What SMEs can learn from big boys

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Bikky Khosla | 26 Aug, 2014
Big businesses can learn a lot of things from small businesses. Fund scarcity, lack of manpower, branding challenges, tough competition from big guys . . . small entrepreneurs face a number of Herculean tasks, but they bypass these hurdles by means of agility, innovation and customer centric approaches -- I covered this topic here a few years ago. But there is another side of the coin -- there is plenty also for small businesses to learn from large companies. Learning from what big brands do right, small entrepreneurs can reap tremendous rewards.

It is often said that large businesses have complex organizational structure that makes their decision making very time-consuming while small businesses have a simple organizational structure and this enables them to take quick decisions. This is true, but we should not overlook the fact that decision making of a large business, for the most part, is also slowed by its emphasis on thorough analysis of each and every situation they face. Small businesses should try to make the best of their small size to quicken their decision making, but they should not take this as an excuse to make every decision on a 'go with the gut' basis, without doing any situation analysis.

Small businesses are also characterized by their unwillingness to think ahead. Large businesses, due to the importance they place on thoroughness, tend to plan into the future. In contrast, a small entrepreneur is usually forced to wear many hats -- he may become the marketing team, the accounting department and human resources director of his enterprise -- and as a result he finds himself too busy to think and plan ahead. This is a wrong approach. Small businesses, instead of letting their future go to fate, should plan for future trends in the marketplace, future challenges, new approaches, and so on. Planning ahead should be the core to all what they do.

I also find it surprising why majority of small businesses don't dare to think big. After achieving some level of success they become complacent. Their motivation fades, and the mind becomes lethargic. They don't want to double their strain to double the profit. Large businesses, on the other hand, are characterized by their ability to think big and take the logical steps required to materialize the plan. It is true that large corporations remain in an advantageous position over SMEs in terms of financial strength and manpower, but I think small entrepreneurs should never cease to have ambitions. They should come up with a logical plan and can take small steps, one at a time, towards the goal.

A small businesses should spare no effort in taking advantage of everything that its size has to offer, but at the same time it should also try to learn from the experiences of big businesses -- how they work, grow and succeed.