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