Fundamental business concepts

Businesses are established to perform economic activities. With rare exceptions such as co-operatives, corporate bodies, non-profit societies and institutions of government, they are for-profit ventures owned and operated either privately or as corporations.

There are many ways to classify or categorize types of businesses. Service businesses will have different, usually smaller, capital requirements than small manufacturers. Distributors will have different inventory control needs than a small retailer or manufacturer. However, most businesses have many fundamental concepts in common and these are useful to know when working with suppliers, customers, and government representatives to meet the needs of your employer or business.

• balance sheet
• business loan
• business plan
• cash flow
• drop shipping
• gross revenue
• income statement
• inventory taxes
• gross profit
• net profit
• payroll taxes
• trade credit
• shipping and handling