ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Hawley's risk theory of profit

Okay, imagine you have a lemonade stand, and you sell cups of lemonade to people who are thirsty. You buy lemons, sugar, cups, and ice to make your lemonade. If you sell your lemonade for more than it costs you to make it, you make a profit. But sometimes, things can happen that make it harder to sell lemonade or more expensive to make it, like a rainy day or higher prices for lemons.

Hawley's risk theory of profit is like a big idea for businesses that says they have to take risks to make money. A risk is something that could go wrong or make it harder to sell or make a product, like bad weather or high prices. But if a business takes a risk and succeeds, they can make a lot of money!

For example, imagine you come up with a new way to make your lemonade even tastier by adding a secret ingredient. You buy a lot of that secret ingredient because you think people will really like it. But if people don't like it, or if they don't want to pay more for the tastier lemonade, you could lose money. That's a risk. But if people really like it and are willing to pay more for it, you can make more money per cup of lemonade you sell. That's what Hawley's risk theory of profit is all about - taking risks to make more money, but being careful not to take on too much risk that you lose money instead.