Lawyers wanting to do their own thing will need to be confident enough to ignore the ever present threat of failure. Ex-solicitor now business owner David Salter explains.

Setting up a new business can come with many risks as well as many rewards. The risk of not making any money was heavy on my mind when I gave up legal practice to start my own business. But what I feared most was failure and, more specifically, failing without gaining any wisdom from the experience.

"The fear was that of giving up at a point when I hadn't learnt anything. If I'd just had one go at starting my business, then failed and gone straight back to legal practice, that would have disappointed me. Many entrepreneurs fail a number of times before they actually succeed.

"I think the greatest difficulty for most new business owners coming from the legal profession is all the new things you have to learn. Lawyers are used to dialling a number for their IT support, accountancy or marketing departments, and their insurance is organised for them. But when you work for yourself you don't have those support systems yet have to very quickly get a grip on all aspects of your business, some of which might not be your particular forte. There's a lot of learning before you can even start to generate an income."

But loving what you do will help push you through to success and a clear business vision can help you keep in sight the goals you're trying to achieve - goals such as job satisfaction, being your own boss and seeing your efforts mature into success.

If you persevere you'll get such a great sense of satisfaction and pride from having created a business that works, from creating jobs for other people and from winning clients, something that most lawyers wouldn't get to do until they reach partnership.

There are financial rewards too, especially when you have a low-overheads business - one that doesn't take significant financial or time investment to develop. And it's good too to have the opportunity to direct money how you wish it to be directed, by letting your business help charities which have a personal meaning for you, your family or your friends."

The learning curve most new business owners experience can, of course, also be a reward.

"I know so much more about the world now compared to two years ago when I first started my business - I was pretty na‹ve I think.