Over lunch a few days ago, Marc, a gentlemanly French citizen, explained a French term which loosely translates into: “their business is to take money out of pockets”. At first I thought, ok, is business not generally about “taking money”?

Marc was telling me about an excursion, which I had seen advertised at the airport, and in which an “unbelievable experience” is promoted, supported by impressive photos. Going at quite a hefty US dollar rate, the excursion turned out to be highly disappointing in all aspects of the “promise” that was promoted.

The conversation that followed cleared my initial thinking. Business is not about taking money; business is about sticking to promises, and giving value. More importantly, it is about giving the value that customers or clients perceive to receive in return for their money and time investment. The exchange of perceived or more than perceived value is what makes for a happy buyer. Only then can business be seen to be making money and not taking money.

The laws of economics should sort out the “Takers” and the “Makers”. The Takers usually make sustainable commerce more difficult for the Makers, and I suppose the challenge is twofold: outdo the Takers and always check ‘am I Taking or Making?’