“strategy for all”

Back in 2017-2018, I was doing my MBA at Imperial College London, in the UK. Every Wednesday, despite the often-horrible weather (well, it’s London after all), we held a weekly farmer’s market right in our school around noon.

It was a good place for lunch, as the perfect escape from the cafeteria food which we all still have nightmares about. We would get some Spanish Paella for lunch and always go to this one pastry vendor for dessert. Now, no shame in admitting that we weren’t the fastest bunch, so by the time we got around to it, our favorite creamy cake pastry would always be sold out a long time before.

Now, normal people would have just gone there earlier the next time. But we weren’t normal people, we are MBAs.

We asked a simple question, “why can’t he bring more of this fast selling item (our creamy cake) instead of other slow selling items?” Taking a quick look at his stock (the over 30 types of breads and pastry), we quickly realized what the issue was.

Sam, our incredibly talented pastry chef and small business owner, stuffed his van with many pieces of giant bread (for large families I’m guessing), and leaving almost no room for his delicious pastries. What’s the situation every time? He sells nothing of the giant bread (we are students, probably not buying breakfast for a family of 10), and his pastries would run out very fast and early.

So, we approached him, analyzed his inventory problem, and provided him with a very simple solution (make and bring more what makes money, and stop making those don’t), which helped him increase his revenue and reduce cost.

This is what I realized so far:

1. There are many talented small business owners, but sometimes they have issues in translating their talent to money. It is very rewarding to be that business person who gives them the help they need and make a real impact in someone’s life.
2. I realized that the Mckinsey style corporate strategy frameworks are applicable to business of all sizes, not just the corporates. In fact, small businesses benefit a lot more from those strategies since they often lack structured business thinking and management.
3. After working with a few Tech Startups, I realized that while they are tech savvy and have a good understanding of business basics, but they could also benefit from more structured business thinking and management. It’s always easier to think outside of the box and have it be a good thing, when we know exactly where the box is.

Finally, I write this blog to help those who need help the most, those incredibly talented business owners and Startup founders who help make our lives a little bit better and easier every single day, especially during Covid. I’ve had the pleasure of seeing our pastry vendor Sam, smile after his long day of hard work, and I would always remember that smile. It drives me to do more, to do better, and to make more people smile just like that.