Successful business leaders are known for their perseverance, creativity, dedication, and their passion to succeed. They are the ones who overcome insurmountable odds and build their own destiny. One such leader with an innovative outlook and a knack to succeed is R Narayan, the Founder & CEO of Power2SME. As a leader, his primary responsibility is to establish a sustainable company culture of innovation and motivation. He feels that upholding a certain value system in place ensures that the employees will take the company in the right direction.
Spearheading Power2SME means establishing a vision that the company can work collectively towards- a task neither easy to institute nor to attain. Therefore hiring the right people who share the company’s vision and are committed to working and creating perfect symbiosis to do the same is essential. He feels that the employees are the flag bearers of the organization who ensure that the values are applied consistently from top to bottom, across all departments.
As primary chronicler of the story of his company, it is also important for Narayan to attract an audience and stakeholders for the narrative- this includes gathering investors who believe in his vision and want to partner to manifest it. It also includes looking after public affairs and ensuring that they are in consonance with all the developments and debates to make the SME sector grow by leaps and bounds.
Proper Delegation
Narayan states that by having great deputies in the right place, organizational activities can be smoothly conducted. He says that he was lucky enough to have found a great Senior Management for the company to head each department. Each of these distinguished professionals has outstanding experience in their line of work and most importantly, make a great team. They along with their respective teams ensure smooth and seamless business operations of the company, leaving him to focus on growth and expansion plans.
Facing Challenges Head-On
Narayan asserts that while other companies have a sale oriented approach, Power2SME’s business model revolves strictly around the problems an Indian SME faces in working. The very conception of the company was to eliminate the primary hurdles and then gradually expand to address the other issues. They keep SMEs at the heart of the company’s affairs and move forward. With the objective of reaching SMEs across India, they are rapidly expanding operations across the country.
Secrets of a Successful Leader
As per Narayan, good leaders need to instill faith in their beliefs and stand by their guns. They need to be a dreamer and a doer at the same time; without one, the other would fail. They need to be great communicators and get the real message across with minimal effort- both to their team and clients- that includes communicating facts that are hard to take. A good leader takes all responsibility, whether the repercussions are good or bad.
Trailblazing Through the Industry
Power2SME’s service works to address the need gap across two critical areas for SMEs: raw material sourcing at best market price on Power2SME.com and working capital requirements via FinanSME.com. Power2SME also caters to the growing demand for MRO goods (Maintenance, Repair and Operations) through its third platform called SMEshops.com.
Power2SME.com functions as a ‘buying club’ and help SMEs benefit from economies of scale as a result of volume purchase and buying power across a large network of manufacturers.
FinanSME.com is an online lending platform built and designed by Power2SME to help SMEs with easy access to financial institutes for various types of loan requirements.
SMEshops.com is the most user-friendly virtual marketplace to buy & sell goods online for SMEs in India and is one stop provider for all SME MRO (Maintenance, repair and operations) needs.
Marching Ahead
Under the astute leadership of R Narayan, Power2SME has hired a pan-India team so that they can cater to multiple regions for multiple product categories. They attract employees from core sectors like steel, metal, paints etc., and the infusion of talent is helping them to rapidly scale their revenues.
Narayan considers 2020 a big year for the company: he intends to make Power2SME a Rs 6,000 crore company and hopes to take the company public by then. He wants to establish a self-sufficient SME ecosystem and is willing do whatever it takes to get there.
He says that the manufacturing SME sector’s contribution to India’s GDP is expected to increase from the present 8% to 12% by 2020. Realizing the enormous opportunity that the SME sector presents for economic and social welfare and its potential to transform India’s business landscape, the government has conceived various campaigns (Make in India, Startup India etc.) and policies that will have a long-term impact on the economy.
The company operates out of 21 cities in India. Narayan plans to make Power2SME bigger and better.
Advice for Budding Entrepreneurs
Narayan feels that the life expectancy of companies is upwards of 200 years. He advises emerging businesspersons to build enterprises that outlast them. He also suggests that they keep innovating to make sure that they are moving with the time. He says that persistence is the core ingredient for success.
R Narayan – An Assiduous Leader with an Innovative Streak
