BUSINESS VOCABULARY 1

go into business — I went into business after university.

To start working in business, especially by starting your own company.

set up a small business — She set up a small business last year.

To start and establish a small company.

go into partnership — He went into partnership with his friend.

To start a business together with another person or company.

make a profit — The company made a good profit this year.

To earn more money than you spend.

make a loss — The business made a loss last year.

To lose money because expenses are greater than income.

bad times — The company survived some bad times.

A difficult period, especially when business conditions are poor.

economic recession — Many businesses suffered during the economic recession.

A period when the economy becomes weaker and business activity decreases.

go under — Many small businesses went under during the crisis.

To fail financially and stop operating.

fold — The company folded after two years.

To close because of financial failure.

go bankrupt — The company went bankrupt last year.

To become unable to pay your debts.

stiff competition — We won the contract despite stiff competition.

Very strong competition.

take on staff — The company took on new staff.

To employ new workers.

create jobs — The company created hundreds of jobs.

To provide new opportunities for people to work.

sales figures — Our sales figures improved this year.

The numbers showing how much a company has sold.

annual turnover — The company has an annual turnover of £10 million.

The total amount of business a company does in a year.

carry out market research — We carried out market research before launching the product.

To collect information about customers and the market.

launch a new product — They launched a new product in June.

To introduce a new product to the market.

set a high value on customer service — We set a high value on customer service.

To consider customer service very important.

after-sales service — The company provides excellent after-sales service.

Service provided to customers after they have bought a product.

run a successful business — She runs a successful business.

To manage a business that performs well and makes money.

float the company on the stock market — They plan to float the company on the stock market.

To start selling shares in a company to the public.

go public — The company plans to go public next year.

To start selling shares in a business or company to the public for the first time.

cease trading — The firm ceased trading last month.

To stop operating as a business.

cut-throat competition — There is cut-throat competition in this industry.

Very severe and aggressive competition.

market forces — Market forces affect prices.

Forces not influenced by government that affect prices and economic activity.

go out of business — The local shop went out of business.

To stop operating because a business is no longer successful.

do brisk business — The shop is doing brisk business today.

To do a lot of business successfully.

business is booming — Business is booming this year.

Business is doing extremely well.

strike a deal — We struck a deal with the seller.

To reach an agreement, especially after negotiation.

do a deal — We did a deal with the supplier.

To reach an agreement with someone, especially about buying or selling something.

balance the budget — We need to balance the budget.

To make sure that spending does not exceed the available money.

put in a bid — Our company put in a bid for the contract.

To offer to do work for a particular amount of money.

do business — We do a lot of business in Asia.

To buy, sell, or work commercially with people or companies.