As an entrepreneur, your ambition is to see your business grow and diversify. Yet, achieving this can be challenging, especially if you’re unsure how to scale up efficiently, leverage your team’s strengths, or tap into new opportunities. A great example of business diversification and growth comes from Vivek Oberoi, an established actor and businessman, who runs 28 different businesses across industries.

At KEVOS, we’ve curated some of Oberoi’s most valuable business lessons, illustrating how you can ideate big, involve people in your business, and foster a culture of innovation and efficiency to elevate your business in Australia’s competitive market.

1. Ideate Big to Make it Big

"To make your business big, you need to think big."

One of the first steps in growing your business is expanding your mindset. Many entrepreneurs in Australia, and globally, get trapped in the idea of wanting 100% control over a small business rather than being part of something bigger with a smaller shareholding. However, if you want your business to thrive, it’s essential to reframe your approach to ownership and scale.

For example, let’s say you own a business in Sydney valued at AUD 100,000. You might be proud of owning 100% of the company, but imagine owning just 10% of a business worth AUD 1 million. You’d have a significantly higher valuation while being part of a much larger, more profitable venture.

The key here is not to hold onto small ideas but to think big and understand that a smaller share of a larger pie is often more beneficial than having the whole of a small pie.

• Example: Australia’s technology sector is booming, and startups like Atlassian began small but quickly scaled by embracing external investors and sharing equity. This mindset allowed them to grow into billion-dollar companies, illustrating the importance of scaling through partnerships and investments.

Lesson: Let go of ownership percentages and aim for a stake in something much bigger.

2. Involve People in Your Business

"Start involving people in your business. If 100 people are involved with you, then 100 people are working for your business and their own business."

Building a dedicated and emotionally invested team is crucial for scaling up. When you involve your employees deeply, treat them as key contributors, and build trust, you create an environment where people work not just as employees but as co-owners of the business.

How to Build Involvement:

• Develop trust by being transparent with your team about business goals and challenges.

• Inspire them with the company’s mission, making them feel like they are a part of something bigger.

• Motivate them with opportunities for career growth and success.

• Train and upskill them continuously to keep your team ahead in the competitive market.

• Example: Take Australian multinational company Cochlear, which makes world-leading hearing implants. Their success can be largely attributed to how they involve their engineers and medical experts in their research and development. By treating their employees as key contributors, they have been able to constantly innovate and maintain a market-leading position.

Lesson: The more people feel emotionally invested in your business, the more dedication they will bring, working for you as though they were working for themselves.

3. Think Differently

"Don’t listen, find your own way."

In business, following the crowd won’t lead to extraordinary results. Oberoi shared how he faced numerous challenges when he decided not to rely on his father's support in the film industry and instead forged his own path. This lesson holds true for business too—no matter how much support or family wealth you may have, success comes from your unique efforts and innovation.

You need to constantly ask yourself: What sets my business apart? How can I approach the market in a different way?

• Example: Consider Canva, the Australian design platform that has disrupted the global graphic design market. Rather than following the traditional route of complex design software, Canva simplified the process, creating a platform that allows anyone to design professional graphics easily. They thought differently, and today, Canva is a billion-dollar enterprise.

Lesson: Challenge the status quo, think outside the box, and develop your own unique strategies for success.

4. Don’t Fall in Love with Your Business

"A business idea is just a way of earning money, so, you need not to be attached to it."

In business, emotional attachment can cloud judgment. It’s essential to understand that your business is a vehicle to achieve your goals, and sometimes, this means knowing when to pivot or even close a venture that isn’t delivering returns. Don’t be afraid to let go of an idea that isn’t working and move on to something more profitable.

• Example: In Australia, many restaurants struggled during the COVID-19 pandemic, and those that were emotionally attached to their traditional dine-in business models suffered. However, businesses that quickly pivoted to takeaway and delivery models saw increased profits. By being flexible and not holding onto failing ideas, they survived and thrived.

Lesson: Don’t fall in love with your business, but instead focus on what brings in results. Pivot when necessary, and prioritize profitability over attachment.

5. Perform a SWOT Analysis

Understanding where your business stands is crucial to long-term success. Performing a SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) allows you to evaluate both internal and external factors that influence your business.

• Example: If you own a solar panel installation business in Queensland, you might discover through a SWOT analysis that your strength lies in providing environmentally sustainable solutions, but your weakness is the high cost of materials. The opportunity could be the growing demand for renewable energy in Australia, while a threat could be increased competition from cheaper international suppliers.

Lesson: A SWOT analysis helps you identify where to focus your efforts, which weaknesses to fix, and which opportunities to seize.

6. Bring in Professional Talent

Whether you’re running a family-owned business or a larger conglomerate, bringing in professional talent can elevate your operations. Hiring individuals with specialised expertise adds value, and when you give them a stake in the business, you convert professionals into entrepreneurs, ensuring they have a vested interest in the company’s success.

• Example: Family-owned wine businesses in Australia, such as Penfolds, have successfully expanded globally by hiring professional talent to manage marketing, sales, and international logistics, moving beyond family management.

Lesson: Hiring professionals allows you to scale more effectively and bring fresh ideas into the company.

7. Turn Employees into Stakeholders

To truly inspire your team to give their best, you need to offer them incentives beyond just salaries. One of the best ways to do this is by making them stakeholders in the business. When employees feel that their hard work translates into personal success, they are more driven to contribute meaningfully.

• Example: An accounting firm in Melbourne implemented a profit-sharing scheme where senior staff were given shares in the company. This not only boosted performance but also reduced staff turnover, as employees felt they were part of the company’s long-term success.

Lesson: Share the wealth—by giving your team a stake in the business, you ensure they remain invested in its growth and profitability.

8. Find the Gap in the Market

Before scaling up, it’s essential to understand what’s missing in the market. This involves identifying unmet customer needs and developing a strategy to meet them.

• Example: In Australia’s booming e-commerce sector, companies like Afterpay found a gap in the market for flexible payment solutions. By offering a “buy now, pay later” model, they filled a consumer need that traditional credit cards hadn’t fully addressed, leading to their massive success.

Lesson: Look for gaps in the market that your competitors aren’t addressing, and position your business to meet that demand.

9. Build Efficiency in Your Team

Finally, as your business grows, you need a high-performing team to execute your vision. If your team is efficient, you won’t need to micromanage. This allows you to focus on larger strategic decisions while your team handles day-to-day operations.

• Example: In a Sydney-based IT consulting firm, the CEO built a strong team by investing in regular training, using performance-based incentives, and delegating decision-making authority. As a result, the company’s projects ran smoothly, and the CEO could focus on expanding into new markets.

Lesson: Train and trust your team, allowing them to execute your vision while you focus on business growth.

Conclusion

By following these lessons from Vivek Oberoi’s diversified business ventures, Australian entrepreneurs can gain the insights needed to grow and scale their businesses efficiently. Whether it's by thinking big, involving your team, or identifying gaps in the market, the path to success lies in continuously evolving and adapting your strategies. At KEVOS, we encourage every business owner to embrace these practices to achieve long-term growth and profitability in Australia’s competitive business landscape.