We had the good fortune of connecting with Harold Kestenbaum and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Harold, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
In 1981, I was working for a small firm and had spent four years at this firm learning about franchise law. So in 1981 I made the decision that i knew more about franchise law than my boss and I knew he would never make me a partner, so I decided to leave and go out on my own. It was the best decision that I had ever made in my business life.

What should our readers know about your business?
I guess my story is one of perserverence and dedication. It was not easy starting from scratch with no book of business. Over the next 39 years I have established one of the most successful franchise law practice in the country. I have been the CEO of a franchise company, I was on the Board of Directors of Sbarro for 23 years, I was a partner in a very large law firm, I am now a partner in a boutique franchise firm, Spadea Lignana, and spend the bulk of my time brining in new business for the firm. Oh, I also wrote a book called, So You Want to Franchise Your Business. I learned that you never give up and that you “run out every grounder”. That has been my philosophy over the years, plus, always putting the clients first. Service, service, service, that is how I have conducted my practice for all of these years.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
If a friend came to visit, we would, during non-pandemic times, travel into Manhattan and go to all of the tourist spots, as well as go to Broadway shows and dine in some great restaurants. I live on Long Island, so there is not as much to do out here as there is in NYC.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I guess I have to give credit to my wife for supporting me in 1981 in my decision to quit a job that paid a steady salary for a life as a solo practitioner who did not know where the next check was coming from.

Website: www.spadalaw.com

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