SMall business operations
ISO 14001 certification
A certification awarded to organizations for creating and implementing an environmental management system that meets the requirement of the International Standards Organization.
Traditional small business
A firm intended to provide a living to the owner and operating in a manner and on a schedule consistent with other firms in the industry and market.
Customer Segments
A group or subgroup of potential purchasers that can be approached in a coherent manner.
General Environment
A part of the external environment made up of sectors of major forces that shape the people and institutions of the task and internal environments, such as the economic sector or the demographic sector
main street businesses
A popular term for small businesses reflecting the idea that these are the kinds of firms you would expect to find on the main street of a typical American city, and are the opposite of big businesses or "Wall Street" businesses.
pilot test
A preliminary run of a business, sales effort, program, or Web site with the goal of assessing how well the overall approach works and what problems it might have.
Lifestyle or part-time firm
A small business primarily intended to provide partial or subsistence financial support for the existing lifestyle of the owner, most often through operations that fit the owner's schedule and way of working.
entrepreneurial alertness
A special set of observational and thinking skills that help entrepreneurs identify good opportunities; the ability to notice things that have been overlooked, without actually launching a formal search for opportunities, and the motivation to look for opportunities.
entrepreneurial ecosystem
A specific configuration of the environment that reflects the components that are most central to developing a strong and active community of start-up businesses. The components are entrepreneurs, government, universities, investors, service people, mentors, and large organizations.
corridor principle
A theory in entrepreneurship and occupational theory that says that as you start pursuing one line of work or opportunity (which is like going down a corridor) you will encounter other opportunities.
A/B testing
A way to check customer reaction to websites describing your product or service. Two versions (version "A" and version "B") of the site are posted and are served up randomly to prospective customers. The version of the website that gets the most commitments from customers is the one kept and the less attractive site is revised and the two versions tested until one revision gets consistently superior customer reactions.
BATNA
An acronym for "Best Alternative To a Negotiated Settlement" in which the second-best outcome is identified by the parties in a negotiation to help clarify the value of achieving a successful negotiation.
Billboard principle
An ethical model that asks whether someone would be comfortable having his or her decision and name advertised on a billboard for the public to see
Universalism
An ethical model that suggests that there is a code of right and wrong that everyone can see and follow
Utilitarianism
An ethical system stating that the greatest good for the greatest number should be the overriding concern of decision makers
"real options" approach
An idea in entrepreneurship popularized by Rita Gunther McGrath and Ian Macmillan that suggests thinking of entrepreneurial opportunities (like start-ups) in terms similar to buying a stock option, putting a small amount of money down now to let you invest more at favorable rates later. This approach minimizes the amount you can lose and gives you a chance to make a decision later, based on the start-up's track record and prospects.
green entrepreneurship
Another term for sustainable entrepreneurship taken from the popular belief that green is the color of a healthy environment, as in forests or fields
social ventures
Businesses that are organized as for-profit entities but are also solving or supporting solutions to social problems.
feasibility study
Evaluates the potential of a business opportunity by studying five primary areas in depth: the overall business idea, the product/service, the industry and market, financial projections (profitability), and the plan for future action.
caveat emptor
Latin term for "buyer beware"
overall growth strategy
One of four general ways to position a business based on the rate and level of growth entrepreneurs anticipate for their firm.
casual model of entrepreneurship
One of two approaches to thinking about entrepreneurship (the other is effectuation). The casual approach is one in which you want to create a particular product or service that does not yet exist, and to achieve that end, you have to cause the product or service to exist. This can mean you will have to learn new skills, or find others to help you achieve your end.
organizational identity
Part of the BRIE model; composed of the name, description, and distinctive elements of a firm, such as trademarks, uniforms, logos, characters, and stories.
opportunity recognition
Searching and capturing new ideas that lead to business opportunities. This process often involves creative thinking that leads to discovery of new and useful ideas.
value proposition
Small business owners' unique selling points that will be used to differentiate their products and/or services from those of the competition.
External Environment
The forces, institutions and people (i.e., the rest of the world) outside the boundary of the firm.
external relations
The general description for the processes and skills used in the management of a firm's interactions with people, organizations and institutions outside of its boundary.
CSI entrepreneurship
The identification of three settings in which entrepreneurship can be pursued, corporate settings, social (charitable) settings, and independent settings.
unicorn
The most successful high-growth ventures, those with a valuation of $1 billion or more.
Licensor
The person or organization which is offering the rights to use a particular piece of intellectual property.
environment
The sum of all the forces outside the firm or entrepreneur
independent small business
a business owned by an individual or small group
Owner-managed firms
a business run by the individual who owns it
Design Thinking
a customer-focused approach using interviews, observation, and exercises to create products and services that provide demonstrated evidence of solving customers problems
high performing small business
a firm intended to provide the owner with a high income through sales or profits superior to those of the traditional small business
high-growth venture
a firm started with the intent of eventually going public, following the pattern of growth and operations of a big business
board of directors
a formal group within a company that is legally responsible for the decisions and actions of the company. They sit above the president or chief executive officer of the company
Brainstorming
a group thinking technique
license
a legal agreement granting you rights to use a particular piece of intellectual property
Small Business Administration (SBA)
a part of the United States government that provides support and advocacy for small businesses
royalty
a payment for material that has been copyrighted, or legally declared as belonging to the creator
heirs
a person who becomes an owner through inheriting or being given a stale in a family business
Franchise
a prepackaged business bought, rented, from a company called a fanchisor
creativity
a process producing an idea or opportunity that is novel and useful, frequently derived from making connections among distinct ideas or opportunities
Virtual Instant Global Entrepreneurship (VIGE)
a process that uses the internet to quickly create businesses with a worldwide reach
ethical dilemma
a situation that occurs when a person's values are in conflict, making it unclear whether a particular decision is the right thing to do
landing page
a small website which describes a product, service or offering to prospective customers, users or clients
Ethics
a system of values that people consider in determining whether actions are right or wrong
Golden Rule
an ethical model which suggests you treat others in the manner you wish to be treated
social entrepreneur
an individual or organization who seeks out opportunities to improve society by using practical, innovative, and sustainable approaches
firm
an organization that sells to or trades with others
Imitative strategy
an overall strategic approach in which the entrepreneur does more or less what others are already doing
gain
any sort of outcome customers or potential customers would like to encounter or be able to depend on
pain
any sort of problem, annoyance, source of aggravation customers face
social innovation
business innovation driven by a social conscience
Importing
buying products from another country
social capital
characteristics of a business, such as trust, consistancy, and networks that represent potential social obligations that are assets of the firm
novelty
characterized by being different or new
imitative
characterized by being like or copying something that already exists
Necessity-driven entrepreneurship
creating a firm as an alternative to unemployment
Opportunity-driven entrepreneurship
creating a firm to improve one's income or a product or service
Independent Entrepreneurship
form of entrepreneurship in which a person or group own their own for-profit business
Painstorming
identifying your customers' pains
Networking
interacting with others in order to build relationships useful to a business
L3C
is a low-profit, limited liability company that facilitates investments in socially beneficial, for-profit ventures. is designed to attract private investments and philanthropic capital in ventures designed to provide a social benefit
PBC
legal form of organization in 35 states which permits the organization to balance owners financial goals with social outcomes even if this means lower profits
trade magazines
magazines that are targeted toward a particular profession
Task Environment
part of external environment made up of those components that the firm deals with directly such as customers, suppliers, consultants, media, interest groups
Founders
people who create or start new businesses
Buyers
people who purchase an existing business
Triple Bottom Line
people, planet, profit
Innovativeness
refers to how important a role new ideas, products, services, processes, or markets play in an organization
radical innovation strategy
rejecting existing ideas, and presenting a way to do things differently
incremental strategy
taking an idea and offering a way to do something slightly better than it is done presently
Exporting
taking products and services made in your home country and selling then in other countries
Crowdsourcing
techniques often based on internet services to get opinions or ideas through the collective involvement of others
Mutuality
the action of each person helping another
perserverance
the behavior of continued effort to achieve a goal
Legitimacy
the belief that a firm is worthy of consideration or doing business with because of the impressions or opinions of customers, suppliers, investors or competitors
e-commerce
the buying and selling of goods over the internet
Sustainability
the extent to which a practice, product or service has benefit for people, to the planet and its ecology and to the economy an the creation of profits or wealth
feasibility
the extent to which an idea is viable and realistic and the extent to which you are aware of internal and external forces that could affect your business
Corporate Entrepreneurship
the form of entrepreneurship which takes place in existing businesses around new products, services, or markets
Small and medium-sized enterprise (SME)
the international term for small business
conversion rate
the measure of how many visitors to your website are actually willing to make commitment to the product or service promoted on the site
internal environment
the people and groups within the boundary of a firm, including the owners, managers, employees and board members of the firm
Licensee
the person or firm which is obtaining the rights to use a particular piece of intellectual property
forms of entrepreneurship
the settings in which the entrepreneurial effort takes place
IDEO screening
a technique for conducting a fast initial analysis of ideas for their potential
business model
a way to identify and organize key information on a business and how it achieves its goals
self-employed
working for yourself
Effectuation
an approach used to create alternatives in uncertain environments
Freemium
an approach to pricing, and a business model, that connects free and premium products or services
Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
the process of tracking the customers different contacts with the firm, and using these data to help improve sales as well as the customers experience
organizational culture
the set of shared, taken-for-granted implicit assumptions that a group holds and that determines how it perceives, thinks about, and reacts to its various environments
goods or services
the tangible things (goods) or intangible commodities (services) created for sale
occupations
the type of activity a person does regularly for pay
creative destruction
the way that newly created goods, services, or firms can hurt existing goods, services, or firms
serial entrepreneur
a person who opens multiple businesses throughout his or her career