Money and People

Posted on: January 28th, 2021

Business owners have always carried concerns and responsibilities that few can understand.  But now the burden of managing money and people has increased in significant ways.

The impact of the pandemic, the unpredictability of the economy, and the uncertainty of our political environment have left no business unchanged.  At the beginning of this new year, we thought it would be helpful to step back and ask again, “Why do I own a business?”

Reality: Money and People

It takes money and people to own a business. That’s the reality.  Take away one of those things and you have something else. That might sound oversimplified but everything in business comes back to money and people.

It takes money and people to create a product or service.

• You then need customers, who are people, to buy that product or service, using money.
• To own a business, you need an understanding of your product or service, and an understanding of your customers’ needs.
• If your customers are other businesses, you need a way to relate to them and earn their trust.
• If your customers are the general public, you need a brand that to which they can relate and a way to get your product to them.

This may be obvious to you, but it applies to every business we’ve ever seen.

• If your business provides certain services (for example financial services), your people often need special certifications. With these certifications come other responsibilities and costs. You submit yourself to someone else’s authority to be a credible authority yourself. You agree to play by their rules in exchange for gaining credibility.
• Your business needs access to resources or materials, and to markets. And you need the equipment, processes, or both, that connect the two. If you manufacture something, you need relationships with vendors. If you perform a service, you need the people with that experience or who can be trained in that service.
• And you need to understand what you can charge for your product or service, what you can pay for those resources people, and still make a profit.

All of this takes money, and all of this involves people.

Money and people come with their own challenges and opportunities. They are an inseparable part of how you run your business.  But that’s not the reason why you own your business.  If your why is only money, you shortchange your people.  And if your why is only people, you will inevitably lose money.

The real reason why you own a business must be a combination of the two.  That’s what we’ll look at next.

At MLA we believe business is the foundation for much of what is good in the world. Businesses can increase growth, develop people and improve our lives.

But with people and growth come problems. These problems must be solved for any business to reach its potential.

We can help you rediscover your reason for owning a business. That’s what we mean by Business Redeemed.