Even though it’s been four years since I graduated law school, I can always tell when the semester is about to start or end. How? By one type of email: the request for an internship at my firm. Here’s a recent example: I want to say yes because I learned so much from those that […]
Hiring an employee is a terrifying experience for many business owners. As you go through this process you’ll probably feel: Scared about giving up control, will the person you hire do it right? Excited because you no longer need to do [task you hate] and can instead spend your time doing [task you love]? Terrified […]
At a certain point in your business, you are going to need help if you want to grow. There are only so many hours in the day and you are only capable of doing so much. I usually suggest that you start by hiring out the tasks that you don’t love to do. Maybe you’d […]
I’m sure you don’t like to login to your bank account and feel dread in the pit of your stomach. I can’t imagine a single person likes that feeling. But I know that many creative business owners feel this way frequently. I know that when I first started my business, this was a regular occurrence. […]
Hatred. Frustration. Feeling like you are being taken advantage of. Every so often I get a call from someone who is feeling like this. She is finally at the point that she can’t take the hurt and frustration any longer. Generally, the phone call to me comes shortly after a blowout. She tells me that […]
Psst…I have a secret. Last week I encountered several creative business owners dealing with the same struggle. All were fretting, researching, and didn’t know what choice to make. They knew that making this choice was going to come with a price tag and probably a trip to a lawyer’s office. This, of course, didn’t excite […]
Want help putting together your LLC records? And would you like to understand exactly what’s expected of you now that you are an LLC? Then check out my course designed to help you keep your fence strong and accomplish all the one-time and on-going tasks that an LLC is expected to do. Learn more The […]
Over the past few weeks, there has been a lot of Internet discussion (and hopefully discussions over food) about appropriation art. These discussions can all be tied back to a single man, Richard Prince. This is not the first time that Price has been in the limelight over his work. And he has long been […]
About two weeks ago Abby Glassenberg and I chatted about contracts and the fabric industry. In particular she was curious why some companies have a policy that they don’t sign written contracts. Every business has the right to set policies. And this extends to how they like to deal with contracts. Yes, it’s true that the […]
Thinking of hosting an end of the year or holiday giveaway? Great news! Through September 15, the artist’s Courtyard Guide-level members are being challenged to design a giveaway. One that helps them achieve a specific goal (e.g. sales, followers, subscribers, reach). Best of all, you can take the challenge for two weeks on me! Start […]
Thinking of hosting an end of the year or holiday giveaway? Great news! Through September 15, the artist’s Courtyard Guide-level members are being challenged to design a giveaway. One that helps them achieve a specific goal (e.g. sales, followers, subscribers, reach). Best of all, you can take the challenge for two weeks on me! Start […]
the artist’s Courtyard Resource Create a Contract Master Workshop Get access to a master workshop designed to help you finally ditch the annoting, selfish clients. By creating a contract that you (and your clients) love. Members Only Not a member of the artist’s Courtyard? Join and get instant access to this resource and 100s of […]
Overwhelmed by all the legal to-dos? Click here to get a free legal tip each week in your inbox from your friendly legal eagle. Every month or so, I end up clicking on a link that takes me to LinkedIn. And when I do, I’ve got a gazillion notifications. Requests to connect from people I […]
I’m sure your email inbox is insane too. For the past few months I’ve been on a mission to be in charge of my email inbox, rather than it being in charge of me. I am far from accomplishing this mission; every day is a battle and some days the inbox wins. Because taming this […]
the artist’s Courtyard Resource Create a Contract Master Workshop Get access to a master workshop designed to help you finally ditch the annoting, selfish clients. By creating a contract that you (and your clients) love. Members Only Not a member of the artist’s Courtyard? Join and get instant access to this resource and 100s of […]
Do you need to register your copyrights? Learn why registration can mean the difference between getting something or nothing from your copycat. Get instant access to a 66-minute actionable workshop so you can understand the value of registration. Plus get access to the workshop slide deck and a best practices workbook. The final steps: making […]
When we started talking about giveaways, we learned that the formulas for a legit giveaway were: Sweepstakes: prize + random winner + no payment Contents: prize + payment + not a random winner I got several comments and emails after that post about the payment aspect and the notion of an “alternative method of entry”. […]
Thinking of hosting an end of the year or holiday giveaway? Great news! Through September 15, the artist’s Courtyard Guide-level members are being challenged to design a giveaway. One that helps them achieve a specific goal (e.g. sales, followers, subscribers, reach). Best of all, you can take the challenge for two weeks on me! Start […]
Thinking of hosting an end of the year or holiday giveaway? Great news! Through September 15, the artist’s Courtyard Guide-level members are being challenged to design a giveaway. One that helps them achieve a specific goal (e.g. sales, followers, subscribers, reach). Best of all, you can take the challenge for two weeks on me! Start […]
Do you need to register your copyrights? Learn why registration can mean the difference between getting something or nothing from your copycat. Get instant access to a 66-minute actionable workshop so you can understand the value of registration. Plus get access to the workshop slide deck and a best practices workbook. Explaining who created it […]
Do you need to register your copyrights? Learn why registration can mean the difference between getting something or nothing from your copycat. Get instant access to a 66-minute actionable workshop so you can understand the value of registration. Plus get access to the workshop slide deck and a best practices workbook. Picking the right copyright […]
the artist’s Courtyard Resource Create a Contract Master Workshop Get access to a master workshop designed to help you finally ditch the annoting, selfish clients. By creating a contract that you (and your clients) love. Members Only Not a member of the artist’s Courtyard? Join and get instant access to this resource and 100s of […]
Ready to register your trademark? Great news! You can get instant access to a 37-minute workshop recording that not only explains the five steps required but breaks down why this is something I think you should invest in. Get instant access! We generally associate trademark law with brand owners. But what many people don’t realize […]
Do you know why your website needs a Privacy Policy? Great news! You can get instant access to a 35-minute workshop recording that not only explains the things you have on your website that make a Privacy Policy a requirement but how to create one without a bunch of legal jargon! Get instant access! As […]
Overwhelmed by all the legal to-dos? Click here to get a free legal tip each week in your inbox from your friendly legal eagle. Your website is the virtual face of your business. Not only is it is an important business tool but it could be the only interaction people have with your business. I […]
The other day while wearing my lawyer hat, I was conducting an intake session with a potential client. During these sessions, I ask some pretty non-typical lawyer questions. Things like: What are your goals? Short-term? Long-term? What’s your timeline for meeting these goals? What does success look like for you? How will you know when […]
Instagram is probably my favorite social network. As a photographer, I love to see how everyone else views the world. It’s such a sneak peek into understanding them, their perceptions, and what they value. (If we aren’t connected there, and you’d like to connect I’m @theartistsjd!) The last few months I’ve noticed more and more […]
Last month I wrote a guest post series for Oh My! Handmade Goodness on shoring up your business foundations. We talked about getting your website, contracts, structure, and intellectual property shored up. One of the post comments totally made my day. Arianne Foulks wrote: Thanks so much for making this seeming drudgery accessible and actionable. This comment […]
Probably the most common question I get is: Can I use this quote on {fill in the blank}? I wish I requested a dollar every time I answered it! Although then my bank teller might wonder why I started bringing in stacks of singles and that might be awkward. The serious answer to this question […]
I knew that in my quest to cultivate a community here, I wanted to make sure this website was appealing to those I wanted to attract. I wanted my visitors to feel like a guest and want to sit down and pull up a chair in my virtual home. That these guests were easily able […]
The beginning of a collaboration is magical. Working together fills you both with excitement. Maybe you have been admiring each others work for ages and feel lucky that you get to team up. Your initial instinct is likely to jump in and get started. But I encourage you to have a couple tough conversations with your collaboration […]
The start of a collaboration is magical. The two of you are bouncing ideas off each other, getting inspired, and having lots of fun. Luckily, a good chunk of the time things stay that way and the collaboration goes off without a hitch. But sometimes problems crop up. Recently I got a call from a woman […]
Understand if you should sign that contract Because you should never sign a contract you don’t understand! Enter your email to download a workbook that will help you decide if signing that contract a good idea. The workbook also outlines my contract review system and gives you a checklist to review your contract. Your privacy […]
On an average day, I probably get asked hundreds of questions. Questions via email, questions when I’m chatting with clients over Skype, questions from opposing counsel, or just questions at a social gathering when people learn what I do. After three years of hearing these questions, very few surprise me. But last month I got […]
I know that many of you fret about posting your content online. That you sit at your computer looking at something you just created and feel torn. On one hand, you are so excited to share this with the world. On the other hand, you worry what will happen once you hit upload. This fear, […]
Earlier this year I got an email from a friend who works as a coach. She was in a tizzy, because she had gotten this odd email from a stranger asking her about the status of their project. At first she freaked out because she thought she had dropped the ball on something. She looked […]
Last time, I gave you an overview of when you can, can’t, and maybe shouldn’t act when you find your content used without your permission. This time I want to give you the exact procedure that I use to make this decision. And it’s all based on four simple questions that you only have to answer […]
Last week I got a call from a friend. The company behind the holiday show she was participating in had called her that morning. They were calling because they wanted to include her in the printed materials they would be handing out prior to the show. She asked a couple questions about what rights they […]
Based on the current data in the survey, my guess is that you are making less than $50,000 per year. When your business is running lean and mean and cash flow is a concern, you might think that hiring an expert like a lawyer or a CPA is out of your reach. I also know […]
Pesky legal details build trust, increase transparency, and reduce stress for both you and your visitors. Click here to start a FREE 5-day email challenge that will help you create a privacy policy for your website. We’ve covered your terms of use and privacy policy. Now we are turning to the final piece of the puzzle: […]
Do you know why your website needs a Privacy Policy? Great news! You can get instant access to a 35-minute workshop recording that not only explains the things you have on your website that make a Privacy Policy a requirement but how to create one without a bunch of legal jargon! Get instant access! Does […]
Need to get your website ducks in a row? Play Website Policy Mad Libs and quickly get policies on your website Get your Mad Libs terms of service and privacy policy templates today so that you can have them up on your website tomorrow. Best of all these templates were updated in May 2018 so […]
Most of the time when people call my law firm they are calling because they are in a jam. While I prefer to work with clients to prevent those jams from occurring in the first place, I have come to accept the fact that most of you only want to talk to a lawyer when […]
Thinking about becoming an LLC? Click here to download your free copy of a workbook that will help you decide if it’s the right time. Sometimes when the law and business intersect, we have to talk about unhappy, scary, rather not think about things. On deck today – lawsuits. I wouldn’t wish a lawsuit on […]
We’ve talked about how to perform a reverse image search for an image you want to use on your blog. But what happens when you do this search for one of your own images and find a result you are not happy with? What if this use hurts your business? Help is just around the […]
If you’ve ever dug into copyright issues, I’m sure that you’ve heard of the term fair use. And I’m sure if you started to research it, you left that research session with a spinning head and more confused than when you began. This is because fair use is one of the most complicated copyright topics. […]
In Copyright Basics, I quickly mentioned that if you placed a copyright notice on a digital file and it was removed, that you might have an additional reason to sue your infringer. Today, I want to dive into this law and how it can help you protect and enforce your copyrights. What is Copyright Management […]
Do you need to register your copyrights? Learn why registration can mean the difference between getting something or nothing from your copycat. Get instant access to a 66-minute actionable workshop so you can understand the value of registration. Plus get access to the workshop slide deck and a best practices workbook. We are going to […]
So you don’t get a nasty letter, you need to know who created that blog post or image so you can ask permission and give credit where credit is due. When you are trying to search backwards to find the source, these searches are called “reverse searches.” Text based reverse searches are pretty darn easy. You can […]
Figuring out ways to leverage one piece of artwork into multiple sources of income is an issue for every creative business. For visual artists, this becomes even more difficult in our right-click Internet society. The reality is that the only way to prevent your images from being posted without your permission is to not post […]
Overwhelmed by all the legal to-dos? Click here to get a free legal tip each week in your inbox from your friendly legal eagle. I’m going to let you in on a little secret: I spend a big chunk of my day day-dreaming. How to “think like a lawyer” The biggest skill that you learn […]
