While running a small and medium enterprise (SME) is a unique and very subjective journey — two businesses even within the same industry could operate completely differently — there are plenty of lessons, skills and tactics that can be transferable. Even when comparing small and medium sized businesses to large corporations, people are quick to dismiss the comparison because the difference in scale, scope and complexity are vast, but award-winning business strategy expert Eric Tjoeng from Business Growth & Exit Specialists (BGES) believes that small and medium businesses have much to learn from large businesses.
“Many SMEs fail because the way they do business is very ad hoc and not very strategic like a large corporation” argues Eric. “There’s a reason these large organisations have been able to see so much success, and many strategies you can adapt and adopt to fit your own needs as an SME growing business”. Eric has outlined some strategies below that you can use to scale and succeed like a large corporation.
1. Have a clear business strategy in place
It’s easy to get caught up in the excitement of selling a product or service you’re passionate about, but if you don’t have a clear roadmap on what your goals are and how exactly you’re going to achieve them, you’re running blind.
Clearly outline what your product or service is good for, who it’s designed for, how you’re going to get it to them, why your customers should buy from you, how would you communicate and attract your potential customers, as well as ensuring that the business model will be profitable.
In your strategy you should also include plans for how you intend to manage demand and sustainable growth so that you don’t become overwhelmed when your business gains momentum. Successful large organisations always develop an effective strategy laid out with actionable steps to take to achieve their goals.
2. Understand and prioritise cash flow
Cash flow is the oxygen of your business and you need to look at it separately from your profit if you want to keep your business from becoming strangled. Make sure that you are operating within your means and keeping a healthy cash flow with enough headroom to allow your business to better handle financial variance and pressure in not-so prosperous times.
Forecasting your cash flow for each month and monitoring your cash flow is an important practice that keeps you informed of your exact financial position, and can help you prepare for any gaps or unknowns in revenue that might arise
3. Allocate your resources effectively
One of the key challenges for SME is having limited resources, you need to manage them well and know what is the right mix and how to scale.
You’re the King and your business is your chessboard. Each of your pieces can move differently, and depending on how you utilise the different resources available to you will determine how successful your business becomes.
4. Be willing to adapt to change
The pandemic brought with it many challenges; being flexible and adaptive was one of the most important lessons to take away from it.
Explore out of the box options and innovative ways to do business, understand your customer needs and buying behaviour are keys, look at your competition or other industries and ask yourself if you can adapt any of their techniques into your own process. Don’t be afraid to pivot if the market isn’t receptive to your efforts. Keeping your eyes peeled for new opportunities and staying flexible will not only allow you withstand tough times, but allow you to potentially disrupt and break into a market in ways you never thought previously possible.
BGES is the one-stop shop for business growth, future proofing and exit strategy, driven by Eric’s passion for developing strong foundations, including a clear business strategy and business model, streamlining and applying sustainable scaling processes and systems that ensure growth, sustainability and great return on investment.
If you’d like to learn more on how you can use large corporate strategies to grow your SME, connect with Eric Tjoeng and his team at BGES through their website, or their LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube social media pages and get started on securing the sustainable growth your business needs.