Going Horizontal (Part 2 of 2)

Even if you find a business that’s ready to sell and you close the deal, you need to tread lightly and be very smart about how you merge them together.

It’s often the case that you will have to let some employees go from either side, and you want to be careful about switching brands on the new business’ customer base.

Their customers will already have questions of trust with the ownership changing hands, and you can really rock the boat by making too many changes too quickly. Treat those customers as a flight risk until you have proven to them that you can add value and make their lives better.

A “Roll Up” strategy is a common way to grow your business by way of Horizontal Integration.

If you have a strong brand and solid operations, then you can seek out similar businesses that are weak where you’re strong and roll them up into your business.

This typically involves rebranding the new company as your brand and implementing your Standard Operating Procedures into their crew.

If you have successfully taken this trail all the way to the summit, what you will see in the long run is a single business that has grown faster than you ever could by simply increasing your marketing spend. You may have even learned a few tricks along the way that you would not have otherwise discovered: new methods, processes, philosophies, perspectives or even found new suppliers to work with.

Is going horizontal the right path for you?

This is from Trail 11 of Profit Hiker: 11 Trails to gain lasting elevation in your business. Find the book right here and the program over there.