Get Creative Instead of Quitting Your Day Job

Nada graduated law school in 2009, during an economic recession. 

A major planner, Nada quickly discovered her plan A of going in-house at a company was not going to work out. 

Or her plan B or C…

For a year, she took any job she could. She did personal injury and covered court appearances for other attorneys. She did bankruptcy law, trademark filings, and copyright registrations. She did whatever she could to get experience and make money. 

Finally, she landed a full-time job in civil litigation. She did that for a couple of years before she ultimately reached her original goal of becoming an in-house counsel for Franklin Templeton. 

It was a windy road to get where she wanted. 

But this turned her into the kind of person who could see multiple options ahead of her instead of just one. 

It built her stamina, made her nimble, and forced her to stay focused on what she really wanted, despite obstacles coming her way. 

Because things were so tough for her that first year, Nada got used to keeping clients on the side. She found clients through family and friends who were giving her the work she actually wanted, which was working on contracts. She grew to love the shuffle of a day job and a side job. She loved the diversity of having multiple projects to work on. 

When the pandemic hit in 2020, Nada was craving human connection, especially on the professional side. She noticed people posting educational content on LinkedIn, so she started posting contract negotiation tips. The comments and feedback she got was overwhelmingly positive. 

“There’s something here,” she thought. People were hungry for information and education around contracts. 

So she kept posting about contracts on LinkedIn until eventually, her following started to grow. 

Then she thought, “Well, what if someone wants to search for a particular post and can't search by topic on LinkedIn?” That’s when she built her own website on WordPress and started a blog: Contract Nerds. 

Nada didn’t know it at the time, but she was building a business. 

Today, Contract Nerds is a resource hub and a community created by contract experts for all types of contract professionals to come and learn more and have fun with the content. 

Having a creative outlet on the side has made Nada happier in her career as an in-house counsel, because she’s not starving for creativity during the day. She knows that at night, she can go work on Contract Nerds. 

You can listen to our full conversation on my latest podcast: Get Creative Instead of Quitting Your Day Job.

I just loved this conversation with Nada. 

So many lawyers have this whole creative side they don’t get to tap into very often. 

Practicing law can be so cut and dry, that all our creativity gets snuffed out. We shut that side of our brain off. 

But I’ve seen the power of one LinkedIn post where someone speaks from their creative side and it strikes a chord with people. Somebody was waiting for them to speak up. 

If you’re feeling stuck or unfulfilled in your law career, maybe you don’t need to change jobs entirely. 

Maybe you just need a side hustle or creative outlet that enhances and enriches your job as a lawyer…

You can do the job you’re good at, but then have something else on the side that gives you what you don’t get from your day job. 

There are SO many ways to have a fulfilling life and career. This is your permission to think outside the normal boxes they gave us in law school and set your life up the way you want. 

Here’s where you can find Nada: 

LinkedIn: Nada Alnajafi

Website: Contractnerds.com