Special note to all of our new members: I get it. Your first few months working with us can feel like drinking from a fire hose. Don’t try to do everything. But one thing you should definitely do is take advantage of some of the amazing workshops you have unlimited access to at Workshopalooza because you are part of this community. Not sure which workshop will “move the needle” for you most? Check out all the workshops coming up at the next Palooza and ask your firm’s C-suite “based on what you know about my business today, which of these workshops do you think would help me most right now?” Or ask your fellow members, “this is where my law firm is today (financially, personally, and professionally): which workshop. do you most wish you had taken back when your law firm was where mine is now?”
*Finally, the word “problemtunity.” Credit goes to longtime member Carrie Schultz (MensRightsDivorceLaw.com) for coining this phrase after hearing me talk about the fact that every opportunity comes “gift-wrapped” inside a problem, and every problem hides an opportunity.
–RJon
MEMBERS PAYING IT FORWARD
DREAM BIGGER Meet Pietro Canestrelli I started my career as a circus performer (yes, really) before deciding to go to law school. I spent six years as an IRS attorney. I thought I’d love it. I didn’t.
What I learned is that I need to help people, not institutions, to feel fulfilled in my work. So, I left. I worked for other firms for a while, had a great mentor, and then — after he passed away around the age I am now — I finally had the courage to go out on my own. At the time, I thought being a solo practitioner was the best approach, because hiring people is difficult. How would I manage them? How could I make sure they earned a living? I didn’t want my firm to get bigger. I felt that if I could just make $100,000 a year, that would be success.
But work kept coming.
By the end of my second year, there was too much work for one person. My wife, Kristen, came on board “temporarily” to help with admin and marketing. She replaced her salary almost immediately, and we got comfortable again.
Then COVID-19 hit.
It’s funny; we were living what we thought was the middle-class dream, but realized overnight it could disappear in a moment. We had no cushion. We had no capacity to pivot if something went wrong, and that got us thinking.
Around that time, we kept hearing about HTM, but we resisted. Honestly, it sounded like a lot of work. But what finally pushed us over the edge was the numbers.
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JANUARY 2026 MEMBER BULLETIN
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