A Law Student's Muse Creation Ideas

[J.J]

Hey All,

I'm currently a first year Law Student, and, although I really like what I'm studying, I look 20+ years down the road and groan. I have a couple of muse creation ideas, but I feel strapped for time, money, and talent (in that order). If you all could give me some suggestions, pointers, and advice, I'd greatly appreciate it.

Some of my sundry ideas:
1. A book to improve reading and writing abilities -- some speed training, some comprehension training, some advanced grammar training, and some tips for effective writing. My fear is not only the niche market for this, but its relatively inexpensive nature (I doubt I could charge much more than $10), something against which Tim cautions. And, although it would cost relatively little to make the PDF, I'm worried about drawing people to me through lack of expertise (I've only published in a local newspaper).

2. A DVD on verbal persuasion in the vein of How to Win Friends and Influence People, but a little more fundamental. My fear here again is the niche market (maybe even more so than the previous one). The money issue is not quite as difficult to surmount here but I'm still very worried.

3. A website dedicated to WWII information, memorabilia, and games. I thought of this as I am reading a book about the economic and military history of WWII and just purchased a game (Hearts of Iron II) about the period. I am a history buff by nature and, although I'm not a fanatic WWII aficionado, I could hold my own and I think I could provide a valuable service. My worry here, however, is the lack of expertise.

Please advise,
Thanks!
J.J.

[heztok]

I like idea n. 3. Sounds to be a good niche. Surprised this does not exist already. Expertise can be built up. However, from where you would derive your revenues ? Advertising ?

[MaxK]

Idea no.3 sounds good.

Maybe you can also find a muse related to your studies? I know your not an expert in that field jet but maybe you can built a muse around one of the courses you took/are taking.

This might actually help you get better grades easy; ideal use of time!

[Ross]

Why don't you find some area of the law that really fascinates you - and I don't mean tort or criminal; I mean some really narrow niche - and start building up a web presence of real expertise. You could outsource the boring bits, pick your professor's brains about your area, and by the time you graduated you could be the go-to guy for some narrow area of the law. You might be able to get media attention depending on your niche, and could monetize your site in a variety of ways; even if you decided to work in a law firm - don't if you can avoid it - it would make you infinitely more marketable.

Law qua law is a very bad business, in which lawyers sell their time - a very finite resource - and pathetically try to leverage their resources by attempting to exploit more junior lawyers. Better to build a business along the lines Tim suggests, and build some real equity.

[BlindSquirrel]

I like your 3rd idea. It caught my attention because I enjoy WWII games and information. My son, who is 7, also loves any game he can find based on WWII. I think the demand is there. It also sounds like it would be more fun than work to create - always a plus.

[kamakiri]

J.J - Thanks for the PM. First off, you should have done a bit if research. Successful muses are not about fulfilling your passion. If you are a history buff, then be a history buff. Trying to monetize that hobby will only make it a drag.

The old cliché that if you do what you love, the money will come is dead. When you do what you love unprofitably, you quickly cease to love it. Tim doesn't love neural enhancers, no reason for you to pick something you love there.

Instead of looking for a muse, you said yourself that time was your first priority. Focus on some LD. Free up some of that time. Even law students can shave hours off their day. Get some time back, and that will bring huge increases in your quality of life.

You also mentioned talent. It is over rated. Look at all of the talented idiots out there. Then look at all of the lawyers with zero talent driving Porsches (Ambulance chasers and bankruptcy lawyers to name a few).

What you need isn't a muse. Just being in law school shows that you are capable of hard work. Now take that energy and devote some of it to working on yourself instead of chasing leads. And remember, most lawyers will say everything is about billable hours, but it isn't. It is about how much you bill per hour.

[riosmena]

I'm a recently sworn attorney and already looking to get out of law firm life (I worked in a law firm since before graduating from law school) in the next year, hence my muse trials. Some areas I've looked into to create muses in (although I've only tried 2, none having to do with law):

-fill-in-the-blank legal forms
-asset protection (though there are many clowns with crazy schemes)
-legal writing (see Bryan Garner)
-immigration kits, with all the necessary forms, instructions, etc
-incorporation kits (perhaps too much competition)
-I'm sure I've brainstormed more ideas but can't remember right now.

Above all, research. I certainly haven't tested any law-related idea so I don't know if these are plausible.

[DaveinHackensack]

I thought I left a post in this thread yesterday, but it's not here. Odd.

[Screeps]

What about a service that helps kids get into law school? With all the Kaplan's and Princeton Reviews out there- I'm sure there are people out there who are looking for a more personalized approach.

As for your other ideas- none really jump out at me. The WWII niche is definitely a good one- but I am unclear as to what you will be able to sell...

[J.J]

Hextok – My plan was to drive my revenues from ads (though I would also be advertising) and from selling games like Axis and Allies or the Hearts of Iron video game about which I spoke in the first post. I have not contacted the any wholesalers or manufacturers directly because I was just brainstorming. Should I include such contact in my brainstorming?

MaxK and Ross – That’s a good idea. Thank you. Ross, I especially like your idea of finding a niche this way and selling the expertise in a less tangible form that lawyers usually do.

BlindSquirrel – Thank you for the encouragement.

Kamakiri – I have done some research, at least so far as to know that the WWII niche is perfectly accessible. Moreover, I thought that one also ought to look at what he knows and find a corresponding niche. That is what I have tried to do with my WWII niche. While I am a history buff by nature, my interests actually lie more towards the enlightenment (especially Revolutionary America) and the Middle Ages (especially England). I do know and enjoy WWII, however, and figured that, if properly monetized, and then automated, it could be a useful way to help pay the enormous debt into Law School is placing me. I do understand what you say about Tim doesn’t love neural enhancers, but everything I feel I know is an interest of mine. If I could automate the WWII idea, why exactly would it be a poor choice? And, if it really would be a poor choice, then could you give me some ideas to, as Tim says, creatively look at my background to find something marketable?
I have actually managed to free up quite a bit of time (as per Law School standards at least). I take Saturdays completely off and I have about two hours of play time a day, which is quite a lot here. I am trying to get better at it, and I’m sure I shall. Yet, it would free me up quite a lot if I could become, at least mostly, financially independent with a muse.
Besides working on my speed reading, which I have been, and working on Law School proper, could you explain what you mean by “tak[ing] that energy and devot[ing] some of it to working on yourself?”
In sum: from my standpoint, I am trying to make sure that I am financially independent so that I can work on myself and create other companies, or just work in whatever field of law drives me, and not have to think about either billable hours or how much I bill per hour. This may be naive, but it’s my dreamline.

Riosmena: In what practice area do you work? I like some of those ideas, though many of them seem to have pitfalls of believability or saleability (sorry to say).

DaveinHackensack – I don’t know what to tell you, sorry.

Screeps – That’s an interesting idea, but most of it has to do with getting good grades and preparing for the LSAT. So, for that idea, I’m worried that my instruction would not include anything that others could not teach; I do not want to try to scam others out of their money. Plus, without putting in too much of my own time, I do not see how I could give them a personalized touch. I’m sorry that I am so down on the idea – it’s a good one and I like it – but these are the problems I can think of immediately. You bet I’ll be thinking about this throughout the day, however.

Again, the WWII site would be a reseller, and maybe (I thought of this this morning) I could get a subscription and ask experts for their thoughts, writings, and discussions.

[DaveinHackensack]

Trying this one more time:

1) Re the WWII idea, pick up the WWII magazine in Barnes & Noble and check out some of the ads in the back of it. Could give you an idea of what you can sell to that community.

2) Riosmena's first idea (-fill-in-the-blank legal forms) isn't a bad one. I've used Legal Zoom before and it just lets you download Word docs you have to edit yourself. It would be nice if you could fill in the necessary fields (names, companies, etc.) online and get a customized legal document in PDF format. You could make tie it in with Docusign so people could sign the documents online.

3) The first time around I mentioned a great business idea a lawyer came up with -- a software program that could analyze the filings at the local courthouse and predict which plaintiffs or defendants would make profitable clients for his law firm. I forget the guy's name, but I remember reading he made a ton of money on this idea. I suspect you might need to have actual experience as a lawyer to come up with stuff like that though.

Now, for my two ideas:

1) Lots of people go to law schools (particularly the non-elite ones) and are unable to get good jobs as lawyers. You could do some research on other fields where law school grads have found success* and then package your research as a product or service aimed at recent law school grads.

2) A reader of my blog (an extremely intelligent entrepreneur) came up with a software program for real estate negotiations, to help you figure out the optimal offer price as a buyer or seller based on statistical data. You could try to do something similar for legal settlements maybe (the one challenge I can think of here is that the terms of many settlements aren't publicly disclosed, but you could perhaps limit your statistical data to the ones that are).

*I can think of one off the top of my head: compliance departments at investment firms. I did a consulting job in the compliance department of Goldman Sachs once and most of the folks working there were non-practicing attorneys