Proof of my existence: the essence of business

Proving Your Existence: The Essence of Business

"Why should I be here?" This is the most fundamental question every company must ask itself. A company that cannot clearly prove why it holds its place in the market ecosystem, beyond simply chasing revenue and margin, will eventually be left behind. The same goes for individuals.

A question from a trainee in today's session keeps echoing in my mind: "In a value chain that is already firmly established, can we enter as a newcomer and secure a 'high margin'?" On the surface it sounded like a simple market-entry question, but it hid a misconception that overlooks the essence of business. The value of a business doesn't start from 'how high a margin can I take.' It starts from 'which customer problem do I solve.' This is especially true in B2B. Only when you offer a solution that relieves the pain points your client faces, such as uncertainty, inefficiency, and risk, will the market and customers readily acknowledge the intermediary's reason to exist and pay for it.

In 14 years in the corporate training ecosystem, I have occasionally witnessed an absurd reality. Among the many training agencies, agents, and brokerage platforms flooding this market, some operate with virtually no 'reason to exist.' They simply sit between instructors and companies, make the 'connection,' and collect a commission. They don't know the client's needs before training begins, don't brief the instructor properly, don't prepare the training site, don't observe participants' reactions and engagement firsthand, and don't measure real impact or collect feedback afterward. Their only value proposition is a simple information asymmetry: "We provide good instructors at a low price." In a digital age where information between end users and content providers is becoming transparent, such a shallow brokerage role cannot sustain a business. They lose their reason to exist. Such middlemen usually disappear or get replaced quickly.


This is not unique to the corporate training market. Distributors, agents, brokers, and platform companies in every industry must keep proving their reason to exist and their value. A habitual business model of "we're in the middle, so you have to go through us" will no longer work. The true value of an intermediary lies not in 'connecting' but in 'solving problems.' A distributor between manufacturer and consumer must go beyond moving goods and offer solutions to problems neither side can easily solve alone: efficient inventory management, logistics optimization, region-specific marketing strategies, fewer touchpoints, convenience, smaller pack sizes, and diverse payment options. A partner that resells IT solutions must do more than sell licenses; it must add value through customization to the client's business context, reliable maintenance after deployment, and ongoing technical training. A logistics company must go beyond simple transport to deliver end-to-end supply chain visibility, international regulatory compliance, and risk management. All of them must state their value to customers clearly, make it visible, and keep demonstrating it, not once, but throughout the entire business relationship. They must be able to answer, at any time, the question: "Why do we need you?"

Whether it is semiconductor logistics or corporate training, every business must ultimately be able to answer: "Why should I exist, and why should I be paid?" And the answer cannot simply be "to make a profit." Profit is the result of creating value, not the purpose. The market never tolerates false value. Companies that merely take fees from the middle without real value will lose their footing. In the past, middlemen could earn margin by exploiting information asymmetry, but customers have become far savvier. They ask: "What value do we get from having you in the middle?" Companies that cannot answer this clearly will eventually vanish from the market.

On the other hand, companies that truly understand and empathize with customers' problems and solve them as their own will establish themselves as 'irreplaceable.' What customers pay them is no longer seen as a 'fee' but as 'fair payment for value.' Only when we can clearly answer, "Whose problem do I solve, and how well?" can we prove our 'reason to exist.' And that is the only path to a sustainable business.

What is your reason to exist?