The history of business has been going on since ancient times. Over many centuries, vast experience and traditions of doing business have been accumulated, a culture and ethics of entrepreneurship have developed . We will tell you about how the world history of business development has developed, about the most striking examples of success and starting a business from scratch.
Business concept
In Russian, the word “business” is a synonym for entrepreneurship; in English, this concept literally means “business”. The essence of this phenomenon is to profit from any occupation.
Business is an economic activity associated with risks, the entrepreneur assumes responsibility for them . At the same time, a businessman has independence in decision-making and in the organization of his business. Business, as an economic phenomenon, is characterized by legal, financial and property liability, the systematic nature of profit. Any state has its own laws governing the activities of entrepreneurs, but in any case, they provide for legal registration and payment of income taxes.
Business Forms
Over the centuries-old history of entrepreneurship, its main varieties have developed. The most popular form and historically the oldest is trade, the second most frequent form is production, and the third is the provision of services.
Varieties such as insurance, financial credit and show business are also distinguished. The organizational and legal characteristics distinguish such varieties of entrepreneurial activity as a cooperative, partnership, limited liability company, business partnership, joint-stock company and family enterprises.
The emergence of entrepreneurship
The history of business is rooted in antiquity. The first entrepreneurs appeared when surplus products began to form in agriculture. Then the most active people began to exchange products for other household items and food. The barter period lasted quite a while, but mostly “businessmen” did business in very small geographical areas. With the advent of money, business processes began to take on a larger scale, financial and insurance businessmen began to appear.
Business in the Ancient World
It is documented that the history of business begins in Mesopotamia. There, groups of businessmen created partnerships that, with the help of letters of credit, provided finance for various trade transactions.
In ancient Greece, trade was a sphere of state control, and entrepreneurs engaged in the provision of various services, primarily financial and credit. The rapid development of business takes place in ancient Rome. Entrepreneurs create large banking associations, enterprises for the production of clothing, weapons, household items and furniture. At this time, the labor of employees began to be actively used. But the production was predominantly manual. During this period, the first systems of accounting and taxation of entrepreneurs are formed, attempts are made to regulate their activities.
Middle Ages Business
After the fall of the Roman Empire, the history of business enters a new stage of development. A rapid growth of trade is taking place, thanks to Byzantine ties between east and west, new ties are being established between European states and eastern countries.
At this time, there is an increase in production, due to an increase in the number of craft workshops. A class of merchants is being formed, which are united in guilds, they join capital for the purchase of goods in distant lands. In the 14th century, an accounting system was invented in Italy, which later became an important condition for the development of capitalism. Towards the end of the Middle Ages, large companies began to appear that not only sell and transport goods, but also produce various goods themselves by hiring workers.
Entrepreneurship development
From the New Age, a new period has begun in the formation of business. The era of great geographical discoveries has led to a new surge in entrepreneurial activity. Large trading companies appear that equip ships for trade with overseas countries.
In the 16th century, the Reformation led to the emergence of Protestantism, which industriousness was considered an important virtue and considered wealth as a sign of divine blessing. This has led to the emergence of a large number of entrepreneurs throughout Europe, and especially in its north.
At the turn of the 17th and 18th centuries, for the first time, the English scientist Cantillon used the word "business." The industrial revolution began in the mid-18th century , and opportunities appeared to quickly produce inexpensive goods in large quantities.
On this wave, a new class of industrial entrepreneurs appears, who sought to profit by expanding production. This class is becoming a real “engine of progress", businessmen are initiating the introduction of new technologies, are looking for ways to increase the efficiency of enterprises, and are developing new methods for managing companies.
In the middle of the 18th century, the scope of joint-stock companies and banking expanded, this led to the fact that business began to divide more and more into large and small, and the gap between them was growing rapidly. In the middle of the 19th century, a class of capitalists was formed, which invest resources in the development of production.
Modern business
From the beginning of the 20th century, the modern stage of entrepreneurship begins, when there is a rapid growth in the number of businessmen. At this time, business stories from scratch became characteristic, a huge impetus to the development of this sphere gives the world a way out of the financial crisis and the spread of the American idea of personal success for everyone.
At the beginning of the 20th century, a new field of activity appears - the manager, scientific methods of business management are being introduced, all new economic theories are being actively formulated.
In the mid-20th century, the 3rd industrial revolution takes place , which leads to a breakthrough in the field of innovative business. A new round of entrepreneurship is associated with the commercial development of virtual space. E-commerce has become a platform for young businessmen to realize their ideas. They were attracted not only by the new, unique sphere, but also by the opportunity to organize a profitable business with small initial investments.
The current stage is characterized by the active development of the venture business, which is associated with attracting investor funds and the implementation of business projects in high-tech and high-tech manufacturing sectors.
History of Russian business: emergence and stages
Russia in the field of entrepreneurship has its own, special way. Monetary relations were born on the territory of our country only in the 9th century, and then the first layer of merchants began to form, who wandered through the lands of the state and literally profit from their activity.
The adoption of Orthodoxy slowed down the development of entrepreneurship a little, but life cannot be stopped, and the process of creating your own business options is gradually gaining momentum. Russia, as an agrarian country, always predominantly became a field for the work of agricultural entrepreneurs. A large number of fairs and markets for the sale of various food products worked in the country.
Since the second half of the 16th century, the country has entered a period of revitalization of interaction with other countries, which has had a beneficial effect on the creation of family and artel types of business. The production of goods is gradually growing, groups of artisans are formed that specialize in the production of their own products.
In the 17th century, the state began to support entrepreneurs, encouraging business initiative. At the end of the 18th century, with the development of the banking loan system, a steady increase in the number of private entrepreneurs began. Merchants guilds, craft artisans, various partnerships and communities are being created.
In the 19th century, the history of business in Russia reaches its peak, large and small businesses appear, and a class of industrialists forms. New spheres of production appear, Russia goes through the stage of industrialization. The stability of the economy has contributed to attracting people to the business.
Everything changed during the Soviet period. The abolition of private property has led to the fact that the business has become unprofitable and even illegal. The business sector has been replaced by government agencies. Only after perestroika and the return to the path of a market economy in Russia does the opportunity to do business again appear.
For 30 years, the country goes through the stages of capital accumulation, privatization, distribution of markets and resources. By the beginning of the 21st century, the country had a little catch up. Although the private business segment began to decline again amid the financial crisis. Today, small and medium-sized businesses are actively developing in Russia, the sphere of electronic commerce is being formed, and entrepreneurship in the innovation sector is starting to be created.
Small business
World experience shows that stable growth of the economy and its development is provided mainly by small and medium-sized companies. Modern history of small business shows that it is small private companies that are the engine of the economy. In Russia, the experience of creating small enterprises begins in the 90s of the 20th century, when people without large capital create various manufacturing and trading companies.
The government is developing various mechanisms to support small businesses and expects that in 2030 about 60-70% of the population will be employed in this area. Over the long history of the business, there have been many examples of colossal successes and failures. So, the owner of the largest Wal-Mart retail chain once started his business from scratch. Sam Walton was able to come up with his own successful business model, which ultimately brought him millions of profits and turned a small business into a large corporation.
Success stories
World experience knows many examples of how people, thanks to their activity and practical acumen, went from small firms to large enterprises. Success stories in business are numerous.
The story of three friends - Sigle, Baldwin and Bowker - is impressive, united in their love of coffee and opened a small shop, which later became the famous Starbucks Coffee chain. The classic success stories are examples of Henry Ford and George Parker, who were able to create a huge business on their ideas and enthusiasm.
A separate page in the history of entrepreneurship is show business. This sphere existed in ancient Greece. But as an industry, it begins to take shape at the end of the 19th century. The history of show business begins in the United States, this is greatly facilitated by the development of cinema and sound recording.
The real spectacular business boom begins in the 2nd half of the 20th century, when mass culture begins to take shape. Entrepreneurs are appearing: entrepreneurs, producers, managers who are doing their job profit from actors, singers, writers. Today, show business is a market in which there are a huge number of small, medium and large businessmen.