EconStra, Maintaining ‘Economy’ at par with Custom Business ‘Strategies’ For Growth

EconStra, Maintaining 'Economy' at par with Custom Business 'Strategies' For Growth

Last few decades have been crucial for the Indian economy where it had been modernized with the emergence of globalization and technology. Different industries have been remodelled and revolutionized for the better, while others have entered the business scenarios. Novel products and services, company and work cultures, economic situations, national and international political policies, and various other aspects have been adopted by these industries and that brings the need for solid business strategies and implementation. Business leaders and management are turning to expert consultants to guide and direct their business with customized strategies for success in short as well as the long run. EconStra, a diversified business consultancy firm has been serving companies including diverse industrial businesses for the past 10 years.

The Indian MSME (Micro Small and Medium Enterprises) sector has been the backbone of the national economic structure of the country contributing to the economy as a shock absorber from the global economic conditions and adversities. EconStra, a company that integrates 'Economic' and market conditions to build a customized business 'Strategies' for MSMEs, NGOs and MNCs across the country in different industries. With around 60+ million units throughout the country, the company has been standing out as a successful brand overcoming the challenges and failures and learning from them is the key.

Under the leadership of the visionary and Managing Director Arunavaa D Bajpayi's, EconStra performs industry practices to ensure cordial economic and strategic relationships in the long run. CEO Magazine had a conversation with the business leader to know how his brand adds value to businesses.

The CEO Magazine: How would you describe your entrepreneurial journey and initial challenges?

Arunavaa Bajpayi: Entering the world of entrepreneurship at an early age and being in the consultancy industry especially in India, "Acceptance" has been the biggest challenge for me.  The country believes in observing the 'grey' colour of the hair, rather the ability and skills of people to add value to their company. Having delivered to clients in New York where one looks forward to understanding the value you can add to their company, Indian business associates asked me with the question "where is your boss?" referring to the doubtfulness of my skills due to my young age.

 I have countered their arguments related to my age with a simple example of visiting a heart specialist that might be younger in the age but understands the anatomy better than them and applying the same theory in business, trained at Harvard with experience of working with top consultancy firms based out of New York, I can help my clients in a professional way. The journey of these 10 years has been a long one as we faced the same challenge finding partners for EconStra as we often witnessed that they had an uncertainty regarding the future of the business.

The CEO Magazine: When did the idea of founding a consultancy firm coin?

Arunavaa Bajpayi: The foundation of this global management consulting firm was laid down in 2010. Having started a venture while studying in Canada before Harvard, I realized the importance of a business strategy that is coherent and integrated into the company's framework especially the direction it gives to the business with resource utilization. Later, delivering to brands as a Strategic Consultant in New York, I recognized the potential market to serve the businesses with consultancy services and guiding them in operations and other departments assuring success leading to EconStra.

The CEO Magazine: What solutions are you offering as a consulting firm to your clientele?

Arunavaa Bajpayi: EconStra has satisfied 1500+ clients with its strategies that are based on a set of comprehensive research and different factors to deliver services like strategy consultancy, corporate finance consultants, and operations consultants along with various other segments:

• EconStra delivers Big Data services and uses market segmentation and predictive analytics to help the process by which analytics and data from customer behaviour are used in making key business decisions. The business utilizes this information for various purposes including customer relationship management, direct marketing, and site selection.
• The company delivers its clients with the Corporate Finance Consultancy with strategic transactional and financial counselling services along with independent judgment and a penetrative industrial and commercial approach. Maintaining the genuine objectivity of the client's future, we believe in not only focusing on the immediate consequence of the project but also the long term results.
• EconStra provides businesses with apposite counselling while reconstructing. The reconstruction of any brand via mergers or acquisition strategy should be well thought of and developed enduring the value creation plan. EconStra takes a systematic look at the corporate portfolio to determine which businesses fit or do not the agenda of the company and pursue with selling the company with a rationale of partnership, governance and organizational structure, etc to achieve its goals.
• Marketing and Sales are two essential components of any business model, ensuring that the product is sold in the market and a decent customer base is created. Marketing is used as a tool to empower the brand is approaching its target audience and generates sales. We have created successful marketing strategies for brands, regulating communication and classify the suitable marketing mix.
• Playing the role of Operation Consultant, we guide businesses from different industries to work towards better utilization of its resources to achieve the target operations or service delivery, models. We execute the cost reduction programs and business processes to boost the businesses growth.
• Every business aims at ensuring its best efforts when it comes to risk management. We do a complete risk analysis, observing risks, together with quality industry approach and a planned mindset and an efficient strategy we manage steadily the right risk-return trade-offs.
• EconStra has successfully established the goals and objectives of various clients via business strategy. Guiding business organization with market analysis, competitor analysis market segmentation, product placement, and market trend identification, EconStra devises business strategies and assists the top management to ensure the business can achieve goals of "increased productivity" and "efficiency" leading to increased "revenue".
• Franchising opportunities available with the brands are essential for them to grow into successful businesses. We help these businesses by providing them with the Franchise Consultancy services bridging the gap between the franchisee and franchiser keeping in mind various metrics including financial capabilities, modes of operation, area of interest and expertise, etc.

The CEO Magazine: What nature of clients are you associated with currently?

Arunavaa Bajpayi: EconStra is associated with various industries including transportation, consumer products, infrastructure, metal and mining, retail, telecommunications, digital marketing, logistics, e-commerce, healthcare, travel, automotive, land and property, media and entertainment, energy and utilities, pulp and paper, financial services, private equity including the new ventures and NGO and rural management.

The CEO Magazine: How does one acquire the status of 'the best consultant', what gives you an edge over your peers?

Arunavaa Bajpayi: If you visit any other portal, you will see that they are business consultants, project consultants or IT consultants but the problem is that they miss out the alignment of all three. We have a unique trademark product "Approach" which is the COD of business expansion. Expansion of any business is based on six components including BMS and ODS that are covered under "Expand" theory of EconStra.

Every business strategy is different depending on the industry. In the manufacturing plant, the need for marketing and branding would be less and sales and operations will take priority. In case of an FMCG, the focus will be on marketing and branding even before sales and closing. Depending on the industry, each segment is rated from 1 to 10 and a strategy is prepared to collaborate with different segments to guarantee a successful business strategy. Each of the factors stated under the theory used by EconStra answers a few questions that businesses should answer:

• Business Strategy: The business strategy helps you understand how to set the company vision, your competition and overcoming it, which business strategy that will help you attain more market share, business expansion strategy and various others expect.
• Marketing and Branding: This aspect answers the questions like: How much you should invest on outdoor marketing? Which marketing is innovative and cost-friendly that creates the most impact? The marketing mix, how to create a memorable brand? How to use digital media strategically?
• Selling: From questions like who will perform the sales to the attitude you need for selling, basic selling rules, closing strategy, handling a client, repeated sale, follow in the selling process and sell process, all selling related questions are answered by EconStra.

For every a successful business, having the ODS aspect covered along with the BMS helps in ensuring business growth in the long term.

• Organizational Design and Process: This part of the theory focuses on how the business will look in next 5 years, the motivation it needs and structure of business along with the strategic planning approach for the reporting system in the team, how to attract talented people in team, and how to remain motivated throughout the year.
• Digitalization of Business: This head covers the whole process of digitalization uplifting a business, challenges you must avoid, low-cost marketing, tracking business performance, next years of digitalization, who can get the most benefit and the optimum utilization of the digital wealth.
• Succession Plan: If the business is a family or a non-family run business, who will be second in command 10 years down the line? The succession plan includes preparing the leader, engaging leadership in supporting the development of high potential leaders, looking for the leader inside or outside the firm, preparing a database of staff performance for the job and finally a smooth transition of organizational power all comes under the this part of the theory.

The CEO Magazine: How do you contribute to Sustainable Growth of your business?

Arunavaa Bajpayi: With the emergence of the awareness regarding climate change, various companies have started adopting "Sustainable Growth" which simply put, means that the growth is ensured without harming the environment for future generations. The alterations of climate conservations and its gravity as a situation are understood by our clients and we ensure that they are enabled with the knowledge about the "climate" aspect of things in their operations. Dealing with various industries such as travel and logistics, bio-fuels, and financial services, we devise the strategy and help them incorporate opportunities through climate change strategy including carbon-efficient, low-carbon growth markets.

The CEO Magazine: How do you guide the "start-up clients?

Arunavaa Bajpayi: We help start-ups to set up their business and already established business support to grow further. The team prepares a comprehensive company business strategy taking into consideration financial capabilities to advise them about investment optimization, business planning, and funding opportunities marketing and promotions and other aspects of the business operations. At EconStra we provide businesses with the best Business Advisory Services which is specially customized for your specific business needs.

The CEO Magazine: What do you feel about the transformation of the industry?

Arunavaa Bajpayi: Digital Transformation has been taking place in the industry for a time. The traditional consulting firm is changing rapidly, there are not operating the same way they used to be. The companies can now track remotely the client's progress and how the business has been operating. They have access to the client's sales data by which they can help the client.

The CEO Magazine: With the current market scenario and falling of GDP to the lowest in the last 6 years, what would your take be on the current situation?

Arunavaa Bajpayi: Indian economy works on the approaching of "consuming its production", unlike countries like China which is depended on the US. Though the auto sector has taken the hit, overall I believe that we should not be stressed right now. As we saw after demonetization; our real estate also took a bad hit, but it recovered and now everything is moving at its pace. The Indian finance minister has already been coming up with a 2000 crore investment, once that money flows in people will be having more agility in the market. In a nutshell Indian is a stable country, we are not depended on any third party like China, the government spending has started and once that money will hit the market, the economic situation will improve. The next quarter will showcase a bit of stagnancy but it will not contract again.

The CEO Magazine: What would be your advice to young entrepreneurs as you have been one?

Arunavaa Bajpayi: When you look at the start-up percentage in India, it's almost 97 to 98%, my advice would be not to start-up only for the sake of starting up just because it is hype in India and everybody is starting up something. It is essential to understand that Start-up is not for everybody, the guys in the early '20s should understand that they don't "have to be" or "try to be" an entrepreneur just because others are.

The business I pursued was consulting that existed in India for years and not a fancy or hyped about business. It is essential to understand that those who have entrepreneurial qualities may fail and stand up to start again but those are trying to be one will eventually lower their self-equity and self-respect.

Get Help When Your Business Requires

Free Information and guidance available online will not always lead your business to success. EconStra has various clients who have implemented the techniques available on the internet for free to boost their business but ended up in a complete confusion state.

Arunavaa shares "Nowadays, from digital media and platforms like Youtube, people especially business owners are consuming more information as to how they should run their business, but they are unable to apply that in their business and failing miserably. It is essential to understand to take help of a "professional consultant" who can direct the business towards the success with "Guidance" and "Real-Life Mentoring"