Business is something different from its original word meaning. Business is a system It is not only to be busy. There is a well said proverb “busy without business”. Business basically means an activity or set of activities that brings money through transactions.

Traditionally business means exchange of products with money. Services are included in modern terms with in products. In general, sell or purchases of any goods or services are called business.

Business adds value to products. It creates utilities for the consumers according to economists.

However, meaning of business has changed in modern days. Business  engages, motivates ans manage people  for earning money. Despite manufacturing, sell, purchase and  marketing, if a person does not engage other people to work for him or her, it is not a business. Business is to let other people work for you.

If one involves him or herself in manufacturing, sell, purchase, marketing of goods and services and does not put or engage people to work for them, it is self employment. Self employment is different from business.

There are four categories of people who earn money according to “Cash flow quadrant” by Robert Kiosaki.

These four categories are as follows.

1. Employee

2. Self employed

3. Businessperson

4. Investor

Employees work for other people and get wages or salary in return. Employees engage themselves in blue collar and white collar jobs. They earn fix salaries, bonus, other facilities and retirement benefits according to nature of their work and terms and conditions of their employment.

Self employed people have their own establishments and work themselves independently. They got remuneration directly from their clients. Doctors, lawyers, bankers, chartered accountants, shop keepers etc are examples of self employed people.

Business persons plan and execute business activities engaging and managing other people, normally the employees. Sometimes they also engage self employed people such as lawyer, consultants, chartered accountants etc to work for their businesses.They earn profit from their businesses. They obtain lion's share of total margin.

Investors supply money to run their businesses. Investors are those who put their money to work for them.

Ideal business person need not to work to run their businesses. What they do? They make system. It is the system that works for them. They work to build a system and let the system work for them. It is just like computer software. Programmers prepare software and the software works. A programmer needs not to work.

Business persons build an overall system for their businesses with a set of sub-systems. There are sub-systems such as sell, purchase, marketing, manufacturing, personnel, legal and taxation and so on. There are long trails of sub-systems.

Business persons employ managers to look after those systems that they have built. There are white collar and blue collar employees depending upon the nature of the businesses. A new sector of green collar employees is also there. Employees work under their managers to produce financial results.

Business persons look for investors who invest money for their businesses. Investors get shares of profit or interest on their invested amount. Generally, in modern system, banks and financial institutes work as investors. Investments are dependent upon business credit of the business. It is not dependent upon personal credit. Investors invest on systems and not on persons. Better the system better the opportunity to get investments.

Businesses can be small or big. These may be proprietorship, partnerships or limited liabilities companies (LLC) or corporations.

I have described business in short. So what to do next? Want to start your own business?

If yes, start building your business system. Plan for it. Do something to build your business system. Check it for its suitability to your business goals. Act upon it seriously and sincerely.

Remember, better the plan and execution better will be the system. Better system will make your business better.