Small Business Encyclopedia
About Encyclopedia

No matter what business topic you're interested in, you'll find our category list is an easy way to navigate our small-business encyclopedia. From Accounting and Advertising to Location and Operations, every topic offers information on the terms that matter most. And if you can't find what you need here, our Terms A - Z list makes tracking down terms a snap.

Popular Terms

Definition: A business that legally has no separate existence from its owner. Income and losses are taxed on the individual's personal income tax return.

Definition: To establish a selling price for a product.

Definition: Identifying your competitors and evaluating their strategies to determine their strengths and weaknesses relative to those of your own product or service.

Definition: A business model in which a distributor network is needed to build the business. Usually such businesses are also multilevel marketing in nature in that payouts occur at more than one level.

Definition: A legal form of business operation between two or more individuals who share management and profits. The federal government recognizes several types of partnerships. The two most common are general and limited partnerships.

Definition: The process of gathering, analyzing and interpreting information about a market, about a product or service to be offered for sale in that market, and about the past, present and potential customers for the product or service; research into the characteristics, spending habits, location and needs of your business's target market, the industry as a whole, and the particular competitors you face.

Popular Articles

Starting a Business

Sarah Michelle Boes knew there had to be a better way to prepare for her stress-inducing nurse practitioner's exam — so she created it.

Business News

The winning applicants span 38 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico.

Business News

Dell laid off 5% of its workforce, around 6,650 workers, in February 2023.

Thought Leaders

We are constantly told what to do if we want success — but what about the habits to avoid?

Growing a Business

Here are three value-add products and services that can help your business scale.