Sell a Business for the Best Price

Selling a Printing and Publishing Business

It's a misconception that no one is buying printing and publishing businesses these days. Savvy entrepreneurs see printing and publishing business opportunities as a path to short-term profits and long-term growth. There aren't any guarantees, but if you adhere to fundamental business sale concepts, you can likely get a good price for your business.

It's a fact: Successful business sales take time.

Undaunted by economic conditions, many printing and publishing business sellers are achieving their sale goals through deliberate sale strategies.

Selling to a Family Member

Selling a business to a family member might sound like the best of both worlds. You get an exit strategy, your printing and publishing business stays in the family, and everyone is happy. Yeah, right. Often, a sale to a family member creates fractures within the family. Whether you offer the family member special concessions or not, either the buyer or other family members may take offense. The best advice: if a family sale is a possibility, it needs to be handled objectively, with ample input from third-party advisors.

Handling Unexpected Outcomes

Every business seller dreams of a fast sale and a fat payday. However, no one told the marketplace about your expectations. The outcome of your sale will be determined by market forces - not by your personal circumstances or desires. Despite your best efforts, you need to prepare yourself for the possibility of receiving less than you expected from the sale of your printing and publishing business. If buyers don't seem to be willing to meet your expectations, consult with your broker to modify your strategy and market approach.

Average Preparation Time

There are no effective shortcuts for selling a printing and publishing business. Since buyers prefer to see evidence of future cash flow, you'll want to to strategically lock in cash flows and increase profits before you list the business. Next, the business will need to be documented in professional financial statements and manuals that facilitate the ownership transition. Since all of this takes time and effort, a printing and publishing business can rarely be ready for the marketplace in less than six months. A more likely scenario is that it will take more than a year to create the conditions necessary to receive the maximum sale price.

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