Show notes:
This week I’m chatting to Leah Weinberg, an accomplished lawyer and wedding planner. Leah delved into the necessity of having well drafted contracts that can safeguard wedding businesses against unforeseen complications, and what legal aspects in the industry really matter.
We discussed the importance of understanding intricacies of legal documents. We explore actionable strategies to ensure that wedding professionals are not only compliant with legal obligations but are also equipped to navigate the complexities of client relationships.
Time stamps:
00:00 – Introduction to Wedding Business Essentials
02:26 – The Evolution of a Wedding Lawyer
13:59 – Understanding Legal Protections for Small Businesses
21:12 – Understanding Client Disputes and Effective Contract Management
28:23 – Understanding the Relevance of Legal Expertise for Wedding Professionals
36:41 – The Importance of In-Person Networking
38:20 – The Comparison Trap in Business
Transcript:
Leah
00:00:00.240 – 00:00:22.240
Your contract checklist.
So it’s like get a signed contract, get it signed by both of the people who are getting married, then send them invoice only once that the contract is signed and the invoice is paid. Do my services start kind of thing.
So yeah, just making sure like even that is something simple, but just making sure that you’ve checked the box on all of these things so that it’s a consistent thing that is happening in your business.
Becca
00:00:22.320 – 00:01:09.640
I’m Becca Poutney, wedding business marketing expert, speaker and blogger and you’re listening to the Wedding Pros who Are Ready to Grow podcast. I’m here to share with you actionable tips, strategies and real life examples to help you take your wedding business to the next level.
If you are an ambitious wedding business owner that wants to take your passion and use it to build a profitable, sustainable business doing what you love, then you’re in the right place. Let’s get going with today’s episode. Today I’m chatting with Leah Weinberg, lawyer, author, ex wedding planner and educator friend of mine.
Leah is going to be heading across the ocean in March to speak on Stage at both WedPro’s Live island and London. She’s a fantastic community communicator. You are going to love what she has to say. Leah, welcome back to the podcast. Yay.
Leah
00:01:09.720 – 00:01:10.840
So excited to be here.
Becca
00:01:11.080 – 00:01:21.720
Now here’s a little bit of trivia for you. I was looking back because this is not your first appearance on my podcast. You’ve been on my podcast once before.
Take a guess when it was that you were last on the podcast.
Leah
00:01:21.800 – 00:01:23.880
Oh, was it pre Covid?
Becca
00:01:24.360 – 00:01:30.760
Not pre Covid, but it is longer ago than I thought it was. 25 May 2023. Oof.
Leah
00:01:31.350 – 00:01:32.510
Wow. Time flies.
Becca
00:01:32.510 – 00:01:55.510
Doesn’t feel. It doesn’t feel that long ago but I was like wowzers. That that is a while ago.
We were talking all things how to deal with emotional wedding clients back in 2023. So if people are interested, you can go back and find that episode with Leah. But we’re not going to be covering that topic today.
We’re going to be talking about all sorts of other things. But how lovely that you’ve been in my world since May 2023. I love that.
Leah
00:01:55.590 – 00:02:05.410
I know. So excited. And we’ve been able to meet in person multiple times, which I feel like is unusual for intern. That’s super, super exciting and on both.
Becca
00:02:05.410 – 00:02:06.370
Sides of the world as well.
Leah
00:02:06.370 – 00:02:09.410
We’re both sides of the pond in the London.
Becca
00:02:09.570 – 00:02:26.050
I love it. It’s great well, I’m glad to have you here.
I know lots about who you are, but if people are listening and they haven’t been listening to the podcast since 2023 or they haven’t looked into who you are, just give us a quick recap, whistle stop tour of who you are, how you ended up here in the wedding industry and then back as a lawyer again.
Leah
00:02:26.050 – 00:03:07.710
Yeah, so I started adult life as a lawyer and then did that for almost 10 years and then decided to take a little detour and become a wedd planner. So I ran a wedding planning company in New York City called colourpop events for again another almost 10 years. And then Covid happened.
People got weird. I decided I didn’t want to plan weddings anymore, so I decided to go back to my legal roots.
And now I am a lawyer for wedding professionals and have been.
And that what’s wild is it’s been three whole years since I’ve been back lawyering too, and not wedding planning, which is a big mind just shake up for me too, thinking that it’s been that long.
Becca
00:03:07.710 – 00:03:33.070
Yeah, it’s crazy. And so, yeah, when we spoke back in 2023, you are probably on the start of that journey, whereas now I only ever think of you as a lawyer.
I forget that you used to be a wedding planner. That.
That doesn’t enter my orbit, but I know you like to describe yourself as a recovering wedding planner, but what’s great about your story is that you’ve kind of combined both aspects of your life. You combined the lawyer stuff, you’ve combined the wedding industry stuff, and you found this perfect space in the middle where you can do both.
Leah
00:03:33.070 – 00:03:53.010
Very perfect. Yeah. I tell people it’s my happy accident.
And I knew that it was going to be a good idea offering legal services to wedding and event professionals, but I didn’t know how good of an idea it was going to be and how much it was needed and how it’s resonating with people. So it’s really been a very fulfilling last three years, which I’m very happy to say, amazing.
Becca
00:03:53.010 – 00:04:09.200
And even in the lawyer side of things, things have shifted. You are now the head of in charge CEO, I don’t know what you call yourself, of Weinberg Legal.
So based on your surname, which is a different company name than you had before. So what do you do right now, here in 2026? What services are you offering?
Leah
00:04:09.360 – 00:04:50.780
Yes, so I have my own law firm now and I say that I do almost everything that a small business owner might need, except I don’t go to court. I will try to keep you out of court, but I don’t do litigation. So not going to court with folks.
But contracts, client disputes, hiring team members, trademarks, copyright. I do. I my former life was as a commercial real estate attorney. So I leases for folks like if they’re opening up a studio or need office space.
So I kind of do. I run the gamut of all the things that a small business owner might need.
And obviously given my history, most of my clients are wedding and event professionals, but I am able to work with other different types of small business owners as well.
Becca
00:04:50.780 – 00:04:55.060
And do you just work in the state where you’re based or are you working across the U.S. i work in.
Leah
00:04:55.060 – 00:05:26.680
A handful of states across the U.S. so in the United States you are only able to practice law in the states where you are licensed to practice.
So myself personally I have, I passed the bar exam in New York and Georgia, but I work with, for lack of a better word, essentially freelance attorneys in a handful of other states. So that way I can serve a lot more people across the country. And I’m trying to target states that have big wedding markets.
So Florida, Texas, California, Illinois and a handful of others.
Becca
00:05:26.840 – 00:05:41.060
So you’re taking over the United States. You’ll be everywhere but you’re doing it one step at a time. And I know that I saw a social media post that was like we’re now going into this state.
And I was like oh interesting. See the social media stuff we put out there? People see it.
Leah
00:05:41.300 – 00:05:55.500
It’s helpful to know I know I already have like many. So yeah, we just expanded into Virginia and Maryland so that I could cover the people like the DC market folks.
And yeah, already have a few consult calls from people and just announced it like a week ago. So it’s pretty great.
Becca
00:05:55.500 – 00:06:06.020
And am I right in thinking that the most of the work you do is very much one to one high level, it’s you or one of your lawyers in the business rather than kind of a plug and play template solution.
Leah
00:06:06.020 – 00:07:09.880
Oh for sure. Everything is very tailored. So I obvious obviously have my own internal documents that I use for everybody so that I’m not reinventing.
Like it makes no sense to draft a wedding planner’s contract fresh every time. So I obviously have drafts that I start from and so I’m constantly working to improve those.
But then yes, everything is very tailored for the people that I’m working with.
We I take a look at what they’re using currently, make sure that anything specific to them is reflected in the updated contract we Have a call to go through everything. That way I can ask questions about things that are specific to them because everybody operates a little bit differently. Everybody’s.
Everybody has had very different horror stories and things that they’ve had to go back and add to their contract. So it’s really interesting to.
When I take a look at somebody’s contract, it’s interesting to see what’s in there, because when I get on the phone with them, I’m always like, tell me why we have this contract in here. Somebody in Florida had a contract about, like, wild animals roaming onto the property. And I’m like, like, tell me that.
I’d love to hear the story behind why we’re talking about wild animals in our contract.
Becca
00:07:10.120 – 00:08:01.520
And I think so much of the time it’s because we don’t really understand it. If we’re honest, like, we’ve got this contract from somewhere, we don’t understand it. It’s the same with insurance policies.
So I was just recently having a conversation with someone who knows insurance, understands insurance, about a situation I was in, and they were like, does your insurance cover it? And my answer was like, I. I don’t know. Like, and that’s a genuine answer. And so I was like, can I send you my policy?
And you can read through it because you understand the words, and then you can tell me. And he came back with some great advice. He told me what was in there, what was missing.
And it feels like kind of the same thing in legal terms is that often we get these contracts at the start. It fits what we’re doing right there, and then.
And then we forget to update them or revisit them, or they’re, like, taken from a template from someone else’s website that we’ve copy and pasted, like, when we’re just making do, which isn’t great. And so actually, what you do is come in and do something that’s very personal to the person who needs it and make sure it fits them.
Leah
00:08:01.750 – 00:08:29.110
Yeah, absolutely. And things change to, like, new situations happen in your business, but also trends change. So there’s.
I mean, I’m constantly updating my internal documents based on things that I’m seeing, based on how things are changing, things that we need to add, changing laws, but also changing trends. So I do.
I do think it is very important to have a lawyer that you have a relationship with that you can talk to, that can take a look at your stuff, just to make sure that it’s all in the shape that it needs to be in.
Becca
00:08:29.110 – 00:08:43.249
So as wedding Professionals, then why should we care about this legal stuff? Because I think so often we’re like, well, that’s a problem for a bigger business. Like, a bigger business needs a lawyer. A big business needs this.
My little business doesn’t have much money. I don’t need this legal stuff. Tell me why we should care.
Leah
00:08:44.529 – 00:10:29.330
I like to say that everything is always fine until it’s not. And then when things are not fine, it can be really not fine and very expensively not okay.
And so you have to think through, think about working with a lawyer, like, being very proactive in your business. We’re trying to troubleshoot ahead.
So just like wedding professionals, you are always trying to think, okay, what could go wrong for me on a wedding day, given the situation and how, what steps am I going to take today to make sure that, you know, six months from now at this wedding, things go fine? That’s the exact approach that I take with contracts.
It’s like, tell me your business, your vendor category, what could happen and what do we need to protect against? And one of the things that is changing the landscape a bit is clients becoming more.
I don’t know what the right word is, but clients being a little more nitpicky and unhappy.
And then frankly, with the Internet and social media and sites like Reddit, people are giving tips about how do I get money back from my photographer. Even if you liked your photos, like, there are, there’s threads out there that talk about, like, how to get money back from your vendors.
Because, yeah, you’ve spent a lot of money and maybe you regret it. And even though you are perfectly happy with what you got, you’d love to get some of that money back. And so you try it.
And so with all of the information out there and the fact that ChatGPT can write you scary letters to threaten legal action against your somebody, a vendor, like people getting married are really doing, doing it all. And so we need to make sure that as vendors, we are protected and know what we can be doing up front to keep things from happening on the back end.
Becca
00:10:29.330 – 00:10:50.350
So really, it’s almost like putting our arm on before we go into battle, before we need it. We’re kind of, we’re kind arming ourselves. It’s funny talking about ChatGPT.
It’s not a situation I can talk about much on the podcast at the moment, but I had a letter from someone, a legal letter that they sent me, and I knew immediately it was written by ChatGPT. You know how, because it said insert date here. So you know.
Leah
00:10:50.990 – 00:10:59.790
So for those that aren’t watching this on video, major eye roll coming from me here on that. It’s ridiculous. It’s ridiculous.
Becca
00:10:59.790 – 00:11:44.020
It is ridiculous. But they do it to scare us. And actually, like, it can sound quite scary because AI is quite clever.
And so it did make me laugh that it said insert date here and now I can laugh about it. But actually for someone else that wasn’t me or who didn’t get the insert date here, they could be pretty terrified about this stuff.
And like you say, it’s not until we need it that we realize we needed it. And I think I hate talking about COVID now. It’s the second time we’ve mentioned it in this conversation.
But what was interesting was during that time, I saw more conversation about contracts than I ever saw before or after, because suddenly everyone was looking at their contracts. And I think right after Covid, that was still a high conversation point. I would say going into 2026, people are slipping again.
People are like, oh, I haven’t updated my contract. Is that what you’re seeing too?
Leah
00:11:44.100 – 00:11:45.140
Yeah, absolutely.
Becca
00:11:45.220 – 00:11:46.260
Yeah, we all.
Leah
00:11:46.260 – 00:13:35.100
And a lot of people, frankly, I think even the people that didn’t take Covid as an opportunity to get everything updated and in order are still kind of just ignoring things. Like, I still see plenty of, like, rescheduling cancellation policies that are just not. Not getting the job done. And so people need a drought.
Like, it’s. It’s an investment and. But it’s going to be a very worthy investment. And I’m not just saying that.
I can’t, like, for anybody who’s listening in the uk, I obviously am, can’t sell my services to you. So I’m not trying to make myself money here. I’m just trying to help do you a favor. Because there’s a lot of tool.
I mean, like, frankly, the Chat GPT thing is showing up in a lot of different ways. So couples are using CHAT GPT to redline contracts and ask for things.
So if you don’t have a lawyer and you are getting a slew of comments back to your contract and you’re just accepting them, you probably don’t understand what you’re accepting. And frankly, you shouldn’t be accepting a lot of these things because they’re not acceptable.
So working with an attorney from that perspective, as we’ve just said, the client dispute thing, they are using ChatGPT to write really scary letters that sound very real.
And it’s just a cash grab to get you to hand money over in exchange for them going away, when if you had an attorney who could just like help, you know, calm things down a little bit, go through it with you, explain what it is that they’re actually alleging here in the States, there’s a lot of allegations of fraud, Chatbots spitting out a lot of fraud, like claims of fraud. And I’m like, do we. People don’t understand like how significant, like what you need to actually prove fraud. It’s pretty, pretty significant.
But it sounds really scary when you get that letter that’s like, I’m going to sue you for fraudulent misrepresentation and then you give them money back.
Becca
00:13:35.100 – 00:13:58.990
Yeah, exactly. And actually for most people listening, you know, they’re baking cakes for people, this whole thing sounds absolutely terrifying.
The legal language, everything. So let’s go through some basics.
So if you are a small business owner or maybe a venue owner and you just want to do a little look at your own legal stuff and just maybe reflect on what you have or haven’t, what are some of the basics people should be looking at to make sure they have sorted in their business?
Leah
00:13:59.230 – 00:15:28.540
Yeah, this, the very first starting point, frankly, is to making sure that you have an entity set up for your business and that you’re not operating just as an individual.
Because we want to make sure that you are protected like your personal assets, you are have protected from personal liability related to stuff in your business. So having an entity, having insurance is incredibly important. Making sure you’re protected.
I feel like insurance is similar with the mindset of, of legal services where it’s like, oh, I’ve never had to, I’ve never had to have an insurance claim before, so what’s, you know, what am I paying for kind of thing. But that’s definitely a big one.
Having all of your personal finances, business finances, completely separate, all of those things in order, making sure that you’re paying your taxes appropriately, working with accountants and bookkeepers on all of that stuff.
And then when it comes to your contracts, the first thing you’re going to ask yourself is, well, I think the first question is, where did my contract come from?
So is my contract one that I worked like an attorney drafted, custom for me, is it a template that I purchased, which is I think like second best step? At least you’ve got an attorney drafted something.
And then if the answer is, you know, I started with my colleague’s contract and then added to it and I copied and pasted from Google and I got provisions from people in Facebook groups and then I asked ChatGPT to draft a couple of things that should give you some pause because that is not the best or that’s not the origin story that I want for your contract.
Becca
00:15:29.660 – 00:15:44.860
And there’s no judgment here because I know we’ve all been there. We’ve all been there.
And actually like, I don’t want people to feel ashamed if they’re putting themselves in that category, but it is probably a wake up call to go actually, like I am a few years into business now. I probably should sort this out properly.
Leah
00:15:44.860 – 00:16:07.160
Yeah, everybody’s got to start somewhere. So again, like you said, no judgment. We all people can afford different levels of investment at different levels of time.
But when you are like, if this is a full time business that you are running and you are making serious money and you are doing multiple events, like making sure that you have a really well drafted contract is just going to be really worth the investment.
Becca
00:16:07.320 – 00:16:38.570
Yeah. And just making sure you get advice from people.
And I think this is one of the hardest things as a small business owner because it’s really hard for us to know who to take advice from or who’s just trying to make money from us. Right.
And I think that’s, you know, that’s why this is a great conversation because as you said for anyone listening in the uk, like there is no sales pitch here because you can’t legally help them. But actually the context of what we’re talking about is incredibly helpful and useful to them because you’re thinking of them as an individual.
Whereas sometimes I think we go looking for advice and we think someone’s giving us advice, but actually we realize it’s because they’re on commission.
Leah
00:16:38.729 – 00:18:23.170
Right.
Also I’ve been so, I’ve been like, I am part of a whole bunch of Facebook groups for wedding professionals and just to kind of see, because it’s really helpful for me to see what people are talking about.
And even just this morning I saw somebody talking about something and they like, they were talking about in this like the retainer versus deposit language, which I know is also it, that applies to UK folks as well. And there was a conversation about it, but it really lacked any nuance.
And so it was just somebody who’s not a lawyer coming in saying don’t ever call it deposit, it has to be called retainer. A deposit is refundable and a retainer is not like it’s not that. It is not that cut and dry. It is not that simple of an answer.
And it takes everything that I have to not just go into these groups and respond to everybody But I would spend my entire days responding to people. And I also don’t want to, like, you know, be bossy or whatever. So I’m like, you know, not my, not my time to step in here.
But yeah, who you are taking advice from is really important.
And from a legal perspective, this is something I’ve been noticing a lot more, is that you can’t really rely on what you’re call colleagues are doing either, because a lot of times most people are getting it wrong from a legal perspective. And so, like asking your friend, oh, how are you classifying your, you know, assistant photographers or something like that?
They might give you an answer, but that might not be right. And you can’t. If you ever got audited, you can’t say, oh, well, I talked to my friend and they’re doing it this way. So I did it this way.
Like that’s just not cutting it. So. So you bring up a very, very important question of like, who are you getting this advice from?
Becca
00:18:23.330 – 00:18:57.870
It’s so true. And Leah, maybe you do need to go into those groups. Here’s my plan. Here’s my marketing plan for you. Live on the podcast.
You need a virtual assistant that takes your content that’s answering people’s questions and just drops the link and is like, I wrote a post about this, I made a reel about this, I did a podcast episode about this. And then at least they come and get some proper information. Then you’re helping people all around. So there we go.
There’s my little marketing strategy for you to go into 2020 and what mistakes do you see professionals making? You know, again, no judgment here, no names called. But, you know, are there some mistakes that you see frequently across the industry?
Leah
00:18:58.110 – 00:20:43.390
Yeah, it just, it’s not necessary. It’s not. Preparing for the legal side of your business is a big thing.
And also just not necessarily taking the business side super seriously and not understanding your own strengths and weaknesses.
There are so many people, especially in the wedding industry, it’s a very creative industry and people go into it because they want to vacate cakes, they want to make delicious food for people, they want to make beautiful floral arrangements.
They don’t go into this to like, be an accountant and be a marketing person, be a social media person and be a bookkeeper and like, all of the things that being a business owner requires.
And so you’ve got to be really honest with yourself, like, what are you good at and what do you need help with and outsourcing those things that you need help with in order to like, Have a more solid business. Like, I’ve. I experienced it as a wedding planner.
Wedding vendors who I was reaching out to, who, like, never got back to me on emails when I was asking, like, can I. Like, I have a client who’s interested in booking you? And these people just never got back to me. And I’m like, you’re missing out on business.
And so if email, and I get it, email is overwhelming. If email is not your thing, outsource that.
If you don’t know what you’re doing when it comes to your, like, books and record, like, taxes, like accounting numbers and things like that, outsource your bookkeeping. Because dropping the ball in any of these areas is going to be an issue for businesses.
So we want to make sure that, like, you’ve got everything covered properly by the people that know how to do them. And again, no judgment.
Like we said, you didn’t get into this to, like, be an accountant, but that isn’t an unfortunate byproduct of being a small business owner. Yeah.
Becca
00:20:43.390 – 00:21:10.510
And sometimes we get to that point where we’re like, we want people to take our business more seriously, but actually we need to take our business more seriously, too and treat it like a business because we set it up like a side hustle or a hobby, which is fine for a while, but actually, if we want to take it more seriously and have more clients and charge higher prices, we should have this in place and actually kind of full circle. When it goes wrong, it can go very wrong. And so you don’t want to wait till that point to go, oh, I should have. I should have had a contract.
Now I owe this person a lot of money.
Leah
00:21:10.820 – 00:22:07.540
Yeah. And another. Another pro tip of things, that this is a more nuanced, like a more niche pro tip.
But you asked the question of, what do I see people doing?
And so because we are seeing a trend in the rise of, like, client disputes and unhappy clients, the mistake I see people making there is they give money, like, to make it go away. They give back, like, immediately give back whatever money is being asked. And then after the fact, they’re like, oh, I should.
I need a termination agreement from you. And I. They, like, I hear people talking about that and I’m like, your clients have the money. They’re not signing anything.
They don’t have to sign anything.
Don’t give the money back until you get something in writing saying that they’re releasing all claims, that they’re not going to sue you for anything, that this is like a full settlement of the matter, because once somebody has the money back in their hands, they have no incentive to sign anything that you want to get things properly documented.
Becca
00:22:07.540 – 00:22:43.800
Yeah, that’s a great piece of advice.
And I think even just on like a basic level, when someone complains about something and starts saying that they’re gonna leave you a bad review or they want money back, I always say to people, what does your contract say? And quite often scarily, they go, I don’t know.
And so it’s like, at least like, don’t get scared off by the words because people can stick it in chat GPT, as we’ve said, and make it sound scary. Like, always say, take the emotion out of it. It go back to the words written on paper. And yes, please tell me they’ve signed them.
Because sometimes people say to me, oh, I forgot to get this person to sign this contract, or I never did it, I plan to do it and they never did it. Well, then you got no leg to stand up.
Leah
00:22:43.800 – 00:23:24.160
Yeah, it’s a. Yeah, it’s just, it’s making. And this kind of gets like a bigger picture of like the processes part, like having processes in your business.
I’m sure that you have had plenty of people on like many podcast episodes about, like having, you know, the sops and other processes in your business to make sure that it’s running and this should be part of it. Like, like your contract checklist. So it’s like, get a signed contract, get it signed by both of the people who are getting married.
Then send them invoice only once that the contract is signed and the invoice is paid. Do my services start kind of thing.
So, yeah, just making sure, like, even for that is something simple, but just making sure that you’ve checked the box on all of these things so that it’s a consistent thing that is happening in your business.
Becca
00:23:24.400 – 00:23:48.790
So, so important. And I think there’ll be a lot of people listening to this that are probably thinking, oh my, I need to do something about this.
But we don’t want you to panic because all problems are solvable and all questions are answerable. So please don’t panic.
Now, as I said at the beginning, Leah, very excitingly, in March, you are coming to both Ireland and London to speak at both Wed Pros Live events. I know you’ve been to London before. Remind me, have you been to Ireland before?
Leah
00:23:48.790 – 00:23:50.230
I have not been to Ireland.
Becca
00:23:50.790 – 00:24:01.090
Oh, that is exciting. So I want to know from you, with no preparation whatsoever, what are you most excited about going and seeing or doing in Ireland.
And what are you most excited about seeing in London this time?
Leah
00:24:01.090 – 00:24:41.830
I would say for Ireland, it’s honestly like the lands, the landscape. I feel like that’s the thing that I see in movies and stuff all the time is like how pretty Ireland is. So I want to see pretty Ireland.
I do have to confess. So I’m spending a few days in Ireland with Megan Ely and Renee Dallow, who I’m sure are both people you’re going to be having.
They’re also speaking at both conferences and Megan is the Ireland expert. So I am the passenger princess for our Ireland experience and I’m doing everything that she tells me.
And then the second that we touch down in London, they are my passenger princesses because I’m running the show. All the things we’re doing in London, I love that.
Becca
00:24:41.830 – 00:24:58.590
And our conference in Ireland is happening in Kilkenny, which I’ve never been to. I’m flying into Dublin, you’re flying into Dublin, and then we’re going through rural island to go and explore Kilkenny together.
So I’ve never been there. I’m excited to see what the Irish countryside looks like as well. So that’s Ireland. You want countryside. What are you doing then in London? What?
Leah
00:24:59.690 – 00:25:21.450
The thing I’m most excited about for London, second to speaking at your amazing conference is I’m gonna go see the Hunger Games show on the West End.
So I’m really excited because who knows, I feel like there’s so many times really cool shows happen in London and they don’t ever make it over to Broadway. So I’m like, I wanna make sure. And I’m a huge Hunger Games fan, so I really wanna make sure I check this one out.
Becca
00:25:21.450 – 00:25:42.310
I love that. That’s so fun.
And I know you love to catch a show when you’re here as well because you know, it’s the best thing to do in London, in my opinion is to watch a show. And I’m excited to have you here as well.
So your session at Wed Pros Live in both Ireland and in London is all about obviously legal stuff, but it’s titled what’s the worst that can happen. So what are people gonna learn from that session?
Leah
00:25:42.390 – 00:26:37.040
Yes, so it’s gonna be entertaining because we are going to talk about wedding horror stories and those things that you never think could happen, but they do actually happen.
So I don’t want to ruin any of the surprises of the examples I’m going to use, but it’s just a lot of these sort of far fetched scenarios and it gets to exactly what we’ve been talking about today, the importance of having a solid legal foundation. Because really weird stuff happens. I mean, Covid. So no spoiler like Covid. Covid happened.
People weren’t particularly prepared because nobody had really thought much about their rescheduling and cancellation policies.
And so we want to talk about these really weird things that can happen and how we use, most importantly, our client service agreements, our contracts, to prevent. Not prevent those things from happening, but addressing what happens when they do happen. Because I always.
I’m a firm believer that your contract should have all of the answers.
Becca
00:26:37.280 – 00:26:39.080
So when something goes wrong, we should.
Leah
00:26:39.080 – 00:27:04.400
Be able to look back at the contract to tell us what to do. And obviously, it’s not going to name everything specifically. Nobody’s contract. And going into 2020 said the word Covid.
Frankly, it probably didn’t say pandemic either. It does now, but you don’t have to address everything specifically, but your contract should govern, should cover everything.
So generally that when something goes wrong, we can find the answer in our contracts, and we are not left guessing as to what we’re supposed to do.
Becca
00:27:04.480 – 00:27:10.080
And all the stories you’re telling, true or are they. Oh, even better true.
Leah
00:27:10.080 – 00:27:11.840
Yeah, they’re juicy. They’re good.
Becca
00:27:12.320 – 00:27:13.120
I cannot wait.
Leah
00:27:13.120 – 00:27:58.390
And I include some of my own personal, like. Like, not.
Yeah, personal, not necessarily horror stories, but just, like, examples of why I added certain provisions to my contract or actually, one of the biggest lessons is we have to always think about, like, business decision versus legal decision. So the legal decision is what you can do under your contract. The business decision is like, what’s in the best interest of your business.
And those two are like, sometimes they are diametrically opposed. They are not the same thing.
And so, like, even if your contract allows you to look like, keep the money, in a certain situation, you might feel like, oh, I’m a human. The circumstances here, like, I’m gonna give them their money back or, like, not collect my balance or something. So that’s a.
Definitely a big piece too, is thinking through being practical. You have to be practical.
Becca
00:27:58.470 – 00:28:42.630
And I know, because I’ve heard you speak before, that people are gonna really enjoy the session. I think sometimes you can look on paper and go, oh, a legal session. Well, that is not what it’s gonna be. Like, that is not what it’s gonna be.
And I know that for a fact. So if you’re listening to this and thinking, oh, I wasn’t sure the legal session was gonna be for me, I promise you, it is for you.
In Fact, highly entertaining. I think it will be entertaining, but also I think it will be a big wake up call for a lot of people to go, eek. I need to sort that out.
So that brings me to my next question because one of the questions I’ve had a few times, which, I mean, I won’t go into how much sometimes it frustrates me, but people say to me, becky, bringing these amazing speakers to the uk, they’re coming all the way from America. But I’m a florist based in Manchester. Why should I care what a lawyer in New York has to say to me me? What do you say to them?
Leah
00:28:43.830 – 00:30:17.760
Well, number one, I do have a referral for a great UK based attorney who can help you. So that is always, that’s very helpful. It’s part of it is like you’re getting my experience. So I have a very unique perspective.
Like I, the way that I’m phrasing it is the last 20 years of my life have all just come together in this most beautiful way to allow me to do the work work that I’m doing.
And so I was a wedding vendor, I know exactly what your pain and especially as a planner, I know what your pain points are because I worked with every single one of you for 10 years. Like, I know the pain points of a hair and makeup person, I know the pain points of a venue, I know the pain points of photo booth.
Like, I have firsthand knowledge of this, this. And I have the legal mind to my brain works in a different way.
Like they train us in law school to think, like argue, argue against yourself is the favorite thing, like professors say in law school. So I’ve also been trained to think in a particular way and to be able to think of all the really weird bad stuff that can happen.
And so you’re getting just a perspective of somebody who knows your business and knows the things that can go wrong from a legal perspective. And then I can point you in the direction of somebody who is actually going to be able to help you where you are located.
And so it’s going to be a good, it’s going to be educational, it’s going to be entertaining, a good sort of like refresher on like, oh, here are the things that I need to be doing in my business.
Becca
00:30:18.000 – 00:31:05.930
Yeah, absolutely. And as I said in my own intro, you’re a great communicator and therefore you can bring this stuff to life and to the people that are saying, why?
Well, I could bring in a lawyer from you down the road in Manchester and I can tell you it’ll be the most boring talk you’ll ever go to. And so that’s why WordPress life. For me, it’s about bringing the best educators. I don’t care where they’re based.
If they are going to bring the knowledge and the energy and the experience, that’s what makes a good conference. And me and Leah have spoken at enough of these conferences to know what makes a good speaker and what makes a bad speaker. So that’s my next question.
Controversial, but for one of my big things with Web Pros Life I keep talking about, I’m bringing the best speakers. But I think if people don’t understand what makes a good speaker, sometimes that doesn’t resonate with them.
So from your experience, what makes a great speaker at a conference?
Leah
00:31:06.090 – 00:33:12.180
It’s two pieces. It’s the, the stage presence, the ability to like, be interesting, be entertaining, to keep people’s, to keep people’s attention.
But number two, you’ve got to back it up with the content. And that’s where like a lot of people, you know, I’ve seen people who are really successful business owners, but they are terrible speakers.
And you get them on stage and it’s just like you can’t follow what they’re talking. Not interesting. And then you get some people who are really charismatic, but they’re not saying anything.
And that’s, that’s the one that really frustrates me when they’re just giving you fluff and they’re not really, they kind of like talk in circles or they’re not talking about anything. I will never forget, I was at a very, like, very well known conference. This was many, many years ago.
And there was a very famous florist who had like, just released a book who, like, huge following on social media. Beautiful, beautiful work, work. And this woman got up there and she just talked about like her personal life.
And this was like a wedding, like a business wedding, business conference. And she just got up there and talked about like her personal life and having kids and things like that.
And I don’t have children, so I couldn’t relate. And I wanted, and like in my head I’m like, I want to know how you’re such a boss at your business. Like, how did you build this?
How did you get such a big following? How did you get like an amazing book deal? Like, tell me all the meaty business stuff.
Like, I don’t, I mean, no offense, but like, I just, I wasn’t there for the personal story and it wasn’t even like, you know, sometimes personal stories are like motivational and that there is room for that and you know, love those when that’s what we know what we’re getting. But like this was so we, we didn’t know what we were getting and then when we didn’t get businessy things. So you’ve got a great combination.
I mean, like, I, I love and adore everybody who will be taking these stages. They, they know their stuff backwards and forwards and they are like powerhouses on the stage.
And so I think people are going to just really, really love the experience they have. Whether they can make it to the Ireland one or to the London one.
It’s just like a really, it’s a really great lineup of people that know what they’re doing.
Becca
00:33:12.340 – 00:34:16.570
Yeah, we’re gonna light up London with knowledge but energy as well.
And one of my vibes for this conference is that it’s gonna be great for attendees, but I also want it to be great for speakers because as a speaker myself, you as a speaker, we’ve been to events, events which are not well run or we feel stressed or we don’t know the technology.
And so I won’t get it right first time out, but I’m doing everything I can to make it a great event for both speaker and attendee because I think when the speakers are in their best environment, they can give their best work.
When you know what time you’ve got to finish talking, you can plan your talk so you don’t have to suddenly like whistle through the last 30 seconds because you suddenly run out of time. And so, yeah, every piece of this conference has been designed with both speaker and attendee in mind.
And it’s going to be a beautiful time in both Ireland and London. I’m so super excited about it. Why do you think industry events are crucial? You go to lots of industry events. I go to lots of industry events.
There’ll be some people out there that never prioritize spending money on industry events. Maybe feel nervous about going. Why do you think that they’re crucial in business?
Leah
00:34:16.730 – 00:36:39.970
There’s a few reasons that you just can’t beat the in person piece and the in person networking and like being in the room with people, it’s just different.
And I, when folks come to me like, I have a, like a few different mentees that I work with and one of the things that I, my first thing that I ask them is like, how much in person networking are you doing or how many in person events are you showing up to Because I so believe in the power. Like, you are a different person when you are in person. Like, like we’re talking through a screen right now and I pro.
Like we obviously get along lovely, but like, in person, it’s amped up even more because you’re with them and you’re seeing their energy and everybody’s excited and there’s a vibe in the room. And so you just can’t replace like being in person. Also, there’s the education component.
Like, everybody just needs to always be investing in themselves, learning more. How can I be better at my business?
What are some of the things that I, I can pick up and I know I can speak for myself at least when I’m signing up for like virtual webinars and things like that. I never, I either never go or I go and I don’t pay attention or I don’t follow up. Like, you will be in the room, you will be like a captivated.
Like you will be seeing things firsthand. And so there’s just no replacement for getting that knowledge firsthand, like, and being held accountable to a certain extent.
But yeah, the in person stuff, you just can’t beat it. And I think it’s one of the best things for your business. It’s how you stay top of mind. People see you.
I will never forget I went to an in person conference a couple of years ago right after I had gone back to being a lawyer.
And there were two people, like two separate people who live in New York City who saw me there and said to me, oh, I keep meaning I saw that you start. Went back to practicing law. I keep meaning to reach out with you, to you about it.
And like, I booked two new clients, clients for people that lived in my city, who I, who I know personally. But it was just like, oh, seeing me in person, yeah, that’s. I gotta, I need to do that.
Or like, oh, you know, seeing somebody in person, you would, hey, I’m working on this wedding right now. You’d actually be really a great candidate to like, maybe be their photographer, be their florist.
Like, you gotta stay top of mind for people and being in person so that people can see your energy, live and get to know you and just interact with you. There’s. There’s no replacement for it.
Becca
00:36:39.970 – 00:37:02.170
Yeah, it’s so true.
Both in terms of concentration and being in the room and being there to learn, but also looking left and right and talking all the people around you and meeting other people and, and finding people who are in the same spot as you. And being able to turn to the person next to you and go, my contract’s a bit dodgy. Is your contract a bit dodgy? Oh, we’re in this together.
Let’s sort it out. Rather than feeling like we’re so alone. Because so often in business.
Leah
00:37:03.290 – 00:37:33.670
I was just going to say that, yeah, it is like, being an entrepreneur is lonely. Especially, like, when you’re not going into an office and you’re not physically surround by people.
Like, we just kind of sit here and we get in our heads. And so, you know, it’s a way to talk to people and be like, oh, you know, how is your year looking?
Or, what are some of the marketing things you’ve been doing? Or what are some of the events you’re going to? Or some of the membership groups that you belong to? Like, what’s working for you?
It’s a great way to find out, like, what people are doing and to just truly, like, feel less alone and isolated. Because it is. Entrepreneurship is a lonely road.
Becca
00:37:33.750 – 00:38:04.050
It is. But we are going to be together in person very soon, and I am very excited about it.
So if you’re listening to this and you haven’t yet got a ticket, like, you need to get your ticket either, whether it’s to Ireland, to Kilkenny, whether it’s to London. So Ireland’s 23rd March, London is 25th March, and all the tickets are available@wedproslive.com but there’s not too many left, so do grab them.
And if you are lucky enough to have a VIP ticket, then you will be able to join both me and Leah for a delicious lunch in London. And that’s what I’m most excited for, Leah, because the lunch looks really good.
Leah
00:38:04.050 – 00:38:04.770
Amazing.
Becca
00:38:05.490 – 00:38:24.110
It’s gonna be a lot of fun. Leah, thank you so much for your time. It’s always a pleasure to have you on the podcast and to have you on my stages.
I always end my podcast, same question. And actually, I looked back. I don’t think I asked it to you last time. So this could be the first time you answer it on my podcast. And it’s this.
What’s one thing you wish you’d known sooner in your own business?
Leah
00:38:24.350 – 00:40:47.570
This applies to. This applies, I think, to both my businesses, but it’s the comparison trap.
And I wish somebody had, like, warned me about, you know, paying too close attention to what other people are doing and making it. Making it. Having it make you feel bad about, like, yourself and your business and where you’re at in your business. Business.
Because One of the things that I have learned is we all say it like, beyond the whole, you know, social media is just the highlight reel. You never actually know people’s situ, like their situations or how they interact with people. The.
My favorite story, one of my favorite stories to tell is when I was a planner, I was at a showroom where. A rentals showroom, like where you pick out the plates and the napkins and all that stuff.
And I was early and there was another planner there with one of her couples. And I was just, just walk, like, you know, paying attention, watching what she was doing. And she was getting so granular.
She was asking about the little, we call them ramekins here, the little like ceramic white things that you put olive oil in. And she was asking her clients to choose between like three different ramekins for like, what they wanted the olive oil in on their tables.
And in my mind, I’m like, I would never ask my clients that because that would, would just. That is way too detailed. It is not something they need to worry about. It would like, stress them out and overwhelm them.
And in that moment, I was like, wow, we’re all very different. We all bring very different services. Like, I can say I am very different from other small business attorneys that people might work with.
And so I just have to like, be confident in the way that I’m doing things and know that I have my own special sauce and magic that I’m bringing to the table. And like, people, some people don’t need to do this as a full time job. Maybe they don’t have to like, support themselves doing something.
That’s why they do like two weddings a year and they’re like, big and fantastic, but who knows how much they’re getting paid? Or maybe somebody is grossly undercharging and that’s why they have like 20 weddings. I mean, there’s just so many reasons.
And so like, don’t listen to the noise. Focus on yourself. Like, have that confidence in what you are bringing to the table and know that you are uniquely you. And like, nobody does it.
Like you do it. And that’s what I wish somebody had given me, that pep talk a hundred percent. That’s the beginning of my business.
Becca
00:40:47.810 – 00:40:57.570
And it’s so true, Leah, because I’m glad you’re unapologetically you, because if you tried to be like all the lawyers either side of you, you wouldn’t be speaking at my event because it would be incredibly boring.
Leah
00:40:57.570 – 00:41:24.090
I knew it. I worry. I worry about the day when I like have to go into some situation where I have to like be in a suit because legit. I do not own a suit.
I do not own dress pants. Like, I have one black dress in my, like in the back of my closet for when I might need it for like something formal. But I don’t, I don’t have it.
Like this is, this is what I’m wearing daily.
Becca
00:41:24.330 – 00:41:47.810
So, um, yeah, you be you, you wear what you want. You don’t need that black dress. If you need it, then just wear something else. Like no one’s judging what you wear. It’s all good.
Leah, I am so excited to give you a big hug and to see you in Ireland and in London and to see what you’re going to give to my attendees because I know it’s going to be amazing. If people want to find out more about you before you come over, where are the best places for them to find you hanging out?
Leah
00:41:47.810 – 00:42:05.750
Yes, my website is weinberg legal.com and then on Instagram I am the Leah Weinberg and Weinberg Legal. And I like feel like those are probably the two best places. Or if you’re on LinkedIn, I’m over on LinkedIn.
I know a lot of from my past speaking engagements with you. I know that a lot of folks in the UK use LinkedIn. So I’m also there. Right.
Becca
00:42:05.750 – 00:42:19.510
I will put all of the links in the show notes and do go and check out Leah’s Instagram cause she has a great series with fluffy letters. That’s all I’m saying. You gotta go and check it out for yourself to see what on earth I’m talking about. Leah, thank you so much for your time.
I will see you very soon.
Leah
00:42:19.510 – 00:42:20.110
Having me.
Becca
00:42:20.110 – 00:42:42.570
Yay. Such a great conversation with Leah.
I love talking to her here on the podcast and I’m so excited to have her back back in the UK in both Ireland and London, speaking at Wed Pros Live. If you’ve listened to this conversation and thought, yikes, maybe my legal stuff isn’t up to date, then come along, meet Lia, ask your questions.
But the most important thing is do something about it. I’ll see you all next time.
0 Comments