I was recently listening to someone describe an interesting habit he has. He looks at the world through the lens of a person curious about business and entrepreneurship. Whenever he’s out, he tries to understand how a business makes money and may even guess how well the business is performing. He described being out to dinner with his family and analyzing the restaurant. He observed the number of patrons, guesstimated the average check, made some other assumptions, and concluded that the restaurant probably makes most of its profit from alcohol sales, not food, and that it's a low-profit business.

I, too, often look at things through the lens of a curious entrepreneur, albeit not to the degree he does. I’ve annoyed my family and friends many times. They’ll tell me about something new they’re excited about, and I’ll ask, How will that make money? I’m especially curious if the product or service is described as free. The company has to generate revenue to sustain itself, and I enjoy understanding how it does that.

If you’re interested in business or entrepreneurship, consider taking the time to understand how the products and services you use generate revenue. It’s a different way of looking at the world and a great way to learn about business.