Business - Not suited for everyone

I know...the title of this can be offensive to some, however, given my time in the field I have found it to be true.

There's a lot involved in owning and managing a business. It is more so if you have the responsibility of staffing as well as the fulfillment to one's customers/clients. Rather than do a listing of what's required for business, perhaps a more blended approach would be more practical to those seeking to qualify themselves before entering the realm of business.

Though I can rattle off a list of characteristics necessary for the field of business, I get the feeling that a more detailed approach may be necessary to help the reader grasp what is really needed. In school, we get so caught up in passing exams and doing projects that like obtaining a driver's licence we only learn business when we get into it.

When you work for someone, you have a job which kind of shelters you. As I have often thought, doing a great job as a plumber doesn't necessarily equip you to run a great plumbing business. There are so many other elements involved. They include administration, operations, marketing, finance and accounting, paying attention to the legal elements including any intellectual property and contracts. Should you business be one that has staff, the HR issues never seem to stop - vacations, scheduling & payroll mixed with overdraft completes that episode. 

The invisible characteristics include determination, grit, discipline, backed up my character, fortitude, networks and competence are just some of the ingredients in the mix. If the mix isn't right, you'll know quickly. 

Do you have what it takes to be in business? Only you will know over time, but just remember, it's not for everyone. 

More wants than money...

 When you think about it, as we go through life and we take the opportunity to pause for a while, we would recognize that we have more wants than we have money. Why is that? 

During the COVID-19 pandemic, I made the observation that Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs stood the test of the environment. For the first time in my personal history, I was actually able to see people, myself included, relate to this pyramid as the lock down took place. We were content to functioning at the level of our basic needs. 

People had cheques that were totally useless since the banks we not accepting them; and that is when they were open. For the most part, as a people, we became creative in our survival. We noticed the laws of living and their consequences/benefits. Maybe, for the first time in the lives of many, we stopped to pay attention to how our lives were impacted, and really gave thought to our circumstances. 

To put in a nutshell what the news said, the challenges faced at the most basic physiological level of needs cause many to have experiences at the safety level that no human wants to experience. 

In an effort to regain a sense of "normal", governments the world over sought to integrate practices that would enable people to regain some of their lost footing in life as it relates to the attending of their psychological needs. 

Was it too fast, where we are seeking to build on an already weak foundation as it related to the fulfillment of the basic needs of people? Only time would tell. There is mixed opinions about that process with even the arguments being put forward to the crisis of the pandemic was for a disease that isn't real. The behaviors of many speak to their coping mechanisms that they have. It provides a more clear insight as to what some people may have had to experience when they were locked off from the rest of the world and having to deal with the train of thought some people had. Their experiences could have been no less than horrible. 

One thing that is being slowly realized; normal has changed, whether we want to acknowledge it or not. 

This post COVID-19 environment is going to really test our ability to be our brother's keeper. It is going to let us see the harsh reality that as a people we are going to have more wants than money.