What Can We Learn from Sunil Vaswani’s Approach to Business?

Chairman of the Stallion Group, his strategic minds have catapulted the company into becoming one of the largest conglomerates in the country, with experience ranging from commodities to automotive distribution, agriculture, and steel manufacturing. The life story of this entrepreneur is a treasure trove of lessons; it includes reflection for those who are aspiring entrepreneurs and a good lesson for seasoned executives.

Born in India, brought up in Nigeria and educated in London, Vaswani’s diverse background moulds his view on doing business across the globe. Taking over at his father’s Nigerian trading business at an age of 21, he made the venture into a worldwide conglomerate headquartered in Dubai. The art to understand and adapt to different markets across continents, particularly Asia, the Middle East, and Africa, is one of his success factors. The greatest strength of Vaswani’s business philosophy stands out in his global vision. His readiness to look to international markets and the kind of diversification his company portfolio represents has protected Stallion Group against regional market fluctuations, thereby ensuring constant growth. The lessons for businessmen are stark: think beyond local markets, take a cosmopolitan approach, and find new possibilities that lie within possibilities themselves while somehow inoculating one against risk.

Vaswani also had his share of setbacks during his career. He encountered a case in the courts of Nigeria in 2003, but this only briefly saw him deported out. No case occurred against him, and he was allowed back into the country a heroic sign of his endurance. Instead of letting these challenges derail his career, Vaswani swooped around and shifted the group’s headquarters to Dubai, a master stroke that has spread the group’s footprint across the Middle East and Africa. Another critical take-away from Vaswani’s style of approach is that no one is hard set in such adverse conditions. Business leaders can learn the ability to be agile, to review tactics every time someone gets beaten, and to find ways to grow even in when they are faced with adversity.

Diversification is one of the most critical aspects of Sunil Vaswani’s approach to business. Stallion Group is functionally engaged in an incredibly wide range of sectors, starting from commodities and food products to steel manufacturing, automobile distribution, and petrochemicals. Diversification has been one of the most important factors leading to the success of this group. By diversifying investments across several industries, Vaswani has curtailed the risks involved with a single revenue stream. This strategy underlines the basis of necessity behind diversification for aspiring entrepreneurs. Apart from unlocking new streams of revenue sources, diversification in other sectors protects against volatility in the particular industry it is operating in.

Strategic alliances and family participation are known to be beneficial to Vaswani as well. His two younger brothers, Haresh and Mahesh, play key roles within the company and help manage several of its divisions. Such close family participation helped maintain a strong and stable leadership structure. At the same time, Vaswani knows the importance of creating third-party partnerships. The essence of success that Stallion Group has gained is basically due to some international brands and governments across various countries where it has its operation. And with these lessons learned, one comes to realize having trustworthy partners and solid teams with which to surround oneself to propel business growth.

The most vital lesson from the business journey of Vaswani is the emphasis on long-term growth. He has always been consistent in their pursuit of strategies that assure the sustainable growth of Stallion Group over and above fast revenues. Value creation for long periods rather than short-term gains becomes an important aspect in any successful business.

Investing in long-term industries, like agriculture and steel manufacturing, ensures that Vaswani’s company remains competitive for decades. It also points out how important patience and long-term planning are to build a solid business legacy.