Buying a consulting firm in Treasure Coast

• Multi-year contracts or retainers, not only one-off projects that end and have to be replaced.
• Clients who work with several people at the firm, not just the owner.
• A known specialty that brings referrals and repeat work without constant selling.
• Staff kept busy on billable work, at rates that have risen over time.
• Written methods, templates and tools, so quality doesn't depend on one person's memory.
• For government work, contract vehicles (pre-approved contracts that agencies can order from) with several years left to run.
• A second-in-command who already leads client work and wants to stay.
• Revenue from more than one or two clients or agencies.

• Revenue by client and by consultant for three years. If one person's name sits next to most of the revenue, the price and transition plan should reflect it.
• How much revenue the owner personally brings in and bills, and how long they'll stay to hand it over.
• Contracts: time left, option years, and what happens if ownership changes. Moving a federal contract to a new company in an asset purchase needs the government's approval (novation).
• Independent contractors: whether they're classified correctly and have signed over the rights to their work.
• Utilization (the share of staff time that's billed) and the rates actually collected.
• Open proposals and how often the firm wins.
• Professional liability insurance and any disputes with clients.
• For defense work, the firm's CMMC cybersecurity status. From November 10, 2026, the Defense Department plans to require third-party assessments for many contracts involving controlled unclassified information.

• Which clients would follow you if you left?
• Besides you, who leads client work today?
• How much work depends on the firm's size or on certifications tied to you?
• When do your main contracts end or come up for rebid?
• How do new clients find you?
• What would it take to replace you?
• Have clients ever disputed the work or a bill?

This region covers Martin, St. Lucie and Indian River counties on the Atlantic coast and Okeechobee and Highlands counties inland: Stuart, Palm City, Port St. Lucie, Fort Pierce, Vero Beach, Sebastian, Okeechobee, Sebring and Avon Park. Port St. Lucie is the largest city and has grown quickly as a suburb within reach of Palm Beach County to the south.

The coast draws retirees and winter residents, and health care, construction, real estate, boating and sport fishing are big parts of the economy. The coast lies in the Indian River citrus district, named for the lagoon. Inland, Okeechobee and Highlands are cattle, dairy and citrus country around Lake Okeechobee and along the ridge near Sebring, with many retirees of their own. Home service companies, the building trades, marine businesses and medical practices find steady customers here.

The coast is seasonal, with winter residents filling restaurants, golf courses and service schedules, and summer is quieter. Hurricane Nicole came ashore near Vero Beach in November 2022, and the region has a long history of storms, so check insurance, flood zones and how a business came through recent ones.

Water quality in the St. Lucie River and the Indian River Lagoon is a recurring problem, and in a bad year it can hurt fishing, boating and tourism businesses. Inland, distances are longer and the labor pool thinner. A company in Sebring or Okeechobee may be one of very few of its kind nearby, which can mean loyal customers and little competition, but also few people to hire. Most new homes on the coast are going up in and around Port St. Lucie.