The Business of Business

A business is an entity that provides goods and services to consumers with both a profit motive and social motive in view. There are two kinds of people in the world – the entrepreneurs and the salaried. It is said that those who are entrepreneurs take more risks and are braver to face life. That is why not everyone can get into business and earn a living out of it. It is a fact that the richest ever people in the world have been successful businessmen. We are, of course, not taking into account kings and rulers of various countries. The richest businessmen in the world are

• Andrew Carnegie – Founder of the Carnegie Steel Company. When adjusted, his net worth lies somewhere between USD 75 billion to USD 298 billion.
• Bill Gates – Founder of Microsoft. His current net worth is somewhere around USD 40 billion.
• Cornelius Vanderbilt – He was a shipping and railroad magnet. His personal fortune is estimated to be somewhere between USD 143 billion to USD 178 billion.
• Henry Ford – Founder of the Ford Motor Company. His net worth is estimated at USD 195 billion.
• John D. Rockefeller – Founder of the Standard Oil Company, John D. Rockefeller was the first person ever to become a billionaire when he achieved the feat in 1916. He is considered the richest American ever and his personal wealth is adjusted to be somewhere between USD 192 billion to USD 323 billion.
• John Jacob Astor – He started off trading in fur and later went into real estate and opium. His adjusted wealth is estimated at USD 116 billion.

Among the current entrepreneurs, the 10 richest businessmen include

• Bill Gates
• Warren Buffet
• Carlos Slim Helu
• Lawrence Ellison
• Ingvar Kamprad and family
• Karl Albrecht
• Mukesh Ambani
• Lakshmi Mittal
• Theo Albrecht
• Amancia Ortega

When it comes to business, there are many interesting incidents that come up from time to time. It is said that when Roberto Goizueta took over the reins of the company, Coca Cola was struggling in its fight against Pepsi, its biggest competitor. Goizueta took a stock of the situation and famously commented that Coke’s fight was not against Pepsi, but water. The words had such an effect that Coke shrugged off all competition and enhanced its position as the number one cola company of the world. As per Fortune Magazine, the biggest companies in the world currently are

• Royal Dutch Shell
• Exxon Mobil
• Wal-Mart Stores
• British Petroleum
• Chevron
• Total
• ConocoPhillips
• ING Group
• Sinopec
• Toyota Motor

Branding is something that no business can sustain without. Visibility among consumers is one of the most important elements for any business to flourish. That is why there is so much impetus on creating a logo and popularizing it among the masses. Consumers connect with the logos of their favorite companies and that helps businesses to earn more revenue. Some of the most popular brands in the world are

• Google – The Internet search engine.
• Apple – Producers of the iPod, the iPhone and the Mac.
• Nike – The world’s largest sportswear company.
• Target – Their Bullseye logo is considered to be known by more Americans than any other company.
• Starbucks – It brought in revolution in the coffee business and is still the leader in this field.
• BMW – It continues to remain the ultimate driving machine.
• Nintendo – Game lovers simply cannot do without this company’s products.
• Whole Foods Market – The leader in fresh fruits and vegetables.
• Disney – The ultimate in entertainment, Disney continues to attract tourists from all over the world.
• Coca Cola – The world’s largest beverage company still rules. (Half circle full circle half circle A, half circle full circle right angle A….the limerick to describe Coca Cola logo!)

There are many funny and interesting facts about business around the world. I have captured some of them below.

• In 1987, American Airlines decided to omit one olive from each salad course in the first class. As a result, they made a savings of $40,000.
• Bank of America started operations as Bank of Italy.
• If the entire population of the world is taken as 100, then half of the total wealth would be held by 6 people.
• More than 90% of cab drivers in New York are immigrants from other countries.
• The Mall, the biggest departmental store in Washington, D. C. is 1.4 times bigger than the Vatican City.
• Philip Morris, the first owner of the Marlboro brand, died of lung cancer.
• The top three valuable brands in the world in order of their value are Marlboro, Coca Cola and Budweiser.
• Dr. Lieven P. Van Neste owns more than 200,000 domain names.
• A Tupperware party starts somewhere in the world every 23 seconds.
• People in the USA get so hyper about the Super Bowl that the sale of antacids increases by 20% every year after the day of the game.
• Nauru, a small island in the Western Pacific, has fossilized bird droppings as one of its chief exports.
• The soft drink industry spends more than $100 million a year in stopping thefts involving their vending machines.
• The AA, or the Automobile Association was first started in 1905 to warn motorists about speed traps.
• Bill Bowerman, who founded Nike, first got the inspiration of creating Nike shoes after staring at waffle iron.
• David McConnell named his company Avon after the birthplace of William Shakespeare, Stratford on Avon.
• Kids in North America spend an average of about half a billion dollar annually on chewing gums.
• Canada and United States are the leaders in producing paper and paper products.

Businesses are reasons why common people exist. If there were no businesses and no businessmen, there would be no production. The average people would have nothing to buy and the human race would cease to exist. It is these risk takers who make life simpler for us. They reap the profits but where would we be without them?