Kitchen Table Dreams

I first thought about running my own business at a Legal Futures Conference in 2013, Sahar Hashemi was talking about starting Coffee Republic, with her brother, around her kitchen table. 

I loved that idea. Sitting at the kitchen table, with a blank sheet of paper, wondering what is possible, designing something new, something better. It has stuck with me ever since, the excitement she felt, the hard work, and the achievement. 

It's not just about new products or services for clients, but a new and better way for colleagues. I saw a headline of an article this morning on Linkedin about a CEO who hand writes 7400 birthday cards a year for his employees to show his gratitude. That sounds like a kitchen table idea to me. 

As I'm expanding my business, with my new kitchen table plan, working on ways for all law firms to access the compliance support they need, I am also designing new ways of working with colleagues, with fairness and transparency, a real and visible commitment to helping the community we live and work in, and my own "birthday cards". 

It's an exciting time, but also an important one. Many businesses have started with kitchen table dreams and plans, only for cash-flow, customer demands, internal politics or market forces to take them on a different path. I am considering carefully those things and I hope the plans I'm making are robust and sustainable for us to keep that excitement and follow through on the commitment to our clients and colleagues. Like everything I do, I am considering the risks of the plans stumbling, and how I can build something which withstands the inevitable road-bumps on the way. I am planning to be accountable from the outset, make clear the vision, and encourage my clients and colleagues to hold me to it.

What's your kitchen table dream and is it a reality?