Business strategy in plain words

Every business sits on a ladder. Know your rung, then climb.

This site is for Indian small-business owners and people about to start one. No management-school words, no foreign case studies. Just how money is made at each level of business in India, and what it takes to move up.

By Manoj Sahukar, founder of Curiosta

1Trader
Buy and sell goods or services others make. FMCG distribution, kirana supply.
1. 1.1 No-stock seller
2. 1.2 Shop / retailer
3. 1.3 Wholesaler / distributor
4. 1.4 Super stockist / C&F
5. 1.5 Importer / exporter
Explore level 1 →
2Dealer
Authorised seller of one big brand in an area. Tyres, auto parts.
1. 2.1 Sub-dealer
2. 2.2 Authorised dealer
3. 2.3 3S dealer
4. 2.4 Dealer group
5. 2.5 Master franchise
Explore level 2 →
3Manufacturer
Make the product yourself: to another brand's design (as a contract manufacturer or supplier), or a standard commodity.
1. 3.1 Job work
2. 3.2 Contract manufacturing
3. 3.3 Tier 2 / Tier 1 supplier
4. 3.4 Commodity / bulk
5. 3.5 Own brand (OEM)
Explore level 3 →
4New products and services
Sell something new, through technology transfer or technology you create.
1. 4.1 Licensee
2. 4.2 Product startup
3. 4.3 Own R&D + patents
4. 4.4 Deep tech
Explore level 4 →

Each step up usually needs more money, more skill and more patience, and can give you more control over your own price.

The four levels, simply

What each level is, where its profit comes from, and how to climb

1. TraderYou buy goods or services that many others also sell, and pass them on to the next buyer without changing them much. A distributor supplying soap, biscuits and oil to kirana shops, a wholesaler of rice and pulses, a steel or cement trader, a contractor supplying workers or transport.
Where the profit comes fromA small margin on each sale, earned again and again. How fast your money comes back matters as much as the margin.
What usually goes wrongMoney gets stuck: stock that does not move, and customers who pay late. Sales look good while the bank account runs dry.
What it takes to climbA tight grip on who owes you what, a name for paying suppliers on time, and a loyal set of customers in an area. That is what big brands look for in a dealer.
Practise: Business math for traders, with worked examples and quizzes
2. DealerYou become the authorised seller of a large manufacturing brand in your area: a tyre dealership, an authorised auto-parts dealer, a paint or two-wheeler dealer. The brand's name brings customers to your counter.
Where the profit comes fromThe margin the brand allows, bonuses for meeting the brand's sales targets, and service work you add on top, such as fitting, repair or installation.
What usually goes wrongYou start depending on one company's policies. Chasing targets fills your godown with stock, and the brand can change the rules.
What it takes to climbDeep knowledge of the product and of what customers complain about, plus savings and discipline. Many makers start by making something they once sold.
Practise: Business math for dealers, with worked examples and quizzes
3. ManufacturerYou run a factory and make the product. Two common types: OEM supply, where you make parts or products to another company's design for their brand, and commodity manufacturing, where you make a standard product, like boxes, bars or granules, that many others also make.
Where the profit comes fromOEM supply: steady orders, and making each piece with less waste and fewer rejections. Commodity: the gap between your cost and the market price.
What usually goes wrongOEM supply: one big buyer can decide your price, unless what you make is hard to replace. Commodity: the market decides your price, and raw material costs swing.
What it takes to climbYour own skills in design and quality, a real customer problem worth solving, and access to new technology, bought or built.
Practise: Business math for manufacturers, with worked examples and quizzes
4. New products and servicesYou sell something customers cannot easily get elsewhere: a new product or service, usually built on technology licensed from a lab or institute, or technology you develop yourself.
Where the profit comes fromBeing different. When only you offer something useful, you have more say in the price, until others catch up.
What usually goes wrongSomething that worked in a lab does not work in a factory, or nobody wants to pay for it. It takes longer and costs more than planned.
What comes nextKeep renewing what you sell, and use the lower levels well: you still need good making, selling and cash discipline.
Practise: Business math for new products and services, with worked examples and quizzes

Self-evaluation

Which level do you want to build?

A short set of questions about what you want and what you are ready to commit: money, risk, stock, time, people, and whether you want your own brand or factory. It suggests the level that fits you best, and what that path asks of you. It runs in your browser; nothing is sent or saved.

Take the self-evaluation →

Calendar

Business events in India

Trade fairs, expos and industry meetings for each level, from government, government-recognised and industry organisers, plus key business dates such as advance tax, the GST annual return and the Union Budget.

See the calendar →

Ideas from books

Good business books, in plain words

Ideas from business books, credited to their authors, explained in everyday language and applied to each level with an Indian example. First up: Street Smarts by Norm Brodsky and Bo Burlingham, on cash, margins, collecting what you are owed, customers and building a business worth owning.

Read the ideas →

How to read this site

Three promises

Plain wordsIf a business-school term is unavoidable, it is explained in everyday language the first time it appears. See plain words.

Indian examples, in rupeesKirana shops, district-town dealers, small factories in industrial estates. Lakh and crore, not dollars.

No made-up numbersWhere an example uses numbers, it is labelled Hypothetical so you know it is there to show the arithmetic, not to report a fact.

Now live

How the levels connect, in mind maps

The four levels are not separate worlds. Every product passes through them on its way from raw material to customer. The new mind maps show where goods, money and technology flow between all 19 sub-levels, where the money gets split, how businesses climb from one level to the next, and two example chains: a packet of biscuits and a two-wheeler part.

See the mind maps →

Also live: business math for every level

Plain-words refreshers with standard formulas, worked rupee examples and instant-feedback quizzes: trader, dealer, manufacturer and new products and services.