A question about getting the right experience before starting a business....

**B_K** · 05-28-2008 07:20 AM

Hi,

I am a business/law student in the last year of my degree. My ultimate goal is to start my own business but I am not sure whether to start off getting experience as a commercial lawyer before I actually start the process of starting my own business. I have been working in law offices during my degree but didnt really enjoy working in an office however.

I want to start a business in the area of retail (fashion) and I am uncertain as to whether I should obtain experience directly in line with this industry as opposed to being a commercial lawyer first. I know that being a lawyer will give me exposure to the areas of law relevant to starting a business and that it will be useful to some degree. However, I am not sure whether the experience would be specific enough to the running of a retail business. Would you suggest I start working in retail industries as opposed to actually pursing a career as a lawyer first? Law seems to be a very specialized field and I am worried that I will not be obtaining the practical experiences necessary to the actual running and maintaining of a business.

Thanks in advance,

**rogercbryan** · 05-28-2008 09:02 AM

BK,

Talk about two different ends of the spectrum. When you say retail fashion do you mean you want to open up a store?

One of my partners is a lawyer by trade but spent 10 years running a large bread company in FL and for the last 18 years he has owned a chain of auto auctions. So with that being said having legal skills as a base you can do just about anything.

Will you have a lot of debt when you finish school? Do you have money saved to start your 'store'? If you were to practice law would you see yourself more as a worker bee in a large firm or someone that would start their own firm? Have you ever thought of applying to the legal department at a major clothing line?

I know there is not much advice in this post... I'm just trying to get you thinking in a little broader scope. Let me know what you think.

**jasaunders** · 05-28-2008 09:12 AM

Once of the great things about law is that you can enter a limitless number of fields.

Why not try to get a job in the legal department with a retailer?

**BusinessAdviser** · 05-28-2008 12:23 PM

In-house counsels rarely come straight out of law school. What exactly are you wanting to do? I could try to shed a little light based on my experiences, but I can't quite grasp what your ultimate goal is.

**B_K** · 05-29-2008 06:09 AM

Originally Posted by rogercbryan

BK,

Talk about two different ends of the spectrum. When you say retail fashion do you mean you want to open up a store?

One of my partners is a lawyer by trade but spent 10 years running a large bread company in FL and for the last 18 years he has owned a chain of auto auctions. So with that being said having legal skills as a base you can do just about anything.

Will you have a lot of debt when you finish school? Do you have money saved to start your 'store'? If you were to practice law would you see yourself more as a worker bee in a large firm or someone that would start their own firm? Have you ever thought of applying to the legal department at a major clothing line?

I know there is not much advice in this post... I'm just trying to get you thinking in a little broader scope. Let me know what you think.

Hi Roger,

I have worked in small, mid-tier and top tier firms and i really didnt like working in an office at all. I didnt really like the politics of working in a large law firm either. I havnt graduated yet so I dont have experience working as a lawyer but I have worked as a paralegal mainly in litigation and the banking industry. I really didnt like the process driven nature of the job as it seemed like we were all working in an assembly line. I also dont want to open up my own practice.

I have tried to get experience in the legal department of large retail businesses but there are not many opportunities in this area. Most of the retail businesses have their own in-house legal counsels and their legal departments are not very large. They dont really provide a graduate program either. They do have graduate programs in supply chain, finance and marketing but not in legal.

Im not exactly sure about how i will go about the business whether or not it will be in a store or online. But i think that starting off a business online will be the most cost effective alternative.

I know that I should have some more experience before starting a new business but Im not sure how to go about it.

**B_K** · 05-29-2008 06:12 AM

Originally Posted by CLICK ME!

In-house counsels rarely come straight out of law school. What exactly are you wanting to do? I could try to shed a little light based on my experiences, but I can't quite grasp what your ultimate goal is.

My ultimate goal is to start a business selling clothes/fashion either online or through a store. I think at this stage, the better option is to start the business online as a store would require much more capital to start up.

**jayrobinson15** · 06-11-2008 02:02 PM

Yes, and even if you just wanted to get started as an affiliate for another clothing.fashion store online, you could make some money and gain some experience before you venture out on your own.

**CIsaac** · 06-13-2008 10:06 AM

Originally Posted by B_K

Hi,

I am a business/law student in the last year of my degree. My ultimate goal is to start my own business but I am not sure whether to start off getting experience as a commercial lawyer before I actually start the process of starting my own business. I have been working in law offices during my degree but didnt really enjoy working in an office however.

I want to start a business in the area of retail (fashion) and I am uncertain as to whether I should obtain experience directly in line with this industry as opposed to being a commercial lawyer first. I know that being a lawyer will give me exposure to the areas of law relevant to starting a business and that it will be useful to some degree. However, I am not sure whether the experience would be specific enough to the running of a retail business. Would you suggest I start working in retail industries as opposed to actually pursing a career as a lawyer first? Law seems to be a very specialized field and I am worried that I will not be obtaining the practical experiences necessary to the actual running and maintaining of a business.

Thanks in advance,

Ditto! I had the same feelings when I was in law school--sad to say but I knew that I did not want to practice law (always had a business mindset). My husband now runs his own firm and I help him with the litigation docs, depos, etc. and I see what he goes through--the paperwork and court dates and technicality. Ughhh..! Me personally, I like meeting new people and working with them on their business start-up projects etc...

So I think you can find a way around it. Having a law degree is a GREAT asset. You could probably become the legal mind on small or internet retail start-ups (permits, legalese, etc). The thing is, most firms would not take you now as general counsel, but start your own business and become an expert in your field, and they'll come knocking..

This is probably not the route you want to take but I can tell you from personal experience that my husband was one of my first clients and he worked for corporate America and saved up for a year (even though he hated it) and while he was working, I was doing the grunt work like starting the firm and gettting bank funding, location, etc. He would get off work and we would discuss where we were in the process...same thing I do for my clients now. Find a family member or friend to do that for/with you if you decide to work...It really helps!

-Cheryl-

**kathleen fasanella** · 06-13-2008 11:03 AM

Originally Posted by B_K

I want to start a business in the area of retail (fashion) and I am uncertain as to whether I should obtain experience directly in line with this industry as opposed to being a commercial lawyer first...Would you suggest I start working in retail industries as opposed to actually pursing a career as a lawyer first?

Excuse me for interjecting with my own narrow agenda

but why not a legal career in fashion? I know TONS of designers who need qualified legal services specific to the trade.

**Warranties-For-Less** · 06-17-2008 09:45 AM

Originally Posted by B_K

My ultimate goal is to start a business selling clothes/fashion either online or through a store. I think at this stage, the better option is to start the business online as a store would require much more capital to start up.

Interesting,

I know many lawyers who are no longer practicing, and in my opinion, it is for good reason, we all know what most think of lawyers, and with so many struggling, I can see why you want to switch hats. My daughter started out wanting to be a lawyer, and went through first three years of college toward law degree, but I suggested working for a law firm as paralegal for a summer and she quickly changed her mind about wanting to be a lawyer, so I know what you feeling.

How about opening a LawyerWear store? Sharkskin suits and snakeskin shoes are coming back I hear. lol

Good luck to all, Mike

**BusinessAdviser** · 06-17-2008 11:41 AM

Originally Posted by B_K

My ultimate goal is to start a business selling clothes/fashion either online or through a store. I think at this stage, the better option is to start the business online as a store would require much more capital to start up.

So why get into commercial law if it's not what you want to do?