What's a Business For? and Attitude On Money

Why is virtue and integrity so vital to an economy? Virtue is defined as behavior showing high moral standards. Integrity is having strong moral principles.  In the article titled "What's a business for?" by Charles Handy he states that rules and laws depend on truth and trust. When there are lies and mistrust, no one will want to do business with you. The savings of society creates wealth will be compromised. The government will then be the one to bail us out of the predicament we have put ourselves into. Trust, once broken, will never be the same. He said that the real justification of the existence of businesses is to make a profit so that the business can do something more or better.

Two solutions proposed by Charley Handy that I agree with is that for businesses to find better ways to keep good employees. Parental leave when parents are adopting or giving birth to a new child, sabbaticals, and shorter work weeks.  By doing this, the businesses are placing value on their employees and in turn will receive more productive workers with more innovation and productivity. 

Adapting technologies to find ways to reach their product to countries via refrigeration and financial services. The motivation is to serve the customers who may be neglected. 

From the article, Attitude on Money by Stephen W. Gibson it says that "money is a big part of what we must all think about, plan for, and, yes, even work hard to earn the money for our needs." Money is neither good nor evil, but it has great power. What we do with the excess money reveals what kind of person we are. The way I view money can affect the way I live by what I choose to spend it on or to save it. Am I spending all of my money on me, giving to others, or saving for a rainy day or a mixture of all?

Attitude on Money mentions how Stephen Gibson and his wife taught returned missionaries from third world countries where they created a center of learning and created a curriculum based on their 25 Rules of Thumb. I was curious what that was and found this. These steps will help me as I venture out on creating my own business.

  By Stephen W. Gibson http://addoptions.org/wisdom/25_rules_of_thumb.php

1.     Sell What the Market Will Buy - Solving a critical, recurring problem is the best way to create a business.

2.     Practice Separate Entities - Keep personal and business money separate.

3.     Start Small, Think Big - Learn basics when small and less costly. Then grow.

4.     Be Nice Later – Don’t give your product or business capital away to friends and relatives.

5.     Keep Good Records - Success comes from beating yesterday’s sales and profit records.

6.     Pay Yourself A Salary - This eliminates taking cash out of the business for living expenses.

7.     Buy Low, Sell High - The bigger the difference, the greater the potential profit.

8.     Don’t Eat Your Inventory - Consuming inventory or seed capital will kill your business fast.

9.     Use Multiple Suppliers - Negotiating with several suppliers for the best price is critical to success.

10. Buy on Credit, Sell for Cash - Selling product before payment is due increases cash flow.

11. Purchase in Bulk - Suppliers usually sell products cheaper if purchased in volume.

12. Use Suggestive Selling - Suggest to each customer other items they might like or need.

13. Increase Sales, Decrease Costs - As the gap grows bigger, net profits also grow bigger.

14. Turn Your Inventory Often - Profit is made every time inventory is priced right and sold.

15. Value Your Customers - Keeping them coming back and buying more is a key to success.

16. Differentiate Your Business - Give customers a reason to return; better, cheaper, faster.

17. Hire Slow, Fire Fast - Screen potential employees carefully. Terminate bad hires quickly.

18. Inspect More, Expect Less - Consistent performance comes from inspecting not expecting.

19. Have Written Agreements with partners, suppliers, landlords and employees.

20. Work on your business 10 hours a day, five and a half days a week. Anything less is a hobby.

21. Practice Kaizen - Kaizen means continual improvement. This is vital to income growth.

22. Make Profit Every Day - If a workdays goes by without profit, it’s a loss

23. Work on Your Business, Not Just in Your Business - Stand back and watch, then fix.

24. Write Daily/Weekly Business Goals - Stretching for more will move business forward faster.

25. Focus, Focus, Focus - A concentrated effort in one venture pays huge returns.

Rules recommended to prosper.

Rule 1. Seek the Lord and have hope in him 

Rule 2. Keep the commandments, that includes the temporal ones, tithing and fast offerings. 

Rule 3. Think about money and plan how you can become self-reliant. 

Rule 4. Take advantage of chances for learning so you will not be ignorant of these matters. Education, as President Hinckley has taught us, is the Key to Opportunity.

Rule 5. Learn the laws upon which the blessings of wealth are predicated. 

Rule 6. Do not send away the naked, the hungry, the thirsty or the sick or those who are held captive. 

Reading both of these articles got me thinking about the great influence I can have in the lives of my family and those around me. When I use my business as a way to better the world, I will have achieved the goal of becoming who God wants me to become. Honesty and integrity are vital in the success of any business. Our attitude on money can make or break us as well. Having a healthy outlook on money can be achieved by creating and continuing to have good habits and to always show gratitude.