The mystery of business lies in the forces of demand and supply; 

some call it ‘Supply and Demand’. 

We have many tangible things we need in life. Barton and I hold a shared-need for ham n' beans n' cornbread. 

Barton ate a lot of cornbread. Have you ever eaten cornbread, ham and beans, done the Eric Way? 

Like this: 

Split the baked cornbread and lay it on the plate.

Put syrup on the cornbread, ladle the cooked ham and beans on the cornbread, with some extra juice from the pot.

Salt and pepper to taste.

Ketchup and yellow mustard on top of that, with minced raw onions on top of the whole mess. 

Wow. Delicious!

Anyway, a perceived need creates a demand, be it for cornbread or cell phones. 

If we can’t get the thing we need, we need someone else to help us get it. 

We need a supplier. 

Some people become suppliers because they see an opportunity to help others, and help themselves in the process. 

Barton needed cornmeal to make cornbread, and there were a few ways for Barton to get cornmeal: 

1) Grow it himself. Perhaps Barton had a couple of acres and raised a little corn for himself. 

2) Barton could have traded labor for food supplies, which he did at times. This is called bartering. 

3) He could have earned wages and bought the corn from a farmer directly, as a customer. 

4) Barton could have bought cornmeal from the miller (processor) that ground the corn. When farmers brought in grain

    to the mill to grind into corn meal or flour, they would often pay with a percent of the grain. The miller then, 

5) Barton could have gone to a local eatery that made that kind of meal. 

Where there is a declared need, there will be a demand. 

Where there is a demand, there will be people trying to supply a product or service to meet that need.

The income from meeting other people's needs, helps them meet their own needs. 

Eric J. Rose

middlegrademysteries.com

photo: drbrop.wordpress.com