Sometimes some states enforce the issue of business licenses and some states do not. Contact the office of the secretary of state in your state to see if he has filed annual reports or see if this is a sole proprietorship and his trade name is still valid. Then, make him understand that a verbal contract in this situation is not enforceable because there are no specific terms, it won't be complete within 1 year and the issue is for services for which you were given fraudulent facts (business license expiration). You have every right to cancel. Unless he can show some  sort of enforceable agreement, he really can at most claim one month.