The M&A work that changes your outcome starts before you go to market.

A business broker runs a sale process. I bring deep fluency in creative services financials, a CPA background, and transaction experience. I know what healthy utilization looks like in an agency, why client concentration carries different risk than it does in a product business, and why the multiple you get depends more on your financial infrastructure and types of buyers than your revenue and profit. A generalist broker learns your business during the deal. I already know the industry.

Yes. Most of the founders I talk to are somewhere between "thinking about it" and "ready to go to market," and that's exactly the right time to have the conversation. If the business isn't transaction-ready yet, we'll talk through what closing that gap looks like, and how long it might take. There's no pressure to be further along than you are.

There's no single readiness test, but a few things matter more than owners expect. Can someone other than you explain how the business makes money, in detail, without you? Is your revenue concentrated in one or two clients, or spread out? Do your financials tell a clean, consistent story, or does explaining last year's numbers take a few caveats? Readiness is less about size and more about whether the business can be understood and trusted by someone who didn't build it.

One of the biggest mistakes agency and creative firm owners make is assuming the sale price is simply a multiple of their EBITDA. Buyers look at client concentration, how much of the business depends on you personally, the quality and consistency of your financials, and whether the revenue is recurring or project-based. Two agencies with the same EBITDA can sell for very different multiples based on how transferable and well-documented the business is. A real valuation conversation looks at the business, not just the top-line or bottom-line number.

A general business broker can run a sale process, but most haven't worked inside a creative agency and don't know what healthy utilization looks like, why client concentration carries different risk in this industry, or what a sophisticated buyer will scrutinize. For agencies specifically, working with someone who understands creative services financials — not just M&A process — tends to produce a cleaner outcome.

There are typically three types of buyers.

Financial buyers — most private equity firms and holding companies — evaluate the business based on past cash flow, ability to service debt, and opportunities in the industry. Most PE firms hold an acquisition for 3–7 years, then look to sell it for a return.

Strategic buyers are typically other agencies or professional services firms buying for capabilities, capacity, and client relationships. They place more weight on cultural fit and integration path than a financial buyer.

Internal successors can also be a path, but it often requires years of succession planning and training. Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs) are another option, though they aren't right for every company and require specialized expertise, time, and meaningful upfront cost. If an ESOP looks like a legitimate path, we'll have that conversation directly.

The transaction itself typically takes several months once you're in market, but the bigger variable is how long it takes to get ready. Owners who spend time beforehand cleaning up financials and closing value gaps tend to move through the actual process faster and with fewer surprises than founders who start preparing only after a buyer shows interest.

Revenue concentrated in one or two clients is usually the biggest one. After that: a business that depends heavily on the founder personally, financials that don't hold up to outside scrutiny, and scope creep that's buried in the P&L rather than priced into client relationships. None of these are usually fatal, but they all take time to fix, which is why early preparation matters more than most founders assume.

Most founders are surprised by how much of the work happens before the business ever goes to market. The preparation phase — getting financials in order, closing value gaps, building a transferable operating model — looks different for every business. Founders who skip it or rush it tend to accept lower multiples or get stuck in deals that fall apart during diligence.

Once the business is ready, the process moves through a few stages: an honest assessment of what the business is worth and why, developing the financial narrative that tells that story to buyers, identifying and reaching out to the right buyer categories, managing conversations with interested parties, and vetting serious buyers before exposing sensitive financial information. The final stage is negotiating terms and closing, which has its own complexity depending on whether the buyer is a financial acquirer, a strategic buyer, or an internal successor.

Once in market, the process from first buyer conversation through close typically runs 6 to 18 months. Founders who begin only after a buyer shows interest are usually working on a compressed timeline that favors the buyer.

Before anything else, get clear on why. "Growth" isn't a reason on its own — acquiring a team, a client roster, a capability you can't build fast enough internally, or a competitor's market share are reasons. The why determines what you're actually buying and what should worry you most about the deal.

Once you know your reason, the first real step is understanding the target's financials on your own terms, not theirs. Owners often start by reviewing whatever the seller hands them, which is usually the most flattering version of the business. Before you get attached to a number, look at client concentration, how much of the business depends on the seller personally, and whether the revenue is recurring or project-based. Those three things tell you more about risk than the top-line revenue ever will.

Availability and quality are unrelated. A deal becomes available because a founder is ready to sell, not because the business is a good fit for you. A good deal is one where the target's weaknesses are things you can actually fix or absorb, and its strengths are things you can't easily build yourself. If you're attracted mainly to the price, slow down. The businesses that look cheapest are often cheap for a reason that shows up in the financials if you look closely enough.

Sellers present the business at its best, which is normal and not dishonest. Ask directly about client concentration: what percentage of revenue comes from the top one, three, and five clients. Ask how much of the work depends on the seller's personal relationships rather than the team or the agency's reputation. Ask about scope creep — work being done that isn't being billed for, which often hides in the margins rather than the top line. None of these are usually disqualifying on their own, but they change what you're actually paying for.

Your regular accountant likely knows your business well but probably hasn't evaluated a creative services acquisition before, and that's a different skill than bookkeeping or tax prep. The financial patterns that matter in this industry — utilization, client concentration risk, how scope creep shows up in a P&L — aren't things a generalist accountant is trained to look for. You don't necessarily need a large deal team for a first acquisition, but you want someone who has actually seen the inside of an agency's financials before, not just an outside process.

Clients who are loyal to a specific person rather than the agency can leave when that person's role changes, regardless of what the contract says. Team members who don't understand why the acquisition happened or what it means for them are a retention risk in the first six months. The financial diligence tells you what you're buying — but whether what you bought will still exist in the form you valued a year from now is a separate question worth asking before you sign, not after.