Let’s get first things out of the way. In South Africa, if you are a start-up targeting bigger businesses than yours as clients, you are more likely to fail in making any meaningful inroads towards your business success.

To make it as a start-up or small-business in acquiring bigger businesses as clients, you’d need to partner with bigger businesses already doing business with your targeted bigger business clients. Or you could expand your business by targeting ordinary consumers.

Targeting consumers can able your company “grow organically” and later become attractive to bigger businesses owing to yours having a solid customer base.

These expansion challenges are usually felt by small-businesses in the knowledge-based advisory consultancy service sector. However, smaller companies having a tangible physical product may not necessarily face the same challenges as those in the knowledge sector. Big business is more readily available to deal directly with them than they would be willing to do with smaller consultancies. By Nimroth Gwetsa, 29 August 2018.

Boldly, I would state that big business in South Africa is not fond of having smaller-businesses as their suppliers. Big business does not always “walk its talk“. You either have to be someone special yourself, or have friends in high places, or be an exclusive distributor or reseller of a renowned international company with no presence in the local market or be fortunate to secure cooperation with a bigger business, even if your role is minuscule and below your capabilities in that regard, to make it sometimes.

Sometimes these are the “school fees” you may need to be prepared to pay to succeed in life. If you do not want to go down this route, your best bet could be to target ordinary end consumers. Though they too are cautious in doing business with start-ups, ordinary consumers, unlike big businesses, are more readily prepared to experiment in giving smaller businesses a chance than big businesses would.

Consumers are always on the lookout, not necessarily for bargains, but good value from businesses they know or believe won’t give them or hide behind bureaucratic fine print, which usually increases costs unnecessarily. They know that with big business, they are likely to be treated with disdain or like a number, with no, if not little, compassion shown and no relationship built. For, they also know that big business likes to profile customers to give dedicated and better service to those perceived to be having a higher net-worth (understandably and justifiably so sometimes), than those considered insignificant.

Lower net worth consumers are treated as though they are “factory sausages” and often get “sent from pillar to post” when trying to follow up on any query or concern. Their concerns are usually assigned to overworked and improperly skilled support staff in those big businesses.

Unlike with big businesses, consumers know that they are more likely to deal directly with an expert in a small-business, likely also, to be directly involved in the creation and delivery of the required solution. Though we cannot generalise, many small-businesses fail to deliver on their promises. Some have been accused of taking consumers’ money without delivering nor refunding them.

However, there are many small-businesses run professionally and diligently. Owners of many small-businesses consider the sustainability and growth of their companies in managing risks. Their sustainability concerns motivate them to conduct their businesses ethically and diligently.

Ordinary consumers can see the good in small-businesses despite the many ills afflicting them. One would think big businesses would do likewise, yet do the opposite.

The “inability” of big businesses to see value in smaller-businesses may explain reasons they prefer assigning minor roles to smaller companies on projects they’ve teamed up in. Though it can be said big business does this, not necessarily out of concern about delivery by their smaller business partners, but owing to profit maximisation and defending their territory. The aim is to counter competition and suppress the attractiveness of their small-business partner from their client. It is understandable, for, we are fallible and unpredictable.

When successfully partnered, invest in the relationship and common goals of the partner, not just yours. Check, also, that you are meeting your obligations by being a good partner yourself, before demanding delivery from your partner. Regularly monitor and evaluate the health of the relationship than only react when the other partner is discontented and no longer keen to pursue the relationship. By then it would be too late perhaps, to salvage the relationship.

Some relationships may not necessarily fall under those to be kept and maintained for life, but may be those necessary for a particular season. And once that season is over, severing ties afterwards. Others may appear as a permanent match initially and for a while, only to drift apart later in life as goals, interests and priorities begin to diverge. Regular monitoring and evaluation and investment in the relationship would make it easier to pursue divergent goals and priorities without making the separation acrimonious, but acceptable as making pure business sense.

Failure to monitor, evaluate and invest in a relationship leads to emergence of toxicity that results in one feeling or being actually sabotaged. Partners should not compete, but collaborate and help each other grow. In such setup, the relationship could naturally grow and be strengthened enabling business partners to become each other’s “security buffer”.

Partnership should never be considered when parties do not share same values, vision, strategy and goals. Partnership should not be considered if there is secrecy or lack of openness, particularly on issues central to the relationship or affecting values, vision, strategy and goals. Differences in these areas would weaken the relationship and not much success will be achieved from this relationship.

Partners should also hold each other accountable on any issue, be it conduct, courage, promises or results.

Healthy and successful partnerships do not magically happen, but are results of deliberate action and decisions of the parties involved.

Beware of partnerships you enter into, for your business growth and future depend on it.