Hunter Garnett is the founder and managing partner of Garnett Patterson Injury Lawyers, one of the fastest growing personal injury law firms in Huntsville, Alabama. Since starting his law firm, Hunter has recovered over $7,000,000 for his clients. Hunter has also been voted the Best Attorney in Huntsville and recognized as a Super Lawyers Rising Star (Top 2.5% of lawyers) every year since 2020. Hunter grew up as the oldest of seven children on his family’s farm. A first-generation college graduate, Hunter is proud of his blue-collar roots and honored to represent victims of bad accidents across Alabama. Hunter met the love of his life, Hannah Garnett, at his 14th birthday party, and the two have been married for eight years. In his free time, Hunter enjoys riding horses and working on his mini farm.
What is your typical day, and how do you make it productive?
I have a mini farm. As cliché as it sounds, I typically wake up with the sun. I start my day with a quiet time of prayer and Bible reading. I take care of my dogs and horses before I start getting ready to head to the office. I’m the founder of a busy personal injury law firm. Occasionally, I work from home for 30-90 minutes depending on the day. I live about 15 minutes from my office so it’s a short drive. As a litigator, my day varies a lot. I could be in court, taking depositions, meeting someone for lunch, meetings with clients, shooting content, or working at my desk.
How do you bring ideas to life?
I have more ideas than I can implement by myself. In October of 2022, I hired an office manager who has grown into more of a COO than an office manager. She implements most of my ideas. I also provide her with a virtual assistant who helps her implement my ideas as well.
What’s one trend that excites you?
I’m super excited that more and more businesses are using offshore virtual assistants. I think every business should be utilizing offshore team members. It is cost-effective, allows businesses to hire talent across the globe, and it helps pull other people out of poverty.
What is one habit that helps you be productive?
My best habit is my sleep schedule and exercise. I consistently go to bed 7.5-8 hours before sunrise. I also exercise at least twice a week. When I was studying for the bar, I slept less and stopped exercising. I found that I could not retain new information. I would re-read the same material over and over. Finally, I took a day off from studying. I played basketball for two hours and slept ten hours. The next day, my clarity was back. Since then, I have religiously exercised regularly and I try to get 7-8 hours of sleep.
What advice would you give your younger self?
Live in the present. But also, constantly add skills. Little gains add up over time.
Tell us something you believe almost nobody agrees with you.
Disney World is one of the worst places on earth to visit. My wife disagrees adamantly and this answer will hurt her feelings if she ever reads this interview.
What is the one thing you repeatedly do and recommend everyone else do?
I re-read my favorite books ever few years.
When you feel overwhelmed or unfocused, what do you do?
I remind myself that in the grand scheme of things, my problems are insignificant. I have a great career, wonderful wife and friends, and I live in the best country on the planet. I won the lottery.
What is one strategy that has helped you grow your business or advance in your career?
The two biggest strategies that help me are 1) community-based marketing and 2) hiring virtual assistants. The personal injury industry is extremely competitive. Some statewide law firms spend millions of dollars per year on advertising. Many local law firms spend $500k to $1,000,000 in the Huntsville market alone. I cannot compete with these marketing budgets. Instead, I focus on being in the places where those firms can’t be. I try to identify communities where I can stand out as the only lawyer that folks know personally, or at least they feel like they know me. This has led to rapid growth. Because I get paid at the conclusion of a case, my firm has cash flow problems. It takes 6-18 months or more for us to earn a legal fee. To help handle the increased case load, I utilize offshore virtual assistants. About 50% of my staff are offshore or near shore virtual assistants. This allows me to save a significant amount of money, while also hiring some of the best workers in the world.
What is one failure in your career, how did you overcome it, and what lessons did you take away from it?
During law school, I had several doors closed in my face. I was passed over for jobs that I felt I deserved and was well-suited for. At the time, it made no sense to me. However, I ended up taking a job in personal injury. It was the best thing to happen to my career. I love what I do and I’m well-suited for the job.
What is one business idea you’re willing to give away to our readers?
Hire virtual assistants. Every business should have virtual assistants. Have each of your employees set an alarm for every hour on the hour and write down what they are doing at that moment. At the end of one week, have every create a list of tasks that they could train someone else to do relatively quickly. Take that list and hire a virtual assistant. This will free up your key employees to tackle larger, more complex tasks.
What is one piece of software that helps you be productive? How do you use it?
Case management software has been huge for my law firm. Zapier has helped us automate many repetitive tasks. Levitate has helped us manage our client list and stay top of mind. Teams helps me communicate with my team members across the world and also allows me to track to-do lists easily.
What is the best $100 you recently spent?
Airpods cost more than $100, but I couldn’t live without them. I use them constantly. Also, I’m the oldest of seven children. Three of my little sisters are 16, 15, and 11 years old. They’re growing up too fast. Soon, they’ll be adults or teenagers that are too cool to hang out with their big brother. Last weekend, my wife and I took them to play laser tag. We had a blast. Best $100 that I’ve spent in a long, long time.
Do you have a favorite book or podcast from which you’ve received much value?
Influence by Robert Cialdini and Radical by David Platt are my two favorite books. Influence has helped me under psychology, which has improved my marketing, management, and trial skills. Radical is a Christian book. The over message is that followers of Christ should live radically different lives, put Christ first, and constantly use their platform, resources, and time to further the kingdom of heaven.
What’s a movie or series you recently enjoyed and why?
Better Call Saul was excellent. I’m partial to lawyer shows, but Better Call Saul is a show that anyone can enjoy.
Key learnings:
- Constantly improve your skills every day
- Sleep is your friend. Make sure you get plenty
- Outsource repetitive tasks whenever possible
- Make your marketing different.
Steve (Stefan) Junge hails from Germany and helps with the day-to-day publishing of interviews on IdeaMensch. While he and Mario don’t share a favorite soccer club, their enthusiasm to help entrepreneurs is a shared passion.