When I take out a loan from the bank, the bank lends me money, and when I repay the loan, I owe that money back to the bank, plus interest, on the repayment date. However, when I sell my used car, a debt arises in which the buyer must pay me cash equivalent to the price of the used car, and I incur a performance debt in which I have to hand over the used car to the buyer. When these two different debts are exchanged, a transaction is completed. The goal of business is to make debt well and pay it back well over and over again. A transaction must create debt without exception, but a transaction that generates debt on only one side is an absolutely unfavorable contract for someone. That’s the essence of a loan agreement. There are good debts and bad debts depending on the type of debt I have to pay (or fulfill). If you do not make this distinction clearly, you are more likely to fall behind in the social system. - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”
In business, capital means business funds. A successful entrepreneur often says, "I started my business without any capital". It's partly true, but it's a lie. The entrepreneur just said that capital means only cash. However, all kinds of businesses need to be fundamentally business funds in any even not cash. The entrepreneur didn't count the founder's labor cost. No inputs, no outcomes. The uncounted labor costs are called "alternative costs" or "opportunity costs". This comes from comparative advantage. If the entrepreneur doesn't accept the uncounted labor cost as a debt, the entrepreneur is equivalent to losing the profit due to opportunity costs. Please always remember this. There is no free lunch in this world. - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”