I haven’t always been the Deal Flow Guy
In the previous post, I discussed 7 things you should know about the digital transformation of the printing business. I know firsthand how printing business owners have been affected by the digital transformation because my family’s printing business helped spark the change.
When my entrepreneurial father joined the Vomela company in 1946, they specialized in printing and die-cutting Christmas seals and tags. After my father bought the business, Vomela helped 3M pioneer innovative printed and converted graphics worldwide. The transformation occurred because our talented skunk-works team and risk-takers had invented a method of using computer-driven lasers and knife cutters to cut letters and shapes from large sheets of adhesive-backed vinyl. When the laser-cut shapes were peeled away from the liner sheet, they could be applied to all types and sizes of surfaces – including metal, glass, walls, and flooring.
After I joined the company in 1975, Vomela became a beta test site during the 1980s and 1990s for the 3M Scotchprint 2000 digital press that made it efficient and economically possible to print full-color, large-format decorative and advertising graphics in volumes from 1 to 100 pieces. 3M’s marketing group helped launch the multi-billion-dollar large-format graphics business by showing advertising agencies and brands some creative ways to use laser-cut adhesive-vinyl prints. Advertising graphics that were wildly innovative in the 1980s and 90s are now common in neighborhoods, towns, and cities worldwide.
After I acquired Vomela from the family in 1990, I learned valuable lessons about leading, growing, and selling a business and working with professional M&A advisors for legal, tax, and banking issues. I know how important it is to have a clear vision for your business and your life and to make wise life and career decisions every step of the way.
How I Can Help You Find A Great Business to Buy
As the owner of Vomela, I met many of the inventors, specialists, analysts, and entrepreneurs who helped grow the digital printing industry. After I strategically sold Vomela, many of my contemporaries in the digital printing business started seeking my advice on how to build, acquire, and sell family printing companies profitably and efficiently.
Today my expertise is in helping people strategically connect win-win buy-and-sell deals. I am happy to match companies looking to buy or invest in well-run businesses with entrepreneurial printing businesses owners who are ready to sell.
Over the past 30 years, many print business owners have worked tirelessly to adapt to ever-changing technologies and demands for different types of printed products. Many businesses excelled in developing new applications and markets for printed items.
Others have built proprietary software that enabled them to become pioneers in selling standard and custom products to all types of businesses as well as directly to consumers. Some specialized in project management and sophisticated logistics for quickly delivering different graphic packages for the different sizes of walls, fixtures, and windows in each store in a 500-store retail chain.
Many companies that started out as printing businesses are ripe for rejuvenation. In family-owned printing businesses, the founding family member is simply ready to move on to the next stage of life. Other growth-oriented small businesses need an infusion of capital to compete in the brave and risky new world of big data, automated factories, and artificial intelligence.
Finding the perfect opportunity for your investment and growth goals can be like finding a needle in a haystack. But with our extensive network of print-industry contacts and understanding of manufacturing, supply chains, growth strategies, and business value-building, my strategic teammates and I can help you confidentially explore ideal business options for your goals. For decades we have helped all types of entrepreneurs and investment strategy groups achieve successful outcomes.
You don’t have to settle for a distressed company that wasn’t nimble enough to pivot during the COVID-19 crisis. As the Deal Flow Guy, I can help you find agile, forward-looking companies poised for the next wave of growth.
Call me today to learn more about how we can help match you with business owners that share your entrepreneurial drive.