Here's How I Split DIY From Representation.
Not every client needs full representation, and I say so when it's true. A bike shop owner came in with two MCA positions and one good question. Which one can I handle myself? We spent an hour sorting it out, and the answer saved him half my fee. Hybrid cases are my favorite honest work.
Neighborhood shop, repairs plus retail, $61,000 across two advances. One position small, current, cooperative funder. The other larger, defaulted, already showing lawsuit signals. Same owner, same business, two completely different negotiations. The file told us how to split the work. Files always do, if you listen.
For the small position, I coached instead of taking over. We built his packet in my office. Revenue proof, hardship letter, written offer anchored low with math. Then the part I offer every DIY-leaning client. A mock call. I played the collector, objections and all, and he practiced until the answers sounded boring. Boring wins negotiations. Excited loses them.
He called the funder the next week and settled $22,000 for $9,000 in three rounds. Three phone calls, no attorney on the line, forty-one cents on the dollar. He sent me the release before signing, which was our deal. I reviewed it, blessed it, charged one hour. He tells people he did it himself. He's right. Coaching isn't doing.
The second position was a different animal. Defaulted, lawyered on their side, suit filed six weeks into our work. That's the half he hired me for. Answered, ran discovery, found the padding, settled $39,000 claimed for $15,000. DIY would have drowned there. Representation barely broke a sweat. Different game, different equipment.
Total cost to him: one hour of coaching plus a reduced-scope engagement. About forty percent of a full two-position fee. The deciding factor wasn't intelligence or courage. It was matching each position to the right weapon. Simple and current means DIY-able. Sued means lawyered. The file draws the line.
If you're weighing the same question, start with the honest version. Not can I DIY, but which positions can I DIY. Read the company versus firm versus DIY breakdown with your own file open. Split the work where the file naturally splits. Most files split cleanly.
One more thing. Prepared owners negotiate. Represented owners litigate. Smart owners figure out which half they are before spending a dollar. He did, and the bike shop never missed a beat. The hour of coaching was the best money he spent in the whole matter.