May 19, 2025 • 45 mins
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💵 Stock up on the contracts you need from May 19 - May 22, 2025!
In this episode of the Wedding Atelier podcast, host Alora welcomes Paige, founder of The Legal Paige, to discuss essential legal aspects for wedding photographers. They delve into important contract clauses, the significance of clear rescheduling and cancellation policies, and the necessity of having an LLC to protect personal assets. Paige also shares why having detailed agreements is crucial and discusses current economic trends affecting the wedding industry.
Paige is the founder of The Legal Paige, a virtual legal educational platform working with small businesses. She is a certified Juris Doctor and holds a double B.A. in Economics and Political Science. After working as a federal law clerk, Paige traded in the traditional law life for a virtual one and opened the doors to The Legal Paige in 2018.
Her mission is to create an online space where the law isn’t so scary and entrepreneurs can get legally legit in no time. Law aside, Paige is a Montana mom who loves hiking, lake time, and a good game of Catan.
00:00 Welcome and Introduction
00:53 Common Legal Issues for Wedding Photographers
01:29 Importance of Clear Contract Clauses
03:35 Retainer vs. Deposit: Key Differences
09:28 The Necessity of LLCs for Photographers
20:24 Limitation of Liability and Other Crucial Clauses
24:46 Navigating Economic Uncertainty
26:04 Industry Standards and Client Relations
27:11 Budgeting and Financial Strategies
32:47 Trademarking and Legal Protection
37:21 Essential Contracts and Legal Tools
44:07 Final Thoughts and Resources
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Alora (00:00):
Hello and welcome back to the Wedding Atelier podcast.
Today I have a special guest,the legal page.
I'm so, so, so excited.
I have listened to her podcastfor years.
Not to mention, she helped mewith my pandemic clause in 2020,
which we're gonna talk aboutabout why we need to be legal
and legally legit as weddingphotographers and some of the
things that she has noticed as awedding photographer herself in
(00:22):
the industry.
So, Paige, welcome to thepodcast.
I'm so excited you're here.
Paige Griffith (00:26):
Thank you.
am excited to chat about allthings legal, photography, what
if situations, how to coveryourself in contracts, and
probably a lot more.
Alora (00:36):
Yeah, it's so funny because when.
We as photographers getstarted, we kind of just charge
for our work and then we say, ohyeah, let me do a free contract
I found on Google, and you'reprobably cringing.
that is what everyone does, butthey should not do.
But I do have a question toopen up with especially as
artists, and creatives trying tobe a little more like a CEO,
(00:57):
what would you say is the commonissues you see?
Contractually, even like LLC,there's so many things you need
to do to be legally prepared asa wedding photographer without,
possibly getting sued out ofyour mind.
Paige Griffith (01:10):
Yeah, so there's kind of two questions at play
here.
The contracts and clauses thatyou need in the wedding industry
as a wedding vendor or aphotographer, and then also
like.
What else you need to dolegally.
So let's start with the former.
the biggest things that I seeare really vague cancellation
and rescheduling clauses, if youcan believe it.
Even after 2020, I'm seeingstill really bad clauses, and I
(01:33):
think that's just due to maybeyou weren't in it as much as
everyone else in 2020 where wehad laser beam focus on our
cancellation reschedulingclauses, we were tweaking them
according to what was going onin the industry.
And clients' needs and clientspush back.
Well, clients are getting moreand more laser beam focused on
contracts as well.
And they're not only looking atfee and retainer clauses,
(01:55):
they're looking at cancellationrescheduling clauses.
That's what they really careabout.
so just clarity is extremelycrucial in those clauses.
I am seeing clients cancelingall the time, especially right
now when the economy is kind ofon edge or you know, when the
economy starts doing weirdthings.
Clients do weird things andmoney is important to them just
(02:17):
as much as it is important toyou.
However, like.
Your money is just asimportant.
I always tell people, so youshouldn't be penalized for a
voluntary cancellation orrescheduling situation.
And a good cancellation andrescheduling clause.
And we have these separated outin two different clauses
because I think for clarity'ssake you want it as conspicuous
as possible in your clientcontracts that like cancellation
(02:40):
by client.
Here's my cancellation policiesas a business owner,
rescheduling by client.
what those are.
Cancellation of services bycompany or by photographer or by
videographer?
Like what, what would be asituation?
Probably like personalemergency situations or
situations kind of beyond yourcontrol that are personal to
(03:01):
you.
We're not talking here forcemajeure.
But what would happen if youhave to cancel or get another
alternative professional to takeyour place and what are your
business policies surroundingthat?
So those.
Three clauses are reallycrucial and I always see them
combined together, kind ofconfusing language.
And I want them to be ascrystal clear as possible.
So look for that.
Look for incomplete paymentschedules or just contradictory
(03:26):
language in your contract.
Photographers in particularneed really, really clear
retainer language,non-refundable retainer.
Please don't use the worddeposit.
Deposit is oftentimes an amounttowards the final payment, and
if services aren't rendered,then a deposit is oftentimes
refundable.
Especially deposit is rooted inlandlord tenant law, so be
(03:47):
very, very cautious of usingthat term.
I suggest you use the wordretainer.
There's a lot of caseprecedent.
being able to keep the retainerand then even expressly
delineating, okay, my retaineris for booking X date out on my
calendar whereby I'm going tosay no to all of these other
clients.
So it's an opportunity costthere and it's really liquidated
(04:08):
damages in the event thatcancellation or rescheduling
does occur.
Like you get to keep thenon-refundable retainer as long
as they're notifying you inadvance.
And those all align.
So all of these clauses areworking together.
And then if you haveinstallment payments and final
payment terms, be really clear,like what are those installment
payments for?
Don't just say like, here's theinstallment payment and here's
(04:29):
when the final payment is dueby.
Like, what are those for?
Just make it really, reallyunderstandable to your clients,
like, what are they paying for?
Why are they paying you thisamount?
On this date for what?
And then the final paymentreally make it crystal clear
that those are for your day ofservices.
whether that's day ofphotography services,
(04:49):
videography services, and thenany post event production, those
types of things.
Because they want to know like,okay, if they cancel, say.
This is happening right now.
They're canceling orrescheduling.
Sometimes they're pushing thedate out altogether, like until
2026.
Maybe they need more time toget funds together or now isn't
the right time.
We saw this a lot in 2020 and2020 was mainly rescheduling
(05:12):
situations.
But we're seeing that too.
Like they're either pushing itout or they're canceling
altogether.
They're like, we're not gonnado this.
We're gonna spend our money onsomething else right now.
We're seeing the exact samethings that we saw in 2020,
which is fascinating to me.
So we just need to be preparedfor what if situations and
payment terms really need to gotowards.
Whatever day of services you'reproviding and then any post
(05:34):
event services you're providing,and then that is clear to
people, okay, if I cancel orreschedule, I don't have to make
that final payment becausethose services haven't been
rendered.
But I will forfeit thenon-refundable retainer and
probably any installmentpayments that I have paid up to
that date of cancellation orrescheduling because a lot of
those amount to like planningand communication services post
(05:55):
booking.
So those two things are big.
The other three things I'm justgonna like let people know
about here, so you can kind ofstart ruminating on this in your
mind is no clauses in yourcontract regarding client
behavior.
And this pops up in ourFacebook group all the time,
like, think here, harassment,unsafe working environments for
(06:15):
you and your assistants oranyone that's with you.
also don't see a lot oflanguage.
I see like basic model releaseclauses, but then those aren't
related to image rights and likecopyright clauses.
So just misunderstandings inyour contract surrounding image
rights and model releases, likewho can use, what is it a
(06:36):
personal license to use?
Is the client granting you avery specific model release?
And being really aware thatlike.
Privacy is of importancenowadays for a lot of clients.
So being willing as a serviceprovider, particularly
photographer or videographer,being willing to switch out like
an all-inclusive model releasewith a privacy of images clause.
(06:58):
so you might want to have likethat kind of.
Switch out language in yourback pocket, so to speak, is
what I like to call it.
And the very final one is anartistic style clause that is
due to what happened last yearwith CPA gate.
And if you don't have reallyclear language surrounding like,
okay, here is what you canexpect from me and.
(07:20):
You are presenting all of thatevidence and proof prior to them
booking.
Like your galleries all lookthe same, your website looks the
same, your, you know, Instagramall looks the same, and now
they've changed their mind likethey booked you for your
artistic style, but also beingvery clear that your artistic
style is like.
It's kind of ever evolving.
(07:40):
and it's also like due toweather implications and things
outside of your control.
So having a really robustartistic style clause is very
important as well.
So that's what needs to be inyour contracts.
Before we move on to like otherthings that you were talking
about, do you have anyadditional questions surrounding
contract clauses that I
Alora (08:01):
I think you nailed it.
Paige Griffith (08:02):
have in your contract?
Alora (08:03):
I was like, Paige, I think you nailed it.
Yes.
I feel like when I was piecingtogether my first contract, like
decades ago the only thing thatwas really included was the
artistic clause deliverables andeverything else.
it was deposit.
And so people are like, well, Ican get that back because it's
a deposit.
not realizing that the languageis really, really important.
But yeah, I think you're on aroll yes.
(08:24):
My other question, I don't evenremember it, but go ahead and
answer it.
Paige Griffith (08:27):
Yeah, you were kind of saying like, what do you
wish people would know more ofwhen it comes to the legalities
of their business?
Like, what do they need to do,what do they not need to do?
So contracts number one.
I'm glad we started there.
That absolutely needs to be thefirst thing you do.
It doesn't matter if you're asole proprietor or a limited
liability company.
Like please make sure that youhave a contract first and
(08:48):
foremost before you book anyone.
I always tell people like, youhave to treat your business like
a business.
It's no longer like a sidehustle passion.
Even if it's a side hustle,it's still a business.
You're still in it for profit.
And it's no longer like apassion project, I guess is what
I'm trying to say.
the legal side of your businessis, is extremely important.
So think contracts first, andthen I always tell people like,
(09:10):
think insurance.
We can talk about that a littlebit later.
But that's really important forlike sole proprietorships
starting out with a contract andreally good business insurance.
But when you want to actuallybecome a legitimate professional
business entity, you want tolook into becoming a limited
liability company, also known asan LLC.
In your home state is I justthink LLCs and contracts like
(09:33):
aren't really optional nowadays.
They're really, truly anecessity.
And I, I think at the beginningstages a lot of people.
Believe that verbal agreementsare okay, or like dms or text
message threads or whatever,like they're not going to
protect you.
Everything needs to be inwriting, and ideally you want to
have that signed writtenagreement that was written by an
(09:56):
attorney.
That covers everything that youcan expect and more that you're
not even sure you would needbecause you've only been in
business maybe for a, you know,small amount of time compared to
all of us, like a lot of us whohave been in the industry for
like 10 to 15 plus years.
and the other thing I would sayis like, lots of people have
this thought that like.
(10:16):
just, I'm a small business.
I'm like too small for a bunchof legal protection.
I don't really need it.
but starting right and startingout legally out of the gate
avoids huge headaches later onand it, no one is too small to
start out smart and.
You never know when you'regonna get into a situation.
(10:39):
It doesn't matter size ofbusiness that you are.
Oh client.
Situations happen all the time,day in, day out, and you don't
want like a little legal debacleor like.
Misunderstanding with yourclients to then turn into
something way more than youcould ever expect.
And even the best of clients.
(11:00):
And we all have the best ofintentions.
You just never know.
I don't wanna scare anyone.
There is a little bit of likebased knowledge that you need to
have in terms of legallyprotecting your business.
Like otherwise, why would we doit?
But you, you're only talkinghere like the 5% of bad clients,
but we all have them, right?
Like we've all experiencedthem.
(11:22):
You're nodding your head likewe have, we have a deep
understanding of how this goes.
And we just want others tolearn from our poor experiences
and like hope that that doesn'thappen to them.
the copy and paste contracts onthe internet just aren't gonna
do it.
If you find one from acolleague or a friend in the
industry I always say like,they're gonna get you 10 to 20%
(11:43):
of the way there.
I'm really happy that at leastyou have something.
Something's better thannothing.
But you will very much see whatis missing.
There are holes in thosecontracts.
It's not updated regularly.
Who knows who that was writtenfrom or where it came from?
Honestly, like the amount thatwe have to edit when we look or
do a contract review or audit onsomeone that got it from.
(12:06):
A friend or got it from likesome educator five years ago
that was randomly selling it ontheir website.
And they shouldn't, becausethat's unauthorized practice of
the law.
Like there's just weird thingsthat have gone down where I look
at it and I can tear thosecontracts apart, like they're
just missing things or they havecompeting language or
contradictory language, or thecross references aren't right.
(12:27):
Or they're just blatantlymissing things in their contract
that should be in there.
So.
I am just here always, always,always to educate, to provide
you knowledge and understanding.
It's important for you to knowwhy things need to be in your
contracts, why you need to setup your business.
Like as a limited liabilitycompany.
It's really inexpensive, nothard to do.
(12:50):
And yeah, legal doesn't have tobe scary.
Just know it's there to protectyou, not trap you.
Alora (12:55):
Yeah, I guess my question is like, I know when people
first get started, they don'treally know why they need an
LLC, like LLC versus soleproprietor.
When I became a business owner,my accountant just made me a
sole proprietor.
She's like, well just do thisfor now.
And so I was.
Bleeding in taxes.
And also too, I realized thatif somebody were to sue me, they
(13:15):
would take all of my personalassets.
Like is there anything elsethat you can stand by saying
like, hell, having an LLC is somuch, you know, more important
than just getting a random soleproprietor and just having an
EIN or something like that.
Paige Griffith (13:27):
Yeah, so sole proprietors ships, they're good
at the beginning.
They're the default type ofbusiness that you are, but
you're not an actual registeredbusiness entity.
A sole proprietorship is likean arm and extension of
yourself, so you're filing stillunder your social security
number.
just saying like, I've receivedsome additional income from X,
Y, z, like business venturesthat I've been doing.
(13:49):
and so you're right, you'respot on.
All of your personal assets,all of your savings account,
your home, your cars, likeeverything that you have worked
really hard for retirement,kids, savings accounts like that
is at risk.
And I am just like, no, no, no.
Like I've worked too hard forthat.
like, starting a business isrisky.
(14:10):
It doesn't matter what businessyou're starting, like you're
adding a bunch of risk to yourlife.
photography, videography, likewedding event it, well, weddings
and events do become a littlebit more risky than just like
portrait photography.
But.
As a whole, if you're lookingat like the full gamut and scope
of businesses out there, oursis way less risky than a lot of
(14:33):
businesses.
Alora (14:34):
Sure.
Paige Griffith (14:34):
So just know that, but you're still adding
risk.
And so if you wanna keep thosetwo separate, the best thing you
can do is become a limitedliability company.
So what it is, is it's a legalliability shield.
That's all it is.
when you say something abouttaxes, I think what you're
talking about is an Scorporation, and I can get to
that.
But an LLC is actually theexact same thing tax wise as a
(14:55):
sole proprietorship.
So it's called a pass throughtaxation entity.
Meaning that all of yourprofits, so net profits that are
coming from your LLC will justpass through to your personal
tax return and you only have tofile one tax return, which is
great, you get the legalliability protection.
So when I say you start withcontracts first, I really want
people to understand how itworks.
(15:17):
Like why do I have all thesethings in my business?
Well, your contract is yourfirst line of defense, so if
something were to come up,hopefully your business policies
and what the parties agreed tois resolved within the four
corners of the contract.
If it's not and there's likeambiguity or there's a dispute
regarding, you know, yourbusiness policies or what's,
(15:38):
maybe it wasn't in yourcontract.
Maybe there's confusinglanguage in your contract.
If your contract doesn'tresolve it, then usually you'd
go to business insurance or ifit's like a negligent.
Situation that occurred whereyou did cause like bodily injury
or damage to a person orsomething else, they could just
go to your business insurance.
That's probably not included inyour contract.
(15:59):
However, sometimes yourbusiness insurance will cover
things above and beyond thatyour contract can't resolve.
So it's like contract first,then business insurance.
And then what?
Like what if your businessinsurance is excluding things or
not covering, as we all know,we file claims and they're like,
no coverage.
Sorry.
Well then what?
When you're a sole proprietor,it's just gonna go straight.
(16:20):
Like all of that liability andrisk is out of pocket for
yourself, and you want to keepthat so tight within the LLC
bubble.
So it's like three bubbleswithin each other, the contract,
then the insurance, then yourLLC bubble.
long as you are making surethat you have an LLC bank
(16:40):
account, all of your touchingmoments.
Income and expenses are comingin and outta that bank account.
You're not commingling funds.
When you need to pay yourself.
You're just transferring thatinto your personal bank account.
As long as you're doing that,then really everything that's at
risk.
And the, if something likecatastrophic or like really bad
were to occur.
(17:02):
Or like say you losteverything, like.
I don't know.
I've seen it happen, you guys,I've seen it happen.
Memory cards from an entireceremony are wiped and gone,
like I know.
Worst case scenario.
And there was a lawsuit thatwent down and the dad was a
lawyer.
Like it was a huge deal.
We're talking here way aboveand beyond the contract, like
(17:23):
even though it had maximumdamages clause, like, I mean,
they're suing for everythingpossible because they can't get
that
Alora (17:30):
Yeah.
Paige Griffith (17:30):
like.
It's gone.
And so, you know, maybe at a$5,000 wedding, well now you're
being sued for like 30 to 40.
Your insurance isn't going tocover it.
And now that you just want atrisk with your LLC so that maybe
you have, I mean.
I'm just trying to use numbershere.
So it's, you guys can reallyget this in your head.
(17:50):
Like, maybe you only have20,000 in your business bank
account, then that's all that'sat risk, you
Alora (17:55):
Hmm.
Paige Griffith (17:55):
Or maybe you need to sell like some business
assets and probably not likeyou're gonna settle this dispute
is what I'm saying.
Why would you want $40,000 oflike your own money to be at
risk and like personal assets?
when I say sell things likegear and equipment and things
along those lines, like withinthe LLC bubble, so that's how
they all work together.
An LLC is also very easy to setup.
So it's just, you can DIY itand I'll make sure you have a
(18:19):
link to our D-I-Y-L-L-Cregistration guides.
We have gone through everysingle state's website and like,
done it for you and screenshotit and like showed you how to do
it.
So don't get in the trap oflike.
Hiring someone or some weirdbusiness online that has a good
like sponsored Google ad whenyou type it in, like, don't do
that.
'cause you're gonna get trappedinto them, like asking for more
(18:40):
and more money.
Alora (18:41):
Yes.
Paige Griffith (18:41):
Every single year you can do it yourself.
It's usually inexpensive.
Anywhere from like 50 to ahundred dollars, maybe a tiny
bit more if you're in Californiaor New York.
Nevada.
There's just a few states thatit is a little more expensive,
but I still think it's the bestbusiness insurance that you can
get and like that is so worthit.
And then you have to file asmall annual or biannual fee
(19:04):
just to tell your state, yes,I'm still an active business.
I'm still running this businessand making profit from it.
So I would like to continue myLLC registration.
And yeah, it's all done onlinenow, so it's a really simple way
to like set up yourself forsuccess and protect your
business in all respects.
Alora (19:22):
Yeah, I love that.
And also, this is basically alegal masterclass.
I'm literally like, yes, yes.
This is because it's true.
Like, and you don't even thinkabout like, okay, have an LLC.
Like I don't think peoplenormally explain why.
Just like, oh yeah, I have anLLC, or this is my business
name, LLC.
But it actually just means likeyour personal and business are
separate, like yourtransactions, your money, and
(19:44):
it's just.
It just feels safe to know.
And I actually have a question.
I didn't write this one down,but I'm curious to kind of like
some of the legal things thatyou have come in contact with.
It doesn't have to necessarilybe in the wedding industry, but
like something that you're like,okay, we need to like, or
business owners need to tightenup on X, Y, and z.
I mean, even just like withthem losing the whole ceremony,
(20:04):
like what would you say is likethe typical things that kind of
slip through the cracks legally?
Paige Griffith (20:09):
Mm, that's a limitation of liability clause.
So we have buttoned up thatclause, like time and time
again.
We're always looking at it tomake sure it's good to go.
So like for a photographer forexample, you want language in
that clause that's, you know,partial loss beyond like.
Of something.
And the beginning part of thatclause is gonna say things
regarding like, things that arekind of outside of your control,
(20:30):
equipment malfunction.
Like you'll do your duediligence, but at the end of the
day, like there is inherentrisk in this type of job.
And they're accepting that riskas much as you are.
So like liability for partialloss of images would be prorated
based on the total delivered.
That's something that I haveseen.
Artistic style clause, I'mgonna go back to that one from
(20:51):
last year.
Like language at the end ofthat, that like termination or
like by a client or cancellationor like, them disliking the
artistic style
Alora (21:02):
Yes.
Paige Griffith (21:03):
would not account for any refund in any
situation whatsoever.
That's important and I think alot of people.
We're on the fence about that,or just like it wasn't crystal
clear.
Force majeure clause, like atthe end of a force, majeure
clause Like here's what a forcemajeure event is.
Then the impacted party needsto notify the other party.
(21:24):
And then there's opportunity tocure performance.
You guys, a force majeureclause is not like a get out of
jail free card, like let's ripup the contract.
A force majeure clause isbasically like no one's
breaching the contract if thesesituations Occur and the party
should have the opportunity toperform and CURE like at a later
(21:46):
date.
So usually it's like within 30days or something along those
lines.
And if you can't cureperformance for whatever reason,
then what happens to fees paid?
Like this was the big thingthat happened in 2020, and I'm
still seeing it in contractslike nobody's having at the end
of that clause.
Well, okay.
that have been paid are now puton credit and can be used for
12 months, 18 months, like alonger opportunity to cure.
(22:09):
Maybe you have to terminatethat contract, but you're moving
fees paid over to a newrescheduled date.
Other things that I see I mean,clients just walking all over
people for cancellation andrescheduling purposes.
Like they just think that theycan strong arm you into things
and it's just unfortunate in thewedding industry, For whatever
(22:29):
reason, event vendors are nowbeing strong, armed more than
ever.
So it's really important.
to enforce your contract.
I can tell you everything andanything to put in it.
But at the end of the day, it'sonly as good as your
willingness to enforce it.
So you have to be aprofessional and you have to
stick to your contract.
I could go on and on.
I mean, there's all kinds ofweird things that go on
(22:51):
chargeback situations, likeafter everything has been
delivered and like what do youdo in those situations?
Defamation things happeningonline or social media blasting,
that's a
Alora (23:01):
Yeah.
Paige Griffith (23:02):
So yeah, I mean, like I said, I don't wanna
scare anyone.
I see everything and I see thebad.
But like I, you guys, themajority of your clients are
good.
You're just really trying.
But sometimes even those reallygood clients have questions
like, okay, are you gonnacomplimentary edit?
You know, 15 of the reallyimportant images to me, or do I
need to pay for that?
(23:22):
that needs to be clearlyexpressed in your contract
Alora (23:25):
Yeah.
Paige Griffith (23:26):
that there's no confusion down the road.
Like maybe they assume you'regonna complimentary edit what
they want, but how many, andlike what is above and beyond
the scope of what you're willingto do.
Alora (23:35):
Yeah,
Paige Griffith (23:35):
I could go on and on,
Alora (23:36):
and
Paige Griffith (23:36):
those are some
Alora (23:37):
it's true, there are tons of situations and circumstances
and nuances in, in anyindustry, but specifically like
with weddings and photography,because it's a one-time event
usually, you know?
So yeah, your contract reallyneeds to be tight in case
anything can go wrong.
And there have been many times.
Like in my wedding photographybusiness where I was like, thank
goodness for this 16 pagecontract that like held tight
(24:01):
you know, to the situations.
'cause there could be a myriadof things that go wrong, but
it's just better to be safe thansorry.
So totally stand behind that.
I do have a question about kindof like what you see.
In the economy right now,because you said it's getting
similar to the pandemic, kind oflike how people are
rescheduling.
I know there's been like tonsof layoffs.
Can you kind of speak to justlike your opinion of what you
(24:22):
think is going on and just likehow wedding photographers can be
better prepared for that?
Something like that?
Paige Griffith (24:28):
Yeah, I think there's just a lot of
uncertainty right
Alora (24:30):
Hmm.
Yeah.
Paige Griffith (24:31):
like something changed this week with tariffs
again,
Alora (24:33):
Oh.
Paige Griffith (24:34):
there's so much uncertainty that, you know, I've
got my pulse on it and I aneconomics and political science
major and I have a degree, soI'm very interested in it, but a
lot of people aren't as cluedin and there's just so much.
What's gonna happen and whenthis, this is what I mean is the
sentiment of that uncertainty,what's going to happen.
(24:57):
And people hold on to money,like they're not sure.
And so clients kind of retractback.
Not everyone, not everyone.
And you just have to be awareof that.
Like clients are uneasy rightnow.
various reasons.
You have no idea what'shappening in their life and
personal world and like maybetheir, one of their partners got
(25:18):
laid off, like you just don'tknow.
And so you have to be lead withkindness, lead with
understanding.
But also know that your moneyis just as important as their
money.
I don't want you to go out ofbusiness.
And that was the situation Iwas in in 2020, was trying to,
everyone was in the same boat.
We're all trying not to sink.
(25:39):
Like we gotta make sure thatthe industry doesn't collapse
overnight.
So.
As an industry, what is ourindustry standard moving forward
here?
Okay.
I feel like it was really cool'cause we were all banding
together at that period of time.
Same goes here with a lot moreexperience under our belt now.
I am seeing people saying whatI have been telling them for
(26:01):
years, like, stand by yourcontract.
Stand by your non-refundableretainer.
Yes, they might be able tocancel or reschedule.
Of course, you probably can'tget that final payment due at
this point, but at least you'renot out of everything.
And, leading with kindness, butleading with understanding.
Like you don't need to say,this is what my clause says in
email number one, back to yourclient.
Alora (26:20):
Yeah.
Paige Griffith (26:21):
But you need to like, use similar language so
that they know like yourbusiness policies are what your
Alora (26:26):
Mm-hmm.
Paige Griffith (26:27):
Always lean on what your contract is saying so
that by email three or four, ifthere is just so much back and
forth pushback, then you can goand enforce your contract.
Like, okay, they're not gettingit.
Like this is what it's gonnabe.
And yeah, I would say likethat's what I'm seeing.
people are either rescheduling,they're like unsure, or they're
(26:48):
seeing budgets go way up.
So with this tariff thing wesaw this with building costs
back in 2020, Like if you weretrying to build in 2019 or early
2020.
Your building costs wereastronomical come June of 2020.
So I think that uncertainty islike, is that gonna happen
again?
Like, what's going on withtariffs and people with
wholesale costs, florals mobilebars, caterers.
(27:12):
I mean, there's plenty ofothers, bakers like those
pricing is going up.
So now clients are seeing likethe whole of what they budgeted
for last year to what is comingthis year is just changing.
And they're having to makedecisions based on their budget.
So we can all get that like,money is important, but your
money is just as important astheirs.
(27:33):
And so don't fall into the trapof like.
Oh, I, I just, I feel bad forthis situation.
Like I need to refund becausewe've also seen some like so
great lies and like threats andyou just never know.
Like you never know if they aretelling the truth.
but you want to make sure thatlike you are protecting your
(27:54):
business as well.
I feel like I'm just like goingdown a bad rabbit hole here.
But.
Hopefully I'm like lettingpeople know like there are like
these what if situations theyare coming to fruition and I'm
seeing them more and more.
If you just hop into the legalpage community on Facebook, it's
a free group, TLP facebook.com.
You can just like social,listen on the side.
(28:15):
You don't even have to doanything or post anything.
But it's really enlightening tobe like, oh my gosh, this is
Alora (28:20):
Mm-hmm.
Paige Griffith (28:21):
Okay.
This was a client situationthat occurred with another
wedding vendor.
Alora (28:25):
Mm-hmm.
Paige Griffith (28:25):
my contract, but also my workflows and processes
and client communication, allof those go together.
Alora (28:31):
Yeah, I, like I said, it just makes sense to be better
safe than sorry.
And we kind of just have tolike be so for real with
ourselves.
Like, okay, this is happening.
Let me go check my contract.
'cause I don't want that tohappen to me.
So it's, I'd like to know worstcase scenarios.
I like bad news before the goodnews.
'cause then the good news willlike help me after the bad.
So it's kind of like the samesituation, just like be
prepared.
Paige Griffith (28:51):
Always.
Alora (28:52):
like we really have to be prepared because every time
there's an economy shift, thewedding industry gets hit so
hard because of the big budgetsthat people are spending on
their wedding day.
And so it's either like, oh,okay, you can like raise your
prices or you gotta like scaleback.
And so I think everyone's justkinda like freaking out about
that right now.
Paige Griffith (29:09):
Well, weddings are a luxury no matter what,
like budget
Alora (29:13):
Mm-hmm.
Paige Griffith (29:14):
like a wedding isn't a necessity, so to speak.
It's a want for your clients.
Alora (29:18):
Yeah.
Paige Griffith (29:19):
And how big and different is that want?
I mean, I don't know.
I'm probably gonna get a lot offlack here, but it's true.
Alora (29:25):
Yeah.
Paige Griffith (29:26):
there are various ways to go get
Alora (29:28):
Mm-hmm.
Paige Griffith (29:29):
and it doesn't involve a huge wedding, and so
they are making decisions andchoices based on that.
And again, this isn't as big ofa deal as the pandemic
Alora (29:40):
Sure.
Paige Griffith (29:40):
and we learned so much five years ago.
So I feel like we are so muchmore
Alora (29:45):
Mm-hmm.
Paige Griffith (29:46):
as wedding vendors than we were back then.
But it's just interesting tosee how these little things are
popping back up and what it'sgoing to do.
Like you said, to the weddingindustry, come 2026 and 2027,
we're gonna see.
and flows and shifts again,which is common.
We've been in it for longenough decades that we're like,
you guys, this happened.
I remember people that I'vetalked to that are educators
(30:09):
that are like forties, fifties,and they're like, this happened
in 2008, 2009.
Like remember that you guys, weall got through it.
It's okay.
Alora (30:18):
Okay.
See?
Paige Griffith (30:19):
not fun, but we do get through it.
Alora (30:21):
Yeah, and I feel like we get more and more prepared as
we're just kind of like, we haveto learn how to adjust and not
be so stuck in your ways.
Being like, okay, this isshifting, so we need to make
changes.
You know what I mean?
Just like being really quick tonot be stuck in your ways.
Like I'm just trying to bewhere I was in 2019, like 2019
is so gone.
Like we gotta be focusing on2025 probably to 2030, depending
(30:41):
on what's gonna happen in theeconomy.
So.
I feel like that's reallyinteresting too.
Like your majors kind of helpyou really stay up to date with
like what's going on.
You're like, oh, I know whatthat is.
I know what's coming.
Like that is such a really goodskill to have, like off the
record.
Paige Griffith (30:54):
Thank you.
And I guess for everyoneinvolved, like your contracts
get you or everyone listening,if you're involved in this, you
know, whatever situation with aclient Your contract is really
important, but so is your
Alora (31:07):
Hmm.
Paige Griffith (31:08):
So like definitely listen to our gal
here on pricing, like youroverhead and like how much your
markup is, and that is just asimportant as like what your
retainer language is in yourcontract.
Because there's a numberattached to that
Alora (31:25):
Hmm.
Paige Griffith (31:25):
payment, and so you need to make sure that that
is covering your costs for ifthese things occur, then I'm in
an okay situation as a businessowner where I'm not out,
everything,
Alora (31:36):
Mm-hmm.
Paige Griffith (31:36):
Because I have appropriately priced what my
retainer payment needs to be andwhat my subsequent installment
payments need to be.
If you do installment paymentsand what that final payment is.
Alora (31:46):
Yeah, I mean it's just really important to know because
we're gonna have to constantlybeing aware, like I'm not a
finance girly.
I am more of like left-handedartist.
So like me having to focus onthe ups and downs of like what's
happening in the stock market,what's happening with this, and
like seeing so many.
YouTube shorts, you know,tiktoks and being like, okay,
this is what's happening in theindustry.
This is what we need to focuson.
The richer getting richer, theaverage people are scrambling.
(32:08):
So I'm just kind of like, okay,just like with business, all of
this stuff is kind of likeidentifying patterns.
So, I mean, it's kind of likeyou kind of just like.
What do you call that?
You just gotta jump in the shipand keep going.
I don't know, I think I madethat up, but we're gonna like
switch over a little bit tosomething that was on my mind.
'cause I've recently, you know,rebranded and I paid for
trademarks and all these otherthings.
(32:29):
'cause I realized that like thename that I was serving was
trademarked and learning thatsomebody could send a cease
desist and be like, Hey, changethis.
Or you're being sued.
So do you think like as weddingphotographers or maybe all
business owners, should theytrademark their business names
or their name?
Like, could you possibly haveto rebrand your own name because
(32:51):
somebody trademarked it beforeyou?
Like what do you think theseriousness is behind
trademarks?
Paige Griffith (32:57):
Oh, it's so serious.
I'm an intellectual property
Alora (32:59):
Yes.
Paige Griffith (33:00):
So the legal page is a legal education
platform and contract templateshop, but I also have a law
firm, Griffis Waza Law, and we.
Deal with trademarkregistrations and infringement
and copyright registrations andinfringement day in and day out.
I was just in a lawsuit for 18months with a sub-brand name of
mine.
So like it can happen tolawyers and it can happen to
(33:20):
intellectual property lawyers.
I see it.
I just had a friend thatmessaged me two weeks ago and
was like, oh my gosh, we got acease and desist for this
workshop name that we have.
What do I do?
Alora (33:32):
Oh my gosh.
Paige Griffith (33:32):
much marketing and advertising behind it, and I
looked into it and I was like,you kind of have two options,
like option one, lease risky,like change a name, option two,
like they have the federaltrademark, like maybe get them
to allow you to license it.
That's.
A tall order uphill battle,good luck.
Like I can help you with that,but I can't guarantee anything
(33:53):
that they're gonna agree to it.
A federal trademark is, it'slike lock and key for the most
part, unless we're talking likegeneric terms, generic side,
that can happen, like with theterm adventure sessions that
came up recently or like WildWest weddings, we've seen that
as well.
There's been some weirdtrademark stuff the past six
months, honestly.
It's never dull in the weddingand event.
(34:15):
But what I'm trying to say hereis like, trademarking your name
is really, really important.
You have to know that you arelegally using a brand name that
you can use and you're notinfringing on someone else's.
So step one, two, if you have areally unique business name
that isn't your first and lastname, it's very hard to
trademark your first and lastname.
You need to have what's calledsecondary meaning.
(34:36):
Like you gotta be Taylor Swiftkind of thing.
Like you have to have a namethat no one else has that
everyone can associate that namewith that brand, which is, that
makes sense.
There's so many overlaps inpeople's first and last names.
Surnames are very, very hard toget registered.
So we're talking here like adifferent brand name.
Like the legal page is uniquebecause it has my business, my
(34:57):
name in it, but it's a uniquetwist on that and I trademarked
that right away when I came upwith it so that no one else
could take it or iterations ofit.
Like if someone tried to doPAGE, they wouldn't be able to
do that, because that's a reallyspecific derivation from what I
have.
so yeah, you stand out, youwant to prevent confusion from
others, and a trademark is theway to do that.
(35:19):
And it's automatic damages.
It is also a way to increaseyour brand's value and long-term
growth for potential sale.
is, an intangible assetattached to your business, so
there's monetary value attachedto that.
Not only can you send cease anddesist all day long and make
sure that people aren't usingyour brand name.
To help them commerciallyprofit
Alora (35:37):
Yeah.
Paige Griffith (35:38):
But if you were to ever sell a portion of your
business or maybe sell youronline course or sell your
digital products to someoneelse, like that's happening all
the time in the digital space,if you have a trademark attached
to that, your amount for thatsale goes way up.
Way up and it goes up for howlong you've had that trademark
and goodwill associated.
So the sooner, the better aswell, I mean, it's, it's
(36:01):
important when you're firststarting your brand as well.
I want you to do it as soon aspossible, but it's also very
important if you're everthinking about a sale, to do it
as soon as possible.
Bottom line trademarks equalslegal ownership of your brand
identity.
A hundred percent worth it.
I could talk about this all daylong and if you guys need any
help or you wanna like hop on aconsultation and be like, Hey,
(36:23):
this is what my brand name is,or this is what, you know, other
offerings I have in the digitalspace, online space, I am happy
to do that.
And as are my lawyers in my lawfirm.
And we can have a consultationwith you and kind of give you
step-by-step approach of like,yes, let's trademark this.
No, this probably isn't goingto go through, but like, here's
(36:44):
some risks with it.
Maybe I would suggest you tryor let's not do it.
Let's not waste your money.
A consult is always a good wayto start with an intellectual
property lawyer, and I'll makesure that they have the link to
contact us.
Alora (36:55):
Perfect.
'cause that was gonna lead meto my next question about what
would you say are like thenecessary must have or top
contracts and tools, which weprobably already discussed.
So that would be in the shownotes that You recommend to
photographers right now?
Paige Griffith (37:09):
Okay, first thing, get a contract.
Client contract.
Usually it is a family andcouples contract.
That's like our most genericportrait photography contract
that can be used for a varietyof situations.
And then a wedding photographycontract.
If you shoot traditional venuetype weddings, if you're a
destination photographer, you'llprobably want to go with that
one.
It's a little bit different,and if you're an adventure
(37:30):
elopement photographer, youwould want to go with that
contract.
So it's like usually one ofthose three at the top.
And then you want like generaladdendums and amendments.
Things are gonna change in ebband flow with your client
situations.
And so you're gonna want tohave that agreed to not just in
like email back and forth, like,okay, we're changing the date,
or, okay, we're adding a secondshooter on.
(37:51):
What does that cost?
And like, that needs to be inan addendum.
Or maybe you're changing thepackage price for whatever
reason you agree to it.
That needs to be in anamendment.
So those need to be in theirthird party payer addendum.
if you are in the wedding andevent industry, there's always
gonna be a situation where youfind out someone else is
involved in payment.
You can't do anything if youdon't find out and they use a
(38:12):
different credit card.
But when someone comes to youand they're like, I'm involved
and like, I'm paying, like, youdon't want them to now be your
client, you just want them to bethe third party payer.
So you have them sign and theclients sign a third party payer
addendum, but then your clientsare bound.
As clients to the actualwedding contract.
So those are all good ones tothink of.
(38:33):
A privacy of images clause is abig one now It's, we have it's
like an a la carte clause thathas three different options
depending on the clientsituation and how much privacy
they want or don't want.
And you would switch that outwith your model release clause.
So we're seeing that quite abit now.
Then register your LLC, maybebecome an S corporation down the
road if you are making a lot ofnet profit and you wanna save
(38:55):
on taxes.
We didn't get into that.
That's a whole other episode,you guys.
I have a lot of them on theLegal Legally Legit podcast,
which is my podcast.
So you can go listen to thoseor we could do another recording
about that.
Or you could talk to, just gotalk to a CPA.
They'll be able to help you andmake a determination if.
An S corp is a good idea.
But you're an LLC that filesfor tax purposes as an S corp.
(39:17):
It's not like a differentbusiness entity.
People oftentimes get thosemixed up.
You are an LLC and an S corp.
business insurance, obviouslygeneral liability and equipment
insurance, maybe someprofessional liability coverage.
A separate business bankaccount, no commingling funds.
I don't really even care ifyou're a sole proprietorship.
Just go get a separate businessbank account.
(39:38):
It's probably not a businessbank account, but just
separating funds is so mucheasier for tax season.
And just for understanding yourp and ls as a whole.
Clear privacy policy.
So if you have a website youlegally need to have a privacy
policy on the bottom footer ofyour website.
I guarantee you're probablycollecting somebody's personal
(39:58):
information.
If you have a popup, you'recollecting personal information
legally required federally andin California, of course.
And then internationally, ifanyone from Europe, GDPR is
landing on your website.
You are required to have aprivacy policy.
So website terms and conditionsand privacy policy, really
important.
I think a lot of people missthis step.
(40:19):
And then written workflows tostay consistent with everything
I just talked about and avoidconfusion with clients.
Alora (40:28):
Yeah, I mean, that's amazing.
I recently, had gotten thewebsite and the privacy policy
and I was like, nobody reallytalks about this, like, needing
all of these things.
And so it's good to have like amental checklist or have
somebody in the legal world thatcould be like, Hey, you need to
have X, Y, and Z because wedon't know the possibilities of
what could happen, but if youhave an email list and you're
(40:50):
getting somebody's information,like that is a way that you're
tracking data.
Or if you're doing Google ads,which.
are really, really big rightnow in all of the industries
'cause people are bookingweddings with ads.
So it's good to know and justbe protected legally in case.
I don't know what could happenand I don't wanna know what can
happen.
but yeah, better to be safeand, sorry.
Thank you.
Paige Griffith (41:07):
The other ones I just thought about
Alora (41:09):
Yeah.
Paige Griffith (41:10):
were like a second shooter agreement.
So if you're in the wedding andevent industry and you're
Alora (41:14):
Mm-hmm.
Paige Griffith (41:15):
or second shooters, make sure you have a
contract with them.
I see lots of.
Yuckiness occur with like abusiness to business
relationship versus a businessto client.
So have really solid secondshooter associate agreements.
And then the last thing that wewere talking about Let's wrap
this up with a bow.
What happens with cancellationsand reschedulings, you need a
(41:35):
cancellation agreement and youneed a rescheduling
Alora (41:38):
Hmm.
Paige Griffith (41:38):
So like everyone understands and agrees to the
terms of what that cancellationlooks like, what that
rescheduling looks like and putit in a four corner document
that is basically like stapledattached, so to speak, to the
original agreement.
Alora (41:53):
Are those like additional things they can purchase in the
shop to kind of like piece, addto the con.
Okay, gotcha.
Because I remember having thatin the pandemic.
Everybody was like, we don'tknow what to do.
We need to reschedule, we needto keep pushing this.
And I remember like you hadthat reschedule clause and then
there was the cancellationclause with whether or not there
was like a full refund or apartial refund or whatever the
policy is, but.
Paige Griffith (42:14):
So those are separate contracts.
I just want everyone tounderstand.
So a clause is what's in yourcontract when they originally
sign onto it, like, here are mybusiness policies surrounding
this.
But then what happens when thatoccurs?
Then you have to sign acancellation, like it's a
termination
Alora (42:30):
Mm-hmm.
Paige Griffith (42:30):
So what.
What are we tying up with a bowhere?
Is there, you know, can I nowbook someone else on that date?
You know, like having all ofthat agreed to.
And then same with arescheduling contract.
So it's like you have yourbusiness policies in your
contract, but then you have tosign an additional agreement
(42:51):
where everyone understands,okay, how are we moving forward?
Is there a partial refund?
Is there no refund?
Can I open this date back up onmy calendar?
Yes I can.
Once you sign that kind ofstuff.
Alora (43:00):
Okay.
So then having the originalcontract with all of your
clauses and then thesubcontracts that you would send
out in case they do want tocancel?
Correct.
Paige Griffith (43:08):
your subsequent contract, so that's gonna be
contract addendums, amendments,cancellation agreements,
rescheduling
Alora (43:14):
Yeah.
'cause it's definitelysomething that like I am dealing
with with my students andthey're just like, okay, there's
people canceling, there'speople moving, they don't know
what to do because of theeconomy.
And so it's just easy to know.
Like it's good to know that youcan also just be like, okay,
hey, this is what we agreed to,but we're gonna, this is gonna
stay like in your project, inyour HoneyBook, you know,
project or whatever.
So.
Paige Griffith (43:32):
Exactly.
Yep.
It's just an additionalcontract that you'd send to
them, but it's way shorter, youguys.
Alora (43:37):
Yeah.
Perfect.
Thank you so much Paige, forcoming on and just giving us the
legal rundown of how to run abusiness.
Stay safe, stay protected sothat nothing, you know, worst
case scenarios even can happen.
I mean, everything from how toget started, how to have a
business, bank account, LLCs,contracts, clauses, all those
things like this was just so, sohelpful.
(43:58):
I know my community is gonnalove it and probably listen to
it time and time again.
This was amazing.
Is there anything you wannaleave us with before we head off
and I put all the new links tothe show notes.
Paige Griffith (44:09):
Yeah.
Thanks everyone for listeningin.
Hopefully you gleaned a littlebit of legal insight here.
Again, take what you need.
Leave the rest.
It is a lot.
I totally understand that.
If you have additionalquestions, you can always join
us in the Facebook group.
Legally speaking, I can'tanswer one-on-one questions for
legal ethics andresponsibilities.
So we have 10,000 plusentrepreneurs in this legal
(44:32):
community on Facebook becausemyself and the lawyers on my
team.
Monitor it 24 7.
We answer questions in there soyou will get real time answers
from us, which is super cool.
And other business owners whohave maybe faced something
similar and they can offer, youknow, some expertise on their
end.
So it's a cool group, reallycollegial.
There's no spam, we don't doanything.
It's just legal questions allday long.
(44:53):
And then if you want othertips, tricks, legal insight, you
can find me at.
The legal page on Instagram andthe legal page.com.
We have lots of good freeresources, like if you want
additional information onbusiness entities and scorp, we
have great guides on that toofor you.
Alora (45:10):
Perfect.
Amazing.
And everybody else, thank youfor listening and we will see
you in the next episode.
Bye.
Hello and welcome back to the Wedding Atelier podcast.
Today I have a special guest,the legal page.
I'm so, so, so excited.
I have listened to her podcastfor years.
Not to mention, she helped mewith my pandemic clause in 2020,
which we're gonna talk aboutabout why we need to be legal
and legally legit as weddingphotographers and some of the
things that she has noticed as awedding photographer herself in
(00:22):
the industry.
So, Paige, welcome to thepodcast.
I'm so excited you're here.
Paige Griffith (00:26):
Thank you.
am excited to chat about allthings legal, photography, what
if situations, how to coveryourself in contracts, and
probably a lot more.
Alora (00:36):
Yeah, it's so funny because when.
We as photographers getstarted, we kind of just charge
for our work and then we say, ohyeah, let me do a free contract
I found on Google, and you'reprobably cringing.
that is what everyone does, butthey should not do.
But I do have a question toopen up with especially as
artists, and creatives trying tobe a little more like a CEO,
(00:57):
what would you say is the commonissues you see?
Contractually, even like LLC,there's so many things you need
to do to be legally prepared asa wedding photographer without,
possibly getting sued out ofyour mind.
Paige Griffith (01:10):
Yeah, so there's kind of two questions at play
here.
The contracts and clauses thatyou need in the wedding industry
as a wedding vendor or aphotographer, and then also
like.
What else you need to dolegally.
So let's start with the former.
the biggest things that I seeare really vague cancellation
and rescheduling clauses, if youcan believe it.
Even after 2020, I'm seeingstill really bad clauses, and I
(01:33):
think that's just due to maybeyou weren't in it as much as
everyone else in 2020 where wehad laser beam focus on our
cancellation reschedulingclauses, we were tweaking them
according to what was going onin the industry.
And clients' needs and clientspush back.
Well, clients are getting moreand more laser beam focused on
contracts as well.
And they're not only looking atfee and retainer clauses,
(01:55):
they're looking at cancellationrescheduling clauses.
That's what they really careabout.
so just clarity is extremelycrucial in those clauses.
I am seeing clients cancelingall the time, especially right
now when the economy is kind ofon edge or you know, when the
economy starts doing weirdthings.
Clients do weird things andmoney is important to them just
(02:17):
as much as it is important toyou.
However, like.
Your money is just asimportant.
I always tell people, so youshouldn't be penalized for a
voluntary cancellation orrescheduling situation.
And a good cancellation andrescheduling clause.
And we have these separated outin two different clauses
because I think for clarity'ssake you want it as conspicuous
as possible in your clientcontracts that like cancellation
(02:40):
by client.
Here's my cancellation policiesas a business owner,
rescheduling by client.
what those are.
Cancellation of services bycompany or by photographer or by
videographer?
Like what, what would be asituation?
Probably like personalemergency situations or
situations kind of beyond yourcontrol that are personal to
(03:01):
you.
We're not talking here forcemajeure.
But what would happen if youhave to cancel or get another
alternative professional to takeyour place and what are your
business policies surroundingthat?
So those.
Three clauses are reallycrucial and I always see them
combined together, kind ofconfusing language.
And I want them to be ascrystal clear as possible.
So look for that.
Look for incomplete paymentschedules or just contradictory
(03:26):
language in your contract.
Photographers in particularneed really, really clear
retainer language,non-refundable retainer.
Please don't use the worddeposit.
Deposit is oftentimes an amounttowards the final payment, and
if services aren't rendered,then a deposit is oftentimes
refundable.
Especially deposit is rooted inlandlord tenant law, so be
(03:47):
very, very cautious of usingthat term.
I suggest you use the wordretainer.
There's a lot of caseprecedent.
being able to keep the retainerand then even expressly
delineating, okay, my retaineris for booking X date out on my
calendar whereby I'm going tosay no to all of these other
clients.
So it's an opportunity costthere and it's really liquidated
(04:08):
damages in the event thatcancellation or rescheduling
does occur.
Like you get to keep thenon-refundable retainer as long
as they're notifying you inadvance.
And those all align.
So all of these clauses areworking together.
And then if you haveinstallment payments and final
payment terms, be really clear,like what are those installment
payments for?
Don't just say like, here's theinstallment payment and here's
(04:29):
when the final payment is dueby.
Like, what are those for?
Just make it really, reallyunderstandable to your clients,
like, what are they paying for?
Why are they paying you thisamount?
On this date for what?
And then the final paymentreally make it crystal clear
that those are for your day ofservices.
whether that's day ofphotography services,
(04:49):
videography services, and thenany post event production, those
types of things.
Because they want to know like,okay, if they cancel, say.
This is happening right now.
They're canceling orrescheduling.
Sometimes they're pushing thedate out altogether, like until
2026.
Maybe they need more time toget funds together or now isn't
the right time.
We saw this a lot in 2020 and2020 was mainly rescheduling
(05:12):
situations.
But we're seeing that too.
Like they're either pushing itout or they're canceling
altogether.
They're like, we're not gonnado this.
We're gonna spend our money onsomething else right now.
We're seeing the exact samethings that we saw in 2020,
which is fascinating to me.
So we just need to be preparedfor what if situations and
payment terms really need to gotowards.
Whatever day of services you'reproviding and then any post
(05:34):
event services you're providing,and then that is clear to
people, okay, if I cancel orreschedule, I don't have to make
that final payment becausethose services haven't been
rendered.
But I will forfeit thenon-refundable retainer and
probably any installmentpayments that I have paid up to
that date of cancellation orrescheduling because a lot of
those amount to like planningand communication services post
(05:55):
booking.
So those two things are big.
The other three things I'm justgonna like let people know
about here, so you can kind ofstart ruminating on this in your
mind is no clauses in yourcontract regarding client
behavior.
And this pops up in ourFacebook group all the time,
like, think here, harassment,unsafe working environments for
(06:15):
you and your assistants oranyone that's with you.
also don't see a lot oflanguage.
I see like basic model releaseclauses, but then those aren't
related to image rights and likecopyright clauses.
So just misunderstandings inyour contract surrounding image
rights and model releases, likewho can use, what is it a
(06:36):
personal license to use?
Is the client granting you avery specific model release?
And being really aware thatlike.
Privacy is of importancenowadays for a lot of clients.
So being willing as a serviceprovider, particularly
photographer or videographer,being willing to switch out like
an all-inclusive model releasewith a privacy of images clause.
(06:58):
so you might want to have likethat kind of.
Switch out language in yourback pocket, so to speak, is
what I like to call it.
And the very final one is anartistic style clause that is
due to what happened last yearwith CPA gate.
And if you don't have reallyclear language surrounding like,
okay, here is what you canexpect from me and.
(07:20):
You are presenting all of thatevidence and proof prior to them
booking.
Like your galleries all lookthe same, your website looks the
same, your, you know, Instagramall looks the same, and now
they've changed their mind likethey booked you for your
artistic style, but also beingvery clear that your artistic
style is like.
It's kind of ever evolving.
(07:40):
and it's also like due toweather implications and things
outside of your control.
So having a really robustartistic style clause is very
important as well.
So that's what needs to be inyour contracts.
Before we move on to like otherthings that you were talking
about, do you have anyadditional questions surrounding
contract clauses that I
Alora (08:01):
I think you nailed it.
Paige Griffith (08:02):
have in your contract?
Alora (08:03):
I was like, Paige, I think you nailed it.
Yes.
I feel like when I was piecingtogether my first contract, like
decades ago the only thing thatwas really included was the
artistic clause deliverables andeverything else.
it was deposit.
And so people are like, well, Ican get that back because it's
a deposit.
not realizing that the languageis really, really important.
But yeah, I think you're on aroll yes.
(08:24):
My other question, I don't evenremember it, but go ahead and
answer it.
Paige Griffith (08:27):
Yeah, you were kind of saying like, what do you
wish people would know more ofwhen it comes to the legalities
of their business?
Like, what do they need to do,what do they not need to do?
So contracts number one.
I'm glad we started there.
That absolutely needs to be thefirst thing you do.
It doesn't matter if you're asole proprietor or a limited
liability company.
Like please make sure that youhave a contract first and
(08:48):
foremost before you book anyone.
I always tell people like, youhave to treat your business like
a business.
It's no longer like a sidehustle passion.
Even if it's a side hustle,it's still a business.
You're still in it for profit.
And it's no longer like apassion project, I guess is what
I'm trying to say.
the legal side of your businessis, is extremely important.
So think contracts first, andthen I always tell people like,
(09:10):
think insurance.
We can talk about that a littlebit later.
But that's really important forlike sole proprietorships
starting out with a contract andreally good business insurance.
But when you want to actuallybecome a legitimate professional
business entity, you want tolook into becoming a limited
liability company, also known asan LLC.
In your home state is I justthink LLCs and contracts like
(09:33):
aren't really optional nowadays.
They're really, truly anecessity.
And I, I think at the beginningstages a lot of people.
Believe that verbal agreementsare okay, or like dms or text
message threads or whatever,like they're not going to
protect you.
Everything needs to be inwriting, and ideally you want to
have that signed writtenagreement that was written by an
(09:56):
attorney.
That covers everything that youcan expect and more that you're
not even sure you would needbecause you've only been in
business maybe for a, you know,small amount of time compared to
all of us, like a lot of us whohave been in the industry for
like 10 to 15 plus years.
and the other thing I would sayis like, lots of people have
this thought that like.
(10:16):
just, I'm a small business.
I'm like too small for a bunchof legal protection.
I don't really need it.
but starting right and startingout legally out of the gate
avoids huge headaches later onand it, no one is too small to
start out smart and.
You never know when you'regonna get into a situation.
(10:39):
It doesn't matter size ofbusiness that you are.
Oh client.
Situations happen all the time,day in, day out, and you don't
want like a little legal debacleor like.
Misunderstanding with yourclients to then turn into
something way more than youcould ever expect.
And even the best of clients.
(11:00):
And we all have the best ofintentions.
You just never know.
I don't wanna scare anyone.
There is a little bit of likebased knowledge that you need to
have in terms of legallyprotecting your business.
Like otherwise, why would we doit?
But you, you're only talkinghere like the 5% of bad clients,
but we all have them, right?
Like we've all experiencedthem.
(11:22):
You're nodding your head likewe have, we have a deep
understanding of how this goes.
And we just want others tolearn from our poor experiences
and like hope that that doesn'thappen to them.
the copy and paste contracts onthe internet just aren't gonna
do it.
If you find one from acolleague or a friend in the
industry I always say like,they're gonna get you 10 to 20%
(11:43):
of the way there.
I'm really happy that at leastyou have something.
Something's better thannothing.
But you will very much see whatis missing.
There are holes in thosecontracts.
It's not updated regularly.
Who knows who that was writtenfrom or where it came from?
Honestly, like the amount thatwe have to edit when we look or
do a contract review or audit onsomeone that got it from.
(12:06):
A friend or got it from likesome educator five years ago
that was randomly selling it ontheir website.
And they shouldn't, becausethat's unauthorized practice of
the law.
Like there's just weird thingsthat have gone down where I look
at it and I can tear thosecontracts apart, like they're
just missing things or they havecompeting language or
contradictory language, or thecross references aren't right.
(12:27):
Or they're just blatantlymissing things in their contract
that should be in there.
So.
I am just here always, always,always to educate, to provide
you knowledge and understanding.
It's important for you to knowwhy things need to be in your
contracts, why you need to setup your business.
Like as a limited liabilitycompany.
It's really inexpensive, nothard to do.
(12:50):
And yeah, legal doesn't have tobe scary.
Just know it's there to protectyou, not trap you.
Alora (12:55):
Yeah, I guess my question is like, I know when people
first get started, they don'treally know why they need an
LLC, like LLC versus soleproprietor.
When I became a business owner,my accountant just made me a
sole proprietor.
She's like, well just do thisfor now.
And so I was.
Bleeding in taxes.
And also too, I realized thatif somebody were to sue me, they
(13:15):
would take all of my personalassets.
Like is there anything elsethat you can stand by saying
like, hell, having an LLC is somuch, you know, more important
than just getting a random soleproprietor and just having an
EIN or something like that.
Paige Griffith (13:27):
Yeah, so sole proprietors ships, they're good
at the beginning.
They're the default type ofbusiness that you are, but
you're not an actual registeredbusiness entity.
A sole proprietorship is likean arm and extension of
yourself, so you're filing stillunder your social security
number.
just saying like, I've receivedsome additional income from X,
Y, z, like business venturesthat I've been doing.
(13:49):
and so you're right, you'respot on.
All of your personal assets,all of your savings account,
your home, your cars, likeeverything that you have worked
really hard for retirement,kids, savings accounts like that
is at risk.
And I am just like, no, no, no.
Like I've worked too hard forthat.
like, starting a business isrisky.
(14:10):
It doesn't matter what businessyou're starting, like you're
adding a bunch of risk to yourlife.
photography, videography, likewedding event it, well, weddings
and events do become a littlebit more risky than just like
portrait photography.
But.
As a whole, if you're lookingat like the full gamut and scope
of businesses out there, oursis way less risky than a lot of
(14:33):
businesses.
Alora (14:34):
Sure.
Paige Griffith (14:34):
So just know that, but you're still adding
risk.
And so if you wanna keep thosetwo separate, the best thing you
can do is become a limitedliability company.
So what it is, is it's a legalliability shield.
That's all it is.
when you say something abouttaxes, I think what you're
talking about is an Scorporation, and I can get to
that.
But an LLC is actually theexact same thing tax wise as a
(14:55):
sole proprietorship.
So it's called a pass throughtaxation entity.
Meaning that all of yourprofits, so net profits that are
coming from your LLC will justpass through to your personal
tax return and you only have tofile one tax return, which is
great, you get the legalliability protection.
So when I say you start withcontracts first, I really want
people to understand how itworks.
(15:17):
Like why do I have all thesethings in my business?
Well, your contract is yourfirst line of defense, so if
something were to come up,hopefully your business policies
and what the parties agreed tois resolved within the four
corners of the contract.
If it's not and there's likeambiguity or there's a dispute
regarding, you know, yourbusiness policies or what's,
(15:38):
maybe it wasn't in yourcontract.
Maybe there's confusinglanguage in your contract.
If your contract doesn'tresolve it, then usually you'd
go to business insurance or ifit's like a negligent.
Situation that occurred whereyou did cause like bodily injury
or damage to a person orsomething else, they could just
go to your business insurance.
That's probably not included inyour contract.
(15:59):
However, sometimes yourbusiness insurance will cover
things above and beyond thatyour contract can't resolve.
So it's like contract first,then business insurance.
And then what?
Like what if your businessinsurance is excluding things or
not covering, as we all know,we file claims and they're like,
no coverage.
Sorry.
Well then what?
When you're a sole proprietor,it's just gonna go straight.
(16:20):
Like all of that liability andrisk is out of pocket for
yourself, and you want to keepthat so tight within the LLC
bubble.
So it's like three bubbleswithin each other, the contract,
then the insurance, then yourLLC bubble.
long as you are making surethat you have an LLC bank
(16:40):
account, all of your touchingmoments.
Income and expenses are comingin and outta that bank account.
You're not commingling funds.
When you need to pay yourself.
You're just transferring thatinto your personal bank account.
As long as you're doing that,then really everything that's at
risk.
And the, if something likecatastrophic or like really bad
were to occur.
(17:02):
Or like say you losteverything, like.
I don't know.
I've seen it happen, you guys,I've seen it happen.
Memory cards from an entireceremony are wiped and gone,
like I know.
Worst case scenario.
And there was a lawsuit thatwent down and the dad was a
lawyer.
Like it was a huge deal.
We're talking here way aboveand beyond the contract, like
(17:23):
even though it had maximumdamages clause, like, I mean,
they're suing for everythingpossible because they can't get
that
Alora (17:30):
Yeah.
Paige Griffith (17:30):
like.
It's gone.
And so, you know, maybe at a$5,000 wedding, well now you're
being sued for like 30 to 40.
Your insurance isn't going tocover it.
And now that you just want atrisk with your LLC so that maybe
you have, I mean.
I'm just trying to use numbershere.
So it's, you guys can reallyget this in your head.
(17:50):
Like, maybe you only have20,000 in your business bank
account, then that's all that'sat risk, you
Alora (17:55):
Hmm.
Paige Griffith (17:55):
Or maybe you need to sell like some business
assets and probably not likeyou're gonna settle this dispute
is what I'm saying.
Why would you want $40,000 oflike your own money to be at
risk and like personal assets?
when I say sell things likegear and equipment and things
along those lines, like withinthe LLC bubble, so that's how
they all work together.
An LLC is also very easy to setup.
So it's just, you can DIY itand I'll make sure you have a
(18:19):
link to our D-I-Y-L-L-Cregistration guides.
We have gone through everysingle state's website and like,
done it for you and screenshotit and like showed you how to do
it.
So don't get in the trap oflike.
Hiring someone or some weirdbusiness online that has a good
like sponsored Google ad whenyou type it in, like, don't do
that.
'cause you're gonna get trappedinto them, like asking for more
(18:40):
and more money.
Alora (18:41):
Yes.
Paige Griffith (18:41):
Every single year you can do it yourself.
It's usually inexpensive.
Anywhere from like 50 to ahundred dollars, maybe a tiny
bit more if you're in Californiaor New York.
Nevada.
There's just a few states thatit is a little more expensive,
but I still think it's the bestbusiness insurance that you can
get and like that is so worthit.
And then you have to file asmall annual or biannual fee
(19:04):
just to tell your state, yes,I'm still an active business.
I'm still running this businessand making profit from it.
So I would like to continue myLLC registration.
And yeah, it's all done onlinenow, so it's a really simple way
to like set up yourself forsuccess and protect your
business in all respects.
Alora (19:22):
Yeah, I love that.
And also, this is basically alegal masterclass.
I'm literally like, yes, yes.
This is because it's true.
Like, and you don't even thinkabout like, okay, have an LLC.
Like I don't think peoplenormally explain why.
Just like, oh yeah, I have anLLC, or this is my business
name, LLC.
But it actually just means likeyour personal and business are
separate, like yourtransactions, your money, and
(19:44):
it's just.
It just feels safe to know.
And I actually have a question.
I didn't write this one down,but I'm curious to kind of like
some of the legal things thatyou have come in contact with.
It doesn't have to necessarilybe in the wedding industry, but
like something that you're like,okay, we need to like, or
business owners need to tightenup on X, Y, and z.
I mean, even just like withthem losing the whole ceremony,
(20:04):
like what would you say is likethe typical things that kind of
slip through the cracks legally?
Paige Griffith (20:09):
Mm, that's a limitation of liability clause.
So we have buttoned up thatclause, like time and time
again.
We're always looking at it tomake sure it's good to go.
So like for a photographer forexample, you want language in
that clause that's, you know,partial loss beyond like.
Of something.
And the beginning part of thatclause is gonna say things
regarding like, things that arekind of outside of your control,
(20:30):
equipment malfunction.
Like you'll do your duediligence, but at the end of the
day, like there is inherentrisk in this type of job.
And they're accepting that riskas much as you are.
So like liability for partialloss of images would be prorated
based on the total delivered.
That's something that I haveseen.
Artistic style clause, I'mgonna go back to that one from
(20:51):
last year.
Like language at the end ofthat, that like termination or
like by a client or cancellationor like, them disliking the
artistic style
Alora (21:02):
Yes.
Paige Griffith (21:03):
would not account for any refund in any
situation whatsoever.
That's important and I think alot of people.
We're on the fence about that,or just like it wasn't crystal
clear.
Force majeure clause, like atthe end of a force, majeure
clause Like here's what a forcemajeure event is.
Then the impacted party needsto notify the other party.
(21:24):
And then there's opportunity tocure performance.
You guys, a force majeureclause is not like a get out of
jail free card, like let's ripup the contract.
A force majeure clause isbasically like no one's
breaching the contract if thesesituations Occur and the party
should have the opportunity toperform and CURE like at a later
(21:46):
date.
So usually it's like within 30days or something along those
lines.
And if you can't cureperformance for whatever reason,
then what happens to fees paid?
Like this was the big thingthat happened in 2020, and I'm
still seeing it in contractslike nobody's having at the end
of that clause.
Well, okay.
that have been paid are now puton credit and can be used for
12 months, 18 months, like alonger opportunity to cure.
(22:09):
Maybe you have to terminatethat contract, but you're moving
fees paid over to a newrescheduled date.
Other things that I see I mean,clients just walking all over
people for cancellation andrescheduling purposes.
Like they just think that theycan strong arm you into things
and it's just unfortunate in thewedding industry, For whatever
(22:29):
reason, event vendors are nowbeing strong, armed more than
ever.
So it's really important.
to enforce your contract.
I can tell you everything andanything to put in it.
But at the end of the day, it'sonly as good as your
willingness to enforce it.
So you have to be aprofessional and you have to
stick to your contract.
I could go on and on.
I mean, there's all kinds ofweird things that go on
(22:51):
chargeback situations, likeafter everything has been
delivered and like what do youdo in those situations?
Defamation things happeningonline or social media blasting,
that's a
Alora (23:01):
Yeah.
Paige Griffith (23:02):
So yeah, I mean, like I said, I don't wanna
scare anyone.
I see everything and I see thebad.
But like I, you guys, themajority of your clients are
good.
You're just really trying.
But sometimes even those reallygood clients have questions
like, okay, are you gonnacomplimentary edit?
You know, 15 of the reallyimportant images to me, or do I
need to pay for that?
(23:22):
that needs to be clearlyexpressed in your contract
Alora (23:25):
Yeah.
Paige Griffith (23:26):
that there's no confusion down the road.
Like maybe they assume you'regonna complimentary edit what
they want, but how many, andlike what is above and beyond
the scope of what you're willingto do.
Alora (23:35):
Yeah,
Paige Griffith (23:35):
I could go on and on,
Alora (23:36):
and
Paige Griffith (23:36):
those are some
Alora (23:37):
it's true, there are tons of situations and circumstances
and nuances in, in anyindustry, but specifically like
with weddings and photography,because it's a one-time event
usually, you know?
So yeah, your contract reallyneeds to be tight in case
anything can go wrong.
And there have been many times.
Like in my wedding photographybusiness where I was like, thank
goodness for this 16 pagecontract that like held tight
(24:01):
you know, to the situations.
'cause there could be a myriadof things that go wrong, but
it's just better to be safe thansorry.
So totally stand behind that.
I do have a question about kindof like what you see.
In the economy right now,because you said it's getting
similar to the pandemic, kind oflike how people are
rescheduling.
I know there's been like tonsof layoffs.
Can you kind of speak to justlike your opinion of what you
(24:22):
think is going on and just likehow wedding photographers can be
better prepared for that?
Something like that?
Paige Griffith (24:28):
Yeah, I think there's just a lot of
uncertainty right
Alora (24:30):
Hmm.
Yeah.
Paige Griffith (24:31):
like something changed this week with tariffs
again,
Alora (24:33):
Oh.
Paige Griffith (24:34):
there's so much uncertainty that, you know, I've
got my pulse on it and I aneconomics and political science
major and I have a degree, soI'm very interested in it, but a
lot of people aren't as cluedin and there's just so much.
What's gonna happen and whenthis, this is what I mean is the
sentiment of that uncertainty,what's going to happen.
(24:57):
And people hold on to money,like they're not sure.
And so clients kind of retractback.
Not everyone, not everyone.
And you just have to be awareof that.
Like clients are uneasy rightnow.
various reasons.
You have no idea what'shappening in their life and
personal world and like maybetheir, one of their partners got
(25:18):
laid off, like you just don'tknow.
And so you have to be lead withkindness, lead with
understanding.
But also know that your moneyis just as important as their
money.
I don't want you to go out ofbusiness.
And that was the situation Iwas in in 2020, was trying to,
everyone was in the same boat.
We're all trying not to sink.
(25:39):
Like we gotta make sure thatthe industry doesn't collapse
overnight.
So.
As an industry, what is ourindustry standard moving forward
here?
Okay.
I feel like it was really cool'cause we were all banding
together at that period of time.
Same goes here with a lot moreexperience under our belt now.
I am seeing people saying whatI have been telling them for
(26:01):
years, like, stand by yourcontract.
Stand by your non-refundableretainer.
Yes, they might be able tocancel or reschedule.
Of course, you probably can'tget that final payment due at
this point, but at least you'renot out of everything.
And, leading with kindness, butleading with understanding.
Like you don't need to say,this is what my clause says in
email number one, back to yourclient.
Alora (26:20):
Yeah.
Paige Griffith (26:21):
But you need to like, use similar language so
that they know like yourbusiness policies are what your
Alora (26:26):
Mm-hmm.
Paige Griffith (26:27):
Always lean on what your contract is saying so
that by email three or four, ifthere is just so much back and
forth pushback, then you can goand enforce your contract.
Like, okay, they're not gettingit.
Like this is what it's gonnabe.
And yeah, I would say likethat's what I'm seeing.
people are either rescheduling,they're like unsure, or they're
(26:48):
seeing budgets go way up.
So with this tariff thing wesaw this with building costs
back in 2020, Like if you weretrying to build in 2019 or early
2020.
Your building costs wereastronomical come June of 2020.
So I think that uncertainty islike, is that gonna happen
again?
Like, what's going on withtariffs and people with
wholesale costs, florals mobilebars, caterers.
(27:12):
I mean, there's plenty ofothers, bakers like those
pricing is going up.
So now clients are seeing likethe whole of what they budgeted
for last year to what is comingthis year is just changing.
And they're having to makedecisions based on their budget.
So we can all get that like,money is important, but your
money is just as important astheirs.
(27:33):
And so don't fall into the trapof like.
Oh, I, I just, I feel bad forthis situation.
Like I need to refund becausewe've also seen some like so
great lies and like threats andyou just never know.
Like you never know if they aretelling the truth.
but you want to make sure thatlike you are protecting your
(27:54):
business as well.
I feel like I'm just like goingdown a bad rabbit hole here.
But.
Hopefully I'm like lettingpeople know like there are like
these what if situations theyare coming to fruition and I'm
seeing them more and more.
If you just hop into the legalpage community on Facebook, it's
a free group, TLP facebook.com.
You can just like social,listen on the side.
(28:15):
You don't even have to doanything or post anything.
But it's really enlightening tobe like, oh my gosh, this is
Alora (28:20):
Mm-hmm.
Paige Griffith (28:21):
Okay.
This was a client situationthat occurred with another
wedding vendor.
Alora (28:25):
Mm-hmm.
Paige Griffith (28:25):
my contract, but also my workflows and processes
and client communication, allof those go together.
Alora (28:31):
Yeah, I, like I said, it just makes sense to be better
safe than sorry.
And we kind of just have tolike be so for real with
ourselves.
Like, okay, this is happening.
Let me go check my contract.
'cause I don't want that tohappen to me.
So it's, I'd like to know worstcase scenarios.
I like bad news before the goodnews.
'cause then the good news willlike help me after the bad.
So it's kind of like the samesituation, just like be
prepared.
Paige Griffith (28:51):
Always.
Alora (28:52):
like we really have to be prepared because every time
there's an economy shift, thewedding industry gets hit so
hard because of the big budgetsthat people are spending on
their wedding day.
And so it's either like, oh,okay, you can like raise your
prices or you gotta like scaleback.
And so I think everyone's justkinda like freaking out about
that right now.
Paige Griffith (29:09):
Well, weddings are a luxury no matter what,
like budget
Alora (29:13):
Mm-hmm.
Paige Griffith (29:14):
like a wedding isn't a necessity, so to speak.
It's a want for your clients.
Alora (29:18):
Yeah.
Paige Griffith (29:19):
And how big and different is that want?
I mean, I don't know.
I'm probably gonna get a lot offlack here, but it's true.
Alora (29:25):
Yeah.
Paige Griffith (29:26):
there are various ways to go get
Alora (29:28):
Mm-hmm.
Paige Griffith (29:29):
and it doesn't involve a huge wedding, and so
they are making decisions andchoices based on that.
And again, this isn't as big ofa deal as the pandemic
Alora (29:40):
Sure.
Paige Griffith (29:40):
and we learned so much five years ago.
So I feel like we are so muchmore
Alora (29:45):
Mm-hmm.
Paige Griffith (29:46):
as wedding vendors than we were back then.
But it's just interesting tosee how these little things are
popping back up and what it'sgoing to do.
Like you said, to the weddingindustry, come 2026 and 2027,
we're gonna see.
and flows and shifts again,which is common.
We've been in it for longenough decades that we're like,
you guys, this happened.
I remember people that I'vetalked to that are educators
(30:09):
that are like forties, fifties,and they're like, this happened
in 2008, 2009.
Like remember that you guys, weall got through it.
It's okay.
Alora (30:18):
Okay.
See?
Paige Griffith (30:19):
not fun, but we do get through it.
Alora (30:21):
Yeah, and I feel like we get more and more prepared as
we're just kind of like, we haveto learn how to adjust and not
be so stuck in your ways.
Being like, okay, this isshifting, so we need to make
changes.
You know what I mean?
Just like being really quick tonot be stuck in your ways.
Like I'm just trying to bewhere I was in 2019, like 2019
is so gone.
Like we gotta be focusing on2025 probably to 2030, depending
(30:41):
on what's gonna happen in theeconomy.
So.
I feel like that's reallyinteresting too.
Like your majors kind of helpyou really stay up to date with
like what's going on.
You're like, oh, I know whatthat is.
I know what's coming.
Like that is such a really goodskill to have, like off the
record.
Paige Griffith (30:54):
Thank you.
And I guess for everyoneinvolved, like your contracts
get you or everyone listening,if you're involved in this, you
know, whatever situation with aclient Your contract is really
important, but so is your
Alora (31:07):
Hmm.
Paige Griffith (31:08):
So like definitely listen to our gal
here on pricing, like youroverhead and like how much your
markup is, and that is just asimportant as like what your
retainer language is in yourcontract.
Because there's a numberattached to that
Alora (31:25):
Hmm.
Paige Griffith (31:25):
payment, and so you need to make sure that that
is covering your costs for ifthese things occur, then I'm in
an okay situation as a businessowner where I'm not out,
everything,
Alora (31:36):
Mm-hmm.
Paige Griffith (31:36):
Because I have appropriately priced what my
retainer payment needs to be andwhat my subsequent installment
payments need to be.
If you do installment paymentsand what that final payment is.
Alora (31:46):
Yeah, I mean it's just really important to know because
we're gonna have to constantlybeing aware, like I'm not a
finance girly.
I am more of like left-handedartist.
So like me having to focus onthe ups and downs of like what's
happening in the stock market,what's happening with this, and
like seeing so many.
YouTube shorts, you know,tiktoks and being like, okay,
this is what's happening in theindustry.
This is what we need to focuson.
The richer getting richer, theaverage people are scrambling.
(32:08):
So I'm just kind of like, okay,just like with business, all of
this stuff is kind of likeidentifying patterns.
So, I mean, it's kind of likeyou kind of just like.
What do you call that?
You just gotta jump in the shipand keep going.
I don't know, I think I madethat up, but we're gonna like
switch over a little bit tosomething that was on my mind.
'cause I've recently, you know,rebranded and I paid for
trademarks and all these otherthings.
(32:29):
'cause I realized that like thename that I was serving was
trademarked and learning thatsomebody could send a cease
desist and be like, Hey, changethis.
Or you're being sued.
So do you think like as weddingphotographers or maybe all
business owners, should theytrademark their business names
or their name?
Like, could you possibly haveto rebrand your own name because
(32:51):
somebody trademarked it beforeyou?
Like what do you think theseriousness is behind
trademarks?
Paige Griffith (32:57):
Oh, it's so serious.
I'm an intellectual property
Alora (32:59):
Yes.
Paige Griffith (33:00):
So the legal page is a legal education
platform and contract templateshop, but I also have a law
firm, Griffis Waza Law, and we.
Deal with trademarkregistrations and infringement
and copyright registrations andinfringement day in and day out.
I was just in a lawsuit for 18months with a sub-brand name of
mine.
So like it can happen tolawyers and it can happen to
(33:20):
intellectual property lawyers.
I see it.
I just had a friend thatmessaged me two weeks ago and
was like, oh my gosh, we got acease and desist for this
workshop name that we have.
What do I do?
Alora (33:32):
Oh my gosh.
Paige Griffith (33:32):
much marketing and advertising behind it, and I
looked into it and I was like,you kind of have two options,
like option one, lease risky,like change a name, option two,
like they have the federaltrademark, like maybe get them
to allow you to license it.
That's.
A tall order uphill battle,good luck.
Like I can help you with that,but I can't guarantee anything
(33:53):
that they're gonna agree to it.
A federal trademark is, it'slike lock and key for the most
part, unless we're talking likegeneric terms, generic side,
that can happen, like with theterm adventure sessions that
came up recently or like WildWest weddings, we've seen that
as well.
There's been some weirdtrademark stuff the past six
months, honestly.
It's never dull in the weddingand event.
(34:15):
But what I'm trying to say hereis like, trademarking your name
is really, really important.
You have to know that you arelegally using a brand name that
you can use and you're notinfringing on someone else's.
So step one, two, if you have areally unique business name
that isn't your first and lastname, it's very hard to
trademark your first and lastname.
You need to have what's calledsecondary meaning.
(34:36):
Like you gotta be Taylor Swiftkind of thing.
Like you have to have a namethat no one else has that
everyone can associate that namewith that brand, which is, that
makes sense.
There's so many overlaps inpeople's first and last names.
Surnames are very, very hard toget registered.
So we're talking here like adifferent brand name.
Like the legal page is uniquebecause it has my business, my
(34:57):
name in it, but it's a uniquetwist on that and I trademarked
that right away when I came upwith it so that no one else
could take it or iterations ofit.
Like if someone tried to doPAGE, they wouldn't be able to
do that, because that's a reallyspecific derivation from what I
have.
so yeah, you stand out, youwant to prevent confusion from
others, and a trademark is theway to do that.
(35:19):
And it's automatic damages.
It is also a way to increaseyour brand's value and long-term
growth for potential sale.
is, an intangible assetattached to your business, so
there's monetary value attachedto that.
Not only can you send cease anddesist all day long and make
sure that people aren't usingyour brand name.
To help them commerciallyprofit
Alora (35:37):
Yeah.
Paige Griffith (35:38):
But if you were to ever sell a portion of your
business or maybe sell youronline course or sell your
digital products to someoneelse, like that's happening all
the time in the digital space,if you have a trademark attached
to that, your amount for thatsale goes way up.
Way up and it goes up for howlong you've had that trademark
and goodwill associated.
So the sooner, the better aswell, I mean, it's, it's
(36:01):
important when you're firststarting your brand as well.
I want you to do it as soon aspossible, but it's also very
important if you're everthinking about a sale, to do it
as soon as possible.
Bottom line trademarks equalslegal ownership of your brand
identity.
A hundred percent worth it.
I could talk about this all daylong and if you guys need any
help or you wanna like hop on aconsultation and be like, Hey,
(36:23):
this is what my brand name is,or this is what, you know, other
offerings I have in the digitalspace, online space, I am happy
to do that.
And as are my lawyers in my lawfirm.
And we can have a consultationwith you and kind of give you
step-by-step approach of like,yes, let's trademark this.
No, this probably isn't goingto go through, but like, here's
(36:44):
some risks with it.
Maybe I would suggest you tryor let's not do it.
Let's not waste your money.
A consult is always a good wayto start with an intellectual
property lawyer, and I'll makesure that they have the link to
contact us.
Alora (36:55):
Perfect.
'cause that was gonna lead meto my next question about what
would you say are like thenecessary must have or top
contracts and tools, which weprobably already discussed.
So that would be in the shownotes that You recommend to
photographers right now?
Paige Griffith (37:09):
Okay, first thing, get a contract.
Client contract.
Usually it is a family andcouples contract.
That's like our most genericportrait photography contract
that can be used for a varietyof situations.
And then a wedding photographycontract.
If you shoot traditional venuetype weddings, if you're a
destination photographer, you'llprobably want to go with that
one.
It's a little bit different,and if you're an adventure
(37:30):
elopement photographer, youwould want to go with that
contract.
So it's like usually one ofthose three at the top.
And then you want like generaladdendums and amendments.
Things are gonna change in ebband flow with your client
situations.
And so you're gonna want tohave that agreed to not just in
like email back and forth, like,okay, we're changing the date,
or, okay, we're adding a secondshooter on.
(37:51):
What does that cost?
And like, that needs to be inan addendum.
Or maybe you're changing thepackage price for whatever
reason you agree to it.
That needs to be in anamendment.
So those need to be in theirthird party payer addendum.
if you are in the wedding andevent industry, there's always
gonna be a situation where youfind out someone else is
involved in payment.
You can't do anything if youdon't find out and they use a
(38:12):
different credit card.
But when someone comes to youand they're like, I'm involved
and like, I'm paying, like, youdon't want them to now be your
client, you just want them to bethe third party payer.
So you have them sign and theclients sign a third party payer
addendum, but then your clientsare bound.
As clients to the actualwedding contract.
So those are all good ones tothink of.
(38:33):
A privacy of images clause is abig one now It's, we have it's
like an a la carte clause thathas three different options
depending on the clientsituation and how much privacy
they want or don't want.
And you would switch that outwith your model release clause.
So we're seeing that quite abit now.
Then register your LLC, maybebecome an S corporation down the
road if you are making a lot ofnet profit and you wanna save
(38:55):
on taxes.
We didn't get into that.
That's a whole other episode,you guys.
I have a lot of them on theLegal Legally Legit podcast,
which is my podcast.
So you can go listen to thoseor we could do another recording
about that.
Or you could talk to, just gotalk to a CPA.
They'll be able to help you andmake a determination if.
An S corp is a good idea.
But you're an LLC that filesfor tax purposes as an S corp.
(39:17):
It's not like a differentbusiness entity.
People oftentimes get thosemixed up.
You are an LLC and an S corp.
business insurance, obviouslygeneral liability and equipment
insurance, maybe someprofessional liability coverage.
A separate business bankaccount, no commingling funds.
I don't really even care ifyou're a sole proprietorship.
Just go get a separate businessbank account.
(39:38):
It's probably not a businessbank account, but just
separating funds is so mucheasier for tax season.
And just for understanding yourp and ls as a whole.
Clear privacy policy.
So if you have a website youlegally need to have a privacy
policy on the bottom footer ofyour website.
I guarantee you're probablycollecting somebody's personal
(39:58):
information.
If you have a popup, you'recollecting personal information
legally required federally andin California, of course.
And then internationally, ifanyone from Europe, GDPR is
landing on your website.
You are required to have aprivacy policy.
So website terms and conditionsand privacy policy, really
important.
I think a lot of people missthis step.
(40:19):
And then written workflows tostay consistent with everything
I just talked about and avoidconfusion with clients.
Alora (40:28):
Yeah, I mean, that's amazing.
I recently, had gotten thewebsite and the privacy policy
and I was like, nobody reallytalks about this, like, needing
all of these things.
And so it's good to have like amental checklist or have
somebody in the legal world thatcould be like, Hey, you need to
have X, Y, and Z because wedon't know the possibilities of
what could happen, but if youhave an email list and you're
(40:50):
getting somebody's information,like that is a way that you're
tracking data.
Or if you're doing Google ads,which.
are really, really big rightnow in all of the industries
'cause people are bookingweddings with ads.
So it's good to know and justbe protected legally in case.
I don't know what could happenand I don't wanna know what can
happen.
but yeah, better to be safeand, sorry.
Thank you.
Paige Griffith (41:07):
The other ones I just thought about
Alora (41:09):
Yeah.
Paige Griffith (41:10):
were like a second shooter agreement.
So if you're in the wedding andevent industry and you're
Alora (41:14):
Mm-hmm.
Paige Griffith (41:15):
or second shooters, make sure you have a
contract with them.
I see lots of.
Yuckiness occur with like abusiness to business
relationship versus a businessto client.
So have really solid secondshooter associate agreements.
And then the last thing that wewere talking about Let's wrap
this up with a bow.
What happens with cancellationsand reschedulings, you need a
(41:35):
cancellation agreement and youneed a rescheduling
Alora (41:38):
Hmm.
Paige Griffith (41:38):
So like everyone understands and agrees to the
terms of what that cancellationlooks like, what that
rescheduling looks like and putit in a four corner document
that is basically like stapledattached, so to speak, to the
original agreement.
Alora (41:53):
Are those like additional things they can purchase in the
shop to kind of like piece, addto the con.
Okay, gotcha.
Because I remember having thatin the pandemic.
Everybody was like, we don'tknow what to do.
We need to reschedule, we needto keep pushing this.
And I remember like you hadthat reschedule clause and then
there was the cancellationclause with whether or not there
was like a full refund or apartial refund or whatever the
policy is, but.
Paige Griffith (42:14):
So those are separate contracts.
I just want everyone tounderstand.
So a clause is what's in yourcontract when they originally
sign onto it, like, here are mybusiness policies surrounding
this.
But then what happens when thatoccurs?
Then you have to sign acancellation, like it's a
termination
Alora (42:30):
Mm-hmm.
Paige Griffith (42:30):
So what.
What are we tying up with a bowhere?
Is there, you know, can I nowbook someone else on that date?
You know, like having all ofthat agreed to.
And then same with arescheduling contract.
So it's like you have yourbusiness policies in your
contract, but then you have tosign an additional agreement
(42:51):
where everyone understands,okay, how are we moving forward?
Is there a partial refund?
Is there no refund?
Can I open this date back up onmy calendar?
Yes I can.
Once you sign that kind ofstuff.
Alora (43:00):
Okay.
So then having the originalcontract with all of your
clauses and then thesubcontracts that you would send
out in case they do want tocancel?
Correct.
Paige Griffith (43:08):
your subsequent contract, so that's gonna be
contract addendums, amendments,cancellation agreements,
rescheduling
Alora (43:14):
Yeah.
'cause it's definitelysomething that like I am dealing
with with my students andthey're just like, okay, there's
people canceling, there'speople moving, they don't know
what to do because of theeconomy.
And so it's just easy to know.
Like it's good to know that youcan also just be like, okay,
hey, this is what we agreed to,but we're gonna, this is gonna
stay like in your project, inyour HoneyBook, you know,
project or whatever.
So.
Paige Griffith (43:32):
Exactly.
Yep.
It's just an additionalcontract that you'd send to
them, but it's way shorter, youguys.
Alora (43:37):
Yeah.
Perfect.
Thank you so much Paige, forcoming on and just giving us the
legal rundown of how to run abusiness.
Stay safe, stay protected sothat nothing, you know, worst
case scenarios even can happen.
I mean, everything from how toget started, how to have a
business, bank account, LLCs,contracts, clauses, all those
things like this was just so, sohelpful.
(43:58):
I know my community is gonnalove it and probably listen to
it time and time again.
This was amazing.
Is there anything you wannaleave us with before we head off
and I put all the new links tothe show notes.
Paige Griffith (44:09):
Yeah.
Thanks everyone for listeningin.
Hopefully you gleaned a littlebit of legal insight here.
Again, take what you need.
Leave the rest.
It is a lot.
I totally understand that.
If you have additionalquestions, you can always join
us in the Facebook group.
Legally speaking, I can'tanswer one-on-one questions for
legal ethics andresponsibilities.
So we have 10,000 plusentrepreneurs in this legal
(44:32):
community on Facebook becausemyself and the lawyers on my
team.
Monitor it 24 7.
We answer questions in there soyou will get real time answers
from us, which is super cool.
And other business owners whohave maybe faced something
similar and they can offer, youknow, some expertise on their
end.
So it's a cool group, reallycollegial.
There's no spam, we don't doanything.
It's just legal questions allday long.
(44:53):
And then if you want othertips, tricks, legal insight, you
can find me at.
The legal page on Instagram andthe legal page.com.
We have lots of good freeresources, like if you want
additional information onbusiness entities and scorp, we
have great guides on that toofor you.
Alora (45:10):
Perfect.
Amazing.
And everybody else, thank youfor listening and we will see
you in the next episode.
Bye.
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