Full Episode Transcript

Dr. Ashley Blackington (00:00.95)

All right. Hello and welcome back to the AND/BOTH podcast. Today I am here with Lauren Bercuson, who has a multifaceted and very interesting story to tell. So first of all, welcome, Lauren, and thank you for being here today.

Lauren Bercuson (00:15.694)

Thank you so much for having me, Ashley. I'm so excited that I'm on your awesome podcast.

Dr. Ashley Blackington (00:21.012)

Thank you. Yeah, it's this has been definitely a big learning experience. But I like every week I have somebody new and different on usually because otherwise I have to record those podcasts where it's like me talking to the wall and those feel awkward.

Lauren Bercuson (00:38.62)

Alright.

Dr. Ashley Blackington (00:46.798)

So but but I have it's like all of these incredible stories. And you and I met before this just to sort of like do a little intro and all of that. And I have been itching to record with you because I think that you have a really cool story and especially one that I think there are elements that people can really relate to career wise, parenting wise and all of that. So how about, yes, how about if you let people know about you and Story Lock Legal and all of the things. So if you wanna give your spiel, then we'll go from there.

Lauren Bercuson (01:05.02)

Absolutely. So I, as I said, my name is Lauren Bercuson and I am a trademark and intellectual property attorney. I have had a crazy pivot, I guess you could say it that way. So I started practicing law in 2005 and I was with a trademark and intellectual property boutique firm. So that was my expertise for a while. And then, I did some commercial litigation, which I hated. And then I clerked for an appellate court judge for about five years, which was very, very cool. Always assumed I would go back to trademark work, but then I had my boys. And as they say, you know, you have kids and everything changes. So my little one who is now nine, was born and shortly after his birth, he had some pretty serious health complications. He is a stroke survivor. He had a stroke when he was about 10 days old. So as you can imagine, that kind of threw a wrench into all of my plans and into everything in my life, essentially, because his rehabilitation became the single priority. And that was the most important thing for our family at that point in time. And I also had a 21 month old. So it was, you know, juggling a toddler and then juggling an infant who really had a lot of, um, challenging needs at that time. So after I realized that my life for the near future was going to revolve around physical therapy and occupational therapy and speech therapy, but yes, you can do even on an infant. Um, I knew that eventually I was going to have to give up my career for a little while because I just didn't have the capacity, the mental capacity to kind of do it all.

So I have always been a reader, a huge reader, and I was always one of the people that everyone in my circles came to for book recommendations. So when we had kids, it became a children's book obsession, and I wanted to make sure that I always had the right books on my kids' bookshelves to teach them about the world and compassion and empathy and inclusion. So essentially, everyone started asking me for kids book recs. And that led me to starting a children's book review blog called Happily Ever Elephants. That was essentially like a grounding force for me when I had all this kind of chaos in my life. And story time with my boys became a huge, just like perfect part of the day to like, a calm way to end each day. So my blog took off and as I was kind of juggling being a lawyer and having a toddler and then having a baby with very unique needs, a librarian position opened at the private school by my house where my boys were going into the early childhood program.

So it was a stroke of luck actually, and everyone was like, you need to apply for this job. And I was like, I'm a lawyer, I'm not a librarian.

Dr. Ashley Blackington (04:30.658)

Hehehehehe

Lauren Bercuson (04:51.516)

But everyone said, but you know kids books, and it's not like a huge library, it's a private school. So essentially I applied, I got the job. It was a total blessing for our family because I was able to be there with my toddler. When my little one started, he was able to get all of his services right on campus. I ended up getting a divorce, so it was a wonderful community when our family was going through transition. And it was great. So now my little one is thriving. He's no longer at that school. He's at a special school for dyslexia. My big one is graduating fifth grade and about to start at our public local middle school. So before this year, you know, as I was like, okay, this is his last year. So I would like it to be my last year.

I would like to go back to being a lawyer, but I was like, I don't want to go back to a big firm. It just didn't feel right. So, um, I saw all these moms that were starting their own businesses, whether it was, you know, legal or advertising or marketing or social media, or these, you know, bloggers that were selling digital products or courses. And I was like, you know what, I'm going to try this. I hung up a virtual shingle and essentially started practicing law on the side. And from there, we now have Storylock Legal. So I essentially quit my job and told my school that I'm not gonna be back after the end of this year, that I won't be back in the fall. And I'm going full speed ahead with the law firm. So that's my extremely long, but kind of crazy story.

Dr. Ashley Blackington (06:08.878)

I love it. I love there's like there's so many pieces of that where I'm like, Oh, yes. Oh, yes. Because, you know, it's like, like having that intensity in in a career, no matter what it is, I feel like is something that moms are like in our generation of motherhood experience because we were raised by the like, you can have it all. However, you have to do it all right. And so, the intensity with school, the intensity with career, all of those things, it's full speed ahead. And I don't know anyone who has gone into motherhood and been like, yes, I'm gonna do this and I'm gonna do this, I'm gonna do this. That didn't get like, you know, the door swung back as they're walking through the door to motherhood. That was like, oh, by the way, oh, by the way, this is gonna be totally different. And I mean, you know, like, that happens in all different regards, like whether it's medical, whether it is, you know, like postpartum depression, anxiety, it is however, however it arrives, but like the notion that what you plan for prior to having children, you can't plan some completely independent experience based on your history.

Lauren Bercuson (07:25.882)

It's exactly true. And to that note, I mean, I remember being in law school and they would have these speakers come in and they would say, you know, women, like this is a forum for women and you can have it all. You can be a career person. You can be a partner in a law. Sorry, my God. And there that's life. And, and.

Dr. Ashley Blackington (07:51.31)

No. Hahaha!

Lauren Bercuson (07:56.732)

Anyway, so we would have these forums and they would make us feel like, yes, you can do it all. You can do everything in the balance. But when it comes down to it, any like small kink in that plan, like any small, you know, obstacle or roadblock along that path really throws everything off kilter. And it makes it very hard, you know, to tell an employer, well, look, I have, you know, this and I need to do this because my kid needs this and and you just find yourself in the middle of this like emotional turmoil because you want to do great at your job but you also want to give your kids everything they need you want to be there for your family and it's it's a struggle and you know yes like we are made to feel like we can have it all but when you when it comes down to it there's always a battle right and and so when I came back to work I said I want to have it all, but I need to do it in a way that is authentic for me and that will really work for my family and my kids and my schedule and our schedule collectively, which is why I said, all right, I'm going to try to do this on my own and build a firm and build a practice that really works for my life and my kids. So we'll see what happens.

Dr. Ashley Blackington (09:16.046)

Yeah, yeah. I love it. I love, too, that the idea of like, I think a lot of times what has happened is like people are like, this is my before child life. And then I had kids. And it's not like you went into the library and were like, OK, now I'm a librarian. Like you were always still like the legal aspect of it was just kind of like this parallel line that kind of plods along with you.

Lauren Bercuson (09:44.708)

Mm -hmm.

Dr. Ashley Blackington (09:46.35)

And then it's like, yes, you love books and yes, you love this piece and this is the thing that works for your family. But at the end of the day, you're a lawyer. And at the end of the day, you have you did all of the work to get to that place. And that you can you can sort of pivot, I guess that's the best word, but you can pivot and adjust to make that piece happen.

Lauren Bercuson (09:53.87)

Right. Yeah.

Dr. Ashley Blackington (10:09.07)

But at the end of the day, now your kids are old enough, now your kids are doing the things that they need to do and you have a schedule and all of that stuff. Like you're a lawyer because you've always been a lawyer. You were just a lawyer that worked in a library versus a lawyer that's now a librarian.

Lauren Bercuson (10:20.186)

Mm -hmm. Right, right. And what you said is so interesting that it was kind of always there and running parallel to what I was doing in the library and even with my blog. Because what I was noticing as I was blogging and some of these like mom, I hate the word mom blogger, but some of these mom blog groups, I mean, it's literally what they were, you know, on Facebook and all these other forums, a lot of these moms needed legal help. You know, people would copy their ideas, people would steal their pictures, people would, you know, trade off their names or use their own digital, they would copy their digital downloads. And there was a big need in this world for intellectual property protection. But when you talk to some of these moms who had no experience with lawyers, it was so intimidating for them.

Dr. Ashley Blackington (11:14.604)

Mm -hmm.

Lauren Bercuson (11:23.676)

And so as I was in the library, I was also, and as my blog was getting bigger and gaining some recognition, I was also helping these other bloggers and these other moms who are also brilliant entrepreneurs with their businesses, kind of helping them navigate the legal issues that were inherent or what to do with copycats and so on and so forth. So it really was, I like how you said that, it really was always running parallel with me even when I had to pivot.

And I just really liked the way that you framed that because I hadn't looked at it that way before.

Dr. Ashley Blackington (11:52.942)

Yeah, I also wonder about like the idea of having this group of people that you can help and the fact that these are moms, right? So like, I would imagine that somebody who start like this group of mom bloggers is not like people aren't like, oh, I blog like, I'm sure I'm sure there's a section of people that have a blog and then they have kids and then they write about motherhood.

But I really feel like there's so many examples of people that start to write as an outlet to sort of work through their experiences and share and grow community and things like that. But I wonder about whether or not the reason why so many of these women were intimidated or would not like go after someone who's taking their stuff. Like there's all sorts of stories that I've read about like big, big, big mom social media platforms that take whole articles. They take credit for like big chunks of writing and they never give credit to the person who wrote it. They take memes, they take videos, they take all of this stuff. And I wonder about this idea that like these moms that start the blogs and they write about this stuff, like if they are cutting themselves off in saying like, you know, “I'm so excited that somebody wants to hear what I have to say. It doesn't matter how they did it” or like how like “this is just my little project” versus like what you're saying. Like these are intelligent people. These are entrepreneurs. These are people that are building businesses, but they are just not giving themselves the two solid feet that they need to stand on because they're just so happy that someone's reading this.

Lauren Bercuson (13:35.066)

Mm -hmm.

Dr. Ashley Blackington (13:47.276)

Yeah.

Lauren Bercuson (13:47.286)

Yeah, it's very true and I think that you know when you're in that world and you're a blogging or you're an influencer You it's all about the recognition, right? So sometimes you're like, okay. Well, maybe that's good recognition, but then they didn't ask for permission And then what I see a lot is that people you know lawyers have Not always the best name, right?

I mean, a lot of people see the legal field and working with an attorney as being very cold, big box law firm. People are just going to billable hour, billable hour. They're going to rack up the fees and they don't see it necessarily. They don't see lawyers as being someone that's, you know, calm and transparent and warm and someone that's going to nurture you along the process and make you feel understood and make sure you understand every piece along the way. And so I think that that's.

I know a lot of attorneys that are just like me that are really working not solely with female founders, but that's kind of one of the niches that we all gravitate to because we want to show women that they can protect their brilliance in a way that doesn't feel scary. And I think that what it comes down to with what you were asking and what you were talking about is that a lot of these bloggers do feel or you know, small entrepreneurs do feel scared and intimidated by the big players in the industry that, you know, well, what do I have to stand on if they take my stuff or how am I going to get a lawyer? How am I going to afford it? And then we'll kind of just throw it, you know, under the rug because they don't know how to proceed. So, so those are, you know, some of the exact people that I'm trying to help. I love helping, you know, female founders, mom entrepreneurs because it's such a great space and people are so passionate about what they do. And so many of these women that I've worked with are really trying to change the world for good in their own unique way. And so I love being able to help with their projects.

Dr. Ashley Blackington (15:59.886)

I love it. And you have, so your kids, wait, so your kids are now, you said fifth grade and second.

Lauren Bercuson (16:07.228)

Second, so nine and 11. Mm -hmm. Mm -hmm.

Dr. Ashley Blackington (16:29.486)

Oh, okay. And so how, because I used to, and I've said this, I think a couple of times in past episodes, but I used to not ask about caregiving. And then I realized that caregiving is our generation's version of salary talk. And because it's that idea of like, oh, don't ask. So like, how does now that now that you're now that your kids are older, so they're not they're not babies and they're not home and things like that. How do you manage that aspect with work? And how do all the pieces fit together to make it possible?

Lauren Bercuson (16:29.622)

I'm not gonna lie. It's really hard and Right now I knew going into this year. I knew going into Starting my own firm while still working at a full -time job Was gonna be challenging And I didn't realize quite how challenging it was going to be Which is a good thing in many ways because it means that my firm is is doing well, right? But at the same time I still work essentially till four every day. And so by the time I get home, I have, you know, basketball and tutor and to make dinner and you know this and then I'm still trying to meet with clients and still having to do the work that comes in. So it's it's it's been a challenge. I'm not gonna lie, there's been too much iPad time for my kids, because sometimes my son is like in the background watching me going like raising the roof with his hand.

Dr. Ashley Blackington (17:41.007)

Hehehe.

Lauren Bercuson (17:47.58)

Um, he, it's, um, it's tough because sometimes not my big one is, is in a different place with the iPad and with like being independent, but my little one, if I really need the time and the space to be on a meeting or to do a podcast or, you know, whatever it is, the only way that I can really get him to just give me an hour of time is to put him in front of the iPad. So sometimes I need to use that as a babysitter. Um, but what I've also realized is like each month when I get the basketball schedule, like the practices and the games, I kind of just sit down in advance with my calendar. I block off like two days of the week, two afternoons a week that I can meet with clients. And then everything else, I work around their afterschool activities. So sometimes it's a practice and I'm sitting in a car doing work. And sometimes I'm, you know, in the stands writing emails in between plays. So, you know, it's just trying to figure out everything.

Dr. Ashley Blackington (18:38.478)

Mm -hmm.

Lauren Bercuson (18:47.58)

I do work well when I have a lot on my plate, but at the same time, it's hard because I feel like I'm also not spending as much time with my boys as I would like to. And I keep telling them, I'm doing this for us because next year when I'm no longer at the school, my goal is that I'm working obviously all day.

Dr. Ashley Blackington (19:01.454)

Mm -hmm.

Lauren Bercuson (19:16.38)

And by the time they get home, yes, there might be one day a week that I have to really work while, you know, in the afternoon while I'm with them. But ideally, I'm with them, you know, in the afternoons until bedtime. And then at the end of the day, if I need to get back on my computer, I can. So it's a trade off and it's a balance. And I'm looking at this as, you know, a short term commitment while I am kind of in this transition phase. But it's been, it's been great to have this year that I can kind of kick off and soft launch my firm while I still have the fallback of a salary.

So, you know, again, it's also hard because I am divorced, so I don't have a partner to rely on, like if I have a good month or if I have a bad month. So I'm kind of just going all in and hoping for the best and seeing what happens. But yeah, so it's tough, but I'm somehow trying to make it all happen.

Dr. Ashley Blackington (19:46.926)

Yeah. Yeah, I love the there's a phrase it's like an entrepreneur is someone who will work 80 hours a week for themselves so they don't have to work 40 for someone else. And I just it's true.

Lauren Bercuson (20:16.89)

It's true. It's true because when it's your baby, you want to put everything, you want to put your all into it. And I also love the role that I'm showing my kids, right? That like, I am starting something from scratch and I believe in myself and I'm terrified, but I'm brave and I'm, you know, I'm doing this for all of us. And I like the example that it sets that we can do hard things.

Dr. Ashley Blackington (20:47.918)

Mm hmm. Yeah, for sure. And I think, too, it's also important because there's so much stuff out there now in this in this space and especially in the in the mom social media space where you have these people that launch these businesses. I wrote a blog about this a long time ago. But it's these people that have these businesses that they start these businesses before they have children and they grow and they grow and they grow and then they have children and then their marketing pivots and they market towards moms as you can do what I do. However, they were not moms who launched businesses and it is a totally different game.

Lauren Bercuson (21:23.3)

Yep.

Dr. Ashley Blackington (21:31.566)

You don't have those 80 hours. You have hard boundaries. If your kid is getting out of school at three o 'clock, you have to be there, or you have to arrange care, or you have to have somebody pick them up, whatever it is, and however you make that work. Whereas somebody who has already grown their team and done all of that stuff, then it's this element of like preying on people who are like, I need the flexibility, and the flexibility is the most important thing but you have to have, there's so much time that goes in with really less flexible options or opportunities in order to get to that place of flexibility.

Lauren Bercuson (21:41.188)

Right. Right. Mm -hmm. And it's hard because I think a lot of people see these big influencers or career women who have built, you know, exactly what you said, built these great businesses, but it's deceptive because they had the time before they had children. Now they have the teams behind them. They have the people doing their social media and the people doing their marketing and the people, you know, that are ghostwriting for them. And it's almost frustrating because it feels like a deceptive practice when most people, if they're starting at a very different time in their life, that's not reality.

Dr. Ashley Blackington (22:41.838)

Right. Yeah, it's not. It's not something that you can just it's not an either or at that point, like it actually has to be and both because otherwise it won't go. But they but then the marketing spins to I work an hour and a half a day or whatever. And I do this. It's like you work an hour and a half a day, but you have a team of people that are doing the other 40 hours.

Lauren Bercuson (22:55.708)

Right. Right. Exactly, exactly. And that kills me because so many people are susceptible to those quick wins and they think that's going to be them. And it's just, it's false advertising. Really, you know?

Dr. Ashley Blackington (23:31.31)

Yeah. And it's yeah. So I just I think that that's why it's so important to talk about the stuff. I mean, you're not you're not doing something small, you're doing something big, you're starting out, you started a firm, you have clients to meet with, you are doing a you are it's this is a huge undertaking. So if that I mean, I might go to law school if I started a thing and it was like, oh, in like 15 minutes, two hours a day, I can do this. It's not real. So I think it's just so important.

Lauren Bercuson (24:00.956)

Right. No. And it's like, aside from, yeah, and aside from, you know, you know, not being real, it's like you're meeting with clients, then you're hustling to find clients is a big part of the job in the beginning, you know, not even just in the beginning, you're always trying to grow your network, you know, no matter what kind of service business you're in. That's always a part of the job and a big part of the job. So it's like, there's just so many different components that I think, people don't necessarily realize when they put out there or that when people do these, oh, get rich quick and work my life where I'm working two hours a day, there's just so much that a lot of people aren't thinking about when they try to follow in these others footsteps.

Dr. Ashley Blackington (24:40.046)

Yeah, it's that that you and Beyonce have the same 24 hours mentality.

Lauren Bercuson (24:55.932)

Right, exactly, exactly. Hey, if I had someone that would cook all my meals, do my hair, get me dressed, you know, work me out while I'm sitting like on my computer trying to do work, that would be amazing. I mean, I would have so much free time.

Dr. Ashley Blackington (25:03.214)

Right? This firm would be like one giant building in New York City. Oh my gosh. So when you are not, what are the things in like taking into consideration that you have like, you know, only 24 hours in a day that you are cramming full of stuff and you have two kids and you're busy and you're doing all of this stuff? Like what are the things that you do that are just for you?

Lauren Bercuson (25:16.252)

I know, I know, yeah. Okay. I'm a huge reader and it's funny. I think that's one of the reasons that I love trademark law so much is because I always say that every trademark tells a story. You know, you see certain brands and you immediately can like, you know everything about them. You know, you see Tom's shoes and you know that like, if you buy a pair of Tom's, then you're giving, you know, you're giving a pair of shoes to someone in need or Huggies is like the best in comfort and softness for your baby.

So I've always loved stories and I'm just a huge reader. I started, I'm in this amazing female founders group called Entrepreneista and one of the first girls I met through the group was also a reader and also blogged about books and we instantly connected and we actually just started the Entrepreneista Book Club for the community, which has been so much fun and just a great way to meet other women but through something we all love, which is stories, because stories are always a great connector. So I'm always reading, I'm always encouraging my kids to read, and I will read everything from adult books to middle grade novels. I love reading stories and then telling my 11 year old like, oh, you've got to read this one. It's really good.

I try to exercise when I can. Admittedly, sometimes that's really hard but I have the Peloton and I go through phases where I'm like really into it and then really like it's painful to get on the bike. But it's funny because my big one and I just started like a challenge, one of the challenges on the bike. And so now it's fun that like we're kind of doing it together so I can motivate him and he can motivate me. But really, I mean, if you ask me what my go -to, you know, my go -to time away, like when I just need to decompress and It's my own time and I need to just do what I love. You will find me reading a book. This past weekend, in fact, was our first weekend of spring break and it was storming here in Miami. Like storming, like, I mean, it was like a hurricane. I mean, we have literally had hurricanes and boom, we're home from school and like it barely rains. And then we have like just a random, you know, spring storm. And that's what this was. I mean, crazy thunder, crazy lightning.

I said to my kids, I'm like, enjoy your iPads. I'm not working today. I'm not doing anything. And I sat on the couch and I read literally from morning until probably one o 'clock at night, one o 'clock in the morning. I finished my book and it was like the best day that I've had in so long. We ordered and sushi for dinner. And it was just like, it was just a lazy, lazy day on all of our parts, but it was amazing. It was like very, you know, rejuvenating.

Dr. Ashley Blackington (28:01.226)

Yeah, I love that. Because, you know, there's there's always this like, pressure that we either feel or we have to like, cram more in and like, make the moments and all of that stuff. And I think that I think it's also like a really important example for our kids to see, like, sometimes we don't need to do all of that. Like sometimes we can eat ice cream for breakfast and survive. And like sometimes.

Lauren Bercuson (28:50.716)

And you have no idea how many times I've come down on the weekend and my little one, I'm like, why is there a Haagen-Daz on the table?

Dr. Ashley Blackington (29:01.71)

And where's my spoon?

Lauren Bercuson (29:04.666)

And he's like, I'm like, okay, but you know that you're not supposed to have ice cream for breakfast. I know what I wanted to like great. It smells really awful when you're like 17, you know, like I can't wait to see what you're going to do then. But yeah, it happens to the best of us, right? But one of my friends, a big blogger named Suzy, she's a she blogs for she's busy toddler on Instagram.

Dr. Ashley Blackington (29:09.902)

Oh my god. Mm -hmm.

Lauren Bercuson (29:34.844)

And she will. She'll always talk about, you know, the things you can say no to or the things that you just let happen. And I sometimes see that in the morning and I think of that and I'm like, I'm just, it is what it is. Like, I'm just gonna let it happen. He's not hurting anybody. It's a small thing of ice cream. It is what it is. And that's also, you know, something that I've learned along the way is like, I have to pick my battles, right? And sometimes if the laundry doesn't get folded immediately or if I leave the house and like, the blankets aren't folded on the couch and there's like maybe, you know, the dishwasher hasn't been emptied. Okay, like, or my kids didn't make their beds like, all right, like, I've had to learn to let things slide. And I think that's just part of it, right? Like, when you're trying to do it all, right? When you're trying to have the and and the both and you're in your you're doing it all, there are some things that are, you just have to let go for a little while, while you're in the thick of it because otherwise you're just gonna drive yourself crazy. So my house is not always as clean as I want it to be and it is what it is.

Dr. Ashley Blackington (30:32.206)

Yeah, but I think too, like that's important because I think that the things that we let go when our plate starts to fill up are by default, the shoulds that we've been living with. Like when I leave my house, I should have the dishwasher should be emptied, the blanket should be folded, all the laundry should be put away. Like my house should look like nobody lives here so that when I return home, it is what it is versus like I live in my house and like right now it might not look like this because everything is going on, but like I'll get back to it.

Lauren Bercuson (31:03.932)

Right. And we're living, right? Because we're living and sometimes life gets in the way of a perfectly, you know, made bed and a perfect meal. And we just want to order Uber Eats, you know, which is the bane of my existence. Cause that's where all of my money goes because I sometimes just don't have time to cook dinner. So Uber Eats is like a blessing and a curse. Those sneaky little added funds get you every time I'm like, but what do you mean it's $70? I just ordered three hamburgers. Oh my God.

Dr. Ashley Blackington (31:10.862)

Yeah.

Lauren Bercuson (31:38.94)

It's like so true, right?

Dr. Ashley Blackington (31:39.406)

Well, and you'll say, and it's the, I love the one, the meme of like, you go to the grocery store and spend $300 in order to take out on the way home.

Lauren Bercuson (31:48.508)

100%. That's me. You know, I have gotten very good at like packing my lunches. Like I'll do a meal, like a big, like some kind of a salad that won't go bad. That'll last me for four days and stuff like that. But then it's, it's always the dinner. Like a dinner is every mom's bane of existence. I think it's like the worst part of the day, but it is what it is. So sometimes I just order in.

Dr. Ashley Blackington (32:05.752)

Mm -hmm. Yeah, well, and it's it's I mean, that's the like, that's when all the waves are crashing, right? Like you're in the you're in the wave pool of life at five o 'clock, no matter what you're either. You're either going someplace, you're coming from someplace, someone is starving, like there's like something.

Lauren Bercuson (32:19.386)

100 % I'm women talking bad about homework. Yeah. Oh yeah.

Dr. Ashley Blackington (32:42.222)

Yeah, so something like there is there is a hurricane that is happening inside your home and you're like, I wish that my son didn't eat the Haagen -Dazs because that's what I'd like to have right now because I just cannot deal with whatever it is. Yeah, it's the bit, oh, and yeah, and I don't know, like I don't know a single person that's like, oh yeah, I've got dinner all figured out, you know, and like, it's just a breeze. Like it's such a hard time of night.

Lauren Bercuson (32:49.081)

Uh huh. So true. It's such a hard time of night and then it's like I see like I follow some food bloggers whose stuff I love, but then it's like, okay, I try to make a recipe, but then I'm the only one who eats it because my kids are just like, can I just have plain pasta with butter and cheese or can I just have chicken fingers or can you just make tacos? And I'm like, can you just try something new? And then they don't eat it. It's like, I just wasted all this money and this time on a meal that I'm gonna eat and I can't eat this meal for four days in a row because I can't eat, you know, cheese every day because I'll get sick, but I'll do it one night for you guys and then like no one eats it. I just waste all that food, right? Ugh, the worst.

Dr. Ashley Blackington (33:39.886)

Mm hmm. Yeah. Oh my God. My my friend and my daughter, she was she said to my daughter and my daughter tells me this is the dinner table. She's like because sometimes like all will cook like something that like my husband and I will eat. And then the kids like some of them will try it. And some of them are like, don't even come near me with that thing. And she was like telling me that her friend at school was like, I'm so jealous of the food that your mom cooks. And I was like, what?

my daughter's telling her like my mom makes like chicken nuggets and she'll make pasta and all this stuff. She's like, you know, her friends like my mom makes like this with like a glaze on it and love like all this like, you know, it sounds like it out of a restaurant. And I was like, I'll trade.

Lauren Bercuson (34:23.228)

Oh my God, and you're like, can your mom cook for me? Hilarious. Well, if you want to know a funny story, when I started dating, again, post -divorce, and I was seeing a man for a while, and he met my boys, and he's like, so what's the best thing mommy cooks for dinner? And my son, who was probably six or seven at the time, without hesitation, he goes, cereal. And I was like, oh my God. Oh my God. Like literally that's what you said. I can make other things besides cereal, but it was hilarious. And I was like, I mean, why bother?

Dr. Ashley Blackington (35:04.142)

Right, right. And I have like I have one of my kids, he was that kid. He was the like cereal kid, whatever. But we just went to San Diego and went to like a Mexican restaurant and he like ordered off the menu and ate stuff like he actually ate. And I was like, wait a minute. So I'm I'm hopeful. I'm hopeful that that is something that will start to grow elsewhere. But like I got I have one kid who is a diehard for like the noodles with butter and It is what it is. They're fed at the end of the day. You fed them.

Lauren Bercuson (35:36.988)

Exactly, they're fed and they're full and they're happy. And that's all we can ask. Right, right.

Dr. Ashley Blackington (35:40.91)

and there's no major conflict. Yeah, that's the thing. It's like the fight at the dinner table is I'm like, I'm not willing to have that. I just want you people to eat food and grow. Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh. So I have a question that I'm really good. I'm good at like, sometimes I like throw these things out and then I forget them.

Lauren Bercuson (35:51.354)

Exactly. I hear you. I'm right there with you.

Dr. Ashley Blackington (36:09.998)

So when you are thinking about like, how this goes and how this grows, like where the library is winding down and then this is winding up. Like, are there areas that you really want to focus on? Is there like programming that you wanna put out there? Like what's the like the golden arches at the end of this giant period of transition?

Lauren Bercuson (36:30.812)

the end, I really, I really, my goal is just to help as many female founders protect themselves as possible. And for all the reasons that we discussed, you know, already. I want people to feel that they have the confidence to protect themselves. I want them to be able to secure their brand stories and lock in their legacies. Cause some people are starting businesses that they hope that, you know, their children can, and can go into down the road or whatever it is. So really just educating people on the importance of getting your trademark secured and, you know, auditing your intellectual property, making sure people aren't stealing it.

And also teaching people about the importance of, you know, this whole social media world is crazy. How to conduct yourself properly online. Like you can't take other people's work. You know, even I'm trying to think like when that, which was the Kardashian that held up the sign to tell her husband that she was pregnant. Um, yes. Well, when she held up that sign, I cannot tell you how many influencers I saw online taking that picture and putting their own words on that sign and like advertising their own stuff. Like that is illegal. Like you cannot do that. And so I think really just educating people, you know, my goal is to become a thought leader in the IP space.

Dr. Ashley Blackington (37:50.732)

Mm -hmm.

Lauren Bercuson (38:05.692)

And I've just become a go -to for female founders who are really looking for someone to champion their stories and help protect them and be a friendly team player, like someone that they can trust and value. And that really becomes a part of their team. That's what I'm hoping for. And I just hope for consistency and just to keep growing.

Dr. Ashley Blackington (38:27.502)

Yeah.

Lauren Bercuson (38:33.308)

That's really, you know, that's all I can ask for. So we'll see, I'm excited.

Dr. Ashley Blackington (38:34.094)

Yeah.

Dr. Ashley Blackington (38:38.638)

I love that you speak about this with so much authenticity that I feel like that is something that's so refreshing, especially for somebody who may not be thinking that this is something that they need to look at. This is something that they need to think about. Somebody that listens that is like, oh, but I have just a little blog or I have this piece. It's like going around and saying to people like you deserve credit for the things that you do. Full stop like this is not it's not like when you grow to a certain point or whatever and that doesn't necessarily mean I think to like people get scared about like I don't have the money to do this and it's like okay but if you don't know what that is like like you're somebody who I feel like someone can reach out to you and send you an email and say hey this is what I have going on. Like, am I ready for this? Or what do you think? And I think that's the part where people miss that sweet spot of being able to protect their stuff before they grow to a space that's not worth it.

Lauren Bercuson (39:41.06)

Yeah. And you know, a couple of things to that end, like you want to be proactive, not reactive, right? But if you have a business that you believe is worth pursuing, right, and growing, then that business is worthy of protection. And if you spend, you know, $2 ,500 to make sure that your name is clear to file your trademark application, you could potentially be saving yourself so much money down the road when it comes to, you know, copycats or you could be infringing on somebody else's name if you didn't take the time to properly clear your mark and then you're in a lot of hot water and that happens all the time. So, you know, making people aware and educating founders that, you know, when you have something, do it right and you're going to save yourself.

Dr. Ashley Blackington (40:30.636)

Mm -hmm.

Lauren Bercuson (40:42.748)

There is an initial investment in the beginning. Yes. And I know that that's scary to part with, but you're going to be saving yourself so much money down the road by doing it properly. And again, if, if this is something, if your business is something that you believe in and that you believe can really grow, then you've got to, then it's worthy of protecting. And you got to start with that because that's the foundation of your brand, your name, your intellectual property, those intangible assets that is your brand. And if you lose it, you're going to have to spend so much money to re -educate the public on a rebrand. And not to mention if you sell products like changing your packaging, it's a nightmare. So I think the education of helping people understand how to do it right when they begin is really important. And that's definitely one of my goals in this space.

Dr. Ashley Blackington (41:27.02)

Yeah. And I think too, it's important for people to not feel like, um, well, what is her name? The founder of Spanx, Sarah. What is her name?

Lauren Bercuson (41:44.092)

Hmm. Mm -hmm. Blake - Blakely - Blakely? Mm -hmm.

Dr. Ashley Blackington (42:05.742)

Oh, yes. Yeah. So she, she filed her own patent, right? And like, that's, that's great. But I feel like that's another one of those things where that's a one -off, not the norm. Like I, I went through the trademarking with Dovetail and like I was like, okay, I think like I can, I can read these things. But like, this is not something that is is worth the time for me to try and learn how to speak this language and do it effectively. And so I think that sometimes two people are like, well, it's simple, because like somebody like her, she got a book and she filed her own patent. It's like, let's, let's think about whether or not that's that's a really tangible thing because you're taking time away from building your business to like learn and then and then if it's not done correctly, like there's no point. Yeah.

Lauren Bercuson (42:36.572)

Yes.

Lauren Bercuson (42:43.42)

There's no point. And that's one of the things that I learned quickly in this process is like, if it's not your zone of expertise, then delegate. And sometimes it's hard to part with the money. But like when I was setting up my systems and I was like, okay, am I going to try to learn Dubsado on my own? Am I going to? And no, because for me, the, you know, a few thousand dollars that I spent to have someone else do it saved me from like,

Dr. Ashley Blackington (42:52.62)

Yeah.

Lauren Bercuson (43:11.228)

I mean, weeks, if not months of headache and tears trying to set things up myself, which then would have cost me, you know, because I couldn't talk to clients or do client work because I was so busy on my own stuff more than, you know, what I ended up paying. Like, I just feel like you have to know what you're good at and you have to know when to ask for help. And with trademarks, there are so many, like LegalZoom and there's other companies that'll say, oh, like, we'll help you or do this for you. But they're not searching your mark, they're not educating you along the way. And then what happens is, or people do it themselves, it comes back with mistakes and it comes back with office action refusals. And then you need to spend all the money on the lawyer to fix the mistakes, which oftentimes is gonna cost you more than it would have had you just started with a lawyer in the first place. So I always say, if you are one of those people who can fix everything and do everything and figure it all out, great, good for you. But like if you have any hesitation, get the help that you need to do it properly and to do it correctly the first time. That's always, always my motto.

Dr. Ashley Blackington (44:19.374)

Yeah. Yeah. And also too, like if you are in the very beginning, it's the cheapest it's ever gonna be to do what you wanna do. So like, if you're like worried about the deal, when it starts fresh, then do it then. Although like, and just it's part of, it may be part of a startup cost that, you know, there's all sorts of like.

Lauren Bercuson (44:28.028)

Exactly. Exactly. Yep.

Dr. Ashley Blackington (44:45.742)

grants and opportunities in that space that maybe that is something that's worth spending those funds on because then you really are setting yourself up for success. So all of the people that are listening and are like, oh my God, I need to call her and I need to email her and I need help because I have either this needs to get done or like, am I a candidate for this or what? How do people get in touch with you and where can they find you?

Lauren Bercuson (44:56.532)

Absolutely. They can find me on my website, which is story lock legal, S T O R Y L O C K legal .com. And there you can actually sign up for a free console right from my website. It's very easy. Or you can find me on Instagram at story lock legal or on LinkedIn under Lauren Berkesson. My last name is B -E -R -C -U -S -O -N. It's not an easy one, but those are all the places where I hang out. So yeah, and I am always happy to help. I offer free consults and I just love, you know, helping people in any way that I can as much as I can. And if something's not in my domain, like if it's something that's more corporate law related or another area where it's not my expertise, I will not try to take on that work myself. I will pass it off to somebody or recommend that they see an expert in that space because I think that otherwise you're doing a disservice to your clients.

Dr. Ashley Blackington (46:19.182)

I love it. I love the idea of the free consult because I really think that you're going to catch people that are a great candidate, but they just don't know it yet. And that opens the doors for people to ask those questions. So I think that's amazing. That's incredible. So if people are listening and they are wondering about whether or not this is the fit, then I would really... I mean, you can't go wrong. Like someone's not going to charge you to give you advice or tell you which direction to go, then make the call or send the email.

Lauren Bercuson (46:36.26)

Thank you. Well, technically, technically, yeah, technically in a free consult, because someone's not my client, I can't really give legal advice, but I can give like general ideas about, you know, intellectual property protection, what you can protect, you know, options and stuff of that nature. So yeah, but certainly answer any questions and talk about the process and why, you know, it's important to protect yourselves.

Dr. Ashley Blackington (46:59.63)

I love it. Well, thank you so much for joining me today.

Lauren Bercuson (47:21.052)

Thank you for having me. It was so much fun and I'm excited for our listeners to hear the episode. It was great to be on with you.

Dr. Ashley Blackington (47:23.79)

Yes. Thanks.