How doing one thing well can help your business
As a mum, lawyer, business owner, and founder of Ready to Boss Legal, I’ve learned some of my biggest business lessons in the most unexpected places. One of the most recent lessons did not from a courtroom, business deal or a contract, but from watching my teenage son Oscar tear up the track at an athletics carnival.
And it reminded me of a fundamental truth that every small business owner needs to hear:
When you spread yourself too thin, you do things moderately well. But when you focus on the one thing you do best, you create something extraordinary.
The lesson
Last week, Oscar had chance to compete in three events at his State carnival, the 100m, 200m, and 400m. Now, let me tell you about Oscar, he is an absolute weapon at the 400m. We’re talking NSW State Juniors medalist, Nationals Championships qualifier, made the final kind of weapon. He’s decent at the shorter sprints, but the 400m? That is where he shines.
But here's what happened: Oscar looked at the competition and thought, "I can place well in all three events." So he entered them all. And you know what? He did place well, second in the 400m and third in the other two races, and he qualified for the next level of competition (NSW State CIS Championships).
But afterwards, when we looked at his times, the reality hit. If he'd been fresh for his strongest event instead of having already run two races that day, he could have won the 400m outright. His legs were tired, his focus was split, and his best performance suffered for it. I pointed it out and he was in agreement.
There's no regret. At that stage of competition, it made sense to test himself and gain experience. But for the next level? Oscar's got a plan: drop the 100m and 200m, and put everything into dominating his beloved 400m.
Smart Kid right?
As we nutted it out, I realised that the same lesson has shaped my business journey, and what a brilliant reminder it is for all small business owners. So much so, that I am sharing my thoughts in this blog.
How I tried to run three races at once
Oscar’s revelation hit me like a ton of bricks because, for years, I’d been doing the same thing as I split my energy between two parts of my business:
my legal services practice, where I worked one-on-one with clients;
LawAssist, an online legal marketplace that I have since stepped back from; and
my legal publishing business, Ready to Boss Legal, where I create legal templates, policies, and precedents for small business owners, creatives, and even other lawyers.
All businesses were doing “well enough.”
My legal services practice brought in steady client work. My template shop was growing and had so much potential. LawAssist was in start-up mode. But neither of my established businesses was truly firing on all cylinders, and I didn’t have the energy or space to devote to LawAssist.
Just like Oscar on carnival day, I was keeping up, but I wasn’t winning the race that mattered most. And worse? I was stealing time from being the #athleticsmum Oscar needs me to be.
The turning point
In July 2023, I made a bold decision.
I stopped offering custom legal services. I shut the door on the familiar to-and-fro of the past 20+ years. No more bespoke contracts, no more one-to-one advice, no more juggling client deadlines with school pick-ups and late-night drafting.
Instead, I put everything into the Ready to Boss Legal template shop. I leaned fully into my love of systems, templates, and precedents. I focused on drafting contracts, policies, disclaimers, and agreements that could be used, re-used, and repeated by small business owners and fellow lawyers. This has also led to me working behind the scenes for law firm owners to get their documents in place or white-labelling our template offerings for their own practices. All of which works seamlessly with the Ready to Boss Legal templates.
I also told my LawAssist partner, Michelle that I wanted to stay as a contributor on the marketplace site but hand the reins to her. I was done trying to run 2 websites at once.
It wasn’t an easy decision. For years, my lawyer brain had told me that “real lawyers” do one-to-one work. But my business brain, and my mum brain, knew that focus would give me more space, more energy, and more opportunity. It is also where my joy is, in this work, not the client-facing work.
The outcome
The results were immediate and dramatic.
1. Business boomed
By specialising in one thing, I became known for it. Ready to Boss Legal has become the go-to for contract templates and legal resources in Australia. Instead of chasing clients, they began to find me. Not only that, other lawyers found me to white-label or create templates for their own template shops or offerings within their firms.
2. I streamlined my systems
Without the constant interruptions of bespoke client work, I could build clear workflows. I developed repeatable processes for drafting, publishing, and selling templates. Every system became smoother, and I had space to improve the customer experience. I also had fewer debtors. Everyone pays up front before they download.
3. I created repeatable excellence
When you do the same thing over and over, you refine it. My templates are sharper, clearer, and more practical than they ever were before. I’ve had the chance to test, tweak, and perfect them in a way I never could when I was spread thin. I have also started to create a range of business resource templates that complement the legal templates (more on that below!).
4. I gained flexibility
Perhaps the most important benefit: freedom.
By focusing on template publishing for the general public and business to business services for other lawyers, I built a business that works with my life, not against it.
I can be there for my family, volunteer at athletics, and even take on exciting side projects, because my core business runs smoothly and earns an income when I am sitting on the track sidelines.
The bigger lesson
The carnival and my own business pivot share the same truth: you can’t be everything to everyone.
When you try to run three races, you’ll do all of them moderately well. You’ll survive, you’ll qualify, you’ll get by. But you won’t create the space to win your best event.
In business, that means:
Choose a lane. You don’t have to offer every service, every product, or every package. Pick the one that lights you up and that your audience truly needs and be the best at that.
Specialise. Becoming known for one thing builds your reputation faster than being average at five things.
Let go. Sometimes, you have to walk away from good opportunities to create great ones.
It’s not about abandoning everything else forever. My son may still run the 100m or 200m at other carnivals just for fun. But when the moment counts, he knows where his energy belongs.
What this looks like for your business
So how do you apply this lesson to your business? A few ideas from me while I am feeling philosophical:
Audit your offerings. Are you running three races at once? Which one is your zone of genius (your 400m)?
Ask yourself what you’d keep if you could only do one thing. That answer usually points to your “best event.”
Streamline your systems around that focus. Build templates, workflows, and automations that make it repeatable.
Say no to distractions. New opportunities will pop up. Ask: does this align with my “one thing”?
Plan, plan and plan again. We have introduced a business plan at the Ready to Boss Legal Template shop to make this bit easy (you can find it here).
My Challenge to You
I’ll finish this post the way I finished my conversation with my son after his carnival:
“You can do a lot of things pretty well. Or you can choose one thing, focus, and do it brilliantly.”
In Ready to Boss Legal, my one thing is templates and legal publishing. For my son, his one thing is the 400m. For you, it might be coaching, designing, teaching, consulting, or creating.
So here’s my challenge, answer this question:
What is the one thing you do well in your business?
Hit reply, tell me in the comments, send me an email, or share your story with me on Instagram (@readytobosslegal). I’d love to hear it.
Because when you stop trying to run every race and focus on winning your best event, you don’t just compete, you dominate. And our new business plan template? It’s designed to help you do exactly that.
