Page 18 - Print21 March-April 2022

Print Business
What’s the right
and Double Bay. Woolloomooloo is a village, everyone refers business to someone else.”
Over the years CopyDocs has seen off the competition. There was a Kwik Kopy and a Snap in the vicinity, but they moved out years ago while William Street was undergoing major roadwork renovations.
Go for business brokers
With a plan to exit the business in
the near future, Brian has involved a number of business brokers, including one who specialises in selling small businesses to Indian millionaires who want to get an Australian visa. He wonders if the brokers are actually living in the real world.
“Business brokers just want
to focus on profit and expenses, ignoring everything else. They’re asking things like, ‘where do you see things going in the future?’
“We’ve fielded a couple of inquiries and there’s been a couple of decent offers but nothing that came to fruition. A buyer needs to be able to operate all the machinery, and many people don’t want to learn how to do that.”
Having spent a previous career running his own advertising
and design business, he knows
the challenge of moving into the production space. The business
was originally an MBE franchise, still with an existing array of 250 mailboxes for businesses up and down William Street. Clients call in to access their mail and that brings new business. After three years as a franchise he decided to rebrand as the independent CopyDocs.
“The past two years have been challenging, so many people are now self-isolating, offices are closed or only half staffed.” – Brian Stevens, CopyDocs
time to sell?
There is always a right time to sell your business. It may not be at the top of the economic cycle, it may even be in a time of pandemic. But the right time is marked by a combination of factors, not least – if not now, when? Patrick Howard sat down with Brian and Geraldine Stevens, to discuss the realities of selling their CopyDocs business into a pandemic-affected market.
Selling and buying a printing business in times of pandemic may seem like a distraction from the main task of simply staying open
and operating. But after 18 years of running their printing business, CopyDocs, in Sydney’s William Street, for Brian and Geraldine Stevens there are other factors
at play. Central is the question of whether to stay or go, to continue working in their business, or retire and head to the Sunshine Coast.
It’s a situation many printers would envy. The well-regarded business is profitable, with a diverse clientele; it has an understanding landlord, and, importantly, is debt free. All the equipment, including wide format and plan printers, are paid off, apart from a Konica Minolta BizHub on a plan. There are no trade debtors knocking down the door, the business is picking up after surviving the lockdown lean times. For all practical purposes, it could continue as the thriving enterprise they have enjoyed and prospered operating for many years.
So the challenge is whether to delay putting the business on the market until the pandemic retreats even further, or bite the bullet, stick to their original timetable, and get out this year. For Brian, 74, age is a consideration, but not a definitive one. He’s in good health and still enjoying the business. But he recognises it needs some fresh blood and investment, and at this stage he’s reluctant to go down that path.
“Today there is a need to invest in online technology, blogging and the like. While most of the business does come in online, the next stage requires considerable investment in technology. I’m not prepared to do that,” he said.
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It takes a village
CopyDocs, like many other localised printing businesses, is part of a community. Running down to Sydney Harbour, Woolloomooloo provides a funky mix of offices, restaurants and hotels. Business owners know one another and support their local services, but as with most areas, the pandemic hit hard.
“The past two years have been challenging, so many people are now self-isolating, offices are closed or only half staffed,” says Brian.
“JobKeeper was a godsend as was the Small Business Loan scheme.
The landlord, Terrace Towers, has
been very helpful. But there is no foot traffic now. The street, offices, shops and restaurants are dead. We’re still dealing with clients, many of whom are working from home. We courier the work to them.
“Our customer base is across the board. Architects figure largely, as
do hoteliers and restaurants. It’s a geographic-based catchment area. We service customers as far as Edgecliff
Above
Geraldine and Brian Stevens: ready to move on after 18 years operating CopyDocs
Brian and Geraldine are convinced they’ll come through this period. The business continues to make profits, and the work is coming back. Geraldine believes the opportunity is there for new eyes and younger enthusiasm.
“The business is ideal for a couple, same as we are, if they can work it together. What’s needed are new eyes. Some new marketing would help too. The mailboxes are a pure profit part of the business. It would be ideal for a young entrepreneur,” she said. 21