Who’s Helping the Smaller Printing Business Play the Big Guy’s Game?
Time for Rock to get up on his soap box. Except I don’t want to point fingers, as is the standard operating procedure in the political world. No, I simply want to state a fact: There aren’t many people helping owners of a small printing business play the big guy’s game.
What am I referring to? I’m referring to strategic transitions like mergers and acquisitions, succession plans, exit strategies – the kind of big business maneuvers occurring every day with the big boys of the printing business.
I know many of the business brokers in the game simply don’t want to help printers in this situation. Why? Because for the amount of time it takes to help a small business conduct and complete a strategic transition, the amount of commission on the deal is simply too small to make it worth a broker’s while.
I should know. I’ve seen colleagues pass on helping smaller printers use these strategic transitions to their advantage. I’ve even passed myself.
It’s no one’s fault that no one wants to help the small printing business. It’s just that right at the moment, smaller printers need help more than ever before.
Do Small Printing Businesses Want to be Helped?
That’s the million dollar question, and my answer is that yes, without a doubt, a small printing owner who either wants or needs to sell his or her business needs help. It’s just that they either don’t have the money to hire a professional team, or they simply believe they can do it on their own.
Whatever reason, many small printing owners are not taking action. They’re letting their own business deteriorate, or refusing to take advantage of growth opportunities, instead of engaging in a strategic transition.
So what needs to happen?
Over the past few weeks, I’ve been working with a select beta group of printing owners and buyers, modeling a new service that is geared specifically to helping smaller shops use the strategies of bigger businesses. The early results have been extremely encouraging.
We’ll keep you posted on future developments of this service as we move forward. In the meantime, don’t be discouraged if you feel like no one’s out there to rescue the smaller business. Help is on the way.
(Photo by David Masters)
To read about mistakes to avoid when selling your printing business, download, Rock LaManna’s “
12 Code Red Seller Mistakes.”
Rock LaManna provides executive coaching for printing owners looking to grow their printing business, merge with a synergistic partner, make a strategic acquisition, or create a succession plan.