Arguably the most important stakeholder group in any company is its employees. The company controls their standard of living, determines whether their families are educated, can afford to care for themselves if they become sick and can support themselves once they retire. It’s not a stretch to suggest that companies can dramatically transform the health and happiness of their community by treating their employees well.

Businesses exist to earn sufficient profits that support the short and long-term financial wealth of its shareholders. Businesses sell all kinds of products and services to achieve that goal, but it’s critical to keep focus on that primary purpose because capitalism works. Products and services must deliver the precise level of quality and timeliness that customers are willing to pay for – nothing more and nothing less – in order to support the primary goal of financial wealth. Businesses do a lot of other things too, but shareholders first.

Entrepreneurs start their own company so that they can build short and long-term wealth for themselves and their families. While we’re in the middle of it, there isn’t always a lot of thought about how much we need to earn today. We have a bunch of bills, kids that want to go to school, and discretionary purchases that are as unique as we are. We know exactly how much we need to live the life we want. But what about as we age and consider retirement? Do our needs change? How much is enough?