I have always loved business. I love the idea of providing a product or service that customers love and making a lot of money in the process. Hey, I'm a financial guy! It makes perfect sense in my book.
But the view of business, and making money, has been taking it on the chin lately in America.
John Mackey, in his book Conscious Capitalism, said this:
"Corporations are widely seen as greedy, selfish, exploitative, and untrustworthy. Big business, in particular, has a terrible reputation today. Gallup has found that Americans' confidence in big business has declined steadily, from about 34 percent in 1975 to a historic low of 16 percent in 2009, rebounding to 19 percent in 2011."
That's not much better than Congress. Ouch!
There are a lot of reasons for the dismal view of businesses. Many deserved, many not.
Making Money
One interesting development over the last few years has been the negative view of those who make a lot of money. And many of the people who make a lot of money do so from their business. They are the "greedy capitalists".
John Mackey does a good job of describing the role of profits in business like this:
"Making high profits is the means to the end of fulfilling Whole Foods' core business mission. We want to improve the health and well-being of everyone on the planet through higher-quality foods and better nutrition, and we can't fulfill this mission unless we are highly profitable.
Just as people cannot live without eating, so a business cannot live without profits. But most people don't live to eat, and neither must business live just to make profits."
Profitability and cash flow are important for your business, your customer and your financial future. They are also important to the financial future of everyone and every company that helps you survive and thrive in business.
I hope this year is one of your most profitable ever. Profits are good.
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