Every Friday for the next few weeks I will be posting interviews with solo and small firm attorneys who talked to me about their marketing strategies, online and offline, high tech and old school. Of course, I also asked about the tools they use to manage their practice. If you are interested in being interviewed, please e-mail me.

Kristi Weikel is on top of things. I am impressed. She has a small, general practice law firm, and sounds like she is running it like a business, partly due to the help she has gotten from Kelli Hoskins, a business coach.

I think a lot of solo lawyers and small firms forget that they are also a business, and the head of any business must keep it pointed in a direction–hopefully the right one. Every business needs an entrepreneur as well as someone to do the work of the business. It sounds like Weikel handles both very well.

Weikel keeps thinking about ways to improve her marketing effort, her practice, and her services.

Read on for the full interview.

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When it comes to starting a small business, a law practice is one of the least-expensive options. A computer and a clear space on the kitchen table are about all you need. Well, almost. There are a few other things. In this article, I will lay out what you need to start up a solo practice, plus a few nice-to-have extras. This is not a bare minimum, but I have left out things like registering an LLC or corporation ($160 in Minnesota), liability insurance (mine was $599 for my first year), and business cards and stationery (I don’t use stationery, but I buy my business cards from VistaPrint for $29.99/500).

The following purchases will get you through your first year, at least, but the hardware should last far longer. If you shop wisely, your hardware should last at least 5 years, if not longer.

Assuming you do not already have a computer, printer and internet connection, your startup costs would be just under $3,000, leaving some room for miscellaneous supplies. If you do already have a computer and printer, you can convert them to business use and save $1,248.99 or more.

Even better, your second year overhead will drop to $837.60, since you will already have all the hardware you will need.

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