From Start to Sale: How Spokane Business Attorneys Helps Business Owners Build, Buy, and Sell Stronger Companies
Starting and growing a business takes vision, persistence, and a willingness to make decisions before all the answers are clear. For many business owners, building and growing a business is thrilling but it can also be lonely and isolating. Knowing when to bring in the right advisors can make the difference between simply running a business and building one that creates long-term value.
Christal Lam, founder of Spokane Business Attorneys, believes business owners are best served by a legal team that works alongside their CPA, banker, and financial advisor from the very beginning.
“When attorneys, CPAs, bankers, and financial advisors work together early,” Lam said, “businesses tend to be stronger, more valuable, and easier to grow or transition.”
Based in Liberty Lake and serving clients throughout Washington and Idaho, Lam works proactively with business owners and their advisors at every stage—whether they are starting a company, expanding operations, buying an existing business, or preparing for an eventual sale. Her focus is straightforward: smart structure, strong contracts, and strategic planning, including exit planning, that protects the business while creating options for the future.
“Too many business owners make decisions without fully understanding the legal consequences,” Lam said. “Our goal is to protect what they’re building, strengthen their strategy, and support the advisors who are already part of their team.”
Building Better Businesses—From Day One
While many people associate business attorneys with forming an LLC or corporation, Lam says the most significant risks and opportunities appear after formation.
“The real issues usually come up in contracts, leases, ownership arrangements, or growth decisions,” she said. “Those decisions shape how flexible, or fragile, a business becomes over time.”
Spokane Business Attorneys assists business owners with structuring their companies for long-term goals, drafting and negotiating contracts, reviewing commercial leases, and planning for future growth, partnerships, or ownership changes. Much of this work involves aligning legal decisions with financial and tax planning, in close coordination with the client’s CPA, banker, and financial advisor.
“When everyone is working from the same playbook, it reduces surprises,” Lam said. “This really benefits a business owner and makes their life easier.”
An Overlooked Opportunity: Buying a Business
Lam wishes more entrepreneurs knew that starting from scratch isn’t the only option. Buying an existing business can be faster, safer, and more profitable.
“Starting from scratch isn’t the only option,” she said. “Buying a business with customers, employees, and cash flow already in place can be faster and more profitable.”
Many prospective buyers know they want to purchase a business but aren’t sure which questions to ask or where risks may be hiding. Spokane Business Attorneys works with buyers to conduct legal due diligence, reviewing contracts, leases, employment arrangements, operations, systems, and ownership structure. This process helps identify hidden liabilities, deal-breaking risks, and opportunities for growth.
“When advisors and attorneys work together, we de-risk the deal from every angle,” Lam says. With this approach, buying a business can be a great strategy for success.
Preparing a Business for Sale—Long Before a Buyer Ever Shows Up
Selling a business is rarely simple, and many owners underestimate the preparation required to maximize value. As a result, many owners often wait too long to prepare for a sale and end up with regrets. Lam wants to prevent this from happening.
Whether the goal is a third-party sale, an internal succession, or a gradual transition, Lam helps owners prepare early in ways that increase valuation and reduce disruption.
“We look at the business the same way a buyer would,” Lam said. “A buyer is buying the future.” The more confidence a seller can give a buyer that the business will continue to be successful, the more the business is worth.
With that perspective, Lam helps owners prepare well in advance by organizing records, standardizing contracts, reducing owner dependency, and coordinating legal, tax, and financial strategies with their advisory team. Early preparation can strengthen valuation, streamline negotiations, and reduce closing delays.
Her team also assists in identifying potential buyers, reviewing offers, and navigating closing—protecting the seller from surprises and liabilities.
When advisors work together, clients don’t just get better information, they get better outcomes. And often, that means a higher value sale and a brighter financial future after the deal closes.
A Coming Wave of Transitions and a Need for Advisor Collaboration
With many baby-boomer owners preparing for retirement, Lam expects a surge of local businesses to come onto the market.
“These businesses are a huge part of our local economy,” she said. “When owners wait too long to develop an exit or succession plan, they often lose leverage and leave money on the table or choose to close their doors rather than sell.”
If this happens, it means we lose great local businesses which is a loss for the community.
Lam believes proactive collaboration and early education can help preserve these businesses while improving outcomes for owners. Businesses that are well-structured, well-documented, and supported by aligned advisors tend to attract stronger buyers, better financing terms, and higher valuations.
Her firm has also begun helping connect buyers and sellers in off-market transactions, creating opportunities for CPAs, lenders, and financial advisors to support clients on both sides of the deal. This also is a benefit to clients who want to keep their potential sale confidential.
“When advisors work together,” Lam said, “clients don’t just get better information, they get better outcomes. And often, that means a higher value sale and a brighter financial future after the deal closes.”
What’s Next
As the Spokane Valley and Liberty Lake business landscape continues to grow, Lam is expanding her firm’s reach and impact. That includes focusing on educating business owners, helping clients prepare for growth and transitions, and stronger partnerships with CPAs, bankers, financial advisors, and other professional advisors who support business owners.
“There’s a lot of energy in Spokane right now,” she said. “We want to help business owners build something that lasts—and be there for every step of the journey, from start to sale.”
