What Makes a Good Business

Hey Janet,

I have been thinking about what makes a good business.

I used to think the answer was fairly simple.

Revenue. Profit. Growth.

I still care about all three.

But I think I have started looking at business differently.

Maybe a good business is also measured by how many people are better off because it exists.

Take the animal feeds business.

If we can produce quality feed at a price that more farmers can afford, the impact doesn't stop with the farmer who buys the bag.

It affects the cost of raising livestock.

Then milk, meat and eggs.

And eventually, the family buying food at the market.

That is the part I find exciting.

The possibility that something we build in a factory can eventually make life a little easier for someone we will never meet.

I think that is what I want the businesses we build to do.

Make money, yes.

But also create jobs. Create opportunities. Solve real problems. Make something more affordable. Make something work better than it did before.

I don't want to simply own businesses, Janet.

I want to build enterprises.

Things that continue creating value long after we have stopped talking about them.

Maybe that is what a good business is.

Something that is good for the people who own it, but also useful to the people who depend on it.

Brian.