Serious Biz Question: Big Fish / Little Fish?

ThrobX · 08-24-2005

Tough question to answer, because there are so many more variables. In general, I'd rather be a small fish in a big pond, for three reasons:

A] greater growth potential;

B] smaller operations have an easier time quickly shifting gears and exploiting new opportunities that present themselves; and

C] small fish tend to have a larger number of big fish who can buy them out (if you're a "build and flip" kind of person).

But it really depends on how big the "pond" is, how many other small fish and big fish there are, etc. If you're a big fish in a very small pond, it's easy to dominate today, but where can you go tomorrow? You may have low growth potential, as well as few who could buy you out. Once you eat all the small fish, you have no more food and you starve a slow death. If I were in a small pond, maybe I'd want to be a medium fish.

I guess maybe the best business for a big fish in a small pond is to sell fish food, so you eat at wholesale and sustain all the small fish?

View Poll Results: What's the Best Direction for Business ROI?
Big fish in little pond	6	60.00%
Little fish in giant ocean	4	40.00%
Voters: 10. You may not vote on this poll

08-24-2005	#14
ThrobX Members Join Date: Dec 2002 Posts: 431	Re: Serious Biz Question: Big Fish / Little Fish? Tough question to answer, because there are so many more variables. In general, I'd rather be a small fish in a big pond, for three reasons: A] greater growth potential; B] smaller operations have an easier time quickly shifting gears and exploiting new opportunities that present themselves; and C] small fish tend to have a larger number of big fish who can buy them out (if you're a "build and flip" kind of person). But it really depends on how big the "pond" is, how many other small fish and big fish there are, etc. If you're a big fish in a very small pond, it's easy to dominate today, but where can you go tomorrow? You may have low growth potential, as well as few who could buy you out. Once you eat all the small fish, you have no more food and you starve a slow death. If I were in a small pond, maybe I'd want to be a medium fish. I guess maybe the best business for a big fish in a small pond is to sell fish food, so you eat at wholesale and sustain all the small fish?