While people might think that a profession and a business are the same, they are two different things. Most people would interchange these terms, not knowing completely different.
Business Vs. Profession
A business is an economic activity where a person sells goods or services, while a profession is an economic activity where a person works with their set of skills. The purpose of a business is to sell its merchandise, while a profession is where the person applies a specialty skill and turns it into an occupation. There are no qualifications to start a business; you can do it anytime you want. However, to be a professional, one must learn and get the necessary skills and certification in their specific niche.
The main objective of starting a business is to make money out of the items that you are selling. A businessman would find different ways and tactics to find new ways to profit from the items he is selling. On the other side, a professional would find ways to upgrade and improve his skills to provide incredible services to a specific company. It calls for expertise in a particular field or niche.
There are no certificates or degrees that a person needs to start a business, just a mindset on taking risks and figuring out how to sell items best. What matters in a business is the target market and meeting and satisfying what the customer needs. On the other side, there are a lot of qualifications that a professional must meet in his profession to be qualified to render their services.
What is Business?
A business is considered an economic activity in which a person would earn money and get profits from making a product, buying goods, and selling them to other people. The main purpose of this is to make money and profit from the items being sold. A business does not have to equal a big company or organization but can include anyone selling an item and getting profit from it. It can easily be someone selling cigarettes on the streets to a large company; the range is very wide.
The main reason people do business is to make money, but many things must be considered in the process. This includes knowing your target market and being able to meet their demands. After all, you will be providing specific goods and services to your clients, and that is why it is necessary to make sure that you would pay attention to the small details and the quality of the products you manufacture. You are also expected to make a good repertoire with your customers to keep buying from you.
A good measure of how effective a business is would be the amount of profit. Profit can easily show if a business is doing good or not. It involves many risks, and when you start one, you can never predict how it will work out.
What is a Profession?
A profession is an economic activity where a person gives his skills for the betterment of an activity. A person needs to have skills and be able to provide good services. It requires expertise that professionals get from specific training where they are made to perform specific tasks. It requires formal learning so that they can be an expert in a specific niche.
It also implies that they are certified to do what they are doing, and good examples of professionals are lawyers, doctors, pilots, and more. They can only be called a professional after passing specific requirements and getting certifications from their university or college.
They are required to work under specific guidelines depending on their niche. Their purpose is to offer their services to other people and charge a specific amount for them. Unlike a business, you cannot start being a professional overnight. Most businesses, however, hire the skills of professionals for their growth.
Difference between Business and Profession
- While both business and profession are economic activities, a business is more on selling products and services while the profession is of offering specialties and skills in particular fields.
- Businesses have the main purpose of making profit and understanding customers while professionals provide services in exchange for compensation.
- A business can be done overnight, while a profession takes years to get.
- Professionals require specific certificates and training to attain.
- A business is a high-risk type of economic activity while there is little to none in a profession.
- Anyone can start a business; there are no criteria for eligibility for it, while a profession has a lot of different sets of requirements to be one.
- Business uses a lot of advertising tools to increase their sales, but professionals cannot advertise because of their code of conduct.
Conclusion
The similarities between a business and a profession end at both being economic activities. The major difference is that businesses do not have any qualifications, and anyone can start it as long as they understand the risks. However, a profession needs special skills to be able to offer service to the public and has a lot of different requirements.