Here is a list of 50 essential business terms and their definitions:
Profit – the difference between a company’s revenue and expenses.
Loss – a negative financial result, when expenses exceed revenue.
Revenue – the total amount of income generated by the sale of goods or services.
Sales – the act of selling goods or services to customers.
Marketing – the process of promoting and selling products or services.
Branding – the practice of creating and promoting a name, symbol or design that identifies a product or company.
Market research – the process of gathering and analyzing information about consumers and markets.
Competitive advantage – the factors or attributes that allow a company to produce goods or services better or more cheaply than its rivals.
SWOT analysis – a strategic planning tool used to evaluate a company’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.
Business plan – a document that outlines a company’s goals, strategies and financial projections.
Entrepreneur – an individual who starts and manages a new business.
Investment – the act of putting money into a business or project with the expectation of making a profit.
Angel investor – a wealthy individual who provides capital to startups in exchange for ownership equity.
Venture capital – funds provided to startup companies and small businesses with high growth potential.
IPO (Initial Public Offering) – the first sale of stock by a company to the public.
Stock – a unit of ownership in a company.
Bond – a debt security that pays periodic interest and returns the principal when it matures.
Cash flow – the amount of cash that a company generates or uses in a given period of time.
Balance sheet – a financial statement that shows a company’s assets, liabilities and equity at a given point in time.
Income statement – a financial statement that shows a company’s revenues, expenses and profit over a given period of time.
Tax – a government levy on income, goods or services.
Diversification – the practice of investing in a variety of financial products or industries to spread risk.
Merger – the combination of two or more companies into a single entity.
Acquisition – the purchase of one company by another.
Leverage – the use of borrowed money to increase the potential return on an investment.
Interest – the cost of borrowing money.
Inflation – a sustained increase in the general price level of goods and services in an economy.
Gross domestic product (GDP) – the total value of goods and services produced by a country in a given period of time.
Globalization – the integration of economies, societies and cultures through the exchange of goods, ideas and information.
Supply chain – the network of organizations involved in the production and delivery of a product or service.
Logistics – the process of planning, implementing and controlling the flow of goods, services and information from the point of origin to the point of consumption.
Outsourcing – the practice of contracting with a third-party provider for goods or services that are traditionally provided in-house.
Offshoring – the practice of moving manufacturing or service jobs to another country to take advantage of lower labor costs.
Human resources – the department within a company that is responsible for managing personnel and labor relations.
Employee benefits – non-wage compensation provided to employees, such as health insurance, retirement plans and paid time off.
Labour Union – an organization that represents the interests of workers in a particular industry.
Productivity – a measure of how efficiently a company’s resources are being used to produce goods or services.
Innovation – the development of new ideas, products or processes that create value.
Intellectual property – a legal category that includes patents, trademarks, copyrights and trade secrets.
Partnership – a business relationship in which two or more people or companies work together to achieve a common goal.
Franchise – a business model in which a company (the franchisor) licenses its brand and business model to another company (the franchisee) for a fee.
Economies of scale – the cost advantage that a business experiences as it increases in size.
Operations management – the process of planning, organizing, and controlling the resources needed to produce a company’s goods and services.
Quality management – the practice of ensuring that a company’s products or services meet or exceed customer expectations.
Risk management – the process of identifying, assessing and prioritizing potential risks to a company’s operations, and implementing strategies to mitigate those risks.
Strategic management – the process of setting long-term goals and objectives, and then developing and implementing plans to achieve them.
Cost-benefit analysis – a method used to evaluate the potential costs and benefits of a proposed project or investment.
Strategic planning – the process of creating a plan that outlines how an organization will achieve its goals and objectives over a specific period of time.
Performance appraisal – the process of evaluating an employee’s job performance, typically on an annual or semi-annual basis.
Continuous improvement – a business approach that aims to identify and eliminate waste and inefficiencies in processes and operations.
