Salesforce acquisition strategy just made headlines again as they bought Informatica for $8 billion.
Another monster move in the tech world, right? Something for the suits on Wall Street and the large corporates.
Wrong.
This deal should snap you awake. Not because you’re trying to be Salesforce, but because they just played a move you can play too.
They didn’t just buy a company. They increased the value of their own company.
Not by selling more. Not by launching a product. By using acquisition as a growth strategy as a means to sure up a capability within their own company.
And here’s the kicker: That play isn’t just available to billion-dollar corporations. It’s available to you—if you start viewing your business as an asset.
Most Business Owners Are Playing the Wrong Game
Let’s call it what it is:
Most low to mid-market business owners are still playing the sales game. Hustling. Chasing growth. Driving revenue.
It’s not bad—it’s just incomplete.
Salesforce isn’t hustling harder. They’re playing a different game:
They’re growing the value of their asset—and using acquisition to do it.
When they bought Informatica, they weren’t just buying tech. They were buying customers, market share, capability, and synergy that could increase their overall valuation.
That’s not “corporate strategy.” That’s owner-investor thinking.
And it’s a mindset shift most small business owners have never been taught.
The Shift: From Operator to Asset Manager
Your business isn’t just a source of income. It’s a living, breathing asset. One that can be grown, acquired, merged, or sold.
But only if you stop seeing it as “just a business” and start managing it like Salesforce manages theirs.
That shift unlocks two things:
- You build something worth buying
- You build something capable of buying
Most owners think they need millions in the bank to acquire another company. You don’t.
There are countless ways to finance deals:
- Seller financing
- Performance-based earnouts
- Bank or SBA loans
- Strategic partnerships
If your business is profitable, and your systems are solid, you can grow by acquisition. And in many cases, it’s faster and cheaper than trying to market your way to the next level.
Let’s Break Down Salesforce’s Strategy
Salesforce didn’t buy Informatica to save it. They bought it because it extended their capabilities. More data integration. More customers. More leverage.
That’s the move.
They didn’t increase their revenue through hustle. They increased their valuation through acquisition.
Here’s what made them able to:
- Strong recurring revenue
- Operational systems and a capable leadership team
- Integration readiness
- Clear strategic vision
Now flip that mirror around. What would make you capable of acquiring another business?
The same things.
Small Business Owners Can Acquire Too
You don’t need $8B. But what if you could:
- Acquire a struggling competitor with a great customer base?
- Fold in another service line without starting from scratch?
- Buy talent and delivery systems instead of hiring one by one?
Those aren’t hypotheticals. They’re real moves we’ve seen service-based business owners make—even at $2M or $3M in annual revenue.
If you’re sitting on healthy profit, a great team, and decent systems—you have leverage. You can grow horizontally.
And you don’t need to guess. There are playbooks.
Think Like a Wealth Builder, Not a Worker
Workers think: “How do I make more this month?” Wealth builders ask: “How do I increase the value of my asset this year?”
That includes:
- Improving EBITDA
- Building recurring revenue streams
- Reducing owner dependency
- Expanding through smart acquisition
You don’t need to build it all yourself. You just need to stop thinking of yourself as the technician and start thinking like a portfolio manager.
What If You Played Salesforce’s Game at Your Level?
Imagine this: You buy a small local competitor for $500K, 50% financed by the seller. You instantly gain:
- Their customers
- Their team
- Their contracts
You increase your top-line revenue. You cut duplicative costs. And in 12 months, you’ve increased your EBITDA by 30%.
That’s not just growth. That’s wealth creation.
This is what Salesforce is doing at scale. And it’s exactly what you could be doing if you saw your business not as a grind machine—but as a growth engine.
Stop Saying “That’s Not for Me”
Most small business owners count themselves out of the acquisition game.
But the truth is:
- You already have systems that work
- You already have a customer base
- You already know your market better than some outsider VC
You don’t need to invent a new path. You just need to give yourself permission to play a bigger one.
Acquisitions aren’t just for tech CEOs. They’re for the owner who’s tired of growing 10% per year.
How to Start Thinking Like an Asset Manager
Here’s what we coach our clients to do inside Big Life Financial:
- Audit your business for acquirable readiness: Do you have the systems that enable you to not be in the day to day?
- Enhance your Intangible Capitals: The 4 capitals not seen on a P&L, but can account for up to 70% of a businesses value
- Build a Target Acquisition Profile: Who do you want to acquire? What type of business? How much time do you have to put into it?
- Build a Sourcing System: Declare it the world that you are looking to acquire. create systems for how you reach out to businesses and brokers.
This Isn’t Corporate. It’s Smart.
You don’t need to become Salesforce. But you can learn from how they’ve shifted their mindset:
From “run a business” to “grow an asset.”
They’re using acquisitions to scale. And that tool is sitting right in front of you too.
The Bottom Line
Salesforce didn’t hustle harder. They played smarter. They pulled the owner-investor lever.
So can you.
Start thinking like an asset manager. Start viewing acquisitions as a growth strategy. Start playing the next level of the game.
Because once you do? You don’t just grow.
You build something worth acquiring—and something capable of acquiring.
That’s how wealth that aligns with your inner most desires becomes real.