Top Legal Risks for Small Businesses and Regulated Startups

Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:02

If you’re a licensed professional building a business or you’re building a business that works alongside licensed professionals, your biggest risk is not that you don’t care about compliance. It’s that your business brain moves faster than your compliance brain. You’re busy, you’re focused on the business, but a rush contract, a website claim that sounds harmless, a contractor that you think that you’re supervising, and suddenly you are seeing a dispute, a demand letter, or a complaint that you did not want coming. This is No Your Regulator. I’m your host, Simone Murphy. Today we’re looking at the biggest small business risks where things can go legally wrong in your startup or small business and what you can put in place before it turns into a bigger problem. My guest today is Matthew Fernero. Matthew has been a business law attorney serving South Florida since 2003. He practices complex commercial litigation, including contract disputes, but he also works in construction law, intellectual property, and business formation, drafting and revising those business documents and helping new business owners choose the right structure and get their required documents in place. Matthew, thank you so much for joining me.

SPEAKER_00 1:15

Well, thank you for having me. Glad to be here.

Patterns Behind Small Business Legal Trouble

SPEAKER_02 1:18

Absolutely. So before we start our full discussion, I want to ask you uh kind of an opening question. When you think about small businesses and startups, something you deal with very often, what’s the most common pattern that you’re seeing when something starts to go sideways?

SPEAKER_00 1:36

Sure. So the business owners, the entrepreneurs, they’re so eager to get into business, they’re so excited to get in there. They essentially uh jump before they look and they don’t do their necessary due diligence and have their documents in place before they start up. And they, you know, do the bare minimum to get a legal uh, you know, business organization going by just going on to their Secretary of State’s website in their jurisdiction where they’re located, and just, you know, hit enter and pay the money and think that’s right. And then that’s kind of the recipe. I don’t want to say for disaster, but that’s the recipe for the possibility of bad things happening, is they just jump straight to that step and don’t do the necessary due diligence beforehand.

Marketing Claims And Required Disclaimers

SPEAKER_02 2:24

Yeah, no, absolutely. I mean, sounds like some of that, if you if you don’t do that due diligence, it can definitely come back to bite you. So let’s talk about some of those red flags that repeatedly show up time and time again, especially for businesses who are, you know, closely connected to licensed work and regulated services. And for each one, maybe we can look at, you know, how, how and where this goes wrong. But I want to start off with marketing claims, because I feel like this is something that very easily can trip people up. We’ve got a lot of digital uh social media ads and websites, and it really does feel like you’re maybe just creating a sort of brand, but you could be opening yourself up for risk in that. Where do you see marketing go wrong in real life and what kind of claims or wording choices can tend to lead to disputes?

SPEAKER_00 3:19

Sure. So, you know, let’s take my profession being an attorney, which is pretty highly regulated. Um, you know, not having proper disclaimers that are required by your local jurisdiction, for instance, I’m in Florida, not having certain disclaimers that are required by the Florida bar, and then making uh specific quality guarantees or outcome guarantees versus just general statements, um, is how, you know, not just for attorneys, but other regulated businesses get into problems, is that, like I said, they don’t have the necessary disclaimers, and then they’re making actual outcome guarantees or they’re guaranteeing actual outcomes, or they’re making quality uh references or quality assurances that they can’t do. You know, I mean, you can say, I will try my best to get the best result for you. That’s fine. But you can’t say, I’m the best, I’m guarantee we’re gonna get something great to happen for you. And that happens in a lot of different industries. And a lot of issues happen now with you know social media and marketing, in that you know, people are so quick to generate content and get it out there on a daily basis and sometimes multiple times daily, that if they are just putting the stuff out there and they’re not putting in the disclaimer, they’re not checking the content, then you’re gonna have problems from consumers because they’re allegedly gonna be confused because you know, oh, I thought the guy said I was gonna win, or I thought the guy said he was the best.

SPEAKER_02 4:54

Right.

SPEAKER_00 4:55

Your regulators, because they’re gonna come in, hit you hard because you’re not complying with their rules, because you’re doing things that are against the rules, or some regulators require you to pre-submit advertisements or things like that. And if you’re generating stuff on a daily basis, you’re not gonna do that, and that’s also gonna be a problem for you.

SPEAKER_02 5:17

Yeah, absolutely. No, I think in some of it is kind of from a consumer standpoint, maybe sort of invisible, right? Because you hear these things all the time, but yeah, no, those those are big no-nos for sure. Is there a like a phrase or something that kind of has stuck with you that makes you think, oh my gosh, that’s really gonna cause this person some problems?

Risky Words: Expert And Outcome Guarantees

SPEAKER_00 5:41

Sure. Like for instance, using certain just buzz phrases where when you’re in a regulated profession, you’re not allowed to do that. Like, say the word expert. You’re not allowed to say the word expert unless, for instance, in Florida a board-certified attorney in a certain area, then you’re allowed to call yourself an expert. You can say experienced, but you can’t say the word expert. So, like in industries like that where you’re regulated in using the term like expert or you know, professional or whatever, you have to use the specific context of what you are. You can’t say it unless you have that accreditation. And it happens all day, every day.

SPEAKER_02 6:23

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 6:24

And it’s hard to police and it’s hard to find out. But if someone, you know, is out there and wants to get you in trouble or whatever, it’s right there in black and white or sometimes color. And it’s you claiming that you’re something, which may be true, but unless it’s legally sufficient, then you’re gonna have problems.

SPEAKER_02 6:42

Yeah, no, absolutely. Exactly like you said, because I was gonna say, I mean, that makes sense, right? Because if you can’t guarantee that you’re an expert, you can’t be going around and but like you said, there’s you’ve got to prove that um, you know, depending on where you’re at, that um it’s legally sufficient.

SPEAKER_01 7:00

No.

SPEAKER_02 7:01

And you and I have seen that this can definitely turn into a problem. Are we talking about unhappy clients, a demand letter? Can you talk to us a little bit about how some of this can come back and bite you and and the chain reaction that can come from that?

Visibility, Competitors, And Regulator Scrutiny

SPEAKER_00 7:16

Sure. So it could be unhappy clients claiming that, you know, they were deceived by you or they were duped by you, could come just from the regulators themselves going over stuff and being like, okay, you know, you’re going down, or it could be from competitors or people working for competitors who want to take you out. Like if you’re in a market and you know, I’m gonna use some uh marketing technology, hopefully, everyone, you know, if you’re in the most important online search thing in the world for a business, which is being in the Google three-pack, which means that you’re in when someone searches for like for instance, I’m business law attorney and I’m in Coral Springs. When you search business law attorney in Coral Springs, I’m in the three-pack. So that means I’m in the top three results naturally occurring on Google for my search term of what I want to be in. And I come up on the geographic thing where it’s the map of my business. Oh, nice. And it’s the three, you know, me and two competitors, okay? Yeah. So in any business, if you ask any internet marketing person, any SEO guru, any Google guru, any AI, that’s the most important thing in the world, is your Google business profile and being on that top three. So for instance, if you’re in that top three and you’re using terms that you’re not supposed to be using or whatever, your competitors can get you in trouble because they’re gonna, you know, be like, well, I want to be in the top three. I’m gonna take this guy out. And he’ll turn you into your regulator by saying, Look, this guy claims, you know, he’s board certified and he’s not, or he claims he’s an expert and he’s not, or he claims that he has these accreditations, or claims he has experience and he doesn’t. So then all of a sudden, you know, they’re gonna turn you in and your own advertising is gonna be used against you. So that’s kind of how things can blow up in your face by doing that.

Scope Creep And Staying In Your Lane

SPEAKER_02 9:09

When things are so visible these days that, you know, you’ve really got to do your due diligence and make sure that whatever you’re putting out there is is factual and is legally correct, you know. So another red flag is is scope creep. And and I feel like this is where some people’s hearts kind of get them in trouble. I feel like a lot of people just try and be really helpful. You kind of mentioned earlier that businesses are so eager to get kind of up and running that they’re overlooking some of these things. And I feel this is one that can very easily be overlooked. You could quickly, you know, message someone or, you know, a friend calls and you agree to help them with something, and now suddenly, you know, you’ve expanded way beyond what you’re actually able to legally provide. Can you talk a little bit about Scope Creep and and where do you see this go wrong for small businesses?

Boundaries, Terms, And Early Professional Help

SPEAKER_00 10:03

Sure. You know, I mean, it’s a very simple ad. You know, stay in your lane. And it’s a lot easier said than done, particularly when you’re a new business or a startup or entrepreneur, where you know, you’re you’re looking for business, you’re very anticipatory of business, and you’re very likely to say yes to things that ordinarily you would likely say no to if circumstances were different and you weren’t resistance or whatever. So a lot of that, you know, gets into, you know, like the scope creep is drifting outside of your lane and getting involved in things that are outside of your area of practice or your area of your business or the relationship that you’re supposed to have with your client or your customer regarding, you know, you do a specific thing and you do, you know, you have a specific engagement and there’s a beginning, middle, and end, and here’s what you’re gonna do, and everything should be laid out. Sometimes you just kind of get into these nebulous situations where now, for lack of a better term, you’re married to it and you’re involved in a situation with a client or a customer where all of a sudden you’re like, How did I get into, you know, I do X, Y, and Z. How did I get over into, you know, one, two, three? Like, what that’s not what I’m doing. And then, you know, you have to try to write the ship and explain to the client, well, somehow we got off track, and I’m really only supposed to do this, and you think I’m supposed to do this and that, and then you’re gonna have problems because they’re gonna be like, well, you know, you never said that to begin with. So I thought you were doing, you know, whatever. And so you wanna be very focused on your engagement with your clients in the beginning of what you’re actually putting out there that you’re able to do or how you’re able to do it. And then once you are in contact with your client or whatever, make sure you clearly delineate what it is you’re doing and what the scope of what you’re doing is and where it begins, what it ends, and what you know your fees or your costs are and things like that, so that there’s no um, you know, dispute or misunderstanding as to I thought you were gonna do this, I thought you were gonna do that. So in my industry, that’s why we have written retainer agreements because it’s it’s exactly what our relationship is and explains exactly what I’m gonna do, what’s required of you, vice versa, and things like that. And so that’s how you kind of do that. And then also you proactively enforce that by you know corralling your client when you speak to them or when you email them or when, you know, whatever, and be like, this is what we’re gonna do. We’re not gonna do that. You know, if you want to do that, I’m glad to work for you. Someone else is gonna do that, but it’s not gonna be me.

SPEAKER_02 12:44

Yeah, no, absolutely. When it comes to something like this, you have to stay in your lane, you have to stick to your guns and and make sure that you’re consistent because yeah, you could you could very easily be, you know, backtracking with the client real quick. Is there a simple boundary or maybe like a quick phrase that um that founders can use so they don’t accidentally take on more work or get outside of that lane that that they need to stay in?

SPEAKER_00 13:13

Yeah, well, it’s like I said, you know, depending on what your industry is or what your business is, you know, you don’t need to have like a very robust like attorney-client fee agreement like we have as attorneys, but you can have, you know, if you’re an online business or something, have terms of service that say exactly what it is you’re doing and what you’re not doing and what you’re not going to do. And the same thing with like a contract or, you know, just have an agreement somewhere. Have like a disclaimer on the bottom of your emails that says, you know, ACME company does this, this, and this, and doesn’t do this, this, and this, and um, go from there and just try to maintain it and make sure you don’t drift off somewhere. And if you do drift off somewhere, make sure you immediately address it because otherwise you’re gonna get way off into the weeds and you don’t want to be there.

SPEAKER_02 14:06

Yeah. So, in essence, figure out for you how to spell it out for your clients, your patients, whatever. So, so everyone is on the same page. Yeah. Is there a a certain point that that um founders would go, oh no, okay, I really need to get someone involved here.

SPEAKER_00 14:25

Well, generally speaking, you know, it’s always best to get business professionals to help you from as early on as possible in your business. So that includes obviously a business law attorney, an accountant, a banker, you know, whatever industry or in someone specific to that industry. Um, so it’s never too early to get started. Obviously, if you’re putting yourself out there and you’re soliciting clients or customers or you’re, you know, posting things to social media or whatever, it would be great if you could bring someone on board from before you actually do that to review and discuss what it is you’re doing. So yeah, it’s never too early. But once you put it out there, whatever, you definitely want someone to review it and make sure that it’s fine. So it’s never too early to start. It could be too late because once it’s out there and someone commits to something or someone does something, then you’re gonna have problems. So start as early as possible.

Documentation Gaps And Governing Documents

SPEAKER_02 15:22

Yeah, no, that makes sense kind of from the get-go. Find your um, you know, find that the that support, that help, and um that clarity that um definitely an attorney can bring. So let’s look at another red flag, documentation gaps. I know this is pretty big for a lot of people. It’s not just, you know, keeping up with records, but it’s what you’re expected to document, what your client expects of you, and you know, what then happens if there’s a problem. Can you talk about in the real world, where does missing documentation really hurt the most and where can it really get these small businesses?

SPEAKER_00 16:00

So it goes back to what we first were talking about of what’s the biggest issue facing business is people wanting to get into business without doing the due diligence. So part of the due diligence is that before you even start a business, you should have a written business plan. And the written business plan tells you like the who, what, when, where, why, and how about your business, how you’re gonna what your business is gonna be, how you’re gonna get money, how you’re gonna spend money, who’s gonna be in your business, all that stuff. So that lays out the roadmap of your business. So that’s like your first necessary document that if you don’t have problems. The next is like when I was talking about how you just go online and start your business, you need to have governing documents for your business. So if you’re an LLC, you need to have an operating agreement. If you’re a corporation, you need to have bylaws or articles of incorporation. If you’re a partnership, you need to have a partnership agreement. And that’s all necessary, that’s not optional because you’re gonna run into issues down the road if you’re successful, if you’re unsuccessful, you’re gonna need those documents. So those are missing a lot of the time. Those need to be there. And then when you’re like front facing and you know, doing things with clients and customers, you want to make sure that you have contracts in place regarding your relationship with your customers and your clients, and whether it’s just terms of service on your website, a disclaimer on an invoice or terms on an invoice or something like that. That’s something that’s often missing a lot of times from businesses and startups, where it’s just not there and it needs to be there because it needs to say what the relationship is between the parties. And, you know, if there’s a problem, how the problem gets resolved. And if it’s not there, then you have to go to whatever the laws are in the jurisdiction where you’re at and you may not like it. So those are all kind of the initial documents that need to be there that when they’re not there, you’re definitely gonna have problems at some point. Whether you’re successful, you’re not successful, you’re gonna have those issues because if you’re successful and you don’t have the governing documents, you’re never gonna be able to add people, take out loans, uh, expand, get a commercial lease or whatever, because you don’t have those documents to show. And if you’re unsuccessful and someone sues you, or you have a problem with your business, you know, the person you’re in business with or whatever, and you don’t have the documents to say what happens when there’s a dispute, you’re gonna have major issues. So, you know, it’s a whole life cycle of documents that need to be in place from the before you begin your business through the course of your business, and they need to be there.

SPEAKER_02 18:28

Yeah, no, it sounds like it sounds like it’s extremely crucial. Is there, you know, a certain area when it comes to getting everything put together and having all of that established that you see small businesses struggle with?

SPEAKER_00 18:44

Sure. It’s having all those documents I just described be missing. So that’s the biggest issue. Obviously, the other biggest issue is have a contract for everything. You know, there’s only so much you can do, you know, with a handshake deal or whatever. You have to have everything in writing. So if it’s he said, she said, if it’s not in writing. So you want to make sure that anytime you have a relationship with an employee or relationship with a landlord or relationship with a customer or relationship with a client, that it’s memorialized in writing. Because if it’s not, then it’s she said this, he said that. Yeah, how is that gonna hold up? Yeah. So that way there’s no question as to what happened or whatever. And then at the same time, too, make sure that when you communicate with, you know, your clients, your customers, or whatever, make sure that it’s memorialized in writing. If it’s, you know, something other than, you know, what time are you open till tonight? You know, nine. Okay, that’s you’re right. But it’s like, you know, my thing isn’t there. When’s it gonna, you know, that kind of thing, always memorialize it in writing because that way you have at some level a written record of what happened contemporaneously that you can show to a third party later on, whether it’s a court, whether it’s an insurance adjuster, whether it’s, you know, another attorney or something that says, look, we had this conversation, you know, at this time. I sent a confirming email. This person never said this isn’t what I said or whatever. So, you know, that’s more persuasive than being like, Well, I think we spoke about something once, but I don’t remember what happened, but I knew it definitely wasn’t what she said. That it’s not inviting, it doesn’t exist. Why not getting people disputed anyways?

Vendors, Contracts, And Performance Failures

SPEAKER_02 20:31

So yeah, totally. Well, the the next red flag, red flag that I can think of that gets a little tricky is contractors and vendors. Like you mentioned, you’ve got to have these, you know, contracts with either your clients or third parties, kind of ironclad. Where do you see this go wrong? Are you seeing this go wrong or or generally are these small businesses kind of getting that done pretty easily?

SPEAKER_00 20:59

Well, the possibility for it to go wrong is always there 100% of the time. You know, that’s a lot of you know, my litigation and stuff involves breach of contract regarding vendors and compliance and things like that, because they just don’t comply with the terms. It’s one thing that you have the contract with the terms that specify exactly what’s supposed to be done. It’s another thing that you actually do what’s required in the contract. And, you know, a lot of litigation and stuff is just people don’t live up to the contract on both ends. And that’s, you know, the biggest issue, probably, with the vendors and vendees, is that they just don’t abide by the contract, even though it’s written. Or if they don’t have a contract, they don’t abide by what the agreement or the relationship is. And that’s how you get into issues. But you know, even when you try your best efforts, if the other side’s not willing to do it or doesn’t do it, then you’re gonna have a dispute, and it’s better if you have a contract to have the dispute enough. But obviously, you want when When you’re in business with another business or a vendor or whatever, you want things to move smoothly, you don’t want problems, you don’t want things. Right. Sometimes it just happens, and that’s how you deal with it.

SPEAKER_02 22:11

Yeah. Is there a a common misconception that you see when you know people are hiring third parties or vendors? Yeah, it’s that they’re gonna hold up, they’re gonna hold up to the whole contract.

SPEAKER_00 22:27

One thing they’re gonna hold up to, you know, their contract or whatever, which is why you want to have a written contract, because obviously anything they say before your relationship begins or before there’s a contract goes out the window once you have a contract because it doesn’t exist. The contract supersedes it. So that’s an issue, is that people don’t, you know, live up to the actual written agreement or whatever, and then people don’t live up to their hype before they enter into the agreement. They say a bunch of things, and then they give you a contract, and maybe you didn’t review it that closely or whatever, and it’s not exactly what they said, but that’s what you agreed to. And you know that they’re gonna give you 10 and the contract only says five, and they gave you five, so you know, you’re gonna have issues with that. So it’s just, you know, business practice, maintaining the best possible business practice, making sure it’s in writing, making sure everything understands something. And if something’s someone’s not abiding by your understanding, making sure you clearly point it out to them and give them the opportunity to resolve it before something bigger happens.

Offboarding Clients Without Burning Bridges

SPEAKER_02 23:29

Yeah. And like you said earlier, uh, this would be something I would assume that, you know, legal counsel can help you with in determining kind of drafting that and um and making sure that you’ve got a good agreement and making sure that your vendor kind of um sticks to that agreement.

SPEAKER_00 23:46

Correct. It’s all just you know, doing as much proactive uh preventative maintenance as you possibly can. Just things are gonna happen no matter how great you are at business or how lucky you are, whatever you want to call it. Things are gonna happen just because that’s the nature of being in business.

SPEAKER_02 24:03

Mm-hmm. But like you said, proactive rather than reactive.

SPEAKER_00 24:08

Always be proactive, not reactive. But if you need to be reactive, make sure you’re reactive as thoroughly as possible and not just kind of go like, well, you know, the house is on fire. I threw some water on it, maybe it’ll go away. No, you gotta be sure you put out the fire.

SPEAKER_02 24:23

Yeah, quick. Call 911, get in there.

SPEAKER_00 24:26

Exactly.

SPEAKER_02 24:27

Well, let’s look at the last red flag that we’ve got, and this is where things can really go sideways, offboarding. When you are ending a client relationship, you’re giving refunds, requests, records requests, chargebacks. This is where emotions really spike and communication can really break down. Mistakes are bound to happen. Matthew, where do you see this go wrong most often?

The Compliance Starter Kit

The Cost Of Waiting: The Dentist Metaphor

SPEAKER_00 24:52

Well, I guess I think the better question is where do you see it go right the least often? You know, when you when the relationship ends, you know, many times it’s not amicably. And even when it is amicably, later on people get, you know, buyers were more sellers or more, whatever. And then they’re like, oh, you know, I’m gonna go back and look at that. That’s not what I agree, you know. So, you know, just like we’ve been talking about the whole time, you want to make sure you document the process as thoroughly as possible and make sure that you have your contracts and everything in place that says how you get rid of a client or how do you get rid of a customer, and make sure that you keep thorough records regarding your entire relationship with the client or customer, and make sure that as long as it’s not like some confidential thing or something, give them all the records. Like, who cares? I got nothing to hide. When they’re offload or whatever, say, here’s your entire file. Here it is, you know, for your reference or whatever you need, you know, make sure you send, you know, like a CYA letter for lack of a better term that says, we are now not in business anymore. You know, I am not going to do this for you anymore. You need to find someone else to do this for you, or there’s going to be consequences, you know, and tell them proactively, not you know, like in an advice standpoint, but just lay out we’re done. I’m not gonna, you know, go do this for you anymore, and then lay it out as specifically as possible. If you have any questions, let me know in writing, not call me on the phone or whatever, or send me an email, send me a letter, and specify exactly that the relationship is terminated. You’re not gonna do anything anymore. If you have any questions, let me know. If you have a successor business or a successor vendor or successor whatever, I’d be glad to help them out and tell them all about your business or whatever, even though I’ve given you your entire file and all your information. And, you know, leave it on a positive note like that. Because, like I said, even in the most amical of breakups, people are gonna come back and maybe they mis uh heard what you said, or maybe they don’t remember exactly what happened or whatever. You gotta make sure that you know you’re not liable or anything, because ultimately, you know, they are going to come back in some capacity, and you want to make sure when they come back, you’re fully covered and there’s nothing left to chance, and you didn’t leave anything up in the air, and there was no question you’re not holding anything, and you were totally transparent with them and all the things you want to say, and that’s the proper way when you know there’s a business breakup of how to do it with a customer, client, or whatever.

SPEAKER_02 27:38

Yeah. No, absolutely. Very, very well said. In thinking about all of the red flags that we discussed today, if you could build sort of like a compliance starter kit for a small business, especially one that’s connected to regulated work, what are the absolute essentials that you would recommend putting in place from the beginning?

SPEAKER_00 28:01

Sure. You gotta have your written business plan, you gotta have your governing documents, and you gotta have contracts with any person or thing that you have a relationship with. And then you need to have a cadre of professionals that you work with, that you’re not afraid to ask them questions because that’s what their job is, and you don’t have to do it all by yourself. So you have to have a business law attorney, an accountant, a banker, and you know, be very open and honest with them. And the whole point of having them is that they’ll help you and have them on board from even the before the beginning of your business, because they’ll answer all your hard questions and they’ll help you out. And that’s essentially it going forward. From there, you know, anything can happen from that point, but you’re prepared at that point if you follow that.

Where To Find Matthew And Closing CTA

SPEAKER_02 28:49

Yeah. Absolutely. And you and I know that, you know, people getting counsel and advice, like you said, from the very beginning, is is so much better than you know having having to come back in an emergency. What what would you say is really the cost of waiting to get that help until there’s a dispute?

SPEAKER_00 29:13

Sure. You know, it’s a it’s a metaphor, okay? It’s like going to the dentist, okay. If you go to the dentist and you have regular checkups and everything, and weird stuff doesn’t happen, your teeth are gonna be fine. And, you know, it’s just gonna be every six months you go in and get your teeth clean or whatever. If you don’t go to the dentist and you wait, you run the risk of having some really bad things happen to your teeth. And to fix it, you’re gonna need like a root canal, you’re gonna need to like pull a tooth, you’re gonna need to have like implants, you’re gonna need whatever. Same metaphor applies legally. You know, at the beginning, there’s a cost to doing business, no matter what it is you’re doing in business. And part of that cost is you need to have due diligence and be compliant and be thorough and plan ahead. And as part of that is all the stuff I already said about all the documents and had the professionals in place or whatever. That is gonna be preventative and it’s gonna prevent a lot of issues down the road. Once those issues arise down the road, if you didn’t do that to begin with, it’s gonna cost a lot more money to have a big lawsuit, to have an arbitration, to have a mediation, to have a pre-suit settlement, to get an attorney involved from the litigation standpoint, to get an accountant involved, if there’s some kind of audit or something like that, to get a banker involved, if now all of a sudden we need money to address a situation that we didn’t need before. And it’s all going to be exponentially more time, more money, and more effort than it is if you were to proactively, preventively address it to begin with.

SPEAKER_02 30:49

Yeah. Nope. Absolutely. Hit the nail on the head. I mean, we talk about being proactive versus reactive. It is less stressful, it is less expensive. Um, it’s less of a just complete headache. So, yeah, absolutely. Matthew, thank you very much for joining me today and really highlighting all the ways that small businesses and startups can become really vulnerable to huge legal issues. Where can listeners learn more about your practice?

SPEAKER_00 31:21

Sure. So if you go to my website, which is fenarolegal.com, it’s got all my contact information on it. If you want to email me or call me, it’s got all my social media, it’s got my library of blog posts that address a lot of issues that you have with businesses. It’s got videos on it, it’s got all your information on there. So it should be able to answer a lot of your questions. And if not, just call me, email me, message me on Facebook, whatever it is you need to do, Twitter, Smoke Signals. And whatever smoke signals, I got a I got a link to smoke signals. So yeah, feel free to contact me. I’m glad to help. And I appreciate you having me on today.

SPEAKER_02 32:02

Absolutely. We’ll have your information linked below so viewers and listeners can very easily find you. Thank you again for joining me today.

SPEAKER_00 32:11

All right, thank you for having me. I appreciate it.

SPEAKER_02 32:13

Thank you again to my guest, Matthew Fernero, for joining me today. And to our listeners, thanks for tuning in. Visit the links in our description below to learn more about Matthew and his work. Review the flags that we highlighted in this episode. Please, if you find yourself second guessing your policies, processes, contracts, reach out and explore some legal help. As always, stay inspired and continue engaging with your regulatory agency.