Periodically on TIS I like to introduce you to inspired solos who are doing business the “TIS” way. What does that mean? Well, to me, it means anyone who’s taken a creative approach to a solo business — whatever that business might be. It can be a creative approach to doing the work, marketing, running a business, integrating work and life … any aspect of being a solo business owner.
Today, our subject is Rania Combs.
Rania’s a Texas lawyer who just launched her solo estate planning practice this year. (Full disclosure: Rania is a TIS client, and I worked with Rania on developing her blog and other online marketing endeavors.)
The cool thing about Rania’s practice: she lives in North Carolina. So how’s she doing the law thing for Texas clients? With the very creative solution of a virtual law office. That technology comes courtesy of the brilliant attorney (and fellow Tar Heel!) Stephanie Kimbro and VLOTech.
Rania had practiced in Texas for fifteen years, but found herself transplanted to North Carolina when her husband’s work brought the family here. She’d also done work as a freelance attorney previously, but she really wanted to launch her own full-time practice.
Knowing that she’d be physically in NC for most of the year, Rania recognized that marketing was going to be a challenge for her. She decided to work the heck out of online marketing channels — a wise choice in any event but especially important given the geographical constraints.
Rania’s blog is her main channel. She writes about specific topics related to estate planning, wills and trusts with a Texas focus. One thing Rania came up with on her own that I especially loved was the concept of “Wacky Wills Wednesday” — periodically, she’ll cover a strange or entertaining will provision from a celebrity or historical figure. It’s a cool way to lighten up what can be a pretty morbid subject.
Rania’s already seen some return on her hard work. Her stats are up, she’s being featured in the Texas Bar Journal’s monthly newsletter “Weblinks” section this month (where she kindly gave The Inspired Solo a little love!), and she’s been approached by a few outlets to contribute content. She’s also getting some retweet love on Twitter for her blog posts, and got a Blawg Review mention after just a few weeks of blogging for one of her most-publicized and well-received posts, “The Problem With LegalZoom.”
Here’s what Rania’s done right:
- She planned her blog launch and stocked up with tons of content in reserve.
- She grasped the concept of funneling social media/networking traffic to the central channel of her blog, and focused her SNM efforts on supporting that goal.
- She clearly and completely identified who her targeted readers/prospects were, and has targeted her efforts at reaching those folks by “going” (in a virtual sense) where they are.
- She writes incredibly well, and …
- She knows her stuff!
Rania’s using the premium Thesis theme (full disclosure: that’s an affiliate link) which is great for SEO, stability of the underlying site architecture, and ease of customization. However, I can’t take any credit for the way it looks — Rania did that all herself before she hired me. (And if you’re thinking, “Oh that’s great for her, but I could NEVER…”? Rania didn’t know the first thing about WordPress, blogging, or themes before she tackled this project on her own. It can be done.)
So, welcome to the blogosphere, Rania, and here’s to your business success!
