Business is all around us, whether we own a business, work for a business, or support a business, it is a part of our lives.
It’s interesting learning about what business is and why people do business, there are thousands of whys behind businesses.
For some it’s all about the money, making more money, getting rich, right?
But, at the core of all business is service, even if you are in it for the money.
Business is about serving, whether we love it or hate it.
Businesses provide services that lead to experiences – it touches on the fundamental nature of being human.
Being human is to serve, to connect, to be in community.
We serve others in so many ways, including ourselves, to enhance a need or desire.
The heart of business is to help others succeed in their needs and desires.
I watched a movie once where the main character’s dad said something about why they built their company, that it was to cultivate friendship and family.
Business is about connection, and anyone starting one with values like connection, service, and family will make an impact.
People are behind every business, and people are driven by emotions, desires, needs, wants, dreams, hopes, fears, and visions for more.
Starting any business will require thinking about the people and their needs, putting service first, because that will keep it going.
Yes, money is important, but ultimately money will mean more when the business means more than just profits.
The funny thing about the word “business” is that it has roots in the Old English word bisignes, which means “anxiety”, “care”, and “occupation”. This is rooted in the word bisig, which also means “anxious”, “busy”, “occupied”, and so forth, but the main idea here is the concept of being busy.
Reportedly, the word business was used in terms of a trade during the 1700s.
The word has a long history, with several meanings shaped by different contexts.
While this is a brief and surface-level description of the word, what is funny about it is that it has associations with anxiety.
How many of us experience anxiety because of the businesses we are in, and this does not have to relate to trade, it can also relate to our personal business with family and friends, our emotional business, our mental business, you get the idea.
So if we go back to the notion of business being about service and work with that as the intention to succeed we might stand a chance to better our wellbeing.
Being in service is not about draining ourselves of everything we have, giving everything we have to everyone else.
Being of service is about enhancing ourselves by helping others succeed in their desires and needs.
Whether you have a business idea or are already in business, why are you doing it? How will it serve others – through a product or service? What will it help others achieve?