The Legal Groundwork Small Businesses Skip - Matthew Fornaro, Fornaro Legal

What legal groundwork should a small business have in place before it starts selling? Florida business law attorney Matthew Fornaro of Fornaro Legal (https://fornarolegal.com/) tells host Abbey Crane why every relationship needs a written contract, how to pick a business structure with your accountant in the room, and why AI is a tool to enhance your work, not a replacement for due diligence. Read the full recap: https://unscriptedsmallbusiness.com/m... Matthew grew up watching his dad run a medical equipment business, left the big-firm track to start his own practice almost 10 years ago, and now runs it with one assistant and a lot of AI. He walks through sole proprietorships, corporations, S corporations, LLCs and partnerships, the county and city registrations most new owners miss, and why a written business plan comes before everything else. CHAPTERS 00:00 Meet Matthew Fornaro 00:54 Why he started his own firm for small businesses 02:15 Running a law firm as a business, and replacing overhead with AI 03:50 AI and contracts: an enhancement tool, not a replacement 06:03 What AI-drafted contracts tend to leave out 06:57 The core documents every business needs 08:20 Choosing a business structure 11:01 Switching structures 12:09 Hiring a lawyer licensed in your state 13:25 The most common mistake: starting too fast 15:20 Contracts, county and city registration 17:01 When to bring an attorney in 18:27 Balancing a practice, clients and family 21:22 Advice for opening your own practice 22:04 Mentors, the Jim Moran Institute and the Kauffman Foundation 24:19 You have to __ to __ RESOURCES MENTIONED Jim Moran Institute at Florida State University: https://jmi.fsu.edu/ Kauffman Foundation: https://www.kauffman.org/ CONNECT WITH MATTHEW Fornaro Legal: https://fornarolegal.com/ Videos and podcasts: https://fornarolegal.com/videos-podca... LinkedIn:   / matthewfornaro   MORE FROM UNSCRIPTED Building a law firm website that answers client questions: https://seoarcade.com/law-firm-websit... AI as an enhancement, not a replacement: https://jeremyriveraseo.com/ai-enhanc... More Unscripted Small Business interviews: https://unscriptedsmallbusiness.com/i... This conversation is general information for business owners and is not legal advice. Listening does not create an attorney-client relationship. Recorded February 2025. #smallbusiness #businesslaw #contracts #LLC #entrepreneurship #unscriptedpodcast