Unlocking Legal Secrets for Business Success

In this episode of Unstoppable Success, we dive into the essential role of attorneys in business, especially for startups and small enterprises. Matthew Fornaro, an experienced business law attorney, shares his insights on why having legal guidance is crucial for navigating the complexities of running a business. He emphasizes that legal advice is not just an added expense but a necessary investment that can help prevent costly mistakes down the line. We also touch on the impact of technology, particularly AI, on the legal landscape and how it can sometimes lead to confusion and poor decision-making for entrepreneurs. Join us as we unpack these topics and provide actionable tips for ensuring your business is built on solid legal foundations. Jaclyn Strominger welcomes Matthew Fornaro, a seasoned attorney specializing in business law, to the Unstoppable Success podcast. Matthew shares his journey from a curious kid watching courtroom dramas to a passionate advocate for small businesses. He discusses his motivation for founding his own law firm, aiming to serve entrepreneurs who often feel overlooked by larger legal institutions. Throughout the conversation, Matthew emphasizes the importance of having legal counsel from the inception of a business and explains how proactive legal advice can prevent costly pitfalls. He highlights common misconceptions about legal fees, encouraging listeners to view an attorney as an essential part of their business strategy rather than an unnecessary expense. As they delve deeper, Matthew provides insightful tips on navigating the legal landscape of entrepreneurship. He insists that establishing a solid foundation—such as proper contracts and legal documentation—is critical for long-term success. They tackle the growing influence of AI in legal services and the potential risks of relying solely on technology for legal advice. Matthew argues for the irreplaceable value of human expertise in interpreting and applying the law, ensuring that businesses don't fall prey to the many pitfalls of misinformation available online. Listeners are encouraged to engage with their local business community and seek mentorship from experienced professionals. Matthew's practical advice and relatable anecdotes serve as a reminder that every entrepreneur can benefit from a solid legal framework and a supportive network. In a world where many businesses struggle to survive, his insights shine a light on the path to building a robust and legally sound enterprise.

Takeaways:

1. Matthew Fornaro emphasizes that attorneys are essential for businesses, helping them navigate legal complexities.
2. The conversation highlights the common misconception

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Transcript

Recording Started

Introducing Matthew, the Business Law Expert

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Welcome to the Unstoppable Success Podcast, where we spotlight visionary leaders who have mastered the art of growth, purpose, and powerful connections. I'm your host, Jacqueline Schuminger, connector, high performance coach, and creator of the Leap to Your Success Framework in Two Steps Test. Each week we dive into bold insights, real conversations, and powerful strategies to fuel your growth, deepen your relationships, and ignite transformational momentum. And why? Because you were meant to be unstoppable. Now let's leap into the podcast. Well, hello everybody, and welcome to another amazing episode of Unstoppable Success, the podcast where we hear from influential leaders and their amazing game-changing insights. I am your host, Jacqueline Struminger, and today I have the absolute pleasure to bring to you Matthew Fernaro. And let me tell you a little bit about Matthew. He has been a business law attorney serving South Florida, including Coral Springs and Parkland since 2003. And before starting his own firm, he was an attorney at two prestigious MLA, 200 law firms focusing all on civil litigation. His practice is complex commercial litigation, including contract disputes. And his one of his biggest burning desires and passions is helping businesses grow and address legal issues. So welcome to Unstoppable Success. Matthew. Oh Judge Wapner, right? Yeah. So you wanted to go into law. And how did you end up getting in like getting in, you know, focused on the business law and businesses?

The Journey to Law: Finding My Niche

SPEAKER_00 3:07

Sure. So, you know, through the evolution of actually going to law school and then coming out of law school, I got into I worked at a boutique firm doing like commercial litigation in Boca Raton. And then I went and I worked at two large AMLA 200 law firms doing like complex litigation representing mostly like big companies, banks, and insurance companies. And then I had the opportunity to work at an even bigger firm about 11 years ago. And I was all ready to go take that job and go. And then I kind of thought to myself, well, am I just going to keep working at like big firms? And then like every few years be like, Well, you know, I'm kind of plateaued here. Am I going to go work at a bigger firm? Like there wasn't anywhere to go. I already was like gonna work at like one of the biggest firms. There was nowhere else to go. So then I thought to myself, Well, this is probably the last opportunity I'm gonna have to go start if I wanted to go work for myself or start my own firm because my kids were young, and you know, I didn't have to worry too much about a lot of things with them, like I do now, and like other issues. And you know, it's probably my last opportunity. So I'm like, all right, I want to go start my own law firm, but like what do I want to focus on? And then I wanted to focus on like an area that kind of was aligned with what I was doing, but I thought was underserved. So I thought like small businesses, entrepreneurs, and startups were underserved by big law firms, because you know, even though like you can get like a five-figure income from you know a client or you know, revenue stream from a client, that was too small for them. And also, you know, like local attorneys like out here in the suburbs where I am, like really aren't attuned to business law or like litigation aspects or other aspects. So that was kind of my niche. And then also, you know, because growing up, my dad was a you know, owned his own small business or whatever, and I saw issues that he dealt with as a small business owner where I felt like he wasn't really being served by like attorneys or accountants or whatever, because you know, I mean, my dad did pretty well, he's retired now, and um, you know, but he wasn't like big enough to warrant having a big ball firm or whatever. So I thought that that was like a really good demographic and niche to get into, and that's kind of how I got into it, and that's where I've been for over 10 years now.

SPEAKER_01 5:37

I love it. So whenever I'm thinking about, you know, um attorneys, and you probably have to um deal with some maybe some of the stigmatism or the idea of this, which is basically it's like I don't need an attorney, it's too expensive.

SPEAKER_00 5:49

Yeah. No, I deal with I deal with that all the time, yes.

The Importance of Legal Guidance in Business

SPEAKER_01 5:55

So what do you tell like because you know, because I think one of the things that I would say to you that I that I know like just from having a couple of businesses and having an experience right now with a business that I'm in, you need to have an attorney along the way as your advisor. So what do you usually tell people like to have an unstoppable success in your business, why have an attorney?

SPEAKER_00 6:18

Sure, because an attorney is part of you know a necessary uh business obligation, and you should be budgeting for having an attorney as part of your business life cycle because it is an indisp or an attorney is an indispensable part of a team that you should have as part of your business. And as part of that team, you should have a business law attorney, you should have an accountant, you should have a commercial banker, and then depending on what industry or practice you're in, you should have other people who are aligned with what it is you're doing. And you know, the attorney is indispensable because from before the inception of your business, you're gonna need to have certain things in place in order to actually start your business, uh, run your business, and then during the life of your business, if you want to change your business, add to your business, subtract from your business, you know, borrow money, do things, you're gonna have to have an attorney involved. So you should have one involved at the beginning so that you can have like a written business plan in place, so that you can pick the right business organization to start out with, so that you can have your governing documents for your business organization, so that you can have an integration of like your attorney with your accountant, with your banker, and then you can have an attorney for all the different events in the life of your business. Every time you have a relationship with another business or person, you should have a contract in place and you should have an attorney who drafts or at least reviews or inputs on that contract. And then, you know, anytime there's an issue that arises, you should be as proactive as possible instead of being reactive, so that way you can avoid like issues down the road that lead to lawsuits and things like that, or if you do get involved with a law, so you have an attorney who can help you address it. So yeah, it's you sh, you know, I know like, oh, I can't afford it. Yes, you can afford an attorney, and it's a necessary part of your business cycle, and it's a necessary in part for you to ultimately be successful.

SPEAKER_01 8:24

You know, I'm I'm I'm hearing and it's it's funny. So I've got a couple of different questions. So it's like, you know, because sometimes so many businesses might start in the, for lack of better word, the garage, or like we have an idea and they don't think about bringing on an attorney. Right? It's just like, why do I need one? But you know, I love what you said. It's like it's it's really being have that, for lack of better word, that counselor and advisor that that you can that's with you the whole step of the way. So they're you know, as you grow or as you, you know, they're there with you. So I'm sure you probably get this question asked a lot, but how are you fielding like the um the AI attorneys?

SPEAKER_00 9:09

You mean like lines economy with AI and like tell me what to do?

SPEAKER_01 9:13

Or well, it's more like oh, I don't, I can just use, I can use uh my um AI attorney, you know, pick your bot that you like and they can be my attorney.

SPEAKER_00 9:24

No. Well, it's the same thing as you know, all AI, you know, and I I am heavy into AI, I love AI, I use AI in my actual practice of law, I use AI in running my actual business, I use AI in my social media and stuff like that. So I'm a big AI fan, but you know, I responsibly and ethically use AI where I'm ultimately the boss of the AI, and I make sure that I check all of the output and work product from the AI before it goes out into the world to make sure that it's accurate and you know, complete and real. And the issue with you know, lay people using AI, particularly as you know, their legal advisor or for it to draft documents or for it to review documents, is that you know, just like anything else with the internet, the right answer is out there, but so is the wrong answer, and you don't know which is which. And guess what? The AI most of the time doesn't necessarily know which is which either, because it's a open you know, model if you're using like Chat GPT or Claude or Grog or whatever, right? Where you know it's gonna present you information based on generalities and biases, and it's gonna want to give you the answer that you're looking for, and you don't necessarily know if it's right or not, and that's why you need an attorney, or you know, for tax reasons, you need an accountant, or you know, for whatever you need other professionals, is that you know, we know what's right and what's not, and your AI doesn't necessarily know what's right or what's not, or what jurisdiction you're in, or what things are outdated, or what changes there have been to the law, or things like that. So the issue is that when you rely on AI, sometimes it gets it right and sometimes it gets it wrong. And if it gets it wrong, there's major consequences that are gonna last for a long time, and you don't need to take that risk. That's why you have a professional who helps you.

SPEAKER_01 11:31

Right. Yeah, no, I I definitely wanted to ask the question because I I've heard so many people said, Oh, I just had a contract done up and it was I asked, you know, my favorite AI to do it.

SPEAKER_00 11:44

No, it it happens and it could work or it could not. It's just the same thing, it's the same thing that you've been dealing with for over 25 years with people doing like a Google search. It's just a much higher evolution of you know, searching the internet for information because now it's you know more polished and complete or whatever when it comes from AI. But like I said, yeah, it could work, but it could not work. And if it doesn't work, there's serious consequences if it doesn't work.

SPEAKER_01 12:13

Yeah. So let me ask you a question. So you've been successful. What have you what you know when you're when you've been growing your business, what is one thing that you could share as a tip to other business professionals as they are growing a business? Because I mean, you're out there, you know, having to reach prospectively, you know, new clients, you know, so new customers. So what's a tip that you could give somebody out there right now who you know might be either starting their business or thinking, hmm, like he's been in business for 10 years, he's been successful.

Connecting with Competitors and Business Insights

SPEAKER_00 12:50

Sure. Well, listen to what I said in a couple of our previous segments about what you do when you start up. Um, and then you know, don't be afraid to go ask for help from other people, you know, from business law attorneys, from accountants, from bankers, or people who are already in business who are successful or people who have been unsuccessful. Because believe it or not, as much as you know, business is competitive and you know, whatever, like most business owners would reach out and help other business owners or entrepreneurs who are starting up, and they're a pretty useful resource to get information. Not even, you know, if you can't afford an attorney, you can't afford an accountant or whatever. You can afford asking another business owner like their insight as to what worked for them, what didn't work for them, what recommendations do they have for an attorney? What recommendations do they have for an accountant? What recommendations do they have for you know, like SEO or web stuff or you know, things of that nature, like where should I rent a property, or things like that. So I would say don't be afraid to stay in your own shell and you know, as an entrepreneur, startup, or you know, a new business owner, go out and reach out to people and just ask questions because the worst they can say is no, they're not going to answer your question. But most of the time, yeah, people really do want to help you succeed and give you information and you know for free much of the time, right? And it's actually useful and insightful. So don't be afraid to go out and ask people about things. Ask your competitors. I mean, believe it or not, people, you know, as much as you know it's competitive and cut through or whatever, like I said, they'd be willing to give you general advice or you know, pointers on things, or even not even competitors, just successful business people or even unsuccessful business people to find out what did and didn't work for them.

SPEAKER_01 14:48

Yeah, I absolutely love that. So, listeners, I really want you to understand it's really picking up the like pick up the phone, use your phone and connect with people because it is so truly important, you know, to have that uh for that success. Now, as an attorney, you know, what are some of the issues that you see facing small businesses more so today than maybe, you know, five years ago, that people should be on the lookout for?

SPEAKER_00 15:16

Sure. So a lot of uh like stuff that we just talked about, like AI stuff, a lot of people floating around bad documents and bad ideas that they didn't necessarily were floating out there a few years ago because of now AI is so prevalent. So now people have a lot of bad contracts, a lot of bad uh ideas, a lot of bad agreements that get interjected into the business process. And then, you know, just the also dealing with like the flow of information and stuff that's out there, they don't know what to use or what to do because there's so much stuff now, particularly for technology and AI that wasn't out there previously. It's how do you integrate into your business what's right, what's wrong? You know, I got into a bad deal based on this. How do I get out of a bad deal? You know, I want to get into a good deal, what is a good deal? So it's a lot of dealing with information that's uh out there now, and you know, concepts and different opportunities and you know, things that necessarily weren't even there five years ago that now are just exponentially increasing over time, that you know, they come to you know, like the attorney or their accountant or whatever with these concepts or these ideas that just weren't there years ago, and you got to kind of sift through them and figure out what's Fugazi and what's real and whatever, and then you know, try to give them the best possible advice and you know correct information you can.

SPEAKER_01 16:49

Yeah. So I know it's it seems crazy, right? Like, like all the stuff that's out there, and there's you know, how do you actually find out what's real, right? Like, how do you get the real stuff? And I can only imagine. So, in your business, like what is something that has happened that you just think, oh my God, if I could stop this from happening to every single business owner, the world would be a better place.

SPEAKER_00 17:15

Sure, like from a business perspective, you know, it's interesting because you know, I didn't really have like a huge business education till I got into business. Like I knew about the law, I knew from watching my dad, but I didn't know like the mechanics or anything of starting and running a business yourself. So it was like huge learning curve, a lot of trial by error, a lot of uh, you know, see what works and what doesn't work. So a lot of stuff I did early on, I wasted a lot of time and money. I would say a lot of it on like marketing and a lot of um, you know, like advertising, internet stuff that just doesn't work. And I would say it's probably a lot easier now than it was 10 years ago because of as much as we just talked about issues with there being too much technology and stuff, now there's less issues because there's so much technology and stuff where you can do things now with you know, like an AI program or like a website or whatever, that you would have to pay someone to do thousands of dollars per month. Previously, you can do for like under$100 per month now with AI. So I would say if you're getting into business or whatever, you know, figure out what it is that you want to do and what your goals are as far as like social media advertising, web presence, things like that. And then, you know, look to figure out how you want to solve that issue. And you know, there's a lot of great AI stuff out there that I use myself for social media and for things like that that just didn't exist years ago that would have saved me a lot of money and a lot of time that I paid people to do a bad job of. And so that would probably be my biggest, you know. Fortunately, uh I've avoided a lot of other issues in business, but that was probably the biggest money expenditure/slash learning curve I had was that.

SPEAKER_01 19:21

That's yeah, that's that's interesting. Yeah, I mean, now there's some things that we can do that are big time savers, you know. Um you know, with things. So when you're working, you know, with your clients, like you know, do you have a favorite type of business that you like to work with?

SPEAKER_00 19:40

I work with all kinds of businesses, you know, from like solopreneurs to like bigger businesses. I mean, my focus is like small businesses, entrepreneurs, as far as but I deal with all kinds of people in different industries, you know, virtual people, people with real, you know, brick and mortar stuff. So I don't necessarily have a particular business or like demographic order that I'm a fan of. I like um like clients who want to learn but in a productive way and like to listen to my input. And you know, they can be skeptical or questionable, that's fine. This just that I like clients who want to learn and you know better themselves and better their business, and who aren't afraid to go out and seek information and you know are willing to hear different points of view and stuff. So those are probably my best clients, are the ones who not necessarily are just great at business or wanted to they just want to learn and they want to do the best that they possibly can. And that's usually the best client because they're willing to listen to you, they're willing to listen to like their accountant, they're willing to trust you, and then ultimately, you know, that probably works out the best than for someone who's like skeptical or someone who you know shows up with their own AI research and tells you what to do and that kind of thing.

SPEAKER_01 21:13

So kind of reminds me of like it's like what you you know, when people used to show up to the doctor, I uh Dr. WebMD or Dr. Google told me this, right?

SPEAKER_00 21:22

You know, yeah, yeah. And it's interesting because a lot of my clients and stuff now send me uh their homework that they want me to review before I meet with them or go over things with them. And I'm like, listen, I'm glad to speak with you about anything you want. I'm glad to review anything you send to me, but you know, I'm the attorney, and you know, I'm glad to take into account whatever it is you have, but ultimately, you know, we're gonna make the best business, you're gonna make the best business decision, and we're gonna make the best legal decision based on you know reality, not just what you found and sent to me.

SPEAKER_01 21:59

Right. So are you finding that, you know, I mean, obviously we've talked about uh AI. Besides from AI, are there other issues that have been creeping up in business that, you know, really weren't there, you know, 10 years ago that we need to be on the lookout for?

SPEAKER_00 22:17

I think, you know, uh again, probably attributed to, you know, the ease of technology and things, of how easy it is to just start up a business now without having to do all, you know, go from step one to ten. You just show up at 10 and think you're done. So I think a lot of people just go online to their Secretary of State website and start their business, and they don't have like the articles of incorporation or the operating agreement or whatever, and they just jump in and then come to you afterwards when there's a problem, or not even when there's a problem, when they need to make it next step, and they kind of didn't do the due diligence to begin with. So I think there's I think there's probably less due diligence that people do because it's so easy to just get into business now than it used to previously be that wasn't there like 10 years ago. Like a lot of people just kind of like, oh, I thought you just go online, you start a business. I didn't know you had to, you know, have articles of incorporation or operating agreements or you know, have things in place or issue stock or things like that. So a lot of formality has been taken out of business, particularly the last 10 years, and it's you know, I mean, I understand people are really eager to get into business and excited and want to do things and have deadlines and stuff like that, but I think a lot of steps are skipped that weren't necessarily skipped in the past.

SPEAKER_01 23:44

You know what? That I think is probably one of the biggest things, and I would say listeners in life in general, and to have that unstoppable success, don't skip the steps. Like that is so important. I like I feel like that's you know, even even in getting started in a business, you have to know like what are your values, what is what is your core mission and your purpose and who do you who are you serving? And like all of those things, you may have this great idea, but at the end of the day, you you those are some of the pieces that you need to have and put in place to get your business also going. Like don't skip the steps. Like if the the steps take time, but they they they serve it, they obviously serve a very much needed purpose.

SPEAKER_00 24:33

Correct. You know, I mean the steps are the literally the building block or the foundation of your business. And if you skip them, you can get away with it for a while, but eventually at some point in time it's gonna catch up to you. Whether you're unsuccessful, it catches up to you, or even if you're successful, it'll catch up to you too.

SPEAKER_01 24:51

Yeah. So so kind of curiosity on this is on the for lack of better word, the on the unsuccessful part, right? You know, how how many businesses are you seeing, you know, on the side of you know that that don't make it?

Delegation: The Key to Business Success

SPEAKER_00 25:11

You know, for one reason or another, you know, a lot of businesses fail. You know, it's rather it's you know, it wasn't the right idea, whatever, you know, the for whatever reason, there's lots of reasons businesses fail. So I see, you know, a significant, not majority, but a good percentage of businesses that have issues that don't necessarily fail but are unsuccessful. And I'll say that, you know, my job or my goal is to help you deal with your legal issues on your business. And, you know, I want to work with your team to help them deal with their piece, like the accountant deals with the financial issues or the tax issues, and you know, other professionals deal with other issues, so that that way we kind of take that off your plate so that you can go deal with business issues and make business decisions and only worry about whether your business fails or succeeds on its merits and not on technicalities or on collateral issues. So that's you know, a lot of issues I see when a business fails or a business doesn't succeed is because the business owner is trying to do too much themselves instead of delegating out not just the professional roles, but things within the business itself. And you know, you have to be able to delegate in any business, otherwise, you know, you're gonna you're you know, you're only one person, it's not gonna work. So delegation is a major part of any business, no matter what size your business is, even if you're a solopreneur or whatever, you can still delegate things out. So I would probably say that would be the main issue of why I see businesses that don't necessarily fail but don't succeed, is because of the lack of roles of you know professionals and the lack of delegation. And, you know, I mean it's something that can be addressed hopefully before the business dies or the business goes out of business. But yeah, that would probably be the percentage of businesses that I would see, you know, that are you know, quote unquote unsuccessful or whatever, mostly because of that issue.

SPEAKER_01 27:22

Right, interesting. All right, so you know, Matthew, you have uh such a wealth of information. How can our listeners actually connect with you, learn more about the services that you offer, and also get more insight? Because honestly, I truly think if you have a business, if you don't have an attorney, I guess are you are you um in multiple states?

SPEAKER_00 27:45

Yes, I can help people in different things, even though I'm here in sunny but yet cold right now, Florida. Um, you know, I have clients all over the country and all over the world. It just depends on what it is they need help with. And then if I can't help them, I will gladly help them find a attorney in their local jurisdiction who can help them. So the easiest way to find me is I'm I'm not that hard to miss. Um, go to my website, which is phenarolegal.com. It's got all my contact information on it, it's got all my blogs, all my papers, all my podcasts, all my videos. There's a wealth of information there for business owners and businesses. And if it's not on there, email me or call me. I'll gladly help you out or point you in the right direction.

SPEAKER_01 28:34

That's awesome. Solicitors, please do me the favor, connect with Matthew. I mean, like I just keep thinking, you know, many times I wish I had I had um brought on an attorney before I started some businesses. So don't do what I did, get an attorney first. It's really important. But please do me the favor, connect with Matthew, and then do me another favor and please actually go to Unstoppable Success School, go to school um community and join Unstoppable Success. We have a brand new community there, and we actually will be sharing things that will help you do um the do delegate, delay and ditch. That's my four D's. It's like helping you do the things you need to do, delay the things you don't, delegate the things that is not your expertise or just ditch the stuff that doesn't matter to your business. So we have great tips and things like that, all on the school community. And then lastly, make sure you hit record, hit you, make sure you hit subscribe and share this podcast with your friends and other business associates. So thank you, Matthew, for being a great guest. And thank you, listeners, for listening to Unstoppable Success. I'm your host, Jacqueline Stomager. And until next time, um have a great night. Thank you so much for joining me on the Unstoppable Success podcast, where we don't just talk about growth, we lean toward it. If something today lit a fire within you, sparked a new idea, or gave you the extra push forward, please don't keep it to yourself. Share this episode and podcast with a friend, colleague, or fellow high achiever. Be sure to subscribe, rate and review, and most importantly, connect with me, Chapel Strumager, at leaptoyoursuccess.com for coaching, community, and your next full move. Keep leading with intention, keep building your network with purpose, and most of all, keep leaping because you are meant to be unstoppable.