by Santosh Kumar
on 17-10-2020

What Is Business - An Out Of The Box Thinking Approach

How would you get a business outlook and mindset that supports your idea when your mind underpins your thought and tells you you’ve failed or it won't work event before you've started?

Let’s start with basic with a different perspective. Let’s start understanding what business is with an out of the box perspective.
Hello Friends, I am Santosh Kumar, a Seasoned Entrepreneur and Business Owner. I am Co-founder and investor of many start-ups and flourishing business and advisory firms focused solely on helping individuals and organizations increase performance through best-in-class strategy execution.

People see me as one of the most influential strategic business management consultants on business growth strategy and associated execution.

In our current venture I am operating in the capacity of one of the leading strategic business and management service provider with an extensive commercial experience and a proven record of success in B2B and B2C sectors in giving support, guidance & advice to ''forward thinking'' SME’s and business persons.

As part of our ventures, we have created & developed the business strategies for start up to generate 6-figure sales annually and help the business for short-term, mid-term and long-term strategies.

We are on our way to launch the Strategic business growth university with a moto to build strong sustainable local business community and help creating successful entrepreneur.

I carry a strong 22+ years of experience in building and growing companies across many sectors with simple & effective methods of organic busines growth covering all types & sectors and helping them find flexible business opportunities.

We work with business leaders helping them champion the end-to-end cultural or business change by designing various business growth strategies, strengthening senior leadership and rebuilding sagging morale with various clients and associated project and programme management team across the globe.

We are particularly adept at producing and implementing commercially focused, successful multi-channel sales and marketing strategies in different markets, developing effective sales & growth through successful strategic business planning and implementation and enhancing operational efficiency and increasing higher ROI.

In Today’s topic, this is what we’re going to do:
• Explore the elements of a business that keep your tightrope strong and sturdy
• Look at some of the definitions straight from books
• Look at my definitions
• Look at the input – Output relationship of business
• Outline the factors affecting the business
• Outline crucial tips with real-world examples to help you understand the business basics
• Highlight ways to protect the interest of customers as well as business stakeholders from the danger zones.
Sounds good? Let’s dive in.

Before We Begin

But Before we begin, let's look at some of the definitions STRAIGHT FROM THE BOOKS

One definition of business is as follows.
“ A business is an entity that offers goods and/or services to customers, charge a price for their goods and services to cover the cost of goods and make a profit.”

Investopedia Says, “A business is defined as an organisation or enterprising entity engaged in commercial, industrial, or professional activities.”

Another definition says “The term "business" also refers to the organised efforts and activities of individuals to produce and sell goods and services for profit.”

Business is primarily about creating value for the customers while fulfilling the needs and wants of consumers and serving the community where we live.

Let me leave a thought foe you to PONDER ON THIS. Who Said the following statement.

WE CAN'T SOLVE PROBLEMS BY USING
THE SAME KIND OF THINKING WE USED WHEN WE CREATED THEM.

While you are thinking about the answer, let me take a deep look into this statement with you.

These statement highlights few things, one PROBLEM or the NEED. Every now and then while we are trying do something, we fall into a situation where we say to ourself, I wish there is a better or quicker way to do this which could help us on X ways. Or we say I wish I had a magical wand or a product which could have done this for me. A Homeless person might be thinking, I wish I had a home where I can spedn a good night sleep. A poor cashless family living below the poverty line and suffering from hunger must be thinking of getting a basic food to help them come out of everyday starvation.

Every individual or Business have different needs or problems at any point of time and are on a continuous look for an alternate solution of their problem or need.

But how can we find a solution with the same thinking. If the homeless person is still sitting on street and not thinking out of the box , if the starving family is still hoping to get their situation changes with same old thought, without stepping out and doing something different, nothing is going to change.

We need different thinking. Not only for the basic business or individual needs we need different thinking to solve the any problem.

We cannot solve the problems with the same thinking we used, when we come across the problem or when we created the problem.

We need different perceptive, we need an out of the box thinking.

Lets look at the our response from of the previous questions I left you with.

Did you get the answer, if not then it was ALBERT EINSTEIN.

WE CAN'T SOLVE PROBLEMS BY USING
THE SAME KIND OF THINKING WE USED WHEN WE CREATED THEM.

- ALBERT EINSTEIN

PONDER ON THIS

Business is not just about generating money, It’s about bringing joy and happiness for the people around us and generate enough profit not only to make our consumers feel self-fulfilled but also to help make a better living for all the associated business stakeholders”

Do you know who said this?
Let me leave this thought again with you and come back to it later after I have cover our topic What is Business.

So What is A Business, Let me share this with a story from A KIDS PERSPECTIVE.

WHAT IS BUSINESS - A KIDS PERSPECTIVE.

After four days of being away from home on a business trip, I returned from Scotland on Thursday night, took a break for a day and promised my little angel to go for a walk with him on the weekend. Unsure of where to go, my seven-year-old son and I decided to drive up to Lakeside Country Park and take
a stroll, enjoying the magnificent walk around this beautifully landscaped park in Eastleigh, having the acres of land. We started walking along the footpaths and started seeing different birds and wildlife whilst spending time in the naturally beautiful park.

After a little walk, we reached an area near the pond, sat on the grass
and started watching the activities taking place in the park.
There were a number of Newfoundland dogs and their handlers going down to the water to teach them how to swim.
“What are they doing Pa?” Mo asked looking at the dog and their handlers.
“Training the dogs,” I said.
“Why?” he asked next.

THE THINKING APPROACH

“WHY?” HE ASKED NEXT.

“Because that is their business, to train the dogs,” I replied.

“WHAT DO YOU DO PA?” WAS HIS NEXT QUESTION

"I run a business," I replied while watching the handler going
down to the water.

“WHY WERE YOU AWAY FROM HOME FOR SO MANY DAYS?" HE ASKED.

I immediately turned toward him, looked at him and saw that he was
eagerly waiting for my response. I gave a quick ten-second thought and replied,
“To meet people.”

“PA, WHY DO YOU MEET PEOPLE?” HE ASKED.

“To listen to their idea," I said.

HIS IMMEDIATE QUESTION WAS, "WHY TO LISTEN TO IDEAS?"

"Because that is our business," I replied.

"WHY LISTENING TO THE IDEAS IS OUR BUSINESS? " HE ASKED AGAIN.

“So that I can address the needs of people and provide a solution to the
challenges that they face,” I answered.

“HOW DO YOU PROVIDE A SOLUTION?” HE ASKED NEXT.

"By the way of our offerings, "I said.
?
"WHAT IS OFFERING?" HE ASKED.

I replied, “It’s a combination of goods and services to create value for
customers.”

I CONTINUED

“We create software products to make other's life easier and fulfil the
needs of people to create value for our customers.”

“WHY TO CREATE VALUE?” HE ASKED.

“So that we make a difference in the lives of people around us and our
products or services become popular,” I replied.

“WHY TO BECOME POPULAR?” WAS HIS NEXT QUESTION.

“So that I can make more profit while creating value and making a difference,”I
replied.

“HOW DO YOU MAKE A PROFIT?” HE ASKED.

“By buying and selling goods or services,” I said.

“OHHHHH, SO DOES BUSINESS MEAN BUYING AND SELLING?”

I nodded, “Yes, business means buying and selling goods and services and
making a profit” I continued.
“Why to make more profit?” he asked.
“So that I can buy more cars for you,” I said.
“OK. Can you buy me that red remote-controlled car which we saw earlier
please?” he requested.
I smiled and said, “Yes, next week”.

ON THAT DAY, WE SPENT A COUPLE OF HOURS WALKING IN THE PARK, LOOKING AT THE PEOPLE WHO WERE FISHING, SAILING MODEL YACHTS, WATCHING WATER BIRDS AND PLAYING IN THE PLAY AREA.

Next week when I returned from the office and took a shower, I asked my
son to come over to me.
“Come here Mo”, I called and Mo, who was playing with his toys nearby while
sitting on the sofa, quickly jumped up to me and sat in my lap.

“DO YOU KNOW WHAT DADDY DOES FOR A LIVING?” I ASKED

“Yes, you run a business,” he said immediately.

“WHAT IS A BUSINESS?” I ASKED.

“Buying and selling goods and making a profit,” he said.

“AND WHY TO MAKE A PROFIT?” I ASKED

“So that you can buy more cars for me,” he added innocently.

“GOOD." I LAUGHED,

"Now can you go and bring that bag from my computer table and open
it?”I asked.

He quickly ran and as soon as he opened the bag, the joy bubbled up inside of him and his happiness overflowed.
He saw the red remote-controlled car that he had asked for inside it.
He was all over me, thanking, hugging, kissing for the little toy car
which made his heart sing and dance with joy. Like every other gift before, he started jumping and saying, “This is the best gift I have ever got. Thank you, Pa. I love you. You are the best dad in the world.”

I AGAIN FELT A SENSE OF PRIDE, A SENSE OF ACHIEVEMENT, A SENSE OF
SATISFACTION AND PROUD TO BE A FATHER WHO IS TRYING TO BRING THE DREAMS OF
THEIR LITTLE ONES TO REALITY.
THE VALUE OF GIFTS WHICH I BUY IS TINY FOR ME AS
COMPARED TO THE JOY AND HAPPINESS WHICH IT BRINGS FOR OUR FAMILY BUT FOR THEM, IT’S
THE WHOLE WORLD. IT GIVES A SENSE OF PRIDE IN ELEVATING THE MOOD OF MY LOVED
ONES WITH SUCH SMALL PRESENTS AND MAKE THEIR SPIRITS BRIGHTENED.
WOW!

Anyway, coming back to our topic lets look at some more definitions from dictionary.

DICTIONARY DEFINITION

TAKE IT FROM THE EXPERTS.

THE DICTIONARY DEFINES BUSINESS AS

“The activity of making, buying, or selling goods or providing services in exchange for money”

ANOTHER DEFINITION FROM A DICTIONARY WHICH YOU WILL COMMONLY FIND IS,

“Business is any profit-seeking organisation that provides goods or services designed to satisfy customers’ needs."

In other words, it's not a true business if you only
produce goods and services primarily for your own needs or work exclusively for your family and friends. To classify an activity as a business you have to
produce for a wider audience; for your business customers.
From the definition of books,
Business is the production, distribution, and sale of goods and services for a
profit.

Although this is technically correct, the type of activities and ventures used to generate profit also played a very important role in defining a business.

Practical Explanation

Friends, I have spent my entire career working with businesses and businesspeople. I was the first person in my whole generation who become a rebellion after my post-graduation and started doing job. As far as I am aware of none of my other family members including my uncles, father, grandfather or great grandfather did anything away from running a business. I started my first Job with Johnson and Johnson in 1998 and work with many local, national, and multinational companies till 2007 when I engaged myself in setting up my own venture. Since then we worked with hundreds and thousands of customers around the globe under various brands of mine, failed miserably in five of my initial venture till 2012 but since them I have never closed down any of my operation. Currently I am involved in 21 ventures and with hundreds or other ventures in pipeline, none of my busineses where I am involved have seen failure since 2012.

And in my view as well, I strongly believe that business is all about people relations. Business should never be profit focused but it should be managed as a people focused entity. Business primarily is about creating value for the customers along with serving the community where we live. It's about bringing joy and happiness for the people around you along with generating enough profit to satisfy the personal needs of all the stakeholders linked with the business.

Here is my definition of what is business
BUSINESS IS ALL ABOUT CREATING VALUE FOR OUR customers.
• Business is all about bringing HAPPINESS TO EVERYONE.
• BUSINESS IS ALL ABOUT MAKING A DIFFERENCE IN OTHER'S LIFE.
• BUSINESS IS ALL ABOUT CREATING A MOMENT OF JOY, CREATING A MOMENT OF SATISFACTION, MAKING SURE THAT WE ARE THINKING OF OTHERS BEFORE WE THINK OF OURSELVES, AND GET A FEELING OF SELF-FULFILMENT.

Busines should provide a solution to the issues or problems or a need. Lets look at some of the Practical Explanation OF WHAT IS BUSINESS

FROM THEORY TO PRACTICE

Lets start with few questions.

WHO ARE YOU DESIGNING YOUR SOLUTIONS FOR?

Companies need to meet the demands of their customers.

WHAT IS THE PROBLEM?

This means not only being able to understand what they want and need, but also being able to use incoming factors to make the products

WHAT RESOURCES DO YOU HAVE?
?
In this section, we will touch base on these questions and learn about this with a relationship known as an input-output model.

Organisations or busineses need to fulfil the requests and necessities of target market or clients. This isn't just having the option to comprehend what clients need and want. This isn't only being able to understand what customers need and want, but yet additionally having the option to utilise approaching variables and being able to use incoming factors to make the products ..

Let me clarify about this relationship using a model known as Input-Output model with an example.

Defining the Problem - THE INPUT-OUTPUT MODEL

Meet Daisy! Daisy has chosen to go into business making adornments and own the business making jewelry. She begins by doodling a few sketches and portrayals of the sorts of wristbands and accessories she needs to make. She at that point finds a little office space to lease, so she has sufficient space to store her provisions and a lot of space to change her creativity and imagination into a completed piece.

From the outset At first, she begins getting her globules and buy her beads at the nearby art store. but as the requests increment, she understands that the local specialty store doesn't have the quantity or the variety of the assortment she needs to keep up with the orders that keep pouring in.

Daisy soon realises that she needs to discover elsewhere to get her dots so she can continue delivering her mass requests of adornments.
She also realises that in order to fulfill the increasing demand of the jwellary she need to input more capital to buy raw material and hire additional employees. She also need bigger space.

You see, what daisy needs to learn about is input and output, which is the connection between factors expected to flexibly merchandise and supply goods so that one can produce a final product and get the end result.

so the other way to look at what a business is to analyse a business in input and output relations.
A Business is organised efforts, resources and activities of individuals as an input, implanted into a venture to produce output in order to sell the produced output to satisfy consumer needs and wants for a profit.
Viz. There are INPUT you implant into the venture or business and business produce output.

Business Fundamentals

How about we start by looking at some fundamental definitions.

Inputs are the resources invested in accomplishing a task, and typically include time, money, and effort.it is the process of taking something in. For example, when a company takes in a raw material to make a finished good, they are receiving an input. Other examples would be the manpower or resources to offer a service.

Another way to look at Input is, You could think if you are a chocolate company then you need a farm for your cocoa tree to make coco to turn that coco into a chocolate. That’s cocoa tree where you have your farm is that is land. You need employees which are labour. You need robots , you need a factory in order to do this that’s called capital, and there needs to be an entrepreneur that is organised, has ideas, and is able to take a risk in order to get a reward like a profit and that is called enterprise.
These 4 items, land, labour, capital and enterprise are called factors of production.

A Business ,
Business is the unit producing the output depending on the various internal and external factors at any point of time. so busines is often as it grows divided into four sections or divisions, these are Operations, Human Resources, Marketing and Finance. All the four divisions are internal factors affecting the responsible for making or breaking a business as these factors are are in control of the business. However, business has external factors that affect them coming from outside. These external factors can be divided in three major groups. Economy,

Economy,

if the economy is not doing very well or growth is low , it will affect many busineses, sometimes it will affect them positively but most of the time it will effect negatively. For Example , We have got Inflation, Exchange rate , Employment , they will all affect the business. Exchange rate, For example you might import the cocoa from out side the UK, so how much is pound worth against the other currencies will make a big difference to you and your business.

Laws/Regulations
Also the external pressures such as Laws, sometimes laws are called regulations. They are set by government. Examples Minimum wage, Consumer protection, quality standards.
Minimum wage , if the minimum wage was increased by the government that will affect how much pay in labour to your employees. And that’s the cost for production. And that will affect your cost.
Consumer protection, sometimes there are regulations , laws that are put in place to make sure that goods and services meet certain quality . that extra quality is an extra cost to the business as in, you might have to employ more labour or more skilled labour, that might cost extra capital to business in order to cover the quality requirement of consumer protection law.

Also, you need to think ETHICAL. Its not a law but it’s a consideration. You need to be ethical. You need to be doing morralyy correct thing. For example, should as a big business, should you use fair trade. Should you use Zero Hour contract. These are big considerations.

SO IN Input you can out inti a business and business will produce output.

OUTPUT
output is the goods and services that company produces in any given period. It is the exact opposite of Input, in that it's the process of sending something out. When a company finishes a product, they might ship it to a customer, which would be an output or completing a talk in hand on behalf of a customer and delivering the results to the customer and make them feel self-fulfilled.

Output usually come in two forms
Goods and services
Goods or services, whether it’s a tabgible products such as goods or an the intangible process as a services have environment impact. And that’s another external pressre as an consideration business should make. For example, Carbon footprint, is now a growing issue within business and the economy. For example 1% of coffee cups are currently recycled. Which means 99% of coffee cups are not recycled . this is abig thing for a business to consider. However they could also use these things to there advantage. There is a coffee business called Costa, which is ow trying to increase the amount of coffee cups that it recycles and that is a form of MARKETING. So you can use these external pressures to your benefit.

OUTPUT< Lets look at the output a business produces. They could be Goods or they could be services. Amd its important to make the distinction between these two things. So GOODS is a tangible products . a tangible means a physical thing that you can hold, touch and feel like an iphone. So it’s a physical object to satisfy consumers NEEDS and WANTS. The word consumers , if that confusing you is someone who buys a goods or service from a business , just anyone who buys goods or services. So needs and wants, Needs and wants are different things. We think we need a iphone no we do not, WE want an iPhone. So NEEDS ar thinks like food and water that keep us alive. Ther are essential items These are supplkied by some busineses. Food for example you get food as well as water from super market. Some companies produces water like buxton. WANTS , iphon eor toys for examples. And these are non essential items.

Opposite of the goods is a service. A service is a Intangible process. You think about the word intangible, we think about the fact that you cannot hold it, you physically you cannot hold. You physically you cannot hold a car wash after your cash is washed like you can hold the iphone after you have purchased. So its about process, its about ACTIONS to SATISFY CONSUMERS. Examples of those are car wash, hairdresser, barbers or banking.

I hope that help you to understand the concept of the business. Stay Humble and Good luck to your business growth.

Therefore, the input-output model shows the relationship between the elements needed to come into a company to make products or deliver services, and the actual final goods or services that are produced as a result of those inputs.

For example, some inputs might be money, supplies or knowledge, or labour. All of these elements are needed by a company to make products.

An example of an output might be a finished good or a service a company can offer because of the inputs they receive.

The input-output model closely follows consumer demand and intently follows purchaser request because as the request and demand goes up for a product, the amount of products needed goes up as well.

This means more supplies, labour, and money will be needed to make more products.

Steps to establish the Need for a Solution

The purpose of this step is to articulate the problem in the simplest terms possible: “We are looking for X in order to achieve Z as measured by W.” Such a statement, akin to an elevator pitch, is a call to arms that clarifies the importance of the issue and helps secure resources to address it.

The motivation behind this step is to verbalize the issue in the easiest terms conceivable and articulate the problem in the simplest terms possible: "We are searching for ABC so as to accomplish XYZ as estimated by PQR." Such a statement, similar to an elevator pitch, is an invitation to battle that explains the significance of the issue and ties down assets to address it. It’s a call to situation which clarifies the importance of the issue and helps secure resources to address it.

This underlying outlining responds to three questions:

What is the basic need?

This is the fundamental issue, expressed compactly, clearly and concisely. It is significant at this stage to focus on the need that is at the core of the issue as opposed to concluding to a solution. Scope definition is also a must have and very important. Obviously, searching for oil for a bit of apparatus is not quite the same as looking for a profoundly new assembling measure.

The basic need EWV identified was access to clean drinking water for the estimated 1.1 billion people in the world who lack it. This is a pressing issue even in areas that have plenty of rainfall, because the water is not effectively captured, stored, and distributed.

There are five basic needs that usually every customer required when they are using the product or services in an organisation, which are service, price, quality, action and also appreciation. These needs will differentiate each customer like and dislikes as each of them has different characteristic.

What is the ideal result in terms of desired outcome?

Responding to this point requires understanding the viewpoints of clients and different recipients. (The Five Whys approach can be extremely useful.) Again, dodge the impulse to support a specific solution or approach. . This question should be addressed qualitatively and quantitatively whenever possible.
Examples of business outcomes include: increased retention rates, improved acquisition rates, increased revenue, reduced costs, process improvements or efficiencies, culture change, increased profitability, increased word of mouth, increased conversion, and more upsell and cross-sell opportunities

In addressing this inquiry, Naugle and his group understood that the result must be more than access to water; the entrance must be advantageous and the access had to be convenient. Ladies and youngsters in nations, for example, Uganda frequently must walk significant distances to bring water from valleys and afterward carry it uphill to their villages. The desired outcome EWV defined was to provide water for daily family needs without requiring tremendous consumptions of time and energy.

In the view of experts, outcomes are:
• an achieved end state that can be verified through measurable results
• tied to a funded top-level initiative
• defined through the lens of the person accountable for the end state
• colored by the interests of related stakeholders, and
• reached over time, not always on a “point A to point B journey”

Who stands to benefit and why?

Responding to this question forces an organisation to distinguish every single possible client and recipients and identify all potential customers and beneficiaries. It is at this stage that you understand whether, you are solving a problem for the designer or an engineer or for the head of department—whose meanings of success may differ impressively and may vary considerably

On the off chance that the problem you need to solve is industrywide, it's vital to comprehend and understand why the market has neglected and failed to address it.

Business is not just about generating money, It’s about bringing joy and happiness for the people around us and generate enough profit not only to make our consumers feel self-fulfilled but also to help make a better living for all the associated business stakeholders”

Do you know who said this,
Let me give you a hint.
This is definition crafted after working with multiple ventures, working with hundreds and hundreds of clients. This is definition extracted from experiences. Experience from failure, experience from success. Experience from the importance of organic business growth.
Yes, you guessed right, this is said by me, Santosh Kumar.

Let me leave you with another thought before we connect with our next article, Do you know the difference between a Business and an Entrepreneur, email me your thoughts on hello@btowntalks.com or connect me to share your story
Speak to soon.
Good luck with your venture.

About Author

Santosh Kumar

Manager , iBraine UK

Managing Director. Helping businesses out-perform the competition, increase revenue, decrease expenses & mitigate risk. Guaranteed More Savings. Guaranteed More Sales. Guaranteed More Customers. Guaranteed Better Growth.Are you sure that your digital assets such as website and customer portals are d...

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