My guest on today’s podcast is Joel Ankney. Joel is the founder of Ankney Law- a successful law firm specializing in helping entrepreneurs buy and sell businesses, as well as commercial real estate transactions and small business support. What is unique about Joel is that he was elected Top Attorney in Coastal Virginia and even his peers selected him as a Virginia Legal Elite attorney multiple times. What is even more impressive though is his humility and honesty in this conversation as he discusses his highs and lows including anticipatory anxiety that comes from running a business even today. In this episode Joel speaks about what it was like making the jump to starting his own practice at a time in life when he and his wife had four boys ranging in age from one to thirteen. How he and his wife prepared and what it was like in those early days navigating client acquisition and marketing. We talk in depth about marketing including how Joel has self-published a few books and how that has propelled his law practice by positioning him as an authority in his niche field, while also allowing him to discover new pieces of himself and finding a passion for being an author. And be sure to listen to the end as Joel shares how he defines success today, and how his definition of success has been fluid and has changed throughout his career. So with that introduction I hope you enjoy this episode of the Self-Employment Success Podcast with Joel Ankney.