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By Mark Zweig | Your firm is not worth what you think it is, but what a buyer is actually willing to pay.

By Mark Zweig | Employees see the rewards of ownership, but rarely the personal risk that makes those rewards possible.

By Melanie Carrido | Three decades in AEC show that while technology reshapes our work, strong communication and partnership still determine success.

By Mark Zweig | It’s time to take some action inside your business; do these 10 things now to be ready for whatever lies ahead.

By Mark Zweig | 2025 offers opportunities for AEC firms to thrive through responsiveness, strategic metrics, strong banking ties, and workplace honesty.

By Mark Zweig | Balancing growth and profitability is essential for long-term value creation and success in AEC firm valuation strategies.

By Ezequiel Tovar | The decisions you make today will have monumental impacts on your next generation of owners tomorrow.

By Mark Zweig | Having little understanding of banking could result in missed opportunities for growth or thorny problems that could put your firm out of business.

By Mark Zweig | Every entrepreneurial company should have some big, game-changing things it is working on.

By Todd Perry | Early successes, failures, and significant challenges, and how a young firm navigated through them.

By Mark Zweig | Your ability to establish and maintain relationships over time is essential to your personal and business success in the A/E business or any business.

By Mark Zweig | Saying you want to buy another firm in this business is one thing – actually doing it is another.

By Julie Benezet | Time limits tighten focus, propel you over challenging hurdles, and maximize your chances of success.

By Mark Zweig | With new cases of COVID-19 on the rise, now is not the time for complacency. Instead, it is a time for self-reflection and new action.

It’s important to understand your business model and the various outside factors that can affect the execution of an ESOP transaction.

Surrounding oneself with the appropriate professionals, and planning accordingly, will position your company for a successful transition to ESOP ownership.

Firm managers run a production process. If the deliverables get out the door, great. If not, cash flow – and company value – could be harmed. Over my career, I have had some disappointed clients....

CEO of Apex Companies, LLC (Hot Firm #41 for 2017), a 700-person environmental engineering firm based in Rockville, Maryland. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent “There is nothing that drives value creation for an organization more than...

So you got the position you wanted, but that’s just the first step. You have to (help) create something bigger than yourself. Last month I wrote about my good fortune of meeting Art Gensler and...

Editor's Note: This article was written by Mergermarket, the leading provider of forward-looking M&A intelligence and data to M&A professionals and corporates around the world. by Deborah Balshem in Fort Lauderdale JLG Architects, an employee-owned...

CEO of Coffman Engineers (#62 Hot Firm for 2016), a 400-person virtual, multi-discipline firm with offices across the West Coast, Alaska, Hawaii, and Guam. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent “Outside members can act like guests at...

2016 was quite a year for the AEC industry and for Zweig Group as well. Merger and acquisition activity, and interest in the subject, has never been higher than it is right now. Our firm...

Sure – it’s hard to hire good people. There are lots of reasons for it. One of them is that we aren’t keying into the talent pool all around us. People in our network. People...

Being a great architect or engineer is not enough. To truly flourish, you have to have an intimate knowledge of what makes your clients tick. Your knowledge of architecture, design, engineering, and building codes, your...

You should if you want more business and enhanced services for your clients, and besides, the new generation of engineers has to have it. In 1971 the founders of our firm went to their local...

There are a few basic traits that differentiate firms that make money from those that scrape by. Chad Clinehens and I were talking in the office yesterday about why some firms we work with make...

By W. Hobson Hogan Principal, ZweigWhite Consulting In today’s environment, many firms believe that they must become more diversified and larger to compete. In most cases, firms turn to mergers and acquisitions as a way...

This article first appeared in The Zweig Letter (ISSN 1068-1310) Issue # 991 Originally published 1/28/2013 When the sky is a different color on the other side, the likelihood of coming to an agreement is...

Press Release: July 22, 2011 FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (July 22, 2011) –ZweigWhite has consolidated and branded its internal consulting team which manages mergers, acquisitions, valuations, and ownership transition under the new moniker, MAVALOT. Right now these...

By Tracey Jeffers Principal, Valuation Consulting ZweigWhite If you are involved with financial management at some level in your firm, you expect to regularly review the typical balance sheet and income statement. A smaller percentage...

By W. Hobson Hogan ZweigWhite Principal, Investment Banking I have represented many businesses in M&A processes and I have analyzed both great and not-so-great firms. In all of these M&A processes, I have witnessed some...

By Hobson Hogan EBITDA can be measured in different ways, and confusion over it sometimes leads us to wonder if we are speaking the same language. I often hear people make statements like “I heard...

1. Buy-Side Representation ZWEIGWHITE has been focused on business management services, research and information for architecture, engineering and environmental consulting firms since 1988. As such, we are uniquely qualified to find the right business(es) to...

By Hobson Hogan I recently attended a conference on alternative investments for asset managers and investors. The attendees were mostly representatives from large institutional investors, endowments, hedge fund managers, and corporate bankers. The conference focused...

By Tracey D. Jeffers One component to a successful banking relationship is having a good understanding of your financial statements. Your ability to readily and intelligently answer questions posed by a banking professional gives loan...

As someone who teaches entrepreneurship in The Sam M. Walton College of Business at the University of Arkansas, one of my responsibilities is to mentor students who enter business plan competitions. In these competitions, students...

If you aren’t worried about your banking relationship right now, you are deluding yourself. Besides the fact that we have already had firms in our business— large firms— put out of business by their banks,...

No movie was better than “Wall Street” at capturing the spirit of the go-go 80s. Michael Douglas played the role of Gordon Gekko, a charismatic “rock star” investment banker who gave a speech on the...

NOW, not later, is the time to take a hard look at your strategic plan for improved performance. The new year is just around the corner. The environment is volatile. It’s hard to see what’s...

There are no easy businesses in this economy. And if you think there are— still— watch out. You’ll probably learn soon that I am right about this one. Everyone— no matter what they do— has...

I am getting really tired of principals (and, in some cases, finance and accounting people) telling me that there’s no way they can do better than a 96-day, 105-day, or 119-day average collection period (ACP)...

Like it or not, most firms in this business of any size have to borrow money. Whether the firm needs the money to provide operating capital while waiting to collect accounts receivable, to finance business...

After doing business plans for more than 20 years, the truth has finally sunk into me: You cannot please everyone with one strategic plan. In other words, the strategic plan for internal purposes is probably...

As the fall air turns crisp and cool here in Northwest Arkansas, many folks’ thoughts turn to football, leaf raking, and the upcoming holiday season. Owners and managers of A/E/P and environmental consulting firms, however,...

We held our 2004 AEC Mergers and Acquisitions Summit at the Biltmore in Coral Gables, Florida, the first week in December. The food and accommodations were great, and the meetings were a success. As someone...

I recently agreed to serve as an outside member on the board of directors (BOD) for one of our client companies. This is not the first (nor probably the last) time I have done this....

If there was ever a time when the moon lined up with the stars and the timing was right for A/E/P and environmental firms to raise prices, this is it! Never before has the unique...

Let’s all hope it never happens. But as anyone with a few gray hairs can tell you, another recession can, and probably will, occur. So what are you going to do about it? Here are...

I would be surprised if more than one of our readers hasn’t said to themselves recently, “We really ought to be thinking about what we’ll do if things slow down.” Well get ready folks, it’s...

I like the fact that The Zweig Letter has an editorial point of view. So many newsletters for this industry and others are just compilations of other, previously published articles. Or, they are so white...

“You’re only as good as your reputation.” Somebody wise must have said that somewhere along the line! It’s certainly true. When your reputation is good, the phone rings with new work opportunities, your competitors’ staff...

Every week, I have to come up with something relevant to say to architects, engineers, and environmental consultants who own or manage A/E/P and environmental consulting firms. That’s my job. I like it— and because...

For most A/E/P and environmental consulting firms, working with a bank is a necessary part of being in business. Very few companies can get by without some sort of credit line to finance receivables or...

In the past six months, I’ve had the pleasure of working for three firms with very low average collection periods (ACPs). Average collection period is the average number of days it takes a firm to...

No matter what the self-appointed experts are telling you, right now is a great time to buy a firm or to be acquired by or merge with another firm. But, like most things, it’s not...