06 Jul Business Is Not About What You Want

Let’s just be real about something here, business is not about what you want. It doesn’t care about your pains, dreams, your struggles, or your short comings. People get into business for many different reasons. Some want wealth, some want the challenge, and some want perceived importance (the last one is what I see the most often). But one thing is true, business has no loyalties. It takes its pound of flesh and spares no one. Okay, this is a bit drastic, but seriously, the name of the game is ROI (return on investment) and what you want is irrelevant in that arena.

To Business or Not to Business

Now disclaimer, does this mean I agree with how business is ran in order to succeed? That’s a big no, full stop. To do business on the extreme level often requires selfishness, greed, manipulation, and a lack of empathy for your fellow man. It is a competition in which those who take advantage of others win. These are not my values. These are not productive for long term growth or health. These do not make a nation or community strong or sustainable. These only breed destruction in the long run, but I am also a fan of the truth so let’s get back to the truth of business.

Business is about one thing and one thing only… money. Without money, you’re not in business. At that point, what you’re doing is charity work. This is a sad truth that I had to learn working at different companies and in multiple businesses of my own. A lot of times people want to make an impact in the market and make a difference only to have their dreams go up in flames since this simple reality of business was not respected.

Business Realities

Business is not about what you want to do, but rather what you need to do to produce positive ROI (either for yourself or for your investors). (Listen to the podcast episode on ROI) This is where most people go wrong. They want it done their way, on their time, based on how they feel. Business doesn’t wait for you to get your act together, it waits for no one. Trying to mold the predesigned reality of business to what your heart wishes is a fools errand, and an exhausting one at that. It’s better to go with the current than against it, if money is the direction you’re trying to go in. And if so, I hope you have a big paddle and floaties.

Business Supply vs Demand

One of the best lessons I learned in business was about supply and demand. A lot of people subscribe to the thought that there’s enough slices of pie for everyone. Logically that doesn’t even make sense unless you mathematically calculated this out when baking them or make more than needed which is wasteful. The situation is the same as it is in nature; resources are not infinite, they are finite, and in fact are often severely limited. Not everyone can win, and even if they could then the prize would be meaningless.

The prize to win in business is more capital than your competitors. To win over more customers willing to give you the money they sacrificed their time, energy, and health for so you can end up in the black at the end of the quarter. It is an exchange, and you cannot exchange what is no longer available. This means that as demand goes up, supply must increase and there’s high potential for profits. However, it also means that when the supply is too high for the demand, someone’s losing their biscuts. You just have to hope it isn’t you.

Emotions vs Business

The second very valuable lesson I learned in business is that if you bring your emotions into it, you’re a liability. This is something I see most often with new business owners. They are so passionate about their idea or product that they never stop and logically think, “Does my potential customer actually care?” And you’re lucky enough that they do care, “Are they willing to pay enough for it that it makes a profit?” Making emotional assumptions that people will want what you have to offer because you feel so strongly about it shows a lack of understanding of how the market operates, and quite frankly self-centeredness. It operates on what your customer wants, not what you want.

Business + Resources = Win

The last valuable lesson I want to impart on you is that there will always be someone with more resources. I tell you this because even if you have the magic ingredients of business understanding, a great product, and customers that want it; your success will only be as abundant as the capital available to you. You’re doing battle remember. If you want to do advertising, but your budget is only 1/20th of what your competitors is, good luck gaining market share quickly. I’m not saying you can’t if you’re not very, VERY creative, but that it will be a struggle.

The realities of business may be ugly, they may be cruel, and they may be unfair, but they are also the reality of the situation. You have a choice, waste a lot of money and time trying to make something that is bigger than you into what your ideals and opinions wish it to be, or play the game the way it was designed. Business is a system. Business is war. And only the strong survive.

The purpose of this GI SAID IT blog is simple, to provide perspective. GI delivers this unique perspective in a style that is unapologetically honest, straight to the point, and at times a bit brutal. GI SAID IT: Brutally honest, no BS. Click for more GI SAID IT shows and articles.