Ally Lozano isn’t your typical lawyer. Ally started on the conventional route of finishing law school and taking a job at a firm as an associate, starting at 28. However, she soon realized that the path to success as a lawyer is hardly linear. Most lawyers actually start off in relatively low-paying entry positions and the path to financial freedom is long. Additionally, Ally began to realize that as a female lawyer in a male-dominated industry, the odds were stacked against her and her other female colleagues. This was when she discovered that a blend of entrepreneurship and law practice may be her calling.
Ally’s Career Journey
Ally made the decision to quit her job at a firm and go solo. This would put her in control of her career growth and revenue. Also, she was now 7 months pregnant and realized she wanted more independence when it came to where and when she worked. She began educating herself in areas that law school hardly touched such as legal marketing, scaling a business and sales. Within several months, Ally had scaled her practice to six figures in income. Two years later brought the seven figure mark. Today, Ally’s immigration law firm, Abogada Alexandra, generates 8 figures annually and employs a full team. She also spends time coaching other female lawyers and entrepreneurs who want to follow the same path. We caught up with her to learn how she figured out the model to scaling her 8 figure practice that she started at 28 years old.
How did starting your entrepreneurial journey at a young age impact your approach to success?
Ally Lozano: I believe that starting my entrepreneurial journey at 28 allowed me to be open-minded and bring creativity to my business. I like to say that I gave myself an MBA by reading all of the latest business books and then instantly implementing changes into my firm. By breaking the mold of the way law is always practiced (both in my legal approaches to cases as well as in my business practices), I was able to “disrupt” the legal industry. I believe that youth was on my side in that I wasn’t as afraid of what people would say or think- I felt the freedom to just jump in and give it a try.
What is your advice on taking the risks of starting a business while one is young?
AL: Risk = success. You must take the risk. You have to push past the fear and just keep going. In fact, fear is how you know you are going in the right direction. When you are young, you have everything to gain and nothing to lose- everyone makes mistakes in their 20’s that are forgotten by their 30’s. It means that even if you feel that extreme pressure for “perfection,” you have years to actually figure it out.
The sooner you can make mistakes, the better. It is what will allow you to get to the next level in your business.
Is it better to stick to one niche or try multiple things while you’re young?
AL: As a multi-passionate entrepreneur, I advise to try different things- but with the caveat that you need to follow through. You don’t want to chase down every passion project and leave tons of things unfinished. At the same time, you want to test and try things out. Failing in one thing sets you up for success in another. Plus, you must free your mind so that way you can fully dive into the thing that works. I never thought I would stay in the legal industry but trying other things along the way were what allowed this to be successful.
What are some of the blindspots that under 30 entrepreneurs should be aware of?
AL: Perfectionism. If you are trying to wait until something is “perfect,” that day will never, ever come. You must just launch. Take action. Know that it isn’t perfect now and will never be. I grew a company to 8-figures by the age of 36, and it still isn’t perfect. I waited longer than I should have to really give it 100%.
What’s the one lesson you wish you knew before 30 about growing a company?
AL: I wish that I knew how important an executive team of experienced, seasoned professionals are. I highly recommend that you have a Personal Financial Planner, CFO, HR director, Business Manager, and Operations Manager as soon as possible. I deeply regret not bringing on these positions sooner.
How do you balance between long term and short term planning while scaling?
AL: Because I am scaling so quickly, my long term plans feel only about 6-months long right now. I have the big picture of where I am going, and then laser-focused goals, plans, and actions that will get me there.
