Atlanta
Writers Group
Feature Article – September
2006
Business Essentials
By Isha Edwards
There are
six facets of business that affect a company’s growth potential and life cycle:
accounting, economics, finance, information systems, marketing, and management.
Although classified by academia and employed primarily by corporate
Consider the following example: For every organization, there is a product or
service that portrays an image or defines a brand. Marketing plans are
implemented to both safeguard and impel a company’s efforts to increase net
worth and market share. Where applicable, shareholder return on investment is
also maximized. Assets such as land, labor, and capital are frequently
monitored business investments, as is a company’s ability to circumvent and
leverage economic factors.
Business owners work closely with their management team and/or a board of
directors to ensure the salability and success of each venture. Lawyers,
accountants, and other skilled laborers help track progress and minimize
losses. As technology progresses, information systems: word-of-mouth, the
media, books, magazines, newspapers, TV, radio, and the Internet help promote a
brand and consequently increase sales.
As with many things in life, being successful involves actively seeking ways to
improve as well as knowing how to effectively mix-manage (balance) resources.
How can a company gain the advantage?
Practical steps for being successful in business must always begin with vision.
Having a vision provides purpose and direction. Having a vision also serves as
a measuring stick for tracking progress. The next step to being successful in
business is pursuing goals that support the vision and simplifying each
endeavor. In addition to knowing why, business owners should make it a point to
know how. Knowing how something operates provides insight for making
improvements. The last step for successful business management is to actively
recruit and happily compensate people who are skilled in one or more facets of
business. Creativity goes a long way and theory is as important as factual. To
optimize results, hire the right balance between the creative, theoretical, and
the factual.
Since business essentials are inexhaustible, they can and should be applied to
most areas of life. To that end, here are tips to applying business essentials
where you work and play:
• Support or create initiatives that have a well-defined vision
• Fund ventures and invest in assets that yield a profit or generate revenue
• Use or provide quality products or services that positively engage the
end-user
• Use associations and the media: TV, radio, and publications to increase
awareness
• Strengthen your network and expertise through strategic alliances
• Keep abreast of related and unrelated industry news
Business enterprise usually originates from the desire for self or others to
advance financially and socially. Therefore, business essentials should be
maximized in all organizations particularly government, public, and nonprofit
entities. Business owners who effectively employ each facet of business in
daily operations will strengthen their company’s ability to maintain the
advantage as well as excel.
Isha Edwards is
a freelance writer who resides in