Keren de Zwart of Irvine, CA on Life, Lessons & Legacy

We recently had the chance to connect with Keren de Zwart and have shared our conversation below.

Keren, really appreciate you sharing your stories and insights with us. The world would have so much more understanding and empathy if we all were a bit more open about our stories and how they have helped shaped our journey and worldview. Let’s jump in with a fun one: What are you most proud of building — that nobody sees?
I’m most proud of building a cutting edge law firm serving hundreds of small business clients while simultaneously being a present mother to my two kids. Being able to be on the sports fields, spending quality time with them as they grow up, and ensuring that they are loved while still being able to run a successful law firm is my ultimate flex.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
Hi! I’m Keren de Zwart, founder of Not Your Father’s Lawyer, a law firm dedicated to small business owners through 1:1 flat-fee legal services, niche contract templates, and legal membership services. NYFL is dedicated to providing access to information and affordable legal services to help small business owners feel confident about the legal aspects of their business. As a corporate and securities attorney for the past 16 years, I’ve taken the work I did in a traditional law firm setting, including taking companies public and raising millions of dollars in private offerings, and turned that knowledge into a customer service-focused firm dedicated to small businesses.

Thanks for sharing that. Would love to go back in time and hear about how your past might have impacted who you are today. What did you believe about yourself as a child that you no longer believe?
Growing up, I never thought of myself as a creative or an entrepreneur. I always wanted to be a lawyer and thought I would just work for a firm or a company. A few years into practice and as a young mother, it became really clear to me that it was more challenging to be a successful attorney in a traditional sense as well as a present parent. Running my own business initially felt like failure–like an admission that I couldn’t “cut it” in the traditional legal world or the path that I thought was the right one for me. I didn’t think I was creative or a risk taker, and in my mind, that’s what was always required to be a successful business owner. But after 11 years of running this business–nearly 7 of which have been full time–I realize that even those of us who are more risk averse can still be successful business owners and entrepreneurs, and creativity is more than just art and design.

What fear has held you back the most in your life?
Fear of failure has absolutely been the biggest hurdle in my life. As a perfectionist people-pleaser, it has been a real learning curve to learn to take risks–however calculated–in business and in life.

So a lot of these questions go deep, but if you are open to it, we’ve got a few more questions that we’d love to get your take on. Is the public version of you the real you?
Yes. It’s always been so important for me to be transparent about my business and my life, and that includes all the challenges of running a business and being a parent, a friend, a spouse, and a professional. I try to share my experiences in the context of the privileges afforded to me (like a second income from my spouse that allows me to take financial risks that not everyone can), and share openly about the challenges I feel as a person who is so deeply committed to having a career and a business and not always feeling the fulfillment of parenting like those around me might.

Thank you so much for all of your openness so far. Maybe we can close with a future oriented question. If you retired tomorrow, what would your customers miss most?
I think my customers would miss my approach to practicing law as a service-focused business. Although many lawyers and firms are starting to come around, it’s still considered rare to treat legal services as a customer-first experience. The way I view my job is to be in a support position to the business owners. They are the real experts, and my job is just to help them navigate the legal implications of their expertise. My clients know they get access to education and information, and they get to work with a lawyer who is approachable and friendly and who sees the legal support I provide as a partnership. This is what makes my business unique.

Contact Info:

Image Credits
Cami Donahue (for headshot images)

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