Martin founded KLM Solicitors back in 2015 and now has four offices in Queensland, including one in Brisbane CBD, and 23 staff.

Last year, Martin’s husband was diagnosed with cancer and eventually passed away in March this year.

Sixteen months on from the initial diagnosis, Martin said that in terms of keeping her business running while in the midst of an ongoing personal crisis, her team was everything.

“I am so tremendously lucky to have picked the team that I picked prior to my husband getting sick. Jane Bruxner, my business partner, and I had another business partner until the end of last year that was tremendously helpful as well. But I also had a senior team that really stuck in around me and really got in and helped. And on top of that, I had barristers and other sole practitioners reach out to assist where I couldn’t mentor because I was trying to juggle everything at once. I was taking client calls from hospital corridors and I tried, because I’m a control freak.

“But at one point, I realised I had to let go. And it was towards the end, unfortunately, of Mike’s life that I realised, and again, I wasn’t believing that he wasn’t going to make it until towards the end of his life. But at that point, I decided I had to step out, and it had a tremendous impact on everybody in my team, and, you know, I’ve encouraged them to go and talk to people about it as well or to talk to me about it,” she said.

Martin was also focused on making sure that those in her business knew she was still around and that she still believed in her business being successful.

“Job security is very important, and you just gotta make sure that [your employees] know that you have still got that. And making sure you’re building the right team around you and that you’ve got strategies in place that if something does happen, that you become sick or someone close to you become sick, that you’ve got people around you that can take over, it’s really worthwhile thinking about, and not many people want to think about it because it’s not a nice thing to think about,” she said.

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“But if you don’t think about it, you can come really unstuck, especially boutique and small-business owners, because you might not have 23 staff like I do, you might only have three people. Think about what would happen if you weren’t there, what your contingency plan would be and make sure that you’ve got a backup plan for your business.”

Being able to let go and delegate effectively is of the utmost importance for a small-firm owner – even just for the sake of looking at the bigger picture and focusing more on growth than day-to-day operations.

“You might think that you’re the be-all and end-all of your business, but the people that you’ve got working around you are so capable and important in your business, and you’ve got to give them, they will be wanting to help you. If they’re good staff, they’re going to be wanting to help you. And you have to give them that because it gives them the confidence that they can do it as well. And my business grew in a different way in the last 12 months in that my business partner stepped up so much that I trust her implicitly, I always have,” Martin said.

“But I now see a tremendous future for her and I with the future of KLM. And I also see a different future for me because I’m not so entrenched in my everyday practice now. I’m able to take a step back from that. Cause I know there are other people out there that are capable of doing it for me. And I can start now again focusing on my business development and what KLM’s going to look like in the next 12 months to five years.”

Going through something like this has also given Martin an insight into what it means to be a positive and moral leader within her business – as well as the importance of looking after yourself.

“I want to make coming into work every day a positive thing for everybody in my business. I don’t want them to resent coming to work and feeling flat and burnt out. I don’t think it’s what any employer really wants, but it’s overlooked so much in terms of making money, really. And I think it needs to be addressed more significantly, especially, and I know there’s lots of practice areas that have high burnout, but our practice area, in particular, and dealing with vicarious trauma, it’s overlooked so much that, you know, you’re dealing with other people’s personal issues every day,” she said.

“Psychologists and psychiatrists, for example, who deal with talking to these people, have compulsory counsellors that they work with. Lawyers are overlooked in that regard. We don’t get those personal counsellors or, you know, we get a couple of sessions every year from our law societies, but if you don’t look after your own personal health, then it’s going to have a long-term impact on you.”

The transcript of this podcast episode was slightly edited for publishing purposes. To listen to the full conversation with Kelli Martin, click below: