Have you ever heard or read a business-related word and had no idea what it means? We’re sure you’re not alone. That’s why The Metropreneur has compiled the following list of 20 terms and buzzwords we think you’ll find helpful. Take a few minutes to expand your entrepreneurial vocabulary!
Angel Investor: An individual who invests in a business venture, usually in exchange for ownership equity or a bond that can be converted into shares of common stock or cash of equal value. Often they fill the gap between financing provided by friends and family and venture capitalists.
Barriers to Competition: Economic, procedural, regulatory, or technological factors that make it difficult for a new business to enter an industry, such as exclusive ownership of a unique resource, patents, or trademarks.
Burn Rate: The speed per month at which startup cash and credit is being used before a business breaks even and generates some income.
Change Management: Processes used to ensure that significant modifications are implemented in an orderly, controlled, and systematic manner to achieve organizational change.
Cross-functional Team: A group of people with different expertise working toward a common goal. It usually includes employees from all levels of an organization.
Dynamic: Capable of change or being changed. Dynamic businesses are able to quickly respond to opportunities and remain flexible in response to rapidly changing realities.
Equity Financing: Invested money that is not repaid to investors in the normal course of business. The value of equity financing is computed by subtracting all liabilities from the current market value of everything owned by a company.
Exit Strategy: A plan that allows a business’s owners or investors to leave when, and with what, they want.
Green Marketing: Promotional activities that play up a product or service’s perceived environmental benefits.
Intrapreneur: An individual who takes on entrepreneur-like ventures within a large corporation.
Intellectual Assets: Intangible assets, such as experience, knowledge and skills; units of intellectual property.
Microenterprise: A small business that has less than five employees and annual revenues less than $250,000.
Multilevel Marketing or MLM: A system for selling goods or services through a network of distributors who are encouraged to build and manage their own sales force by recruiting and training other individuals.
Perfect Competition: A market condition where no buyer or seller is large enough to alter or fix the price of a product or service.
Return on Investment or ROI: The ratio of money gained or lost on an investment compared to the amount of money invested; usually expressed as a percentage.
Social Entrepreneur: An individual who attempts to affect change by applying the principles of business to social problems.
Turnkey Business: A business that includes everything needed to immediately start running it, like a franchise.
Window Dressing: Making a product or service appear deceptively attractive or favorable.
Venture Capitalist: An individual who invests in a business venture, providing capital for startup or expansion. Venture capitalists typically look for returns of 25 percent and up.
Venture Philanthropy: Takes concepts and techniques usually associated with venture capitalists to improve the performance of a nonprofit organization or social enterprise.
