Be an Octopus, Not a Shark – Grow Your Business

These are not times when one leads or survives the goldmines or vagaries of the business world by swimming alone. You would either be chewed or would die of starvation.

The answer to staying relevant and competent in the current era is simple – use the network effect.

It is futile to invest in monolithic structures if you have already made it to 2018. The post-Google and the Uber-shaken world has taught today’s enterprises the beauty and muscle of using deep, rich, well-spread and apt networks.

To grow one’s business, the smartest and surest route is to expand through acquisitions and franchises.

Two ways to take your business to the next level

One approach is organic. It worked well in the past and very easily. But for myriad reasons and disruptions that the last few years have brought in, this mindset is not going to hold any gravity any more.

Regulations, customers, market ecosystems, products, technologies, and even supply chains are transforming so much that the erstwhile process of organic growth only leads to delays, flab, business fatigue, and lack of innovation.

To grow and stay in the front row when customers are impatient and competitors are always a step ahead, a business needs – and direly so – many hands and several legs. Plus, many brains. This is only possible via the inorganic route of growing a business.

Consider how India saw the year 2017 as a hotbed of mergers and acquisitions – the highest in this decade. Over 1,000 mergers and acquisitions (M&As). The amount that private equity players invested was around $25 billion in India in 2017, as per an EY report.

As to 2018, the total deals, so far, have touched $ 76.03 billion and mergers and acquisitions in Jan-Sept 2018 have also been observed to have doubled from the previous year.

What’s interesting is that the start-up sector has shown a 22 percent share and the emphasis on restructuring activities has also been a potent factor.

Another shift seen is the number of domestic deals stood at 682 in 2017 and was about 75 percent of the total deal pie, as per Grant Thornton. What’s notable is how the presence of distressed assets and a move towards consolidation are driving deal activity in the domestic market.

That means that the domestic space is rife with lots of opportunities to grow and consolidate one’s business in the inorganic terrain. And doing that has just got easier. Way easier than before!

Faster growth, Better options

It is now possible and easy to accomplish the desired growth for your existing business. One can acquire a business in one’s own industry by using Tobuz.com where a cornucopia of apt and able choices is available at the click of a button.

Tobuz.com also enables business people to explore another swift and steady way of getting inside new markets. One can pick or roll out franchises by leveraging the vast depth and breadth of Tobuz connections.

It is not just limited to the availability of numerous choices. The process also needs, and gets, the right emphasis. The journey of discovering, finding and cementing any deal related to a new partner- or folding of a business- needs considerable time, attention and precision.

This is where one can empanel the right consultants and growth hackers which are easily found on Tobuz again.

Another important aspect of growing your business is the spring-cleaning part. When you roll up your sleeves for wiping away the clutter that was holding the business back (or burdening it), then you have to be brave and determined enough to get rid of it in time and without expending too much effort and energy there.

This makes room for new and fresh growth to sweep in. To dispose of the unwieldy or irrelevant parts of your business, you can again tap Tobuz.com for selling businesses or business divisions that are not working out for you.

The inorganic route can look complex and time-consuming on the surface. But when done right, with the right connections and a clear business strategy – this approach bears compelling outcomes and speed for your business growth.

India is already witnessing and gaining from the new wave of entrepreneurship and business disruptions. Customers have changed. Business partners have changed.

Even your competitors have changed to stay apace with big and fast shifts. In a Netflix-friendly India, and in a country where Airbnb or Uber are not alien words anymore, the power of networks is manifesting in unprecedented ways.

The way to ensure that you do not get left behind on this super-fast highway is to become lightweight and have as many limbs as possible. Agility comes with faster feet. And also with the right pair of shoes.

So pull up your socks and get set to find and partner with minds, hands, and wheels that can augment you the way the next few years are about to embrace innovation and business growth.

Go beyond the regular. Go towards an inimitable edge. With the right network.