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Lesson 16 – Business

If you don’t want to work for someone else, you can go into business for yourself. You can set up a company (establish a company) in an industry that interests you – of course, it’s always good to do market research (investigate the market), to determine if there’s a need for your product or service.

It’s normal for small businesses to operate at a loss (the business is losing money) for the first couple of years before they start to break even – that’s when the money coming in equals the money going out. If there’s tough competition and your start-up isn’t able to gain market share (secure a significant number of customers), then your business runs the risk of going bankrupt (or going under) – losing all its money and having to shut down. But if the amount of money coming into the company from sales is greater than the amount spent on expenses, then you are making a profit.

As your business grows, you can hire/take on staff/employees. Another possibility is to make a deal (make an agreement) with other companies to do business together – in this case, representatives from both companies will sign a contract (put your name on a contract) that establishes each party’s rights and responsibilities.

Whenever you’re planning to launch a new product, it’s essential to provide excellent customer service (help for the customers). Otherwise, your customers will take their business elsewhere – they’ll start buying from a rival company (a company that is your competitor) instead of from yours.

It’s not easy to run a business (manage a business), but with a combination of luck, skill, and hard work, your business just might take off (become popular/successful). One way to describe a period of time of major growth and success is to say that “business is booming.”