No one cares about your business the way you do.

It's true. They may have an interest in what you do. Maybe they use and love your product. And sure - they want to help you. Because they want to help their bottom line, too. I mean, heck, I'm in that business, too.

One of the biggest challenges that I've had during this whole process is the basic one - getting myself set up. Nothing is going fast enough for me.

I met with a lawyer at the end of March - oh, it will only take a couple of weeks, he said. Well, on May 16th, I finally signed my paperwork. Which means that from the end of March until the middle of May, I had a lot of sleepless nights and a lot of stress bumps (huge, massive stress bumps) on my face. 

So what should one do about it? Well, here is what I did, what I'd wish I'd done, and how I can now evaluate whether or not someone is going to act in my best interest.

What I Did
Harassed - but I did it over email, because given my crazy schedule over the last several weeks, it's what I was able to do.



Nailed him down for a time.

If you ask me for a recommendation on a lawyer - you won't get his name from me. And no, I'm not going to put it out there on my blog or anywhere else to smear publicly. But the fact is, he won't be getting any business as a result from his work (or lack there of) with me. 

What I Wish I'd Done
I wish I'd called every single day.

I wish I'd been a complete ass the other day when I met with him and told him how I really felt. But contrary to popular belief, I'm a bit of a softie inside.

Merging Them Together
So how do you make sure someone is working in your best interest? Below are a few signals I suggest to analyze what kind of relationship you're in:


Signal #1. What kind of an interest do they take in your business? I mean, real interest? Is it something they can relate to? Now, not every business has consumer-facing components (thus, B2B, right?). So someone not being able to relate is not always relevant to you. So keep moving down the checklist.

Signal #2.  Are they being proactive or reactive? If someone is truly engaged in your business, likely they are going to be more proactive on driving your success. Because they want you to succeed and do well.

Signal #3. Do they help sell your products? How many referrals are you getting as a result of your relationship? Because it's a two-way street, right?

Signal #4. Do they share competitive insights/activities they see with you? Because if they are engaged in your business, they are keenly aware of your competitive set and notice when they see a competitor doing something interesting or notable. And want to make sure you're aware, too.

Signal #5. Response time. This theoretically could be #1. And, I almost moved it up there. But I realized, that if they take an interest in your product, are proactive, help sell your products and share competitive information, likely the response time is going to be reflective of that.

My frustration with the lawyer was his response time. Fine. Things didn't happen in the timeline I wanted them to. But his inability (or unwillingness) to communicate with me was the frustrating part. So he is clearly unengaged in my needs, and his response time was reflective of that.

I mean. Let's be real. You put what you don't necessarily want or care about to the back burner. It's human nature. The fun stuff comes first. So where do you fall with the businesses you do business with? Back burner? Maybe it's time to re-evaluate things.