I make it easy to understand your business' financial health // Accounting for B2B service businesses // Founder @ Accountful Advising

If I know one thing about business it's this: good decisions are backed by data.

I learned this lesson early in my career when I watched a promising business nearly self-destruct when an event drained their finances and they scrambled to make payroll. That experience burned into my memory the power of financial reporting & forecasting — and the cost of neglecting it. 

The truth is, financial headwinds are inevitable for growing businesses. But with clear, accurate financial data, those headwinds become manageable challenges, not insurmountable obstacles.

That's why I founded 𝐀𝐜𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐀𝐝𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠. I'm passionate about giving small and medium-sized business owners the same financial clarity that Fortune 500 CEOs rely on to steer massive enterprises with confidence.

𝐖𝐞'𝐫𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐧𝐮𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐫𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬. We're your financial co-pilots, providing:

𝐈𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐑𝐞𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: Crystal-clear reports that cut through the noise and show you what matters most.
𝐑𝐚𝐩𝐢𝐝 𝐂𝐚𝐬𝐡 𝐅𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: Real-time insights into your financial future, so you can plan proactively and make informed decisions.
𝐀𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐈𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬: We don't just give you numbers; we give you strategies to improve your bottom line and fuel your growth.

Our mission is to empower service business owners to make smarter decisions, scale faster, and achieve their ambitions. 𝐋𝐞𝐭'𝐬 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐚 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐭.

Kayla Peña

Business and Career Coach for Lawyers / Author of "Winning in Your Own Court" / Entrepreneur

When I was a kid, I was the only girl I knew whose dream did not involve walking down the aisle in a white dress. I wanted a career. My role models were more Mary Richards than Carol Brady. 

And the coolest career, I thought, would be to become a lawyer. 

Imagine if the girl whose mother called her “impossible” for being argumentative could use that specific trait and be a courtroom lawyer like Katherine Hepburn in “Adams Rib!” My dreams became grander when I was in law school and watched how the lawyers on “L.A. Law” lived. The sexy cases, the gorgeous designer suits, the cars, the prestige. Yes, please!

Well, that dream lasted for three years. Yup, 1000 days is all it took for me to realize that being a lawyer can really suck if all you know is what they taught you in law school.  As soon as I graduated, I began to see all the things I still didn’t know. And they were big, crucial things. How to get clients? I didn’t know. How to make partner? I didn’t know. How to change areas of practice if I didn’t like the first one I picked out of law school? I didn’t know.

And, that’s exactly what happened to me. I didn’t like being a litigator, my first job out of law school, because I had no idea what it was like. After all, we never saw the long hours, sleepless nights, drudgery, or stress on “L.A. Law.”

I realized that although I was helping some of my clients recover millions of dollars, I wasn’t feeling like a winner because I didn’t understand the basic laws of being a successful professional outside of the courtroom and so I quit. I shifted my practice a few times and, after 20 years, I decided to leave the law.

My dad said I was crazy. My colleagues said I was crazy. But I’m not crazy because, now, 14 years later with a successful coaching practice, having helped hundreds of lawyers win more in their careers and lives, I realize that this is my purpose, what I was made to do. I’m grateful I became a lawyer so I could become not-a-lawyer and help the rest because we will always need great lawyers. As a lawyer coach, I’m here to make sure we still have some.

Book a call here: https://achievementbydesign.com/calendar/

Dena Lefkowitz, Esq.

Encouragement works in subtle ways.

Fitness instructors praise us in pre-recorded classes. They can’t see us. We know that. And still, many of us push a little harder when we hear, “you got this.”

Research backs this up. Verbal encouragement increases persistence and effort, even when the person offering it isn’t physically present.

Chris Rock once joked that women run on food, water, and compliments. We’d widen that circle. All of us humans do.

My husband and I stumbled into a gratitude practice long before that phrase existed. Married 35 years, we still thank each other for ordinary things. Trash. Dishes. Errands. We both like being noticed and appreciated for the dumb things we do all the time. 

It doesn’t make chores exciting. We just feel better about our efforts than if they were met with silence..

Clichés exist for a reason. Honey, vinegar, all of that. Flattery goes nowhere.  But a real compliment makes a difference. We love to feel seen.

Even when that praise comes from a recorded instructor and we’re alone on a bike in our living room.

A big part of coaching is recognizing our clients’ strengths before they fully recognize it themselves, and holding up a mirror so they can see what we see.

Dale Carnegie wrote about this decades ago. Encouragement, when it’s honest, changes how people feel and perform.

We don’t have to choose between authenticity and impact. We can offer both. And sometimes the most powerful thing we can give another person is simply to be an accurate reflection.

#lawyers #lawyercoach #CareerCoachingForLawyers
#legalcareercoach #legalprofession

Award-winning author of "Winning in Your Own Court: 10 Laws for a Successful Career without Burning Out or Selling Out" (American Bar Association, 2022). I coach lawyers to win.

When something painful happens, it rarely stays where it started. 

It moves outward into families we never expected to feel connected to. Across state lines, across faith traditions, across racial and cultural histories. Into courtrooms, classrooms, hospital rooms, and long drives home. Into conversations where we realize we are standing inside the same ache, even if we arrived from different places.

When something tragic or disturbing happens, the pain doesn’t belong only to the people at the center. It ripples outward. Families. Communities. Countries. Strangers who get in the car or on a plane because they need to be there.

Many of us live in the outer circles. Close enough to feel the weight. Far enough to wonder what to do with it.

We feel the tenion all across the country. And because we embody the word “united”, we also absorb the suffering of people far beyond our own borders. What happens to you reaches, touches, and compels the rest of us in a million different directions.

So what can we do from here?

We can step away from constant news. It’s not denial.
We can take a beat before adding a charged post.
We can phone a friend. 
We can do things that anchor us - take a walk, be with family, read a book
We can get involved in something we believe in, because action gives our concern somewhere to go..

We are  not all carrying the same weight.
But we are carrying it together.

#CareerCoachForAttorneys #WellbeingForLawyers #LifeCoachForLawyers #Lawyers #LegalProfession

On the drive to argue before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, I apologized to my husband. In advance. Just in case.

Not for nerves.
For temperament.

Six hours in a car with someone preparing for a once-in-a-career argument changes the atmosphere. When our armor goes on, we’re not quite the same.

In trial work, we learn this shift well. Posture adjusts. Our words tighten. Attention is completely focused. 

A different professional version of us steps forward when the stakes are high.

Armor feels familiar. Giving it a rest takes more discernment than wearing it.

That’s why the moment in this video with the porcupines is so beautiful. The quills disappear when there is trust and safety. When a defense is no longer necessary.

That instinct is ancient, wise, hardwired.

We all need places where our armor is not required. A conversation. A relationship. A room. A soft place to land when we need it.

Not because we lack strength. Because we use it all day long.

Professional maturity includes knowing when the armor has finished its work. And we can be ourselves again.

Video credit: Pubity

#Lawyers #CareerDevelopment #ProfessionalIdentity #Trust #WinningInYourOwnCourt

Office presence keeps showing up as a retention issue, even when everyone involved has the best intentions.

That’s the focus of my latest “Coach’s Corner” column in The Legal Intelligencer. Not a take on remote versus in-office, but a closer look at what happens when presence is required without enough thought about what people are actually gaining from being there. And what they give up.

After all, none of us actually has a dog at home loading the dishwasher while we go to work, right?

Early in my career, being in the office meant access. During my first year as a litigation associate, I followed more experienced lawyers as they took depositions, argued motions, met with clients, prepared witnesses, and tried cases. I watched how they handled pressure, adjusted on the fly, and exercised judgment in real time. That experience shaped how I practiced. 

What many law firm leaders are sorting out now is how firm structures can support both development and sustainability at the same time. When those are in sync, strong lawyers are far more likely to stay, grow, and invest for the long term.

Link to the full piece is in the comments.
Video credit: my_Aussie_gal

Sometimes it comes down to the commute.

Believe it or not, it’s often that single expectation of being physically present that knocks good lawyers right out of the practice. It’s like adding one more ball to a juggler who’s got all she can handle.

They are already sacrificing sleep, exercise, socializing, recreation and are multitasking at every turn (see video).

Firms usually frame in-office policies around reasonable goals: collaboration, training, culture, visibility. All of that matters. A lot. But for mid-career lawyers who are also managing caregiving and family logistics, it can mean the end.

Commutes stretch the day. What used to feel doable starts to feel impossible. The change can feel abrupt, even destabilizing. For some very capable lawyers, that shift forces a hard recalculation about how long the profession can fit into their lives.

That’s what I explore in this month’s Coach’s Corner for The Legal Intelligencer: how office-presence expectations influence retention, advancement, and who decides it’s time to step away.

This isn’t an argument against offices. It’s a look at how policies land in real lives. Performance and commitment don’t always show up as a body in a chair, and attendance has never been a reliable proxy for contribution. 

#CareerCoachForAttorneys #LegalProfession #LawFirmLife #WellbeingForLawyers

And I thought my yarn stash was out of control.

Then I watched this.

We all have our obsessions. The things we circle back to again and again. Vintage wind-up toys. DIY transformations. A band we’ll travel for.

From the outside, they can look random. Inside, they usually make perfect sense. They point to what calms us, amuses us, challenges us, or gives us a small hit of wonder.

Our obsessions quietly shape where we travel, who we gravitate toward, what we notice. They sneak into business trips. They influence friendships. They decide which corners of a city we explore and which conversations we stay in a little longer.

They are the grout between the tiles of our lives, holding everything together.

Work and family are big, meaningful tiles. But when they crowd out the grout, everything starts to feel rigid. Functional, maybe. But less colorful. 

Fun is not frivolous.
Curiosity is not inefficient.
And joy does not need a justification.

We need something that pulls us forward with interest, not obligation. Something that gives us steam. Something that reminds us we are more than just responsible grownups.

Sometimes that means going out even when staying in feels easier. Or letting ourselves care about something that will never show up on a résumé. Sometimes it means choosing fascination for no reason other than it feels good.

Our obsessions do not compete with our ambition. They give it oxygen.

And if you feel like you do not have time for you, let’s talk.

Video credit: @jackofftoart

#CurateYourCareer #LawyerLife #CareerLongevity #Curiosity #AchievementByDesign #WinningInYourOwnCourt

We all have instant replay built right in. 

But when it keeps endlessly looping, it can drive us a little crazy and steal our time.

You know the pattern. 
It’s the email we want to claw back. The comment that came out weird. 
And what we we wish we’d said instead. 

Rumination is a familiar mental reflex that deepens over time if we don’t interrupt it. 

And it’s never about something pleasant. Our brains don’t ruminate on praise or smooth moments. They loop the awkward ones. The unfinished ones. The moments we’d like to revise or delete. 

Our brains believe what we tell them. If we keep feeding them embarrassment, threat, or imagined fallout, they start planning around that story. More vigilance. More second-guessing. Less attention on the work actually in front of us. 

For lawyers and other high performers, rumination is a real time waster. It drains energy by revisiting emails we’ve already sent, conversations that are over, and actions that can’t be undone. 

If this pattern feels familiar and hard to interrupt, that’s often a sign it’s worth talking it through with someone who can help you step out of the loop and back into forward motion. A conversation is a good place to start. 

Video credit: positivelybrad 

#overthinking #rumination #lawyermindset #lawyercoach #leadership

By January 21, a lot of us are feeling sheepish about our New Year’s resolutions being on retired status.

Usually, it’s because the calendar changed faster than our habits could.

January doesn’t magically clear our slate. It just hands us the same page with a new date at the top.

And that’s not our character flaw. It’s a design flaw in the story we keep telling about change.

Progress is built in repetition, not in declarations.

Which is why one January ritual really works: tying up loose ends from the year before. Closing open loops. Finishing the half-started things. Letting December actually end. It may not feel major, but it creates room. And room makes change possible.

That’s the heart of what I explore in my new article, “The Myth of the January 1st Reset” in the current issue of ABA Journal.

If January ever made you feel behind instead of hopeful, I’m offering a different way of looking at cycles of change.

And, if you’re in a reflective mood, l’d love to hear what has helped change take hold in your own work or life. Link to the article in the comments. 

#CareerCoachForAttorneys #WellbeingForLawyers #LifeCoachForLawyers #Lawyers #LegalProfession

Thank you The Legal Intelligencer for sharing my new column: "Coach's Corner: When Office Presence Becomes a Retention Problem."

From Dena Lefkowitz, Esq.: "Too many talented lawyers leave not because they want to, but because the structure of firm life made staying unrealistic."

🔗 https://lnkd.in/gHDsdJ5C

There’s a thing we do every January: take a break from alcohol. We call it Dry January and it can feel like a reset, a challenge, or a quiet personal experiment.

That made me wonder what it means about us and our relationship with alcohol, especially in the legal profession. That’s the conversation Laurie Besden, Executive Director of Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers, and I had for my The Legal Intelligencer article, which I share again each January.

Laurie’s journey through active addiction, conviction and prison to recovery and now helping lawyers, judges, law students and families with substance use and mental health struggles brings a depth only someone who has been through it can express.

A few themes from our talk:

• Taking a break from alcohol for a month doesn’t mean we understand what made us feel we needed it in the first place.
• How we drink and what happens when we do can be the clearest signal that something is wrong.
• Knowing how to talk with a colleague we’re worried about matters more than most of us consider.

This is simply an invitation to notice more, assume less, and support each other better.

Link to the article in the comments.

#DryJanuary #LegalProfession #CareerCoachForAttorneys #WellbeingForLawyers #LifeCoachForLawyers

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Dena Lefkowitz, Esq.

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Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Dena Lefkowitz, Esq.'s LinkedIn Performance

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