The true power of a network of business who support each other and launch a concerted approach on the market can be witnessed through the most established of industries, including the entertainment sector, the media and what are now well-known, big brands. Throw in the many different institutions in existence and that just about completes the picture of the perfect storm by way of how business support networks sustain each other and create wealth together.

It might sound overly negative to look at it from an us-versus-them point of view, but perhaps that’s the kind of negativity required to put one’s finger on exactly how this works. This is some information you’ll definitely need if you’re planning to make a success out of any business endeavours you have planned.

How are business support networks formed?

Business support networks don’t just form through the gravitation of certain businesses with each other. They form by design. This is why solo entrepreneurs who come into certain markets often feel as if there are some very strong established forces working against them, trying to keep them out of what are indicatively potentially lucrative markets.

Normally a new limb of the growing typical business support network forms as a result of one market in the network identifying a gap for expansion, which is precisely why you get multinational companies that started out doing one thing but are now active in so many different sectors, some of which are seemingly unrelated. To make a simple example, a fast-food restaurant chain may have a hand in the formation of a brand new business which supplies them with GMO ingredients to cover the demand across their growing chain of fast-food outlets. In this case it would be by some good fortune and chance that a GMO company was independently formed and therefore stepped up to fill the gap. Otherwise an established member of the business support network usually has a hand in the establishment of the new business to join the network.

Breaking into established business support networks

If your entrepreneurial style doesn’t quite fully resemble that of a complete maverick then you have a good chance of breaking into established business support networks. All you’d have to do is try to enter with an offering of a product or service that is complementary to the offerings of the established businesses forming part of the network. Don’t come in as a competitor. For example, the entertainment business as it exists in a specific market you might be targeting likely already has a talent pool they draw on and they’re probably already aligned with a media channel through which to get their offerings to market, so instead of trying to be a fresh talent agency of a media outlet, you’d perhaps come into that network by offering technology consultation services, just for an example.

When the true power of how a business support network comes to the fore, what you’ll realise is that basically one customer enters the network and spends money with all the players of the network. Find your place in one such network and you’ll never want for profits again.