Legally Legit® Podcast

In Episode #131 of The Legal Paige Podcast, I went solo to chat about growing a legal (and enticing) associate photography program. As a former photographer myself, I have a special place in my heart for all my camera-slingin’ friends who want to grow a sustainable business. IMO, associates are a great place to start because they allow your business to be in multiple places at once WITHOUT adding more to your calendar. Whether you are new to the entrepreneurship game or a seasoned vet, this episode is going to be extremely helpful in growing your associate program. 

WHAT IS AN ASSOCIATE?

Associates are usually Independent Contractors who are hired by you to represent your business. They can either work alongside you or in place of you (but most end up actually filling the shoes you can’t be in because you are already somewhere else). Although they are commonly talked about in the photography industry, associate programs are a great model to use for many businesses! For example, let’s say you are a hairstylist: You’ve built up your business doing weddings and events but you really want to ditch working weekends + focus your energy on managing and growing your salon. By hiring associates to do weddings and events FOR your brand, that stream of income will remain intact while you focus on higher-level, CEO duties.

It’s a win/win, right?

Beyond the obvious benefits of having your brand in multiple places at once, hiring associates is also a GREAT way to dip your toes into growing your team without hiring dedicated employees. You’ll be able to delegate, build your business, learn your leadership style, and scale your revenue without the cumbersome details that hiring employees can bring. 

In the photography + videography industry, most associates already have an established business and foundation of skills for you to draw from. They LOVE the art of shooting but aren’t quite ready to handle all the marketing, workflows, branding, SOPs, client communication, and sales of their own business. An associate program gives them the opportunity to work for someone, gain valuable experience in the industry, and do what they love without all the backend work. 

HOW TO MAKE YOUR ASSOCIATE PROGRAM LEGAL 

You may be sitting there thinking, “I’ve tried to hire an associate in the past, but it was NOT a good experience.” or “My friend just told me a horror story about the associate she recently had to fire!” 

As with any business endeavor, there are definitely risks to starting an associate program but the benefits can be truly worth it! It’s important to make sure you are protected and have your legal bases covered from the VERY beginning of your professional relationship with a new associate. Specifically, you should use an Associate Contract that lays out the duties of the associate, their pay, travel reimbursement, and all your expectations for them. Aside from those kinds of clauses, your contract should also have several non-negotiable clauses that I thoroughly cover in this episode.  

MORE FROM THIS EPISODE 

In Episode #130 of The Legal Paige Podcast, I sat down with family photographer and educator, Jodi Lynn Buckles of Jodi Lynn Photography.  Jodi Lynn and I had a wonderful discussion about the business side of family photography- an area that can feel overwhelming when your heart beats for capturing connection (not figuring out how to book out your calendar or avoid customer service issues). We chatted about the legal clauses you should have in your family photography contract, sticky situations you want to avoid when having families as your main clientele, pricing your family photography competitively and how to upsell to your clients without feeling icky. It’s a must-listen episode if you are pursuing family photography and I know you’ll leave feeling inspired by Jodi Lynn’s knack for meeting other artists on their journey and helping them find their unique voice.

MEET JODI LYNN 

Jodi Lynn is a Mother to four precious souls, wife to a loving mountain man, daughter, Emotive Family + Motherhood Photographer and Mentor in beautiful Sonoma County, California, soon to be North Idaho. She is passionate about creating living poetry with her imagery and nothing fills her heart more than producing meaningful art that truly tells unique, tangible stories of connection, beauty, and truth. Photography has been a way for her to foster and share love with others and to be genuine with her craft. Seeing that true human connection and significance in her work, and with those whom she teaches, makes her heart sing. She hopes to inspire others to do some soul searching and to find their true why.

Jodi mentors other Photographers in creating the business of their dreams, setting them up for success, supporting them in attracting their ideal client, providing excellent client communication and a true experience. All while producing meaningful work that is representative of the unique, heartfelt stories we tell. 

Be sure to follow along with Jodi Lynn + all the meaning and connection she offers through her work: 

Instagram: @jodilynnphotography 

Website: www.jodi-lynnphotography.com 

Facebook: Jodi Lynn Photography 

MORE FROM THIS EPISODE

Tune into Episode #130 and you’ll get answers to some of your top family photography business questions:

• “What are some of the things you WISH you had in your family photography contract when you first started?” 
• “What should family photographers do when clients ask for photos 1-2 years after their shoot?” 
• “How do you price your family sessions competitively in the market but also clients that are in love with your work + visi

In Episode #129 of The Legal Paige Podcast, I sat down with beauty biz strategist, Tiyana Robinson, to uncover the legal woes in the solopreneur beauty industry + draw upon her entrepreneurial expertise. (Spoiler alert: She is a treasure trove of amazing advice!) Many beauty professionals come from a traditional cosmetology school background or are self-taught artists that turned their passion into a lucrative side hustle. As every creative entrepreneur knows- sometimes the BUSINESS side of running a business is overwhelming and Tiyana does such a great job of simplifying what it takes to run a freelance beauty business “like a mogul”.

MEET TIYANA ROBINSON

Tiyana is an award-winning Washington DC-based Professional Makeup Artist and Founder of Beauty Mogul University, where she teaches Makeup Artists and Solo Beauty Pros how to diversify their income, create money on-demand, and launch their digital beauty businesses by offering online classes, courses and digital + physical products so they can make money beyond their chair. She has been featured in Black Enterprise, Entrepreneur.com, Essence Magazine, and in 2020 she was included in The Root’s “Glow-Up 50”- an annual celebration of the black tastemakers, trendsetters, and innovators elevating the world of style- in the same category as Rihanna (yup, she’s pretty cool).      As a Beauty Mogul Coach, she’s helped HUNDREDS of solo beauty pros double or triple their rates, grow their business to six figures, launch their own signature beauty products, level up their branding + stand out in their city, and become the go-to local beauty superstar for the signature service they provide.

Be sure to follow along with Tiyana + all the beauty she brings to the world! 

Instagram: @tiyanarobinsonbeauty
Websites: tiytaughtme.com, beautyfunnelacademy.com
Facebook: Makeup Mogul Official 

MORE FROM THIS EPISODE 

Tune into Episode #129 and you’ll get answers to your burning HMUA questions like, “How do I navigate the dichotomy between my client’s wishes and my personal style?” “What clauses do I need to have in my HMUA contract from the get go?”, “What should you charge for a retainer fee when every group size varies?”, and “What should every new beauty professional know as they enter into entrepreneurship?” This one is a must-listen for all my HMUA friends- and if you’re craving even more community in the world of beauty? Be sure to join The Legal Paige Facebook Group where thousands of entrepreneurs just like you are getting real-time answers about running a professionally and legally legit business.

The Legal Paige Shownotes

In Episode #128 of The Legal Paige Podcast I’m covering the questions that most small business owners have about CONTRACTS! Do you need a contract? Will a contract really be beneficial to your business? Can you use one contract for a variety of purposes or do you need to purchase different types of contracts for each service? Tune in and I’ll share how contracts will *actually* change your business and whether you can use one template contract for all your needs!

The Legal Paige Shownotes

Episode Highlights

• I am covering questions that most small business owners have about contracts!
• I am sharing my legal answer on if you can use one contract for a variety of purposes. 
• Why a contract will be extremely beneficial and change your business!
• How adding any legal document to your toolkit as a new business owner should be step #1. 
• And so much more!

Worth Noting

"Having a contract for your business can prevent stress, money, problems, lawsuits, legal debacle, extreme confrontations... You name it. Having that contract in place can be the difference between thriving or failing. You don't go into business with the intention of failing. So why would you put yourself in that position without a proper contract in place for your clients to sign?"

- Paige's advice on why having contracts can be the difference in your business.

"Many people think that like a long lengthy contract is scary and it's going to like scare off your clients. And I have heard the exact opposite from TLP customers. They're booking higher end clients, their highest packages because their contracts are so thorough and are two-sided and have roles and rights and responsibilities of all parties."

- Paige on why a contract isn't going to scare potential clients away, but actually bring you high-end clients. 

"Here at TLP we offer what's called à la carte clauses. They are clauses that can be added into your existing contract if you feel like your contract needs it. They are written from the perspective of a lawyer who knows how to write contracts and who knows how to properly wordsmith legal language to be in very understandable. Some of these clauses are things such as COVID clauses, because we realized every business has different policies. And depending on how you run your business, your morals and your ethics, you can choose a clause that best suits your practices."

- Paige's take on why certain clauses aren't included in template contracts

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In Episode #127 of the podcast, I discuss Contract Cancellations and how to best go about them with clients (whether its because your clients want or need to cancel, or you’re needing to cancel for some reason). Obviously this issue is a touchy subject because no one ever intends to enter into a contract to terminate it before all parties have completed their performance. Also, sometimes cancelling can lead to bad tastes in clients mouths, yucky feelings all around, and bad reviews (which is the worst case scenario). So we want to talk to you about how to handle these situations from a legal perspective, also with the utmost customer service, so that you can drastically reduce your risk of getting into more trouble later down the road. 

 The Legal Paige Shownotes

  
Episode Highlights

• How to handle cancellations from a legal perspective.
• Why customer service is still extremely important during these types of situations.
• How you can drastically reduce your risk of getting into more trouble later on down the road.
• Which legal documents you are going to want to add to your legal toolkit going forward.
• And so much more!

Worth Noting

- Paige on what to do when you are canceling the contract as the service provider.
 

- Paige's advice on what to have in your cancellation contract should the client want to cancel.
 

- Paige's advice on why sending a cancellation agreement is important.

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In Episode #126 of the podcast, I discuss the clauses members of The Legal Paige Community WISHED they would have put in their contract. The truth is, there are certain clauses you should always have in your contract because they can save you a world of headaches + legal troubles- in this episode, you’ll hear my list of must-haves as well as insight from our community on clauses they regret not having. If you don’t take it from me, take it from them!
 

 The Legal Paige Shownotes
 
Episode Highlights
 

• My list of must-haves when it comes to clauses that will save you a world of headaches and legal troubles.
   
• Insight from the TLP community and clauses they have regret on not having in their contracts.
   
• Clauses to help when sticky legal situation happen like; breakdown in communication, you or the client chooses to cancel, when someone asks you to do something illegal, etc. 
   
• And so much more!
   

Worth Noting
 

"Obviously parties can absolutely cancel a contract. So in your cancellation clauses, you need to have cancellation by the client and then cancellation by you as the company. You have to allow that to occur usually within a contract and you need to have clauses regarding what happens if those things occur." - Paige on cancellation clauses in your contracts.
 

"If you are a type of professional whereby you work with clients for an extended period of time you need to have a harassment clause. This doesn't just have to be in person. And I want to be clear here, harassment can occur in a multitude of ways. So it's good to have a harassment clause, even if say like you're a website designer. And you just have something extremely weird happened during a client call and there's like something that happens. That is where harassment clause really protects you in those situations." - Paige's advice on harassment clauses in contracts and when you need one.

 "A scope of services is essential to any contract. It gives a very clear picture of what you will provide to your clients when you provide a scope of services within your invoice or within the very top clause of your contract for many service providers. This is clause numero UNO. There's no guesswork for your clients in regards to what you will be providing for the amount that they are paying you. And if there is a breakdown of communication between you or your clients, or you are going beyond the scope of services. You can always refer them back to these bullet points of the scope of services." - Paige's advice on why a scope of services is so important to include with your contract.

 
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In Episode #125 of The Legal Paige Podcast, I chat with Adam Mason- a Washington D.C. based wedding photographer, mentor, and host of the Bearded Tog Podcast- about the #1 easiest way to avoid legal troubles with your clients (hint: it’s NOT contracts). As photographers continue to book sessions for the rest of 2022 and 2023, it’s so important to focus on avoiding legal troubles and putting customer service first. Adam has NEVER experienced any major legal debacles because he has mastered the art of customer service.   Tune in to learn...


 The Legal Paige Podcast Shownotes
Episode Highlights

• Why customer service should be one of your TOP priorities as a savvy business owner (and how focusing on customer service has changed Adam’s business for the better).
• The onboarding process and customer service touchpoints Adam includes in his business to ensure his clients are taken care of + delighted with their experience.
• What to do when you just can’t seem to make a client happy (no matter how great your communication or streamlined your process).
• And so much more!

Worth Noting

"The goal is to get to that phone call, and then on the phone treat them as if they're new. I'm not treating them as me the salesperson.I just want to talk about wedding stuff. What they need, and what they don't need. One of my lines, I always say on the phone too, is that like, I'm more of a pragmatist, not a salesman. I don't want to sell them anything they don't need. I want to be intentional and have impact on what they're looking for. And make sure that they're stress-free." - Adam's advice on calls with clients and not being the salesperson.
 

"My big thing and it's our company value... is set the tone. Because if I don't set the tone, and again this goes back to relationships. If you don't set the tone, someone else will. If you don't love them, feed them, care for them, honor them, respect them. Someone else will, if you don't set the tone. That's where the knot.com comes in and says, this is what your photographers should be doing. This is where their bridesmaid comes in and say, this is what your photographers should be. I don't want that to happen. " - Adam's advice on setting the tone for customer relationships

"You can present a boundary. If you're in a healthy relationship with these clients, most of them will just know your boundaries by you setting them. You won't even have to bring it up. And if these folks want to go past a boundary or abusing those boundaries, again, we go back to a relationship. That's an abusive relationship and we've got to cut bait. We've got to get out of there. And then you just try and find the most amicable way to do that."- Adam's advice on setting boundaries while still presenting great customer service.
 
 

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Business owner, are you dealing with a massive rise in costs of supplies and goods? Is it leaving you looking at current contracts, budgets, and amounts wondering how your business is going to survive?

 Maybe you've routinely practiced in your mind how you would tell your clients that the price has to increase... Only to immediately shy away from the conversation because you're not sure how to legally adjust pricing. Here's the thing inflation is predictable. It happens year after year, and as a business owner should be upping your packages and prices to reflect that.

 But what many, many, many service providers are dealing with right now is the unforeseen massive spikes in cost of goods due to inflation, political happenings around the world. Which have been impacting cost beyond our control. We're also still dealing with COVID reschedules from 2020 and 2021, and those clients probably had your old 2019 or early 2020 pricing. So what's a business owner to do right now in our current situation? In this episode, I'm going to break down what clause you need to add to your contract, and how to correctly modify your existing contracts through addendums.


 The Legal Paige Shownotes
   
Episode Highlights
 

• The clause you need to add to your contracts to help reflect current inflation that is costing your business. 
• How to communicate this clause with your current clients through addendums, and putting customer service first and top of mind.
• How to adequately prepare for the increase in cost of goods and how, and when you should impute costs on your client or bear the cost yourself.
• Why at TLP we suggest not increasing the amount you charge for travel in contracts, but mainly increasing amounts surrounding wholesale goods.

Worth Noting

"I want you to have a clause in your contract on the ability to adjust pricing for customers. You need to be clear that you will only adjust pricing on costs of goods, not on gas, not on incidentals, so on and so forth. I hope you're catching my drift here. Be very clear in this clause and language in your contract. Be clear that you will notify them of changes to their original price quoted at least, 30 days in advance, 60 days in advance, etc. So that you can adequately place your order for the goods in advance, and so that your clients have the right to make modifications to their order." - Paige's advice on adjusting pricing on costs of goods in contracts.

"The US inflation rate right now has accelerated to 7.58%, which is the highest since 1982. That's something you could say to your clients. If they're rescheduled clients, inform them of other pricing adjustments you've made to your packages and that they've not been charged for those. Explaing how
clients who booked you at the end of 2020 into 2021, we're charged this amount so that they can see your just up-charging them a little bit. But that they are still getting a great deal compared to other clients that have booked recently." - Paige's advice explaining to current clients your reasoning for having to increase certain prices within the contract

"Be ready for your client to say no and be okay with that answer. As a party to the original contract, you have to realize that your client has a right to say no to future changes. But, also that if your client has the right to say no, then you can cancel the contract yourself."- Paige's advice on providing customer service first, but understanding eithe

Don't do it! Over here at TLP we don't recommend changing your contract language, it's there for a specific reason. Except in limited circumstances, which I am going to share with you because at one point or another any our journey as a business owner you will run into these situations. 

This is a tough subject to navigate on your own, which is why I am giving you my legal advice if you were my client emailing me this very question. First thing I want you remember is don't panic... TLP is here to help.


 The Legal Paige Shownotes
Episode Highlights

• What you should and shouldn't be taking out of your contract (I.E. nothing if possible). 
• How to read the room and figure out if; a) your client has lawyered up, and b) if you should seek out an attorney in your hometown as well. 
• My tips to still oblige your client but also to hold your ground, and not delete anything that could hurt you down the road. 
• Red flags to look our for in this situation as you navigate customer service, and deciding if this is even the client you should be working with.
• Why clauses that deal with things like harassment, inclement of weather, safe working environment, and service specific clauses should never be removed. 

Worth Noting

"I want you to remember that good customer service does not equate to changing your contract. Don't let yourself fall into that trap. It's actually quite the opposite. If you let your clients dictate your working relationship with contract modifications before they even book you and they're finagling you into modifying some of your policies. Now, I think that's a huge, huge orange or red flag for them being challenging clients in the future. Now I say orange or red, because I think you'll know. You'll know after a couple of back and forth of communicating with this particular client or clients." - Paige's advice on customer service and changing your contract.
 

"For photographers, this would be like your delivery of images, clause, your editing clause, posing artistic style, reproduction clause, etc. For wedding planners, it's going to be, you know, like planning calls, how many trips you'll do back and forth from the venue, mood boards, when the client can or cannot change the theme or style of their wedding, you're catching my drift here. These are the specific clauses related to your business that you would never budge on." - Paige's advice on service specific clauses that should never be removed from a contract.

"If your client is reaching out to you saying, we're not going to agree to this indemnification clause, you can indemnify yourself for your own negligence, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. They are probably reading that clause wrong and didn't read it as only pertaining to third-party claims. So maybe just first point that out to them."- Paige's advice when a client doesn't agree to the Idemnification clause in your contract, and how to provide excellent customer service in this situation.
 
  

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We are discussing one of my favorite topics both business wise and legal wise: growing your team. And, specifically, this episode is for photographers or wedding industry professionals who are building out an associate team. Which is why I wanted to have Grace Troutman on the podcast! Grace is a photographer, but also a business coach!

Grace Troutman is a Midwest based wedding photographer and business educator. She also is the head of the Grace T Photo Team, and has a team of 3 associates who shoot under her brand. She started shooting about 6 years ago and has traveled to places including Iceland, Ireland, Hawaii, Colorado, California, and Oregon to shoot sessions and weddings. Grace lived in California when she was first starting her business, but Iowa called her home and she was determined to live a life of travel while still being close to family and friends. She is a wife and a mom to her 3 year old daughter and expecting their second addition in early July.   
 The Legal Paige Shownotes
 
Episode Highlights

• Loaning equipment versus renting out your equipment to your associate photographers.
• How to legally build your associate photography team, and some legal contracts you are going to want to have in your legal toolkit.
• What legality insurance you will need as you build your team.
• Grace's tips for becoming a mentor and leader to your associate team. 
• What to do when it's time to start building your associate team, and how to deal with team members during the process.  

Worth Noting

"I would say if you're thinking about hiring teammates and building a brand of associate photographers working under you. You need to start that process now, only because it does take a little bit. You can't just hire someone on and be like, okay, let's start booking. You have to touch on training as well as a few other things before they get started." - Grace's advice on when to start building your associate team.
 

"This is where I preach outsourcing, because you have to have the main checkpoint of where all of the images go through. So what happens after my associates get done shooting a wedding, they do not touch the images. They do not scroll through them. They do not do anything else. They hand the cards over, I go through everything and make sure everything's there. Then what I do is I have an editor that edits everything." - Grace's advice on keeping the editing style the same with an associate team.
 

"If you can keep your team local, I would honestly recommend that. But if you do have people flying for your weddings, you need to take a look at your contract, especially with your associate on. You have to think, what are they covering? What are you covering? Are all their meals like taking care of like, do you have to cover all of that stuff? Because then obviously your packages need to increase because you still need to profit. They still need to profit it. Especially if you're taking on all of those expenses."- Grace's advice for keeping your associate team local
 
 

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