[00:00:00] Dewnya Bazzi: Man, I want to be a lawyer ever since I was six years old. My parents called me the attorney in the family. So it was like straight line. I’m gonna be the attorney, the first attorney in my family.
[00:00:09] Dewnya Bazzi: Like there was no other attorneys. My parents were immigrants. So, you know, my sister was the first one to graduate college and then me and So, I always knew that this was the path for me. When I finished law school, my plan was to be like a sports agent or a corporate lawyer. That was the plan.
[00:00:27] Dewnya Bazzi: That’s what I wanted to do. I never wanted to do personal injury a day in my life. But my brother got into a very serious car accident. Right around the time I passed the bar exam and he broke his hip and ankle on opposite sides. Couldn’t walk for six months. They wouldn’t operate on him for four days until like we got a claim number from the insurance company and the second they knew that they were going to pay, then they put us up in a villa suite and I’m like, man, like this isn’t right.
[00:00:52] [00:01:00]
[00:01:21] Jonathan Hawkins: All right. Welcome to family partner podcast. I’m Jonathan Hawkins, your host. We’ve got a real treat today. Today’s guest, Dunja Bazzi. She is doing some really impressive things. So I’m excited to hear what all she’s doing and what she’s going to be doing. So, Dunja, why don’t you introduce yourself?
[00:01:40] Jonathan Hawkins: Tell us where you are, what your firm is, what you do, how big it is. That sort of thing.
[00:01:45] Dewnya Bazzi: Awesome. Hey, guys. My name is Dunya Bezzi. I am an attorney from Michigan. I started my core business was personal injury is my bread and butter. That’s what I love. And I’m passionate about. But our firm developed into a [00:02:00] full service law firm where I hire experts. every field of law and then build teams around those experts.
[00:02:05] Dewnya Bazzi: So we’re able to service our clients in a holistic approach. We have currently, we scaled down a little bit and I’ll talk about that journey as well of the kind of the pivot from high volume to high value cases. But we have eight attorneys now and about 55 staff members currently Yeah, and I’m excited to be here, excited to talk to you.
[00:02:26] Jonathan Hawkins: Getting big. That’s big. Yeah.
[00:02:29] Dewnya Bazzi: We were bigger, so I feel small now, but but I think it’s more purpose driven now, so it’s really cool.
[00:02:34] Jonathan Hawkins: So talk about real quick. Do you have one office? Do you have multiple offices, virtual, half virtual, half in office? How’s that set up?
[00:02:42] Dewnya Bazzi: So I have a huge, like, virtual team a lot of offshore team members as well I’m a little bit of like a tech inspired guru, and I’ll talk about that journey and how I became that because I was not that before. But we have an office our main headquarters is in Dearborn, Michigan.
[00:02:59] Dewnya Bazzi: We [00:03:00] have a small Tampa, Florida office. Where we, Partner with other law firms across the nation to be able to service our clients that are coming from other parts of the U. S. So really looking at partner, strategic partnerships with other law firms as well. So that’s kind of how we’re growing right now.
[00:03:15] Jonathan Hawkins: That’s cool. So how did you get started in the law?
[00:03:20] Dewnya Bazzi: Man, I want to be a lawyer ever since I was six years old. My parents called me the attorney in the family. I always used to like, my older sister used to defend her to my parents and they called me the attorney in the family and it literally stuck ever since then. So it was like straight line. I’m gonna be the attorney, the first attorney in my family.
[00:03:38] Dewnya Bazzi: Like there was no other attorneys. My parents were immigrants. So, you know, my sister was the first one to graduate college and then me and So, I always knew that this was the path for me. When I finished law school, my plan was to be like a sports agent or a corporate lawyer. That was the plan.
[00:03:57] Dewnya Bazzi: That’s what I wanted to do. I never wanted to do [00:04:00] personal injury a day in my life. But my brother got into a very serious car accident. Right around the time I passed the bar exam and he broke his hip and ankle on opposite sides. Couldn’t walk for six months. They wouldn’t operate on him for four days until like we got a claim number from the insurance company and the second they knew that they were going to pay, then they put us up in a villa suite and I’m like, man, like this isn’t right.
[00:04:22] Dewnya Bazzi: Like both sides isn’t right. Like, that wasn’t right that, you know, the way we were treated from the beginning, and then once they started paying, the way we were treated is also not right. So I said there’s a reason that, like, God put this in my life at, like, this moment, like the second I’m picking my first job in my career path, essentially.
[00:04:39] Dewnya Bazzi: So I got a job at a PI firm I was there for about a year before I started my own firm, and I loved every second of it. It was a chaotic firm, like nobody showed up to work, there were like thousands of files, so I got a crash course like real quick that’s how I learned. But like I love the clients, I love the courtroom, I love negotiating with adjusters, I love [00:05:00] like, you know, kind of like beating up insurance companies, like I love the whole thing.
[00:05:03] Dewnya Bazzi: So, I was like, this is it.
[00:05:05] Jonathan Hawkins: Well, it sounds like, I mean, it was probably your destiny. First thing you were led to where you are and you’re one of the lucky minority that sort of falls into the area they love right at the beginning. Sounds
[00:05:19] Jonathan Hawkins: Most people like me, you sort of have to meander a while, then you sort of find out where you should be, but you got right into the beginning.
[00:05:25] Jonathan Hawkins: So you were at that firm for about a year and then you left there to start your own gig. What led you to do that? And how did you have the confidence to say, all right, I can go do this.
[00:05:38] Dewnya Bazzi: Who has confidence? Let’s be real. It’s not really about the confidence is about just like trusting that process and taking that next step and knowing that like you can be scared as hell on that with that journey, but you’re going to do it anyways. So like there was obviously like a lot of fear around starting.
[00:05:57] Dewnya Bazzi: your own practice, you know, it’s a business, right? Essentially. [00:06:00] So, first I was still a newbie attorney, so I had a crazy amount to learn still. The firm that I was at really wasn’t giving me any of the mentorship that I was like seeking at the time. And honestly, it wasn’t the plan. Like, I wasn’t like, Oh, I wanted to go hang my own shingle.
[00:06:16] Dewnya Bazzi: I want to start my own business. I want it to be my own boss. Like I hear I hear students now when they’re talking about it and like, that’s truly what they want. For me my dad was an entrepreneur, so he had his own businesses. I saw the struggle. Okay, so, like, I knew, like, there were, like, my dad would have a business and hit rock bottom, he’d start over and hit rock bottom, he’d start over, right?
[00:06:38] Dewnya Bazzi: Like, I was in that, like, I used to go with him when I was eight years old, like, to fill the coolers at the gas station, like, I would, like, I saw it, and that wasn’t really the, It wasn’t the plan, right? But I knocked on pretty much every door, every law firm door, of like, the community members that have like made it in my city or around the area, and like, nobody would give me a [00:07:00] chance.
[00:07:00] Dewnya Bazzi: It was crazy. And, I literally would say, hey, I’ll work for free. Cause I was working about an hour away with people I didn’t know and like, they never showed up to work. And I was like, this is just a toxic environment, like I need a, I need to find a better route, right? And,
[00:07:16] Jonathan Hawkins: so hold on. You said I’ll work for free and they still didn’t take you up on it. Oh man.
[00:07:21] Dewnya Bazzi: no! But hey, John, like, this is the funny part. Like, two years in, when I started, like, to make a name for myself, and they started noticing, like, hey, like, what’s this girl doing? Then they started knocking on my door, like, come, we’ll figure out a fee split. And I’m like, I’m good now. Like, I got it.
[00:07:37] Dewnya Bazzi: You know?
[00:07:38] Jonathan Hawkins: They lost their chance
[00:07:39] Dewnya Bazzi: Yeah. Funny how that happens. But, so it wasn’t the plan, but when I did, I realized, like, I love this, too. Like, and I say, I love this too, because being a lawyer is one thing, but being an entrepreneur is another thing, but
[00:07:56] Jonathan Hawkins: definitely two different skill sets.
[00:07:59] Dewnya Bazzi: I love [00:08:00] it too. I love both of them, you know, and bringing those two worlds together, I think is something that we don’t see that often.
[00:08:07] Dewnya Bazzi: Like you might have a lawyer who owns their own business, but they’re, they don’t have that entrepreneurial mindset. Like they hung their own shingle, but their mindset is entrepreneurial. It’s a very different, like, you know what I’m
[00:08:22] Jonathan Hawkins: Oh yeah. Oh yeah. Yeah.
[00:08:24] Dewnya Bazzi: So anyways here we are.
[00:08:26] Jonathan Hawkins: You know, it’s interesting. I’ve heard this from others that sort of grew up in an entrepreneurial setting and they saw the struggles and you go one of two ways. It seems like you either sort of become an entrepreneur or you go the exact opposite where you are in a corporate big time corporate.
[00:08:42] Jonathan Hawkins: You just want a job because you don’t want the ups and downs. But it sounds like you’re okay with it.
[00:08:48] Dewnya Bazzi: Oh, I love it. Like, I love the like the no ceiling, right? I love the no ceiling and no floor. Like, I could fall hard, like really hard. Nobody’s catching me. Like, I’m going to fall and I’m going to smash my [00:09:00] face. But I’m going to get right back up and know, like, I’m going to be stronger the next time. You know, and just like that constant, I think that mindset has kept me in play because we took a lot of hits.
[00:09:10] Dewnya Bazzi: We took a lot of hits throughout this journey. So like. If I didn’t have that mindset, I don’t think I would be here today.
[00:09:16] Jonathan Hawkins: So let’s talk about the early days you left. Was it just you? Did you have anybody with you?
[00:09:22] Dewnya Bazzi: Yes, I loved, I did have people with me at the time, just like some you know, like law school friends that, you know, we were going to do this together, right? The play is like, we’re always going to do this together. I just want to do it with people that I love. And that’s really where it stopped.
[00:09:39] Dewnya Bazzi: It’s probably not where it should stop. Hindsight is 20, 20. But like, that’s where it stopped and we did it for a while together. But then it kind of like fizzled. They left, they went and started their own thing. And we got, you know, more and more people. So, like, it’s been a journey. With the team, it’s been a journey.
[00:09:57] Jonathan Hawkins: Yes.
[00:09:58] Dewnya Bazzi: fun, but, like, you learn.[00:10:00]
[00:10:00] Jonathan Hawkins: Yeah. So you talked about some of the struggles early on you know, any examples of any things that happened that you just sort of had to figure it out, fall on your face or whatever, before you could move on to to grow from that.
[00:10:13] Dewnya Bazzi: Yeah, so, there’s a few really big lessons I learned. Some with the team and some just with the practice itself. So, I grew, like, double in size every single year since inception. So every year I doubled in size. When we, yeah, until, like, until COVID and a massive law change here in Michigan.
[00:10:35] Jonathan Hawkins: and I’ll say, you know, real quick, just put a pause on that. That is awesome. Number one, but it’s also not easy. I mean, to manage that kind of growth because you’re probably about to get into this, but every time you start doubling, it’s like, it gets crazier,
[00:10:50] Dewnya Bazzi: And I’ll tell you, like, I was okay, but the jump from year four to year five. So, like, we were doubling in size every [00:11:00] year and it was okay. And we were like, I was, you know, I was figuring it out and it was like, you know, you have minor, like, bumps and bruises, but like, nothing like drastic, but the jump from year four to year five. was a massive jump because at that point we had already a high caseload. So now doubling that caseload went like to another level. And my systems weren’t ready. And I didn’t know much about systems, like, if I had to categorize my default setting, I’m a true visionary, okay? So, like, I IDA, I create, like, solutions to problems really quickly, I can take the hits and just keep going, like, I can stand in a fire and, like, be, like, still, like, That’s my skill set, but like systematic approach to things.
[00:11:46] Dewnya Bazzi: I live in chaos and I’m fine living in chaos, but not many people are. So like your team isn’t able to live in the same chaos as you. And once you recognize that systems are the key to growing a business, because [00:12:00] that’s the key to keeping your team sustainable and operating and all of that. Everything kind of changes.
[00:12:07] Dewnya Bazzi: So that jump from year four to year five, really, I felt in year six I took a really big hit because like everyone was burnt out. The systems weren’t ready, so I was trying to like find things and it was like all in my head, you know And then I was like this needs to change like I need to reinvent myself So I brought in a lean Six Sigma Specialist who like was with me for like literally two years and I learned systems like in and out It’s crazy.
[00:12:38] Dewnya Bazzi: The real transformation happened at that point. Now I’m like building my own softwares and stuff. So,
[00:12:44] Jonathan Hawkins: nice,
[00:12:45] Dewnya Bazzi: crazy. It’s so cool.
[00:12:46] Jonathan Hawkins: I mean, it’s true. You brought a good point. You can live in the chaos, but it’s bringing your team along. That’s a big challenge because you know, not everybody can do that. Most people probably cannot, and they probably think this is [00:13:00] crazy. What in the world are we getting into here? So you’ve got to.
[00:13:04] Jonathan Hawkins: Fix your systems and get them coming along. And I, you probably lost some of them too. I would imagine some of them jumped ship. So what happened year four to five? What, where did all the cases come from? Was it just, you know, did you have a marketing system that you turned on or was it just sort of whatever you, whatever foundation you’d built was working?
[00:13:26] Dewnya Bazzi: So I’ll tell you, John, this is like my secret sauce, okay?
[00:13:30] Jonathan Hawkins: All
[00:13:30] Dewnya Bazzi: So I’ll tell you, alright? So, everyone in the legal industry talks about marketing the same way. It drives me nuts. They say you need to spend money on ads. You go to every conference. They’re like, we spent a million dollars on TV. We spent seven million dollars on billboards.
[00:13:44] Dewnya Bazzi: We did a TV ad of this. I’m like, right? Like, that’s what you’re seeing. And even now in the digital space, they’re like, We’re pushing it through Facebook ads. We’re pushing it through Instagram ads. Like, I built my firm to eight figures with zero ad spend. Like, I never [00:14:00] spent a dollar on ads. the way I do it is literally, I gotta figure out a framework for this and I’m gonna, I’m gonna figure out like a simple framework, but it’s, it actually is like super simple.
[00:14:13] Dewnya Bazzi: It’s like, I create pipelines where I like plant seeds in communities that I want to serve, or with people that are serving the community that I want to serve. Okay, so let’s take PI for example. So all my personality attorneys listen up because I like charge a lot of money for this, okay? Okay, so NPI typical marketer Attorneys that are marketing are going straight to direct to consumer to the masses I’m going directly to people who are victims of car accidents.
[00:14:46] Dewnya Bazzi: Those are like your perfect avatar like right, but it could be any Anybody, they could be five years old, they could be 50 years old, they could be, you know, like, it doesn’t matter their, like, economic status, like, you can’t really target them in any way, it’s just whoever’s [00:15:00] in an accident, right? So I said, okay, like, where are these people living?
[00:15:04] Dewnya Bazzi: Like, when they get into an accident, where do they go? And then you think, okay, they go to, like, medical providers, they might go to a hospital, they might go to physical therapy, they might go to chiropractic, they might go to pain management, right? Then you look at all the medical providers, and I was like, okay.
[00:15:18] Dewnya Bazzi: Cool. If they’re going here, out of these medical providers, which medical providers are likely to treat car accident victims? Because not all of them do. And then I narrowed the scope there. So then I started there, right? So then I knocked on every, like, door of every chiropractor, PT, pain doctor that I could find.
[00:15:34] Dewnya Bazzi: I’m like, hey, I’ll take your cases that nobody will take, like your bills, and I’ll try to litigate them, and then I would try them. So I built trust with that community, although I wasn’t really making any money. Okay, because I was taking like the stuff nobody else would take but I was building trust with that community Then I said, but hold on like this is still getting like from a time perspective It’s a lot like I was building relationships with hundreds of these people [00:16:00] across the board.
[00:16:00] Dewnya Bazzi: That’s a lot of like dinners lunches like right? Grassroots effort. I’m like who where can I find common denominators for the next level? Like where I can take five people and nurture and build relationships into them and they can nurture me a hundred relationships Which would nurture me a hundred clients each and then like build this like funnel of like beauty, right?
[00:16:22] Dewnya Bazzi: So then I looked at and I
[00:16:23] Jonathan Hawkins: wait, what’d you call it? The funnel? What’d you call it? The funnel of beauty.
[00:16:27] Dewnya Bazzi: It is beautiful.
[00:16:28] Jonathan Hawkins: love that. I love that. I may borrow
[00:16:31] Dewnya Bazzi: Never called it. I never called it that just kind of came up So I went up and I started seeing a common denominator between like a lot of these providers used outside Billing companies To do their medical billing, but the billers had like a lot of authority is what I found with the medical providers.
[00:16:52] Dewnya Bazzi: So then I started nurturing the medical billers instead. And from each medical biller, they would have like 20 [00:17:00] or 30 or 40 or 50 depending on how big of a practice the biller had. They might have five, right? Medical providers that they really have like a strong relationship with and attachment to. And the providers actually listened to the billers a lot of times when it came to like litigated files. So then, instead of nurturing hundreds of these people, I went up one step and I nurtured ten of these people. And then those ten brought me, like, hundreds of them. And then hundreds of them, then I nurtured them through, like, an event setting, or something like that. I gave them value of some type, right?
[00:17:31] Dewnya Bazzi: Like, new law came out. Hey, I want to Tell all of your medical providers about this new law. Cool, bring them all on a Zoom. Well, now it’s Zoom, but before it was like in person and then I would like tell them about the law and then now they would know, love and trust me and the biller loved me. And then they send their patients, like refer their patients to me or I have my brochures in there.
[00:17:49] Dewnya Bazzi: And then it just created like this massive thing that just like, it took time to get there. Right. So like this isn’t, if you’re looking for like the quick, like reward, [00:18:00] And you’re not in it for the long term, like, this is not the model, but if you’re looking for exponential growth, this is truly the model, like, I’ll stand by that.
[00:18:09] Jonathan Hawkins: Yeah. And then once it turns on, it really turns on. Sounds like.
[00:18:13] Dewnya Bazzi: Yeah. Yeah. And, like, you have an option, like, are you gonna turn it off, like, you know? So at that point, I was like, I wouldn’t even know how to turn it off if I wanted to. Now I know how right but like before I did not know how so it was on and I’m like, oh my god All right. Let’s go. Come on guys You got cases you want to make money But my systems weren’t there and then attorneys got burnt out and then there was like, you know Definitely like backlash from that right?
[00:18:46] Dewnya Bazzi: Although everyone made like a ton of money and like for a moment they were happy But it was not sustainable
[00:18:53] Jonathan Hawkins: So, so you figured out the P. I. practice. And some at some point you started adding different practice [00:19:00] areas. Was that sort of after this, after you figured out P. I. Year four or five or did you do it sort of along the way? How did that come
[00:19:07] Dewnya Bazzi: Yeah it wasn’t really like that. It was more like the attorneys that I initially started with actually had different practice areas that they were focused on. So, I was kind of like supporting and providing resources to those practice areas based on the lead of those attorneys. And that model didn’t really work out well because they didn’t build the same way.
[00:19:30] Dewnya Bazzi: So, like, although I would say, here’s the model, like, it will work, you just need, but it takes effort, it takes time, it takes patience, right? If you don’t have people leading that have the same amount of endurance as you do in that space, like, it won’t, this model will not work, right? So, we didn’t see as much progress, but we saw very slow progress.
[00:19:52] Dewnya Bazzi: in those areas. But then when I started getting people in who recognized the you know, that they [00:20:00] had the same vision, right? Like, had the same vision in their practice areas, it started to grow. Because they use the same model and just like rinse and repeat the same model across practice areas. It works for every practice area.
[00:20:10] Dewnya Bazzi: You just have to think about it a little bit. Like, who is the perfect avatar? Like, where are they living? How can I find them? Go find them, right, and stay, like, live in that community, whether it’s online or grassroots, it doesn’t really matter. I’m replicating the same model now online, which is super awesome, by the way.
[00:20:31] Jonathan Hawkins: Yeah. Yeah. Well, you don’t have to give away your secrets there. You don’t have to give away the secrets there. Yeah. So, you know, you’ve got this entrepreneurial background. You always want to be a lawyer. You went out and started your firm and you’re having the success. And so what is it that’s driving you?
[00:20:48] Jonathan Hawkins: What is it that makes you want to do this? I mean, let me back up. Are you actually practicing law anymore? And if not, when did that switch? And then, and you know, what is it that is driving you to [00:21:00] build this machine you’ve got?
[00:21:02] Dewnya Bazzi: Yeah, so I can tell you about two years ago, I was really high level, like super high level in my business. Like I wasn’t really practicing too much. I had maybe five cases, that’s it, just to keep my, like, feet wet about like, but things weren’t going like the way, okay, so we had massive law change in Michigan, by the way.
[00:21:21] Dewnya Bazzi: I forgot to tell you. So I had a partnership split, COVID hit, and there was a massive law change here in Michigan. The law change in and of itself was going to reduce my margins about 65%. That was my estimated, like,
[00:21:36] Jonathan Hawkins: Oh, man, yikes.
[00:21:38] Dewnya Bazzi: but we had a timeline. We had a year and a half to like, really like adjust and pivot before that was going to take into effect.
[00:21:45] Dewnya Bazzi: So I was like, Oh, let’s pivot. Let’s go. Right. And that caused a lot of, a little bit of friction. Cause I want to re like reinvest in the business too. So I don’t feel that like impact. And then that caused some friction with my partners at the time who ended up leaving. And then [00:22:00] COVID also hit the same time, which means there was no.
[00:22:03] Dewnya Bazzi: Nobody on the roads. There’s nobody on the roads. There’s no accidents. There’s no accidents. There’s no cases. There’s no cases. Now you’re reducing my year and a half timeline of ability to pivot and adjust to like three months, right? Or six months. I didn’t know at the time because we didn’t know how long COVID was going to last.
[00:22:22] Dewnya Bazzi: So all of that happened at the same exact time, which took me from like where I was to like 90 percent reduction. Off the bat. Plus a buyout. Right? Yeah.
[00:22:32] Jonathan Hawkins: is scary. That’s
[00:22:34] Dewnya Bazzi: So scary!
[00:22:35] Jonathan Hawkins: Oh my gosh.
[00:22:36] Dewnya Bazzi: So scary! And I’m bringing it up because you’re saying, what’s your driving force? That was your initial question, right? What’s your driving force?
[00:22:43] Dewnya Bazzi: Most people would have been like, I’m good. I’ll just go like, figure it out. Like I’ll do something else. I’ll go get a job. I have a small, right? Right. And I was like, it’s happening. I don’t care. Like my driving force is [00:23:00] like the fear. Okay. The fear of not seeing how far I can take this thing. Like, the fear of not, like, seeing, like, me laying on my deathbed and saying, man, if I only tried.
[00:23:17] Jonathan Hawkins: I completely relate to that a hundred
[00:23:21] Dewnya Bazzi: Like, if I, you know, like, if I only tried. And most people fear to, like, take the next step to actually try the thing. And it drives me crazy. I’m like, but, like, what if you, like, what if you succeed? You know, like for me not knowing, like, so if I hit one goal, like I have to hit the next one, like, and I have to hit the next one, like, there’s not gonna be like a retirement, like, that doesn’t exist in my mind, like, that’s not gonna happen, right?
[00:23:47] Dewnya Bazzi: Like, I need to know, like, where I can take it. I don’t know where it’s coming from. I’m sure, like, God puts inside of you, like, right? It’s, like, something inside of you, like, your driving force, but, like, that’s my driving force. And I [00:24:00] have, like, A, a sub driving force, I would say, with personal injury in particular because of the story with my family and the need to be able to serve and pour into the people that can’t speak for themselves is like, a huge component of this for me.
[00:24:15] Dewnya Bazzi: So like right now when you’re saying, are you practicing? I am, I’m practicing but I’m, but not 100%, so like I have my files that I’m working on and I stay like, I’m making sure that everything is perfect, like systemized perfectly, like the team is good, like all of that, but I have really good pieces of the puzzle on play.
[00:24:34] Dewnya Bazzi: Not all of them just yet to be able to completely remove myself, but I’m already pouring into like the personal injury attorney community because like just like that model I told you before, like for me it’s about those clients. Like if I can serve more of them, there’s only so much I can serve in my individual capacity as a personal injury attorney.
[00:24:54] Dewnya Bazzi: I could have a docket of how much, and then I’m going to get capped out, and then I’m going to have more teammates, right? But what if I’m [00:25:00] able to pour into the personal injury community like, in terms of the attorneys themselves, change the way they practiced? Not the way they actually practice law, they know how to practice, but the way they deliver a message to a client, right?
[00:25:11] Dewnya Bazzi: The way they make the clients feel, like, that’s going to impact the client’s life so much more. So, for me, if I can serve them, then my impact will permeate, and then You know, I don’t know what the next level of that would be, but for now, like, that’s the stage that I’m in.
[00:25:27] Jonathan Hawkins: You know, I wonder, so I feel the drive. I feel that, that same, I’ve had that same thought, you know, if, you know, I’m on my deathbed or I’m 90 years old, if I make it and I didn’t try. I’m going to be so mad at myself and disappointed in myself. So I’ve got to try now. Part of this, I wonder maybe it’s not causation, but correlation, but you were a college athlete.
[00:25:50] Jonathan Hawkins: So, you know, that, that takes a lot of hard work and, you know, you don’t win them all probably. So tell us about your athletic career.[00:26:00]
[00:26:00] Dewnya Bazzi: Oh, man. So I think my like my life was like in like decade phases, maybe more like 15 years. So like there’s like a good portion of my life where like basketball was literally my life. Okay, so I’m obsessed with the thing that I’m doing when I’m doing it. So like you can tell like I spent a lot of time like working But I literally love every second of it and like it doesn’t feel like a job, right?
[00:26:23] Dewnya Bazzi: Same thing when I was in like basketball, I was like all in I was obsessed with that I learned everything I used to do mental reps. I used to do physical reps like it I was in the gym Like at least a couple hours before everyone would show up and I was there at least a couple hours After everyone would leave.
[00:26:39] Dewnya Bazzi: I just like taking shots all day. Right. And if I would hit like 100 free throws one day, I’d have to hit 110 the next day and 120. Like, I literally set these like goals and milestones for myself to be able to do it. But it teaches you just like that. I had a lot of challenges too, because I don’t look like everyone else.
[00:26:59] Dewnya Bazzi: If [00:27:00] you couldn’t notice. So, there was like. For me, I never look at it like that. Like, okay, like I wear a hijab, like it’s going to be, it’s not a barrier for me. It’s always like an opportunity. Like, but like when you have your college coach who recruited you, unfortunately pass away. And then another college coach comes in to take over the team and then everything starts changing.
[00:27:25] Dewnya Bazzi: And then you’re getting like weird questions. Like, can you even see what that thing on? And like, you’re just trying to play ball. Right. It added like these extra layers of. Complexity, other than the fact of you’re doing two a days or three a days, even like when you’re fasting sometimes during Ramadan and stuff like, right?
[00:27:44] Dewnya Bazzi: Like, these actual, like, complexities that I wasn’t necessarily I think because of my optimistic outlook on life, I wasn’t necessarily, like, prepared for it but it taught me a lot. I remember [00:28:00] one day I was at practice, and I think, like, I had, you know, I was like, I was talking to my sports trainer, like everyone typically does.
[00:28:07] Dewnya Bazzi: They talk to their sports trainer and I said, man, like, like I’m the best shooter on the team. Like, and I legit was, it was data driven. It wasn’t like me, a subjective, like my like super power in basketball was like shooting the lights out. Like I could see it. Stand behind that three point line and just shoot, but like, I would get annihilated every time I would drive because I’m 5’2 right?
[00:28:28] Dewnya Bazzi: So, so I’d be like, man, like, why didn’t coach put me in? Like, we needed a three to win. Like, why am I not in? Like, I don’t get it, right? So I guess he went back and told the coach, and that whole practice, she did everything she could to dismantle me. Like every time I would take a shot, she would be like, and I missed.
[00:28:48] Dewnya Bazzi: I thought you were a good shooter. I thought you could shoot. I thought you could shoot. I thought you could shoot. Right. It was like something I’ve never experienced before then or now. Like, this is like, it’s like literally one practice, but that one [00:29:00] practice shaped me because I ended up breaking down after about like three and a half hours.
[00:29:07] Dewnya Bazzi: Okay. And I walked out, walked into the locker room. And I was so mad at myself. I wasn’t mad at her. I was mad at myself. Because like, how, why’d I break down? Like, who is she? Like, I already know I can’t shoot. Like, I don’t need her to tell me that I can shoot or can’t shoot. Like why did I let her get in my head?
[00:29:30] Dewnya Bazzi: And it took a long time for her to get in my head but still. Like, why did I let, and I literally will not let anybody get in my head anymore. Like, that moment shaped me.
[00:29:39] Jonathan Hawkins: That’s
[00:29:40] Dewnya Bazzi: So like the grit, the high man, like the grit, the hard work, the complexities that came along with it that I wasn’t anticipating. The love for the game, you know, like the love for the game also like, and I still have the same problem, like the love for the game, the love for like what I do sometimes creates blind spots. [00:30:00] I love it so much, right? I’m hardcore plaintiff oriented. I have to bring in a defense mind when I’m prepping for a trial because I’m like, there’s no way a jury is going to believe them. And then they’re like, the jury believes them. I’m like, what the hell is it? Right? So like, I know my, I know myself. I’m self aware at least.
[00:30:19] Jonathan Hawkins: That’s a great story. And I guess, you know, when they changed the law in Michigan and COVID hit and all these things hit, it’s sort of like you go back and you’re like, all right, I’m not it’s on me and I’m going to make it happen.
[00:30:31] Dewnya Bazzi: Yeah. Yeah. And you don’t realize like what shapes you until you like look back at it and you’re like, those are the moments, you know?
[00:30:38] Jonathan Hawkins: Yeah.
[00:30:39]
[00:30:52] Jonathan Hawkins: So, so moving on back to the firm. So, you know, you are doing a great job growing this thing and You’re out there and I was looking at some of [00:31:00] your LinkedIn posts and some of your I guess you have some videos and some talks you’ve given. And there’s something you posted and you said investing in your business equals investing in your future.
[00:31:10] Jonathan Hawkins: And so I guess the first thing is, you know, tell us about your philosophy there, but then on a more concrete level, how do you decide, you know, how you’re going to invest, when you’re going to invest and what you’re going to invest into.
[00:31:25] Dewnya Bazzi: Oh, I just learned this lesson, too. So it’s fresh out of the press. So, when I talk about investing, I’m not just talking about investing like monetary, like dollars. I think that’s important, but I think investing in yourself and your own personal development as like a leader and also on your leadership team is huge because like, if you don’t invest in your own self development, so like I spend a crazy ton of money on masterminds but like, I get so much out of them.
[00:31:52] Dewnya Bazzi: And then I come back and I’m able to share that with my team. I’m able to grow, right? A lot of people don’t want to invest money that [00:32:00] way. They look at it like, I’m going to invest in an ad and it’s going to get me an ROI of 2x and I’m good or whatnot. But they don’t look at it like, I’m leading this, Ship like I need to invest in myself, my own personal development to be able to be a better leader, to be able to be a better business person, to be able to understand the finances.
[00:32:17] Dewnya Bazzi: Right? So that’s how I look at it. Also investment of time. Like it’s the one thing like you can’t like they’re everyone’s trying to be like a four hour workweek, right? It’s I get it if you can if you’re able to truly kill the hustler and create the CEO But then you need to CEO right like then you need to be like strategy Like it’s not that like your time is spent differently, but it’s not spent Like, you can’t expect to build something build a business that’s gonna be a legacy business or anything of that sort if you’re not spending the time in your business or on your business, [00:33:00] right?
[00:33:00] Dewnya Bazzi: So I look at investment in two prongs. One is from a monetary perspective, but second is from a time perspective in yourself and in your business.
[00:33:08] Jonathan Hawkins: And it sounds like you’re sort of like me. Your problem is not coming up with new ideas. So then the question is,
[00:33:16] Dewnya Bazzi: How did you know?
[00:33:17] Jonathan Hawkins: how do you decide which idea to chase? Because if you chase one, that means you’re saying no to everything else. So how, what process do you go through to decide what to go to next?
[00:33:28] Jonathan Hawkins: I have this problem and I’m asking because I need help. I’m chasing squirrels everywhere all the time.
[00:33:33] Dewnya Bazzi: We all have this problem because it’s just who we are. Like it’s how we’re built, we’re builders, right? We’re dreamers, we’re builders, and we’re givers. So I look at us as three components. I think you’re the same. You’re a dreamer, you’re a builder, and you’re a giver. Right? And I just talked about this the other day.
[00:33:46] Dewnya Bazzi: I was like, okay being a dreamer is a problem. It’s great, but it’s a problem because sometimes we have a problem keeping our feet on the ground. Right? Like, where are we today? We’re dreaming, but where are we today? Like, don’t forget about where you are in your business right [00:34:00] now. So, a couple of years ago I like took my feet off the ground.
[00:34:04] Dewnya Bazzi: Like I was dreaming too big, man, like dream it, but be where you are. And I was living in the clouds and I like literally, I don’t want to say neglected my business cause that seems very harsh, but like. It was a, you’re neglecting your business because you’re dreaming. So, that’s the one thing, like, don’t ever neglect the actual business that you’re in and, like, where you are right now, but keep dreaming.
[00:34:29] Dewnya Bazzi: Like, and that balance is not easy. Number two is building. So, like, I’m a builder. I just keep building. Like, done all my posts right now that you’re seeing are posts that I’ve been, like, literally curating for, I don’t, I can’t even tell you how long. Years. Like I built and I built and I built and I built, but what I realized was I was building to a certain point and I wasn’t building to deployment, like all the way through deployment, and I wasn’t building all the way through implementation with my team.
[00:34:59] Dewnya Bazzi: So I would [00:35:00] implement something, some of my teammates would implement it, but it wouldn’t be all the way through, like where the whole company was implementing the thing that I just built. So, I learned, like, a big lesson in this but I think when you build, you need to think of your ideas as, like, how can I create vertical depth within the thing that I’m building?
[00:35:18] Dewnya Bazzi: Okay? So, sure I’m constantly building something new, but I’m building within the same framework of the thing that I’m building. So, so, first you identify what is the actual thing that you’re building. And then you’re like, okay, this is the thing that I’m building. For me, it’s maybe a little bit different than what you would assume.
[00:35:38] Dewnya Bazzi: For me, I’m actually building a pipeline with attorneys and clients, right? Attorneys and clients. Okay, so if I live outside of this pipeline, then getting distracted by shiny object syndrome. And I do all the time, and I have to bring myself back. As an attorney or a client, as an attorney or a client, are you building into like the connector?
[00:35:57] Dewnya Bazzi: Right? Or not? Like if you’re not, [00:36:00] then you’re doing it wrong. Most people think I’m building into like a personal injury practice. Not really. Like it’s a little bit broader than that, right? But like, once you figure out what are you building, making sure that you’re staying within that thing that you’re building and ideating within that thing that you’re building.
[00:36:17] Dewnya Bazzi: So for me, I look at the law firm as like my lab. Because from practicing law, from seeing your team, from seeing the clients, from getting feedback loops, like you start developing more and more ideas. How do I make this better? How do I automate this more? How do I have the clients be better served?
[00:36:32] Dewnya Bazzi: How do I make my attorneys better? How do I do all of these things? And the ideas don’t stop. So you’re not saying, hey, I need to stop all of these ideas because we can’t stop them. stop them. But you’re trying to limit the scope of where the ideas sit by creating like a clearly purpose driven idea of like, what am I building?
[00:36:53] Dewnya Bazzi: And then how am I building it? And then how do I make that thing better and better and better and better? And now you’re creating vertical depth and you’re not going horizontally. [00:37:00] Because if you’re building horizontally you’re only going to get surface level across the things that you’re building.
[00:37:05] Dewnya Bazzi: And then you’re never going to grow, like truly grow exponentially. And it might feel like you’re growing, but it’s Because you might be making a little money here, and here, and then all together it seems like a lot of money. But you’re not really building something that is like, long lasting, and really creating like, like vertical duct and actual solutions within the same thing, like the same scope.
[00:37:26] Dewnya Bazzi: So really niching down and being purpose driven and identifying what are you truly building? Not what does everyone think you’re building? Cause those are two different things a lot of the times. And then staying like in that space. Like I have it, literally I’m looking over here because I’m literally looking at my thing that says pipeline, maturity, network clients.
[00:37:45] Dewnya Bazzi: And I literally have it. Like, right in front of my face, because I have the same problem, and anytime I’m doing something, I look at it, I’m like, is it, does it fit? It does not fit. Okay. So, it doesn’t work.
[00:37:55] Jonathan Hawkins: so, so again, so you’ve got the ideas. Do you have a [00:38:00] person or maybe a couple of people that, that help you implement, you know, or, you know, in the EOS system, it’s the integrator or whatever, you have somebody that’s actually gonna see this thing through because or do you do that too?
[00:38:13] Dewnya Bazzi: So, I do EOS as well. So, the Entrepreneurial Operating System, for those of you that don’t know, and typically in that system you have a visionary and an integrator, right? That’s what you’re talking about. I will tell you, I have I have executioners right now. To tell you that I’ve truly found my integrator, it’s been a struggle.
[00:38:38] Dewnya Bazzi: What I ended up doing is I like really transformed myself. Like how I told you, like I spent the time to create an integrator. person from a person whose default is visionary. So I’m playing both roles sometimes depending on the space. So like in the PI practice, I play both of the visionary and [00:39:00] integrator role because I know it so well, but I would love, and I’m searching if anybody wants to be my integrator, and here’s how crazy I am and like loves me, let me know.
[00:39:08] Dewnya Bazzi: But I’m still searching for that perfect integrator for that. But in my other spaces in the firm, I do have an integrator. And sometimes we flip flop, sometimes they’re actually the visionary in those spaces. I’ve tried
[00:39:21] Jonathan Hawkins: It’s, I think a good integrator is hard to find. So, you know, and you want to. You want to find the right one for you. So, so I understand. So.
[00:39:30] Dewnya Bazzi: I’ve tried a lot, but I’m tough too. Cause like, you see how my mind works. And I think as fast as I talk. So, the integrator literally has to be, like, truly see the vision, truly understand that. Like, the way I’m thinking is gonna be, like, for the future and be able to, like, weave while I’m, while we’re going.
[00:39:55] Dewnya Bazzi: I know it’s not an easy task, but I’ve been, like, really breeding some people within [00:40:00] the organization that, like, know me, have been working with me for several years. And they’re truly, like, awesome in their spaces, but to say, like, I truly have that role figured out, it’s probably been my, like, it’s been a struggle point for me, for sure.
[00:40:14] Jonathan Hawkins: we’ll keep looking. So, shifting a little bit I know just from looking at your stuff that’s out there that, that mentorship is really big for you. I know you are out there mentoring women, Muslim women, probably men too. It’s, you’re really giving back and trying to bring people up.
[00:40:30] Jonathan Hawkins: And I commend you for that, but you know, looking back at your career, is there, are there one, two or three. mentors that you had that really have really that you can look to and say they really helped me get to where I am today. And how did you find him? So
[00:40:47] Dewnya Bazzi: I can tell you, I really I struggled with mentors in the space. Yeah. Yeah. So, like, I look at, like, my grandfather as one of, like, my greatest mentors, right? He taught me indirectly, right? It wasn’t [00:41:00] indirectly or directly, depending on the day. of like what it takes to actually be a good professional.
[00:41:07] Dewnya Bazzi: So that, that was like his role in my life. Like, I remember one time at a wedding, somebody asked me for my business card. I didn’t have one. And my grandfather wanted to like, I will never, I literally created a QR code on my phone that like, like, like it’s my business card because I will never go anywhere without it because of that moment.
[00:41:28] Dewnya Bazzi: Right. In the legal field itself, I had a really tough time finding people to mentor me. Like I told you, my journey of, like, knocking on all these law firm doors, they were turning me away. There were a couple people that really helped. Dave Christensen was one of them. He’s an attorney here and He, I tried a case with him.
[00:41:48] Dewnya Bazzi: So like one of my first cases, I actually coupled with him and tried it. And he taught me so much throughout that process. And he’s been like with me ever since. Like if I ever need anything, he’s always there. [00:42:00] But I struggled to find really good mentors in the space. And it’s probably cause I wasn’t looking in the right places, to be honest.
[00:42:08] Dewnya Bazzi: I didn’t know where to look. But I kind of started seeking outside of the legal industry for mentors. And that’s where I fell upon like. Russell Brunson and like Kent Colvier, who’s in real estate and like, these are the masterminds that I’m in with them and they’re, they’ve been amazing mentors for me on the business side of things.
[00:42:27] Dewnya Bazzi: And just taking from individuals in the legal industry who I like truly respect, like yourself, honestly, like I follow you all the time and I like truly respect you. I’m literally like reading all your posts, I’m soaking it all in. But I struggled for a long time with finding mentors in my space.
[00:42:43] Dewnya Bazzi: And that’s why I think I hold like, whenever I can give like two attorneys or two entrepreneurs, I’m going to give to them because like, I feel like if I had that, like, if I had that 10 years ago, man, like, where would I be right now? You know?
[00:42:58] Jonathan Hawkins: you mentioned Russell [00:43:00] Brunson. You know, that’s a name that I would imagine most lawyers probably haven’t heard of. I’ve read, I think maybe two or three of his, of the four of the, whatever the series, but or maybe three and a half. So I’ve not joined the mass, his mastermind, but I’ve know his stuff and it’s some pretty cool stuff.
[00:43:16] Jonathan Hawkins: So, you know, maybe how did you find him and what led you down that path and how has that helped you? I’m curious how you’ve
[00:43:26] Dewnya Bazzi: Yeah, so
[00:43:28] Jonathan Hawkins: teachings.
[00:43:30] Dewnya Bazzi: yeah, and there’s like really not a lot of lawyers in that space. So it’s cool. So what I found when I went to like legal conferences and stuff is it was kind of like the same stuff like rinse and repeat over and over. And I’m like, I need something like new, like, just like a little bit of like, more open minded, like environment, right?
[00:43:47] Dewnya Bazzi: So I like love the tech space for that purpose, because it has a lot of like, free thinkers. But COVID hit, right? And I told you, like, I had brought in, like, a Lean Six Sigma specialist, and I was already on, [00:44:00] like, the systems, like, spiel. So, like, at that point, I was pretty much, like, done learning about that.
[00:44:06] Dewnya Bazzi: And now it’s like, man, now I need to pivot and learn digital marketing. Because This is a new world. Like COVID, everything shut down. There’s no cases. There’s this new law, like all this stuff is happening. And I’m like, I need to figure out the digital marketing space. So I settled like all my cases, I think in like two months, like I went through everything to settle that anything I could everything else that needed to be tried was like in a set on the court’s docket and nothing was going to happen.
[00:44:32] Dewnya Bazzi: So I really took that time during COVID to just learn. Yeah. whatever I could. So I started researching, like, digital marketing. How can I learn? I’m a lawyer. I need to learn about this space. And I fell upon, like, a YouTube video of his. And I literally binge watched, I think, every YouTube video I could possibly find.
[00:44:51] Dewnya Bazzi: And he has, like, a big summit that’s called Funnel Hacking Live. And that was coming up, it was on [00:45:00] 21, September of 21. I literally never got COVID the whole time. A day before PhonoHackingLive, I literally got COVID. I wanted to die. Imagine I was studying this guy for like. And when I say studying, like my daughter, Medina, like who I like put to bed every night, like was watching the courses like with me and literally calls him my teacher.
[00:45:21] Dewnya Bazzi: Like, so just so you know, like I bit when I study. Right. So I ended up doing it virtually and it was still amazing. And then I did. joined like his first like coaching program. And then like his first coaching program was like, if you go, you have to make a million dollars through a funnel online to be able to get into his inner circle.
[00:45:44] Dewnya Bazzi: So I’m like, what can I do to get into your inner circle anyways? Like, I don’t want to go through the process. Here’s like old Dunya. And they’re like, you got to go through the process. Like, we’re not going to let you in unless you hit this. So I’m like, I have to figure this out. So I ended up hitting that before the [00:46:00] next year.
[00:46:00] Dewnya Bazzi: And then I ended up getting into center circle. So, so awesome. But a lot of the teachings that he teaches is crazy because it basically took kind of these concepts that I was doing grassroots and it like played them online. So like he has a concept called dream 100. So if you guys want to look it up, it’s called the dream 100, which was basically the framework that I told you of how I built my practice. But it was like an online method of doing it. So I’m like, whoa, if he, okay, then maybe it might be a little tweak here, but it’s literally taking the same concepts that I’ve already done grassroots, but now you’re doing it online. So if I can replicate this, then I’ll have it like, right? Like, so, so cool. So much less time.
[00:46:47] Dewnya Bazzi: So you’re compacting time. So like, if you’re compacting time for me, like your goal to me, because it’s the one thing that we can’t buy, right? So, so yeah, so I, I’m in his inner circle. I learn a bunch [00:47:00] of stuff. Some of it doesn’t necessarily apply directly. But you can always find if you’re open minded enough, a creative way to take those principles and like, infuse them in your practice somehow, some way.
[00:47:11] Dewnya Bazzi: Okay. Like, you know, your practice, you know, what works, you know, what works for your clients. You’re just like basically hearing ideas that people are doing in other industries and taking them and like plugging them into the legal industry. That’s so far behind in a lot of these principles, I feel like.
[00:47:24] Jonathan Hawkins: Well, that’s the good thing. Lawyers are notorious notoriously behind. And they’re notoriously got the herd mentality. So, if you something that maybe another industry is using, then all of a sudden, boom, you can get ahead and lawyers are too scared to do that. And they’ll come up with excuses.
[00:47:43] Jonathan Hawkins: Well, you can’t do this and you can’t do that. I’m sure you’ve heard people say it. I hear it all the time, but it’s instead of saying you can’t do this, say, well, how do we tweak it? So we can do that. And how do we make it work? And it sounds like you’ve done that. So, That’s cool. So another thing you mentioned your daughter.
[00:47:59] Jonathan Hawkins: [00:48:00] So your mother, you’ve got I think more than one
[00:48:02] Dewnya Bazzi: I have three,
[00:48:03] Jonathan Hawkins: You have three. Okay. So,
[00:48:05] Dewnya Bazzi: Nine, eight, and five.
[00:48:07] Jonathan Hawkins: young kids. Okay. So how do you balance building this empire that you’re building and being a mom and doing the mom thing?
[00:48:17] Dewnya Bazzi: I don’t balance anything. That’s the secret. I integrate everything that I do. So everyone’s looking for this balance, like balance doesn’t exist. Like I refuse to believe it. Like it doesn’t happen. Like, what are you balancing? Like work or parenthood? Like, no, you can’t like, it’s always parenthood, right?
[00:48:34] Dewnya Bazzi: It’s always the number one thing, like there’s never, but how can you truly integrate everything that you’re doing? So, You never run into a situation where you’re with your kids and you’re not enjoying them. Or like you’re at work and like, you know what I mean? Like there has to be like a true integration of like life.
[00:48:54] Dewnya Bazzi: So, my kids are like true entrepreneurs. They’re literally awesome. They have a company [00:49:00] called Live Fun where they they take adults and kids and like create events where like they have fun together. Okay. They’re the coolest. They’re the coolest kids. But
[00:49:09] Jonathan Hawkins: So, so they’re already running a business.
[00:49:11] Dewnya Bazzi: as where they’re so fun.
[00:49:13] Dewnya Bazzi: They’re literally like the chief enjoyment officer, chief fun officer, chief magical officer, like that’s their, like literally awesome. I swear. But like, why is this so cool? Because like when I’m sitting at the dinner table with them, I’m literally talking to them about real life situations. Like they’ve really helped me get out of some of like my most difficult challenges at the firm.
[00:49:32] Dewnya Bazzi: Because they’re so not filtered. Right? Like, I’m like, Hey, mom, like this happened. What do I do? And they’re just caught throat. Like, what do you mean? Like, they don’t have the same vision. What are you talking about? Right? And then it’s like, I mean, you know, they’re right. But like, you know, but like, I just truly feel like if you integrate your life and it’s not like this clear, like, Leave work at [00:50:00] work come home leave a lot of people have that mentality And I just think it’s a flawed mentality like unless you’re miserable at your work because if you’re miserable at your job Then definitely leave it at your work Right and you should probably find something else to do with your life because we only have so many years But if you truly love What you do, like find a way to integrate it, find a way to like, make them a part of it, my daughter Medina, but for COVID would have still been with me at the office for like probably another year.
[00:50:29] Dewnya Bazzi: So I had Medina on a Thursday on a Monday. She was in my office. I looked at her. I’m like, Medina, it’s a pivotal moment. You know, I was like, the firm was growing. That was like, you know, the time I was telling you about, like, it was really challenging. Like I couldn’t be awake. So I set up a nursery in my office, and she came to my office, she was four days old, and she stayed with me for a whole year at my office.
[00:50:55] Dewnya Bazzi: She’s had meetings with me, like when you talk to her, she’s very articulate. It’s because the attorneys [00:51:00] used to come and like vent to her, I swear. I swear it has something to do with it. But she’s also very sassy, so that probably has something to do with it. But like integrating them as much as you can, and don’t sacrifice one for the other. Because then you always feel like you’re sacrificing. Like, I sacrificed my career for my kids. Or, I sacrificed my, spent time with my kids for my career. Like, no, there’s not a reason. Like, you can integrate it and like, be present in the moment of like, where you are. If you’re with your kids, truly be with your kids.
[00:51:31] Dewnya Bazzi: Like, truly be with your kids. Like, from 5 to 8, 30, like, till I put them to bed, I am truly with my kids. And then, I put them to bed and then I plug back in. They’re sleeping, so they’re not fazed by it, right? And I could go work as many hours as I want, and I’m not affecting their time. But like, when you’re with them, be present, and when you’re at work, be present.
[00:51:51] Dewnya Bazzi: Right? I think those two principles, if like, you find a way to integrate as much as humanly possible, and you find a way to like, truly be [00:52:00] present in the moment it really helps. It’s not perfect. I still like, you know, it’s still hard. It’s still, you still run through your challenges. Sometimes if I have to come in and I really like they have something, you know, it’s a struggle.
[00:52:12] Dewnya Bazzi: It’s always a struggle. Like there’s always, but if you’re able to like master those two things and I’m still trying to master them completely, but it’s really helped for me.
[00:52:22] Jonathan Hawkins: it’s impressive what you’re doing. It sounds like you’re training your next generation of lawyers already to join your firm when they grow up. So, so that’s good. So let’s talk about, you’re a big dreamer. We’ve talked about that throughout this conversation, but what’s the vision 10 years, 15 years, you tell me 20 years, whatever it is what’s your grand vision for the firm?
[00:52:46] Dewnya Bazzi: You want my actual vision, or like, I’ll give you my actual vision. My actual vision is to find a way to disrupt the bad in the legal industry.
[00:52:58] Jonathan Hawkins: So what do you mean by that?[00:53:00]
[00:53:00] Dewnya Bazzi: yeah. So you know how like when you were in law school and you told people you were going to be a lawyer and then everyone’s like, no, you don’t want to do that. Yeah. Right? Or you can’t be a lawyer if you’re a good person because then you’re gonna be a liar. Like all these stereotypes that we hear, right?
[00:53:18] Dewnya Bazzi: And then you talk to attorneys who have been practicing for years and most of them tell you, if I were to do it again, I wouldn’t want to do it. I’d pick a different career. It’s too stressful. It’s too whatever, right? That. The fixed mindset, like the boxed mentality of I don’t think the essence of our legal profession was meant to be like this, but I think it’s what it’s developing into and what it has developed into.
[00:53:45] Dewnya Bazzi: Like, there should be joy around the industry. Like, it should be, like, you should, like, it’s a privilege to serve these clients. Like, it’s a privilege for us to be able to serve and give back to, like, the clients that we serve. Where is [00:54:00] that? Like it’s missing, you know? And I think a lot of that has to do with the stress of the industry.
[00:54:05] Dewnya Bazzi: A lot of it has to do with like not being able to do simple stuff, like not being able to automate some stuff in your practice that you’re constantly tediously doing a task that you shouldn’t be doing. Like it’s not like a novel concept, you know? Now the how of the, how do you do that has like evolved and changed over time for me.
[00:54:26] Dewnya Bazzi: And I can’t tell you I figured out the how completely yet, but I definitely think the grand vision is being able to like really like make a dent in that, like change the legal profession to like infuse joy and like service and like love for what we do, make the attorneys better and make the clients better served. And how far can we take that? How much impact can we make? How many of those attorneys can we serve? How many of those clients can we serve? You know, and the more the better. And I don’t think that number ever stops, [00:55:00] like, in my head. So that’s where kind of the need to keep going
[00:55:05] Jonathan Hawkins: Well, I love
[00:55:06] Dewnya Bazzi: from, I think.
[00:55:07] Jonathan Hawkins: I love that. And we haven’t really talked about it, but in addition to building and running a law practice, you also you mentor, but you coach folks also. And so, you know, if there’s people out there that want to reach out to you about, you know, Your techniques and your approach to running your firm, or if they want to hire you to coach them you know, how can they find you and what sort of services do you offer there?
[00:55:34] Dewnya Bazzi: Yeah, so, I never looked at myself as a coach or like, even as a mentor. To be honest, I look at myself as somebody who took like a lot of hits in the industry and learned a lot of lessons. And now I just want to pour back into attorneys in the space because of kind of all the reasons that we talked about.
[00:55:48] Dewnya Bazzi: I’m all like, if you like, just search my name on social on any platform, I’m on all of the platforms. Just DM me. I’m pretty selective about the attorneys that I do like, pour into in this [00:56:00] capacity. Like, I have a lot of, like, value adds online, but on like a one on one standpoint, I just want to make sure that, like, they’re willing to invest in themselves.
[00:56:08] Dewnya Bazzi: They’re actually going to take the principles and adopt them and make sure that, like, the right fit, I’m the right fit for them and they’re the right fit for me. Because that one on one time is like, precious to both of us. They can also email me my email is db, as in boy at lawgroup. com.
[00:56:25] Dewnya Bazzi: So, a as in apple, t as in tom, lawgroup. com.
[00:56:29] Jonathan Hawkins: So, so real quick, you said you’re on all the platforms. I know you’re on LinkedIn cause I see you there. What else are you on? And, you know, I’m not on anything else. So I want to get your opinion as to the other platforms. What do you think about?
[00:56:43] Dewnya Bazzi: I’m on like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok YouTube Shorts, LinkedIn. Those are the main platforms that I’m on. What do I think about it? That’s a good, great question. I think it’s a really, I think social media gets like a bad [00:57:00] rep sometimes, but I think that we’re, we don’t utilize social media appropriately.
[00:57:04] Dewnya Bazzi: So like social media is a tool, right? Like, we shouldn’t, like, be consumed by it, right? So, I only follow things that I really care about or, like, that are positive energy things. I, like, refuse to follow any negative energy things or things that, like, don’t add value to my life. So, when I scroll, even if it’s for five minutes, like, the scrolling in and of itself is, like, a mental, like, mindset shift, like, right?
[00:57:27] Dewnya Bazzi: So, I get a ton of value from my feed. And there’s no, like, Extra stuff on there. So I think that’s like one thing about social media but the way I’ve been utilizing is really honestly just to like pour in and give value like With anything that comes up. So like my day to day, like my journey has been like, I realized a lot of people haven’t gone through a lot of the struggles that I have.
[00:57:48] Dewnya Bazzi: And maybe because I got like a crazy crash course and been doing it for 10 years. But like, how can I avoid those people from having the same struggles that I did, if I can tell them? [00:58:00] what to expect before it comes. Maybe they can avoid it. So I just use social media really as a value add platform to be able to like pour in to anybody that wants to like follow and sees a, sees value in it.
[00:58:12] Dewnya Bazzi: I don’t use social media that much in terms of like, traditional marketing itself. But I also think that people buy from people they know, like, and trust. if somebody knows you and likes you and trusts you and you can develop that through your platforms without actually physically like meeting somebody in person, then they’re more likely to buy any service or product that you have to sell in the future.
[00:58:40] Dewnya Bazzi: So, for me, social media hasn’t been like the means for my client base. I know a lot of people think I get like a crazy ton of clients from there, and I really don’t. Because I don’t utilize it for that purpose necessarily. But definitely the people that are following me and like have built like trust with me.
[00:58:58] Dewnya Bazzi: And like at this point they [00:59:00] know and they like me. If they do need an attorney, they’re going to come to me because they’re constantly seeing me. And they’ve already, I’ve already built that know, like, and trust with them. So I think that’s kind of my approach to social media.
[00:59:12] Jonathan Hawkins: Well, well, I like your videos, they’re really well done and I like the message. I like the messages you’re putting out there. Obviously a lot of them are you speaking to groups, you do a lot of groups, group talks, which I think is a great idea and back to sort of your grassroots approach. So yeah, keep putting those videos out.
[00:59:31] Jonathan Hawkins: Those are nice. Yeah. So we’ve been going for a while now you’ve been I want to be respectful of your time. So, thank you for joining me. This has been awesome. I know you’re going to be doing some really cool stuff and I can’t wait to to watch
[00:59:44] Dewnya Bazzi: You’re awesome, and I can’t wait to flip the script and do this to you so I can hear about everything that you’re doing because you’re killing it to
[00:59:52] Jonathan Hawkins: Anytime.
[00:59:55] Dewnya Bazzi: Awesome, thank you.
[00:59:56] [01:00:00]
