Start Before You’re Ready!

Alexandra Kontos Esq.
RKE Law Group, Partner

I have always loved to write. I graduated from college with a degree in Public Relations. I even worked as a Senior Staff Writer for my college newspaper. Then came law school during which I un-learned everything I’d learned about writing, and replaced it with the rigid, law school-required IRAC method (Issue, Rule, Analysis, Conclusion… for those who are curious). Then, of course, followed several years of drafting legal letters, notices and motions in my practice. I’ve done my share of writing. So, why have I felt so much resistance to sitting down and committing to writing this blog?

I’ve recently picked up meditation as a way to relieve stress and become a more centered and spiritual person. I’m a huge fan so far! When I sit in the “stillness” (as my woo-woo friends say), I feel guided to answers that I’ve been looking for. So, for the past couple of weeks, I’ve been seeing “signs” and Facebook and Instagram posts EVERYWHERE with this message: “Start before you’re ready.” So here I am!

When I look back at the last few years since we first hung our shingle and went out on our own, that is exactly how we’ve approached opportunities:  we start before we’re ready. The three of us met at a giant “foreclosure mill” law firm during the height of the foreclosure/housing market crisis. The work itself was very faceless, in that there was little, if any, client interaction, and we certainly weren't helping anyone, aside from helping the banks foreclose on struggling homeowners who could not afford their mortgage payments.

I remember conversations about how we should go out on our own and actually help people SAVE their homes. We had the experience from both sides of the law; we loved to help people; and we wanted to make an impact in this world (doesn't every lawyer start out wanting that?) We had plenty of drive, but what we DIDN'T have was capital to comfortably start the business, clients, or a concrete plan for what the business would actually look like and how it would operate.

We did it anyway. We street-hustled our way into business networking groups and professional happy hours, and talked to whoever would listen. We gave away a lot of free legal advice, and a ton of our time, but we made relationships that later proved to be invaluable to our law firm and to us as individuals. We started before we were ready, and learned along the way.

These efforts led us to work with a marketing company who gave us a huge (and I mean HUGE) boost to our bottom line. This company knew how to generate leads, and allowed us to focus on what we were good at: the law and helping people. The explosive growth in business came at the expense of having to outsource certain aspects of our business, and not having complete control and autonomy over our law firm, and over the manner in which we served our clients. As fate would have it, about a year later, it was time to put our big-girl pants on and bring everything back in-house (i.e. I hired six loan modification processors in one week’s time!) And, no, we were definitely NOT ready for this. But we did it anyway. And, thank you Universe!

Now that you know our story, I’ll tell you about our intention for this blog (by the way, I can actually feel the resistance lifting as my fingers hit the keys on my MacBook Pro... Yay!!)

Our vision is to provide a platform for women to learn about who we are, and why we do what we do. The legal world has traditionally been a man’s world, and we are here to change that. We want to inspire women to gain control of their lives, and to lead their families and their businesses to a healthy and abundant future. We want to inspire little girls (like my daughters, Alexa, 5, and Athena, 3) to set super-high goals, and to never play small in life. We want to change the perception of the legal industry and, while we’re at it, we want to change the world.

Please keep reading this blog. Send us comments. Tell us what you want to hear more about and less about. At RKE, we dig honesty, so don’t be shy! You will hear from Monica and Lisa, my “Sisters-in-Law and Business” (a/k/a my Partners in this crazy venture), as well as more from me. We will probably stumble along the way, but we totally expect that… and that’s part of the fun!

Remember that if you feel resistance before setting out to take action on something you've been wanting or meaning to do, this is totally normal. The reward on the other side will be so great! (I promise!!) Martin Luther King, Jr. said it best:  “Faith is taking the first step even when you can’t see the whole staircase.”

So, I encourage you to take the first step. Start Before You’re Ready! J

Peace, Love and Lawyering…

Alexandra Kontos, (The “K”)

Chief Business Development Officer; Guardian of Client and Team Happiness and RKE Culture; Attorney & Head of the Family Wealth Building Division

Two Apps to Help Personal Finance Success

In lean times like those we have all been experiencing, it's important to get your personal finances under control and understand how important it is to manage them properly. Creating a detailed budget and having the discipline to stick to it is often easier said than done. 

Thankfully there are plenty of apps available that can help you not only track your income and expenses, but also stash some extra cash which we can all learn to do better.

If you need a little extra help managing your income, bills and spending and with setting aside funds for a rainy day you try one of our favorite free personal finance apps for personal finance:

Mint.com draws data directly from all of your financial accounts, including your personal bank, retirement, college loan and credit card accounts. Then it tells you what you owe to whom, in real-time. It also generates individualized payment and savings plans to help you reach your financial goals.

Mint can be a smart choice for busy people who don't have the time to manually, meticulously enter each and every one of their financial transactions. It automatically tracks and categorizes your activity in each of the accounts you give it permission to sync up with, making it easier to build -- and hopefully adhere to -- a realistic budget. Mint is available for Android, iPhone and iPad.

Just like its piggy bank-inspired name implies, SmartyPig helps you save money. There's only one catch you have to open a free, FDIC-insured SmartyPig savings account. Luckily they're free, just like the app, which lets you save for things you want, like perhaps a house, a car or a vacation. Add money to your savings goals whenever you want right from your phone or tablet.  It is rally easy and really user friendly.

You'll need to link up an existing bank or credit union savings or checking account to siphon funds to your SmartyPig account from.  Interest rates for SmartyPig on balances between $0 and $50,000 earn 0.995 percent (one percent annual percentage yield).

SmartyPig is available for Android, iPhone and iPad.

Read more: http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/228453#ixzz2m3wGfblB

Investing Mistakes to Avoid When You Are Building a Nest Egg

Along the way, you may make a few investing mistakes, however there are big mistakes that you absolutely must avoid if you are to be a successful investor.

For instance, the biggest investing mistake that you could ever make is to not invest at all, or to put off investing until later. Make your money work for you even if all you can spare is $20 a week to invest!

While not investing at all or putting off investing until later are big mistakes, investing before you are in the financial position to do so is another big mistake. Get your current financial situation in order first, and then start investing. Get your credit cleaned up, pay off high interest loans and credit cards, and put at least three months of living expenses in savings. Once this is done, you are ready to start letting your money work for you.

This will be very important for you if you are recovering from a foreclosure or major financial set back.

Don't invest to get rich quick. That is the riskiest type of investing that there is, and you will more than likely lose. If it was easy, everyone would be doing it! Instead, invest for the long term, and have the patience to weather the storms and allow your money to grow. Only invest for the short term when you know you will need the money in a short amount of time, and then stick with safe investments, such as certificates of deposit.

Don't put all of your eggs into one basket. Scatter it around various types of investments for the best returns. Also, don't move your money around too much. Let it ride. Pick your investments carefully, invest your money, and allow it to grow don't panic if the stock drops a few dollars. If the stock is a stable stock, it will go back up.

A common mistake that a lot of people make is thinking that their investments in collectibles will really pay off.

Again, if this were true, everyone would do it. Don't count on your Coke collection or your book collection to pay for your retirement years! Count on investments made with cold hard cash instead.

We hope these tips will help you focus on recovering and investing in your future.  Even if you have had a major financial set back, it is never too late to start saving, investing and getting back on track.