Do you have an exit strategy for your shop? Use this guide and grab a free copy of our 5-step checklist here to help you plan.
If you’re a print shop owner, odds are your business is more than a day job to you. It’s your identity, something you built from the ground up, and the ownership comes with a lot of pride but can also bring a lot of stress and uncertainty.
This is especially true when considering the future of the business. Regardless your timeline and shop size, one thing is certain:
You need an exit plan so the business continues to succeed.
We’ve discussed exit strategies a few times on the Print Hustlers Podcast, and in this blog, we’ll examine that topic closely.
Read on to learn what an exit strategy actually means, why most shop owners avoid it, and how you can prepare for your next chapter on your own terms, including how the right shop management software can make your business significantly more attractive to potential buyers.
What Is an Exit Strategy?
An exit strategy is more complex than selling off the business and hitting the beach.
It involves:
- Protecting the long-term careers of your team
- Preserving your business’s legacy
- Ensuring your business can thrive without you
- Creating systems that allow smooth transitions
- Building value that exists beyond your involvement
One owner put it bluntly:
“If I got hit by a bus tomorrow, what happens to this place?” —Andy Rudman, Shirt Kong
A well-planned exit strategy gives you and everyone who depends on your shop peace of mind. However, many shop owners don’t realize that the businesses that sell successfully have systemized their operations and standardized processes so they can run without their daily involvement.
Why Most Print Shop Owners Don’t Have an Exit Strategy
In many instances, screen printing starts as a passion project. Maybe you were part of the local music scene, interested in a change of pace, took over the business from a family member, or simply loved creating from an early age.
That kind of DIY spirit is a strength and the reason printers succeed, but it can also impact how you think of long-term business realities.
As Dylan Gilligan of Upstate Merch put it:
“This shop is my identity. I don’t want to think about how to get out of it.”
Common reasons shop owners avoid exit planning:
- Emotional attachment: The business feels like an extension of themselves
- Fear of change: Uncertainty about what comes next
- Lack of systems: Everything runs through the owner and tribal knowledge, making the transition seem impossible
- Undervaluing the business: Not understanding what makes a print shop valuable to buyers
- Procrastination: Thinking “I’ll deal with it later” until it becomes urgent
Even if the emotional attachment is common, you must plan ahead. And building an exit plan doesn’t mean you’re abandoning your team. You’re actually making your business stronger and more valuable!
How Do You Make a Print Shop Sellable?
Before considering exit strategies, let’s address the elephant in the room: not all shops are sellable in their current state. But, knowing where you can improve can help your chances at a successful sale.
Here are some criteria buyers typically look for:
Financial Transparency
- Clean books with documented profit margins
- Consistent revenue streams
- Clear separation between business and personal expenses
- Predictable cash flow patterns
Operational Independence
- Processes that don’t require the owner’s involvement
- Cross-trained employees who can work in multiple departments
- Documented procedures for every aspect of the shop
- Reliable production schedules and quality control
Customer Relationship Management
- Diversified customer base (E.G., more than 1-2 major customers)
- Organized customer communication and order history
- Established pricing structures and approval processes
- Strong brand recognition separate from the owner’s public personality/image
Technology and Systems
- Well-maintained equipment
- Reliable tech stack for order and production management
- Inventory tracking systems
- Automated invoicing and payment processing
This is where shop management software becomes crucial.
Platforms like Printavo, InkSoft, and GraphicsFlow don’t just help you run your business: they allow you to build a business that someone else can run. More on that in a minute.
Exit Doesn’t Always Mean “Goodbye”
The nice part about mapping out an exit strategy is that it doesn’t necessarily mean you’re leaving forever. It can take many forms, some of which keep you connected to the shop you love.
Here are a few versions of what an exit strategy might look like:
1. Hire a CEO or General Manager
In this scenario, you hire someone else to manage day-to-day operations. You stay on as a strategic advisor or board member, so you still have some visibility into what’s happening but aren’t bogged down by your existing duties.
If you’re not ready to step away completely but need a change of pace, this approach is usually an excellent choice.
“You don’t need to grow anymore—you can just run flat and let someone else lead.”
—Steven Farag, Campus Ink
Making this approach work with technology: When you have robust shop management software in place, transitioning leadership becomes much smoother. A new manager can access all historical data, understand workflow patterns, and maintain customer relationships without starting from scratch.
Software like Printavo provides dashboard views that give new leadership instant insight into business performance, like your most profitable customers and payment histories. Plus, they can access all your existing automated workflows so that production continues running smoothly.
Meanwhile, InkSoft offers comprehensive customer management that ensures no relationships fall through the cracks during the transition. Suppose you’re running multiple online stores for current customers. In that case, their order history and store performance are organized inside the platform, paving the way for a smooth transition for your successor(s).
2. Merge or Sell to Another Shop
If you’ve got friendly competition in your area, you can join forces with another shop and share resources to reduce your burden.
When we talked to 918 Design Co, we learned that this approach gave the owner, Deeana, more time to grow as a business owner and educate herself instead of getting wrapped up in weekly fire drills.
Why software gives you an advantage in mergers: When both businesses use similar systems (or can easily integrate), the merger process is a lot smoother. You can merge customer databases, production flows, and operate efficiently from day one.
3. Succession Planning
This approach occurs often but requires a “proceed with caution” effort. If your family already works as part of your business, you can transition leadership to a family member or a long-term employee.
In this setting, you’ll want to build in some extra time so that the person (or people) has some shadowing and training experience before diving in. Even if someone’s family, they should get the same vetting (and maybe even more) than anyone else on your staff.
Training successors with standardized processes: Software-driven processes make training successors much more effective. Instead of trying to transfer years of “tribal knowledge,” you can point to documented workflows, automated systems, and historical data.
4. ESOP or Employee Buyout
If you have a tight-knit crew of employees who have been part of your shop for a while, you can opt to sell the business to your team and allow them to take ownership over time.
The most common version of this approach is an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP).
Via Investopedia, ESOPs “can be funded by companies putting newly-issued shares in them, by putting cash in to buy existing company shares, or by borrowing money through the entity to buy company shares.”
One of the perks of this approach is that it helps motivate employees and sustain morale. A better-performing team will benefit the company and ultimately lead to everyone’s success.
Employee ownership and operational transparency: When employees become owners, they need access to the same operational data and systems you’ve used. Shop management software like Printavo naturally provides this transparency.
Employees can see how their work impacts overall profitability, understand customer satisfaction metrics, and participate in strategic decisions based on real data rather than guesswork.
5. Divest Specific Operations
If you have one more profitable part of your business, you can sell off equipment, share customer lists with other shops, and keep the part of your business that you enjoy.
One of the stories we loved in recent years was how BeeGraphix did this when they found a niche in the direct-to-film (DTF) market.
Instead of trying to be everything to everyone, the business unloaded its screen printing equipment and focused primarily on DTF machinery and printing, which was a windfall for them.
Using data to make divestment decisions: Modern shop management software provides the analytics needed to decide which parts of your business to keep or sell.
To determine which operations are truly valuable, you can analyze profit margins by service type, customer acquisition costs by market segment, and equipment utilization rates. With Printavo, you can get a grasp on your equipment utilization and most popular types of service, and with InkSoft, you can get a deeper look at which of your online customer store segments are the most profitable.
6. Liquidate
This is the absolute version of the exit strategy. Closing up and selling off all of your assets can sometimes be the best financial and personal choice, especially if you’re noticing diminishing returns over several years.
If you’re doing well, consider one of these other five options to give your employees a chance to make a future for themselves.
Maximizing liquidation value: Even in liquidation, organized systems and documented processes can increase the value of your assets. Equipment buyers want to know maintenance history, production capacity, and operational procedures. Well-documented systems can put you in a better selling position even in a liquidation scenario.
What Makes a Shop Sellable?
“If customers only deal with you, your shop’s value drops the moment you step away.” —Bruce Ackerman
Once you’ve decided on your path, you’ll need to ensure the business is sellable so you can hand the keys over to someone new without losing money.
For your business to attract potential buyers or successors, focus on:
Delegating Key Functions
Start moving crucial responsibilities to other shop employees who you know are qualified for the role. If you’re a shop with other leadership already in place, like production managers or sales managers, consult them for who they see as top performers.
By the time you’re ready to retire or step back, you should no longer be handling business operations.
How software accelerates delegation: Shop management software makes delegation much easier and more effective. You can confidently assign responsibilities when all processes are documented in the system. Plus, with systems like Printavo and InkSoft, everyone in your shop, from the art department to the sales team, has access to customer orders and stays on the same page.
Printavo’s role-based permissions allow you to transfer authority while maintaining oversight gradually. New managers can access historical data, understand customer preferences, and maintain quality standards without constant supervision.
Building Recurring Revenue
Focus on your strongest customers and market types so that potential buyers see where they can step in and keep the machine running.
InkSoft provides detailed customer analytics with the Store Performance Dashboard, which helps you build stronger relationships with key accounts.
When buyers see documented recurring revenue streams with strong customer retention stats, they’re willing to pay more.
Showing Real Profitability
If you’re not able to share a quick estimation of annual profits, it’s time to hire a financial professional to get your books in order. And make sure you have easy-to-access documentation of your profits that you can show interested parties.
Automated financial reporting: Modern shop management software integrates with accounting systems to provide real-time profitability data. Instead of scrambling to reconstruct financial performance, you can generate detailed reports showing:
- Profit margins by product type
- Customer acquisition costs
- Seasonal revenue patterns
- Equipment utilization rates
- Labor efficiency metrics
Separating Your Identity from the Brand
Every company has a “face,” but the more you distance yourself as the sole voice of your brand and business, the easier it will be for your long-time customers to embrace new leadership when you transition.
When customer interactions are managed through professional software systems rather than personal relationships, transitions become smoother. Automated follow-ups, documented communication history, and standardized service processes ensure that customer relationships survive ownership changes.
Making the Company Operationally Independent
This component may be the most complex since it factors in several elements of your business, but it is crucial. Operationally independent means:
Self-sufficient employees:
Make sure you have cross-trained employees who can chip in when there’s turnover or downsizing, instead of having talent gaps for months on end.
Less leadership dependence:
Part of self-sufficiency also means ensuring your employees can run the shop without constantly consulting you on every operational or management question.
Software solution: Automated approval workflows and documented decision trees reduce the need for constant management input. Employees can handle routine decisions while escalating only true exceptions.
Collaborative culture:
In addition to having multi-talented employees, every team in your shop should be open and receptive to working with people outside their department.
Software solution: Shared dashboards and cross-departmental visibility help teams understand how their work impacts others, fostering natural collaboration.
Strong SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures):
Tribal knowledge might have worked for you and your crew in the past, but it won’t guarantee success after you’re gone. You need to ensure all your processes are well-documented so that anyone new has a clear picture of how things must be run.
Software solution: This is where shop management software truly shines. Platforms like Printavo allow you to document every process and maintain version control as processes evolve. The software becomes your living process manual.
Built to Scale:
Using technology to automate your workflow and simplify your production management can help all these other components fall in line so that whoever is in charge can focus on the business instead of working IN the business.
Software solution: Comprehensive platforms integrate order management, production scheduling, inventory tracking, and customer communication into seamless workflows that can handle growth without proportional increases in management complexity.
How Do Systems and Processes Make My Shop Sellable?
Shops with standardized processes and systems typically sell for higher prices than those that rely heavily on the owner’s personal involvement.
Here’s what we’ve found talking to shops over the years:
- Owner-dependent print shops: 1.5- 2.5x annual earnings
- Systematized print shops: 3-5x annual earnings
- Highly automated shops with substantial recurring revenue: 5-7x annual earnings
What drives these higher price tags?
- Lower risk: Buyers have confidence that the business will continue performing
- Faster ROI: Standardized businesses usually maintain revenue during ownership transitions
- Growth potential: Buyers can focus on expansion rather than fixing operational issues
- Financing advantages: Banks and investors prefer businesses with documented, repeatable processes
Here’s a closer look at how Inktavo’s solutions can help you build that sellable business model:
Printavo: Operations and Production Management
What it does for sellability:
- Workflow standardization: Every job follows the same process, reducing errors and training time
- Performance analytics: Detailed reporting shows buyers exactly how the business performs
- Customer relationship management: Documented communication history and order patterns
- Financial integration: Clear profit margins and cost tracking by job type
Real-world impact: A shop using Printavo can show buyers exactly which customers are most profitable, which services have the highest margins, and how efficiently the operation runs. This transparency typically adds 20-30% to the sale price.
InkSoft: Customer-Centric Solution for E-Commerce
What it does for sellability:
- Customer portal integration: Customers can reorder independently with online stores, reducing the shop owner’s dependency
- Automated marketing: Email campaigns and customer retention programs run automatically
- Online store management: E-commerce capabilities that create passive revenue streams
- Design asset management: Organized libraries that retain customer design history
Real-world impact: Shops with strong online presence and automated customer retention typically sell for higher prices because they have an established name, which saves the new owner marketing costs and offers more predictable revenue.
GraphicsFlow: Art Creation & Approval Streamlined
What it does for sellability:
- Production workflow optimization: Streamlined art approval processes with production-ready artwork elements
- Better customer communication: Well-organized customer art approval communications with a cloud-based system
- Quality control systems: Consistent output of customer artwork that maintains brand reputation
Real-world impact: Businesses with optimized production workflows typically show higher profit margins and more consistent quality, increasing buyer confidence and selling prices.
What Key Metrics Should I Use for My Exit Plan?
Use these metrics to track your progress toward building a sellable business:
Operational Independence Metrics
- Owner time investment: Target less than 20 hours per week
- Employee cross-training: 80% of critical functions covered by multiple people
- Process documentation: 100% of procedures documented in software
- Decision automation: 90% of routine decisions handled automatically
Financial Performance Metrics
- Revenue predictability: 70% of revenue from recurring customers
- Profit margin consistency: Less than 5% variation month-to-month
- Customer concentration: No single customer represents more than 15% of revenue
- Growth trajectory: Consistent 10-15% annual growth
System Effectiveness Metrics
- Data accuracy: 99% accuracy in customer and order data
- Process compliance: 95% of jobs follow standard procedures
- Quality consistency: Less than 2% error rate
- Response time: 24-hour maximum for customer inquiries
Market Position Metrics
- Brand recognition: Independent of the owner’s public persona
- Customer retention: 85% annual retention rate
- Competitive advantage: Clear differentiation from competitors
The Hard Part: Letting Go
“I named this place. I picked every color. I have a tattoo of this shop.” —Andy Rudman
Walking away from something you created can be difficult. But change doesn’t have to be a bad thing. If you treat it as a new chapter, you can explore other opportunities like:
- Traveling: Whether for business or fun, getting away and seeing new people and places can help broaden your perspective and give you a fresh idea of what you want to do next.
- Consulting: If you’ve run a shop for a long time, your knowledge and skills are valuable, and you can provide them to other businesses that need an expert’s input.
- Opening a New Business: You may have wanted to start a business outside the decorated apparel and printing world. Now’s the time to explore those avenues and apply the same pragmatic skills you learned in your current shop.
- Spending Time with Family: Stepping away from your shop may also be your best chance to spend more quality time with your family, which has plenty of intangible benefits!
The emotional benefits of systematization: Here’s something many owners don’t expect: as you standardize your business and reduce your daily involvement, you often rediscover your passion for the work. When you’re not buried in operational details, you can focus on the strategic and creative aspects that drew you to the business in the first place.
Want a deeper look at how to sell your print shop? Check out this two-part series we did on the topic:
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