Different Kinds of Businesses

Many people think business is complicated. But actually, business is really quite simple. Although there are millions of different businesses in the world, there are only four types of business.

Every business can be classified as one of the following:

• Manufacturer — the person or company who uses raw materials to produce goods or merchandise that are sold to others
• Wholesaler — the person or company who buys large quantities of goods or merchandise from the manufacturer and sells in smaller quantities to a variety of retailers for resale (the “middleman”)
• Retailer — the person or company who buys goods or merchandise in smaller quantities and sells them directly to the consumer or customer
• Service Provider — the person or company who sells time, knowledge, labor, and intangible services that assist other businesses and/or consumers

Some companies operate as more than one type of business. For example, a company might sell computers as well as repair them. This company would be a retailer as well as a service provider.