Frequently Asked Questions

Buy And Build Advisors is a Houston-based mergers and acquisitions (M&A) advisory firm. It helps people buy an existing business, grow the business they own, and prepare that business to sell. Its work includes reviewing deals before purchase, finding financing, providing part-time executive support, and helping owners raise the value of their company.

No. A business broker lists companies for sale and is paid to find a buyer. Buy And Build Advisors doesn’t list businesses for sale. It’s an advisory firm that works for one side of a deal. For buyers, it reviews the business and its risks before purchase. For sellers, it prepares the business before it goes to market.

Buy And Build Advisors works with privately owned companies doing roughly $2 million to $50 million in annual revenue, often called the lower middle market. Clients include owners in industries such as manufacturing, distribution, construction, healthcare, and professional services, along with people buying a business in that size range.

Buy And Build Advisors is based in the Houston area of Texas and works with business owners and buyers in Houston and across the United States. Whether you are buying a company, growing one, or preparing to sell, you work with the same team of legal, financial, and operational advisors. The first conversation is free.

Because important details often get lost when a business owner moves between separate advisors. When one firm reviews the purchase, supports the business after you buy it, and later helps you sell, it already knows the company well. Buy And Build Advisors brings legal, financial, and operational advice together in one relationship for that reason.

Both, though in any single deal it works for only one side. For buyers, Buy And Build Advisors reviews the business, helps line up financing, and supports the handover after closing. For sellers, it estimates what the business is worth, fixes problems buyers would find, screens buyers, and supports negotiation through the final sale.

Andrew Lamb, MBA, CEPA, CAIM, is the Managing Partner of Buy & Build Advisors, a Houston-based M&A and business growth advisory firm. He is a Certified Exit Planning Advisor (CEPA) and Certified Acquisition Integration Manager (CAIM), with more than 25 years of experience in global operations, business transformation, leadership, and growth.

Andrew works alongside a senior advisory team that brings financial, legal, M&A, and operational expertise:

• David Girault, JD, CM&AA, is an attorney, holds an accounting degree, and is a Certified Merger & Acquisition Advisor. His experience combines legal, financial, and transaction expertise to support business acquisitions and exits.
• Brittany Farrell, CM&AA, is a consulting Chief Financial Officer (CFO), holds an accounting degree, and is a Certified Merger & Acquisition Advisor. She brings financial strategy, financial analysis, and transaction expertise to Buy & Build Advisors’ clients.

Together, the Buy & Build Advisors leadership team helps business owners buy businesses, grow enterprise value, prepare for an exit, and successfully sell their companies.

Most acquisitions fail because the buyer chose the wrong company, paid too much, or combined the businesses poorly after the purchase. A widely cited Harvard Business Review study puts failure rates between 70 and 90 percent. Many of these problems involve people, daily operations, and reliance on the previous owner, not just the financial statements.

Operational due diligence is a review of how a business actually runs before you buy it. Financial statements show past results, but they don’t show whether those results will continue. This review looks at the staff, processes, systems, customer relationships, and how much depends on the current owner. Those issues often cause problems after the purchase.

Financial due diligence checks whether a company’s reported numbers are accurate. Operational due diligence checks whether the business can keep producing those numbers under a new owner. It looks at key employees, written procedures, technology, supplier and customer relationships, workplace culture, and how much of the business depends on the person selling it.

A business acquisition advisor works for the person or company buying a business. The advisor helps decide what to buy, finds and evaluates possible companies, reviews the risks in a deal, helps arrange financing, and supports negotiation through the purchase. A business broker usually works for the seller, so the two roles protect different interests.

A buy-and-build strategy is a growth plan where an investor buys one established company, then adds smaller companies in the same industry to it. The combined business is usually worth more than the separate companies were. Buy And Build Advisors, a Houston advisory firm, shares its name with this strategy but works with individual buyers and owners.

Yes. Buy And Build Advisors offers two options for buyers searching for a business. In the done-for-you option, the firm sets your buying criteria, finds and screens companies, and starts conversations with sellers. In the done-with-you option, you lead the search and outreach while the firm provides structure, tools, and guidance along the way.

Most small business purchases are paid for with a mix of loans backed by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), regular bank loans, payments to the seller over time, and money from investors. The right mix depends on the deal and your savings. Buy And Build Advisors helps buyers compare these options and prepare for lender conversations.

Ask what would happen if the owner disappeared for a month. Then check who manages the biggest customer relationships, who sets prices, who makes hiring decisions, and whether processes are written down. If most answers point to the owner, the business may struggle after the sale, and the price should reflect that risk.

Often, yes. A fractional chief financial officer (CFO) is an experienced finance leader who works part-time for several companies. New owners often start with loan payments, financial records from the seller, and no finance staff. A fractional CFO sets up reliable reports, forecasts cash, and keeps loan terms on track, without the cost of a full-time hire.

A bookkeeper records daily transactions. A controller checks that those records are accurate, closes the books each month, and prepares financial statements. A chief financial officer (CFO) uses those statements to plan cash, set budgets and prices, and guide major decisions. Many small businesses need all three roles but hire them part-time or outsource them.

Keep the business steady before making big changes. In the first 90 days, a new owner should secure access to cash and bank accounts, set up reliable financial reports, meet key employees and customers, and learn everything the previous owner handled personally. Buy And Build Advisors supports buyers through this handover period.

A fractional C-suite is a team of senior executives who work part-time for a company instead of as full-time employees. It can include a chief financial officer (CFO), chief operating officer (COO), or chief marketing officer (CMO). Small and growing businesses use this setup to get experienced leadership without paying full-time executive salaries.

Start by finding out what your business is worth today. Then fix what lowers that value. Organize your financial records, write down how key work gets done, hand some of your duties to others, reduce reliance on any single large customer, and gather the contracts and records buyers will ask to review.

Start three to five years before you want to sell your business. Changes that raise its value and lower its risk to buyers, such as building a strong team and cleaning up the books, take time. Starting early gives you more options and a stronger position when you negotiate with buyers.

Start by seeing your business the way a buyer will. Then reduce how much it depends on you, hire or develop managers who can run it, write down key processes, clean up your financial records, and spread revenue across more customers. These steps help a business pass a buyer’s review and earn better offers.

Yes, but it will usually sell for less, and the buyer may require you to stay on after the sale. Buyers see heavy reliance on the owner as a risk, because customers, staff, and know-how may leave with you. Reducing that reliance takes time, but it’s often one of the best ways to raise value.

Move what only you know into your team and your systems. Introduce managers to your key customers, write down how important work gets done, let your team make real decisions, and build a layer of leaders below you. Then test it by stepping away for a few weeks and seeing what happens.

A business broker mainly lists a business for sale and finds a buyer, usually for smaller, simpler sales. A mergers and acquisitions (M&A) advisor usually handles larger or more complex deals and does more of the surrounding work, such as valuing the business, preparing it for sale, structuring the deal, and negotiating terms.

Business succession planning is the process of deciding who will own and run a company after the current owner leaves, and getting the business ready for that change. The next owner might be a family member, employees, a partner, or an outside buyer. A good plan covers value, timing, leadership, and the owner’s personal goals.

The quickest way is an independent assessment. Buy And Build Advisors offers a free online Value Gap Assessment that takes about 15 minutes. It estimates what your business is worth today, shows how ready it is to sell, and uses the same measures buyers use to judge a business.

A value gap is the difference between what a business is worth today and what it could be worth to a buyer if it were better prepared for sale. Buy And Build Advisors measures this gap with a free online Value Gap Assessment, then helps owners take steps to close it.

Yes. Buyers don’t pay for revenue alone. They also pay for lower risk. A business that runs without its owner, has organized finances, and doesn’t rely on a few large customers is often worth more than a similar business with higher sales. Many owners can raise value by fixing these areas first.

The Value Gap Assessment is a free online tool offered by Buy And Build Advisors that takes about 15 minutes. It shows an estimate of what your business is worth today, the main issues lowering that value, the risks a buyer would notice, and what the business could be worth if it were better prepared.