Business

By Mark McIlroy

09.05.2026



1. This article considers various issues regarding business. People who are anti-business might find it offensive and probably shouldn't read it.


2. The owners, management and employees of a business should all help each other and work together for the success of the business. Only then can the business survive and thrive, the employees and management keep their jobs and receive good salaries, and the owners retain their business.

Any one of these parties that sees another one as the enemy is silly.

The enemy of each of these parties is other businesses that are competitors of theirs.


3. I am in favour of business as an idea. A healthy business provides good jobs and also profits for the owners.

It also provides a way for many people to follow their dreams, as many people dream of having their own business.

In developed countries, all food is produced by businesses (a farm is a business), it is transported to the cities and towns by businesses (trucking companies), and sold to the consumer by a business (shops and supermarkets).

Effectively all houses are built by businesses.


4. I like the idea of socialism. I like the idea of free healthcare and education. As a former employee and business owner, I could accept government regulated wage levels. I don't see any problem with that as long as they provide good incomes for employees.

However socialist systems can still be in favour of business. Businesses are essential to the survival and thriving of a country for reasons listed in point 3.

Ways that governments and societies can help businesses include making government licences fast, cheap and easy to obtain, making wage levels good for employees but not excessive, and generally promoting an atmosphere where starting a business is encouraged and honoured.


5. As an employee, if you find a business that pays good salaries and respects you, stay. Keep a job with the company for life if you can. Businesses that are like this are rare however they do exist.

Alternatively if you work for a business that treats its employees as disposable assets that are ruthlessly judged and have no personal rights, stay and make a plan to get a better job elsewhere over the next year or two.


6. Although having a business is a dream of many, in practice being a business owner doesn't suit most people. To be successful as a business owner requires a specific type of personality, which most people don't have.


7. It is widely believed that business owners are richer than employees. Owners of large businesses are.

However owners of a small business are often poorer than the employees that they employ.

The most financially successful path for most people in a developed country is a good job, not having their own business.

This is because business owners have a problem. In free economies, they must compete with other businesses to get customers by lowering their prices. They can't lower the salaries that they pay, because then all the employees would leave and no new ones would join. This leaves them with no other option but to lowever the amount of money that they pay to themselves in order to survive.


8. Advice for business owners. If your employees see management and the business owners as the enemy your business will be dead in the water. You will be lucky to survive. A healthy and happy workforce is essential to the success of a business so here is my list of the things that employees want.


	1. Good salaries.

	2. A safe and healthy workplace.

	3. A roster known in advance, not random phone calls at 7am where no-one ever knows if they will be working that day or not.

	4. A moderate amount of work to do.
		
		- Not overloaded with so much work that they can't possibly keep up.

		- Not nothing to do all day. That's soul-destroying and it makes the time go very slowly.

	5. Being promoted to the next highest level of seniority every few years.

	6. Opportunity to learn new things.

	7. Their suggestions being listened to and taken seriously. This is a big one. All employees come up with ideas. A good idea might improve 
		safety or make millions of dollars for the company. Some suggestions are on a smaller scale but might improve the work 
		environment. Employee suggestions should be encouraged, appreciated, and taken seriously. They should not be a case of 
		'call security' or 'stay in your place', that's wrong.