Learning economics is a good way to deepen your understanding of the business and finance world. Why? Because economics explains how people behave in order to fulfill their needs. That, in essence, is what you do in business and finance. Either directly or indirectly, you fulfill someone’s needs. Because of that, understanding economics can help you make better decisions in business and finance.
Fortunately, there are many good resources you can use to learn economics. If you are new to this subject, the Wikipedia entry on economics is a good start. You will find a lot of links there that cover subtopics of economics is greater details. The nice thing about learning from Wikipedia is you get an overall coverage of the topic. It allows you to see many different parts of economics and how they relate to each other. You can then decide to dig deeper into the parts that are interesting to you.
The next step you can do is going to places like iTunes U that offers free courses online. That’s the magic of the Internet age: you don’t need to physically attend a course and pay hefty tuition fee. Instead, you can enjoy the course at the comfort of your home without paying a dime. So take advantage of this great opportunity. At iTunes U you will find courses from many universities so you can choose the one that meets your style and preferences.
You don’t have to be an economist, of course. But you can use your understanding of the subject to help you make better decisions. Eventually, that will lead you to a path of higher profitability.
The success of a business depends a lot on the people in it, especially the people who are in charge of other people in the organization. That’s why it’s essential that you become a leader and not a boss. It can make a big difference in how people work in your organization and it will eventually affect the performance of your organization.
If you become a boss, you are there to command other people. You just tell them what to do and they will have to obey you. There’s no room to question your policy and decisions, even if they can actually give you valuable input.
In such a situation, people won’t be motivated to do their work. They will just do it because they have to. They do it because of external reward (like money) or punishment (like being fired). When people do work this way, it’s hard to hope that they will give their best make your organization an exceptional one.
On the other hand, if you become a leader, you are there to lead other people. You are there to inspire other people to achieve a common purpose. You don’t just issue commands that other people must follow. Instead, you actually listen to what other people are saying to you. You listen to their input and suggestions.
Because of this, people in your organization will be motivated to do their work. They do it because of a sense of purpose and not merely because of external reward or punishment. They have intrinsic motivation and that can make them go long way to make sure that they’re doing their best. At the end, the quality of your products and services will show it and your customers will feel it.
So don’t make the mistake of being a boss in your business. Be a leader instead.
If you want to have a successful business, one thing you should pay attention to is whether or not your business has a clear mission. The mission here isn’t just to make money; it should be about something bigger than that. It should be related to the interest of other people and not just you and your company.
Perhaps it seems idealistic, but the book Built to Last says that it’s one of the characteristic that lasting companies have. They aren’t just there to make money. They have a clear mission to accomplish. This mission inspires people in the company to do way more than what they would do if it’s just for money.
The book even says that your business should have a big, hairy, audacious goal (BHAG). One example is the goal of landing man on the moon in 1960s. This BHAG energizes people in your company more than you might expect. Of course, the goal should be realistic. But it should also be challenging to inspire people to give their best.
So if you are thinking of starting your own business, you’d better start thinking about your mission. You can find it by looking at your own personal values. Find things that inspire you because they may also inspire other people. Don’t build a business just to make money. Have a mission.
If you choose not to work for someone else, you have two options: you can be self employed or be an entrepreneur. What are the difference between them?
If you are self employed, you need to do the work yourself to make money. The more money you want to make, the more work you need to do. Being a freelancer falls into this category. You need to work on more projects if you want to earn more. Doctors and lawyers also fall into this category.
The nice thing about being self employed is you don’t have a boss other than your clients. As long as you can get the job done, you can control your own schedule. The problem is your capacity is limited. You can only take certain number of jobs. Another problem is if you leave your work for vacation, for instance, your income will stop.
Being an entrepreneur is different. If you are an entrepreneur, you build a system that can work without you. The system can continue making money even if you aren’t actively involved. This way you have the freedom to go anywhere you want without worrying that your income will stop.
The problem is it’s much easier to build a system that works. You may need to spend a lot of time and effort in the beginning to build the system. Once the system works, though, you will the reward of freedom.
So which one should we choose? This depends on your situation, but I think being an entpreneur is a good long-term strategy. You will need to work hard to build the system, but you can then enjoy the results.
There are many ways to make a living. Some people prefer to work for someone else and receive fix salary. Some other people prefer to be self employed and make money from their clients. Yet some other people prefer to be entrepreneurs who build systems that make money for them. Different people have different preferences, of course, but here I want to look closer at becoming an entrepreneur.
While it’s not for everybody, being an entrepreneur is something you should consider. A big benefit of being an entrepreneur is freedom. Since you don’t work for other people, you have full control over your life. You can decide what to work on and when. You still need to work hard, of course, but you have the freedom that will be difficult to get if you work for someone else.
That being said, you should also realize that the challenges of being an entrepeneur are also bigger. As an entrepreneur, you won’t get fix salary. The risk is always there that you don’t make any money in a certain period of time. On the upside, you also have much bigger opportunities. You can earn much more than you could ever do if you don’t become an entrepreneur.
Because of these differences, it’s essential that you have the right mindset. You need to have the right perspective if you want to succeed. Otherwise, it will be easy for you to get discouraged when time is tough. It will also be easy for you to make the wrong decisions if you don’t have the right mindset.
For that reason, it’s highly recommended that you find a mentor that can guide you along the way. Having a mentor can really shorten the time you need to succeed. You don’t have to learn many things the hard way. Instead, you can directly do the right thing and thereby save yourself from a lot of troubles.
