked pond instead of trawling for clients in the right spot of a densely packed ocean. Learn more in the On Demand CLE Harnessing Innovation to Design Your Law Practice.
2. Use of self as a strategy resource.  This element of The Leadership C*U*R*E is where you have the most control.  Develop your emotional intelligence (EQ) in order to manage the fear, anxiety, and elation that can cause you to veer off strategy. Instead focus on how you can change how you think and feel and what you do to take advantage of the true marketplace opportunities. Learn to notice more by learning more about your preferences for noticing information and making decisions about meaning.  The Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) assessment, when administered by a coach-trainer, who is certified is a powerful tool to learn more about yourself and increase your EQ. Let me know if you want more information on this. I can help you.
3. Establish an operating budget.  Everything costs something and making the right decisions about where to spend and where to save is important for your financial success. Identify what you need versus what you want to run your firm effectively and budget accordingly. 
4. Attract and retain clients.  Attracting clients is a  function of your marketing and outreach to generate leaders.  Are you getting out to meet people? Are you hosting educational seminars and publishing articles to develop your reputation as a expert in your niche field? How are you using social media to spread the word? Landing and retaining clients is a function of the client experience.  Have you mapped out the client journey across various outreach opportunities? Do you know the decisions that a person makes at all points in the journey before hiring you? Learn more here, here, or here.
5. Develop skills for running a business. Eventually, you'll need to know how to recruit, hire, and manage people, negotiate with vendors and clients, manage and prioritize your time, projects, and tasks, and make decisions using data instead of only emotions.