An A-level Entrepreneur

This week in our Introduction to Entrepreneurship class we studied Honesty and Ethics.  As Sister Sheri Dew stated in her 2004 devotional titled, "True Blue, Through and Through", this topic, namely having cultivated the virtue of integrity can "make or break your career." Being an honest and ethical business man or woman goes beyond trying to merely stay out of prison or even trying to stay above the law.  As we read about in Elder Lynn G. Robbin's devotional "Making a Living and a Life," being an ethical person has more to do with our motivations behind our actions than it has to do with how well we follow a law or set of business rules. 

Elder Robbins used the familiar grading scale to demonstrate his point where he assigned a letter grade to various employments based upon their primary motivations for how they transact business.  Businesses matching each grade level can be found in all industries and business types throughout the world. Naturally, an A level type business is the highest category possible.  In order to achieve A level status, the business entrepreneur would need to create a company whose primary motive is for the "love of God and fellow men". This is a service-based company that exists to serve their clients and create something of value in the world.  With an A level company, earning an income would be the secondary motivation.  In contrast, a B level status flips those two motivations with earning an income being the primary motivation and the love for God and others coming in a close second. Elder Robbins pointed out that it is very difficult for companies to remain A level companies because the bottom line often seems to take top priority even when companies start out with A level motivations. As we move down the grade list, money always stays in the primary motivating column, however the impact to the customers changes.  At C level, the love of God and fellow men changes to an indifference where customers become an annoyance.  At D level, the company becomes harmful to the customers using manipulating tactics that may even result in the customers being injured or killed and finally F level businesses injure whole societies or nations for the love of money also know as "filthy lucre."

 As I begin my journey to entrepreneurship, it is top priority to me to remain in the A level.  My industry, family history research, centers around serving others, helping people learn about their heritage and ancestors, and teaching them how to engage in research themselves. I always want to put my clients and customers needs first before I worry about monetary compensation. That may not make me the most successful business woman by the world's standards, but I never liked judging myself by the world's standards anyway.  The world and its money crumbles and falls, but the love of God and our fellow men lives forever.  I would much rather cultivate a company that is centered around love and service. This simple illustration by Elder Robbins will stay with me throughout this entrepreneurial journey, and I hope by the time I reach the end of it, I can say with confidence that I never deviated from A level work.