"If you want to grow, find a good opportunity. Today, if you want to be a great company, think about what social problems you could solve"
~Jack Ma
All of us have heard about the term business, from business news to reality shows, where you pitch in your business idea and based on the feasibility and demand, get investment from the judges, influential billionaires who became successful after establishing their own companies to small grocery stores, which take care of your daily needs. We are all engulfed in the world of business, but we know so less about it.
When you hear the term business, what comes to your mind? Do you think about MNCs like Apple and Microsoft or franchises in nearby malls, the person sitting in your society's supermarket, or the peddlers who come to your door? Business is everything combined, anyone who can satisfy people's needs and wants along with earning a profit, and supplying goods or services regularly can enter into business transactions. And no matter what kind of importance we give to such activities, they form the lifeline of our economy.
People have different demands and these demands can be fulfilled by entrepreneurs only, when they put their thinking caps on and ponder about how to solve such problems without incurring losses, they end up doing wonders. They not only fulfill the needs of people but also generate employment opportunities for the whole nation. They not only benefit themselves but also benefit others in the process. People who work there are able to earn money and fulfill their own and their family's needs, the continuous exchange of money makes sure that monetary transactions are continuously taking place in the economy, the government also generated revenue by direct and indirect taxes, people who lend or invest in such business end up making a lot of money if the business blooms and last but not the least, when companies are engaged in CSR activities they benefit the environment and poor as well.
It is interesting how the interconnection forms such a strong network together that we barely stop to appreciate the importance of solving problems and the 'out-of-the-box' thinking of our entrepreneurs. And it is not only the big inventions that matter, but also the small ones like businesses involved in social media management or the content creators, who are taking the legacy forward. It's these entrepreneurs who act as fuel to the machine called the economy.
And sometimes they get greedy, start overvaluing a particular discovery, and get involved in activities, which have catastrophic effects, like the great recession of 2008 or the Recession of 2001. But even after all this, we can't ignore the overall positive impact, which they have in our lives.
So next time, you stumble upon any business, just take a moment to appreciate the hand behind it, the person who had the courage to think differently, and the economy, which has supported this system.