Editing Businessperson

{{Short description|Person involved in activities for profit}}
{{Redirect|Businessman}}
{{Use American English|date=October 2021}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2020}}
{{Infobox occupation
| name               = Businessperson
| synonyms           = 
| pronounce          = 
| image              = BG Group-CNOOC signing ceremony in Brisbane hosted by QGC (8712724787).jpg
| imagesize          = 
| alt                = 
| caption            = [[China National Offshore Oil Corporation|CNOOC Group]] Chairman [[Wang Yilin]] (left) shaking hands with [[BG Group]] CEO [[Chris Finlayson (businessman)|Chris Finlayson]] in 2013
| official_names     = 
| type               = Business
| activity_sector    = [[Private sector|Private]]
| competencies       = {{hlist|[[Innovation]]|[[Risk|Risk Taking Ability]]|[[Critical thinking]]|[[Goal|Goal seeking]]|[[Social network|Networking]]|[[Persuasion]]|[[wikt:Special:Search/perseverance|Perseverance]]|[[Leadership]]}}
| formation          = Qualification is not required
| employment_field   = 
| related_occupation = [[Capitalist]]
}}
{{Capitalism sidebar}}

A '''businessperson''', also referred to as a '''businessman''' or '''businesswoman''', is an individual who has [[Organizational founder|founded]], [[ownership|owns]], or [[Shareholder|holds shares]] in (including as an [[angel investor]]) a [[private-sector]] company.{{dubious|date=October 2023}} A businessperson undertakes activities (commercial or industrial) to generate [[cash flow]], sales, and revenue by using a combination of [[Human capital|human]], [[Financial capital|financial]], [[Intellectual capital|intellectual]], and [[physical capital]] to fuel economic development and growth.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/businessman.html|title=businessman|year=2018|publisher=WebFinance Inc.|access-date=6 July 2018|quote= businessman[:] A person who is employed by an organization or company. Businessmen are often associated with white collar jobs. In order to avoid sexism or the perpetuation of stereotypes, the term "businessperson" is often used. The term "businesswoman" is less commonly used.|archive-date=2 February 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090202202231/http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/businessman.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

== History ==
=== Medieval period: Rise of the merchant class ===
Merchants emerged as a [[class (social)|social class]] in [[medieval Italy]]. Between 1300 and 1500, modern accounting, the [[bill of exchange]], and [[limited liability]] were invented, and thus, the world saw "the first true bankers", who were certainly businesspeople.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Roberts|first=J.M.|title=The Penguin History of the World, Sixth Edition|year=2013|publisher=Penguin|location=New York|pages=506|isbn=9780141968728|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Koj8JeOLgTcC}}</ref>{{qn|date=December 2020}}

Around the same time, Europe saw the "[[Commercial revolution|emergence of rich merchants.]]"<ref>{{cite book|last= Roberts|first= J.M.|title= The Penguin History of the World, Sixth Edition|year= 2013|publisher= Penguin|location= New York|pages= 509}}</ref> This "rise of the merchant class" came as Europe "needed a middleman" for the first time, and these "burghers" or "[[bourgeois]]" were the people who played this role.<ref>{{cite book|last= Roberts|first= J.M.|title= The Penguin History of the World, Sixth Edition|year= 2013|publisher= Penguin|location= New York|pages=510}}</ref>

=== Renaissance to Enlightenment: Rise of the capitalist ===
Europe became the dominant global [[commercial power]] in the 16th century, and as Europeans developed new tools for business, new types of "business people" began to use those tools. In this period, Europe developed and used [[paper money]], [[cheque]]s, and [[joint-stock companies]] (and their shares of [[capital stock]]).<ref>{{cite book|last= Roberts|first=J.M.|title=The Penguin History of the World, Sixth Edition|year=2013|publisher=Penguin|location=New York|pages=558}}</ref> Developments in [[actuarial science]] and [[underwriting]] led to insurance.<ref>{{cite book|last=Roberts|first=J.M.|title=The Penguin History of the World, Sixth Edition|year=2013|publisher=Penguin|location=New York|pages=559}}</ref> Together, these new tools were used by a new kind of businessperson, the [[capitalist]]. These people owned or financed businesses as investors, but they were not merchants of goods. These capitalists were a major force in the [[Industrial Revolution]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=September 2008 |title=Industrial Revolution Definition: History, Pros, and Cons |url=https://www.investopedia.com/terms/i/industrial-revolution.asp#:~:text=The%20industrial%20revolution%20developed%20in,to%20increase%20output%20and%20profitability. |access-date=2023-05-02 |website=Investopedia |language=en}}</ref>

The [[Oxford English Dictionary]] reports the earliest known use of the word "business-men" in 1798, and of "business-man" in 1803. By 1860, the spelling "businessmen" had emerged.<ref>{{oed|businessman}}</ref>

[[Merriam Webster]] reports the earliest known use of the word "businesswoman" in 1827.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Definition of "businesswoman" |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/businesswoman#:~:text=first%20known,above |access-date=2023-05-02 |website=Merriam-Webster }}</ref>

=== Modern period: Rise of the business magnate ===
[[File:Frank-carr-businessperson-common-history.jpg|thumb|Frank Carr c. 1965]]
The newest kind of [[Business executive|corporate executive]] working under a [[business magnate]] is the manager. One of the first true founders of the management profession was [[Robert Owen]] (1771–1858). He was also a [[business magnate]] in Scotland.<ref>{{cite book|last= Drucker|first= Peter|title= Management, Revised Edition|url= https://archive.org/details/management0000druc|url-access= registration|year= 2008|publisher= Collins Business|location= New York|pages= [https://archive.org/details/management0000druc/page/13 13]}}</ref> He studied the "problems of [[productivity]] and [[motivation]]", and was followed by [[Frederick Winslow Taylor]] (1856–1915), who was the first person who studied work with the motive to train his [[Employment|staff]] in the field of management to make them efficient managers capable of managing his business.<ref>{{cite book|last= Drucker|first=Peter|title=Management, Revised Edition|url=https://archive.org/details/management0000druc|url-access=registration|year=2008|publisher=Collins Business|location=New York|pages=[https://archive.org/details/management0000druc/page/14 14]}}</ref> After [[World War I]], management became popular due to the example of [[Herbert Hoover]] and the [[Harvard Business School]], which offered [[MBA|degrees in business administration]] (management) with the motive to develop efficient managers so that business magnates could hire them with the goal to increase productivity of the [[Privately held company|private establishment]]s business magnates own.<ref>{{cite book|last=Drucker|first=Peter|title=Management, Revised Edition|url=https://archive.org/details/management0000druc|url-access=registration|year=2008|publisher=Collins Business|location=New York|pages=[https://archive.org/details/management0000druc/page/15 15–16]}}</ref>

== Salary ==
{{see also|Income inequality|Gini index|Maximum wage|One-dollar salary}}
[[Salaries]] for businesspeople vary.<ref>{{cite web|title=Business and Financial Occupations|url=https://www.bls.gov/ooh/business-and-financial/home.htm|access-date=18 September 2015|website=www.bls.gov|publisher=U.S. Department of Labor|language=en-us}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Management Occupations|url=https://www.bls.gov/ooh/management/|access-date=18 October 2015|website=www.bls.gov|publisher=U.S. Department of Labor|language=en-us}}</ref> The salaries of businesspeople can be as high as [[billion]]s of [[United States dollar|dollar]]s per year. For example, the [[ownership|owner]] of [[Microsoft]], [[Bill Gates]] makes $4&nbsp;billion per year. The high salaries which businesspeople earn have often been a source of criticism from many who believe they are paid excessively.<ref>{{cite journal |url=https://hbr.org/2014/09/ceos-get-paid-too-much-according-to-pretty-much-everyone-in-the-world/ |title=CEOs Get Paid Too Much |first=Gretchen|last=Gavett |journal=Harvard Business Review |date=23 September 2014 |access-date=18 September 2015 }}</ref>

== Entrepreneurship ==
{{see also|Business development}}
An entrepreneur is a person who [[Organizational founder|sets up a business]] or multiple businesses ([[serial entrepreneur]]). [[Entrepreneurship]] may be defined as the [[value creation|creation]] or extraction of [[economic value]]. It is generally thought to embrace [[business risk|risks]] beyond what is normally encountered in starting a business. Its motivation can include other values than simply economic ones.<ref name="Investopedia 2006">{{cite web | title=Entrepreneur: What It Means to Be One and How to Get Started | website=Investopedia | date=2006-05-01 | url=https://www.investopedia.com/terms/e/entrepreneur.asp | access-date=2023-04-02}}</ref><ref name="Stanford Online 2022">{{cite web | title=What is entrepreneurship? | website=Stanford Online | date=2022-01-10 | url=https://online.stanford.edu/what-is-entrepreneurship | access-date=2023-04-02}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Starting a Business {{!}} Encyclopedia.com|url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/finance/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/starting-business|access-date=5 December 2021|website=www.encyclopedia.com}}</ref>
In general usage, because the distinction is not clear-cut, the term 'entrepreneur' may be used as a (self-)promoting [[euphemism]] for 'businessperson', or it may serve to objectively indicate particular passion and risk-taking in a business field. Still, the distinction is only one by degrees.<ref name="Define Business Terms 2023">{{cite web | title=Difference between businessman and entrepreneur | website=Define Business Terms | date=2023-03-19 | url=https://www.definebusinessterms.com/difference-between-businessman-and-entrepreneur/ | access-date=2023-04-02}}</ref><ref name="The Gritti Fund 2019">{{cite web | title=The Difference Between An Industrialist, Businessman And An Entrepreneur | website=The Gritti Fund | date=2019-02-21 | url=https://thegrittifund.com/entrepreneurship-definition/difference-industrialist-businessman-entrepreneur/ | access-date=2023-04-02}}</ref>

== See also ==
{{Portal|Business}}
{{wikt|businessperson|businesswoman|businessman}}
* [[Business magnate]]
* [[Business]]
* [[Entrepreneur]]
* [[Media proprietor]]
* [[Corporation|Corporate]]
* [[Salaryman]]
* [[White-collar worker]]
* [[Women in business]]
** [[Ahaha]]
{{Clear}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

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[[Category:Business occupations]]
[[Category:Businesspeople|*]]
[[Category:Entrepreneurship]]