Be Brave, Be Bold, Be Brilliant in 2026

 

This year I’ve decided to encourage the small legal business community to focus on a simple idea of creating real connections that will help businesses thrive and professionals connect. Growing an engaged community,  forming strategic partnerships, and building a powerful network is what will drive you as you jump into the new year. Your work should be centered on building platforms that turn relationships into real opportunities.

Grow an engaged community

Small business communities are still vastly underserved. Every new venture isn’t just about subscribers but instead it’s about creating a connected community with new relationships, new deal flow, and new partnerships. While building a large audience is desirable, size doesn’t matter without engagement. You should always welcome a faithful few who read, respond, share, and act. Engagement is the engine that turns connections into opportunities. A community that engages isn’t just a list … it’s a network of real relationships

Form strategic partnerships

Moving into 2026, see yourself shifting from a growth strategy to more of a partnership strategy. In years past, many have focused on better content, funnels, or tools which still matters. However, when you look back if your strategy doesn’t include strategic partners, it isn’t a strategy. You can have a great audience, strong engagement, a repeatable growth engine, and a clear business model and still impede. The general cause is your next level of growth usually requires markets you don’t control, relationships you don’t own, or trust you haven’t earned yet in those circles. However, we must jump in and grab those structural opportunities with multi-market sponsorships, co-hosted local events, and shared pipelines of vetted businesses. These opportunities only exist if the right organizations are embedded into the model. That’s why your next phase of growth shouldn’t be about more tactics but more about better strategic partners.

Build a powerful network

It is my desire that people not see my blog articles as simply a content business, rather something to post consistently and in volume. The plan is to build a distribution network for building connections that are powered by unique and high-value local content. The intent is to connect to new ideas, connect to great opportunities, and connect to each other. This difference means everything. The goal is to provide unprecedented value for busy local professionals which is scalable.  This is turn will build a legal community of infrastructure.

In my business, I’ve learned that when an engaged community, real partnerships develop, and a strong network come together, connections stop being transactional and create real opportunities. They become the foundation for lasting growth and impact. Here's to making your legal business thrive in 2026, so be brave, be bold, and be brilliant!