I swear by small & medium businesses … I want them to make a comeback
By: Raja Basu
Tags: Small Business, Consulting, Digital Marketing, Ecommerce

Emilia, 38, runs a small store in Oxford. She is putting up a brave face. We salute her spirit.

I love(d) to buy my cake from Saldhana Bakery.

It is a small hole in the wall in the neighborhood where I grew up. Apart from childhood memories they have been making great cakes for the past 130 years. I particularly loved their almond cake. With a lovely whiff of vanilla and crunchy almonds this was something that I always craved for. Now that I am away from Mumbai, I make it a point to visit the store every time I come home. People from far and wide come to buy their cakes.

The store is no more. The pandemic was too much for them to keep the store running. Also, the younger generation did not find it too profitable to keep our memories alive. Did they have an option???

It is interesting to note that small and medium businesses constitute 99% of all businesses in any part of the world. Now that’s a big number.

What I love about them is their passion for the business, the employment that they generate and the communities that they serve. They also have an indomitable spirit for taking risks. Small & medium business owners are my heroes.

Small businesses have been hit hard. Lisa, 55 who runs a boutique shoe store in Paris has seen 80% of her sales evaporate. The boutique was everything she had in her life. She had to lay off people who had worked with her for the past 20 years. She is under tremendous stress. In fact 62% of small and mid-size businesses saw a decrease in revenue this year and 52% said they would change their mode of business.

I am against big businesses (By choice).

Big businesses are founded with the sole motive of profitability where the CEO’s are the garlanded heroes of the company. We all have to favor them in some way or the other because they are convenient and affordable. That’s why we love a burger from Mc Donald or something to wear from Zara. True … we can’t run away from them. Most often we have no choice.

Small businesses are aware that there is a very large market waiting for them. Yes. More so with the pandemic. They have realized that the way to survive is to take the business online. With E-Commerce. Its now or never.

I will say that E-Commerce has democratized business. It has created a level playing field for all. Agreed that E-commerce is not easy. But with start up costs being low a large number of small and mid size businesses have already taken the plunge. But most of them are failing. Why???

The benefits of e-commerce are well known.

Managing working capital is a breeze as you need to hold just the right amount of inventory. You can manage your entire business with 2–3 employees and save costs on real estate. There are no rentals and the cost for holding inventory is <1% with third party logistics providers. You can also keep your marketing costs at <5% with smart marketing with influencers and growing your brand with Organic channels (Facebook, Instagram, YouTube).

There is also a comfort of working from home. Spending more time with your family and loved ones.

Going digital has been a trend for some time for small and mid size businesses. But most fail because they do not know how to go about it. Going online requires a lot of knowledge and strategizing. For most small and mid size companies it is often their first experience with building an online brand and developing a new base for customers. It is extremely exciting for them which is why they take the plunge without consulting an expert. Probably because experts are too expensive.

What if there were pro bono experts to guide them???

Lets face it. Money is/was never an issue in business. It is about the right use of this money to find the right customers. Business is about passion, determination and a dream coming true.

I am committed to enable these small and medium businesses take off. I want to build a community where they can come and discuss their problems and find a solution for it. Have spent 17 years building large brands with marketing, advertising and E-commerce. I will be their guide and help them pivot online.

It’s my passion to see a small enterprise grow. But when they become big they may start behaving like the big ones. Like kids who become very difficult to manage when they grow up.

But that is life.