Let's talk about business. You hear the word all the time and people always using it in many different ways. But what really is a business and why is it important? Why should you be focused on developing your own business verses simply getting a job and calling it a day? Why do most businessmen usually make more money and have more free time than employees? Why are some businesses built on fraud and trickery while others are build on quality and value? These are essential questions worth considering while pursuing a search for a good understanding of just what a business really is.
What business is
At the core, business is basically an extension of yourself. Business is a piece of yourself that you share with the world. It is something that you
Business doesn't start with looking for money or riches. That is almost the last thing on the mind of a real businessman. Henry Ford wasn't looking for riches when he created the Model T. He was simply looking to create a machine who's time had come. Bill Gates wasn't looking to strike it rich when he created Microsoft Windows for the computer. He was looking to create an intuitive and functional way for a human to interface with the hardware on a computer. Sergey Brin and Larry Page weren't looking for riches when they created Google. Far from it. They were looking to organize the world's information and give people access to all the world's collection information on demand.
What you should take away from all this is that the first thing on a real businessman's mind is never profit, fame or riches. While these things certainly may have their place and time, they are not the core of any real business. They are simply results of a good business. At the core of a good business is always an extension of the person behind it. It is a part of that person. It is that person doing what they want to do. It is that person becoming so frustrated and so filled with a creative energy to pursue something that they see as needed that they finally decide to go out and do it. Business is an idea who's time has come. Business is an active search towards discovering all the parts and pieces needed to turn your unique value into something that is tangible and real to others. This is what business really is.
What business is not
Most businesses are not what a business should be. Most businesses are not focused on solving problems, pursuing passions, helping people or providing value. Most businesses are built on making money. This is not what business should be. This is a perversion of business. This is why so many people get pissed at Capitalism and say that it has failed.
Business should not be based on money. That is a part of business but not the main part. Most businesses have this wrong because the people running the business are not following their passion or trying to solve a problem. They are simply trying to make money. I could go on all day naming these types of businesses - they are everywhere.
Now I totally understand why these businesses do focus on money. It is obviously important. A businesses needs money to stay afloat. Capital is an essential part to the operations of a business. But again, it should never be the focus. Capital comes as a result of providing value, but value does not necessarily come as a result of capital. You can't buy true creativity or passion. But you can create money with creativity and passion.
Conclusion
What I'm getting at is that business should be a much more personal and creative thing than people make it. It shouldn't be about all the corporate BS that people love to go around toting. It shouldn't be about nice cars, fancy offices or any of these surface things. It should be about creative people tacking problems they are passionate about. If this is the goal, everything else will fall into place.