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What Is a Business Plan?

Understanding business plans, how to write a business plan, common elements of a business plan, how often should a business plan be updated, the bottom line, business plan: what it is, what's included, and how to write one.

Adam Hayes, Ph.D., CFA, is a financial writer with 15+ years Wall Street experience as a derivatives trader. Besides his extensive derivative trading expertise, Adam is an expert in economics and behavioral finance. Adam received his master's in economics from The New School for Social Research and his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in sociology. He is a CFA charterholder as well as holding FINRA Series 7, 55 & 63 licenses. He currently researches and teaches economic sociology and the social studies of finance at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.

A business plan is a document that details a company's goals and how it intends to achieve them. Business plans can be of benefit to both startups and well-established companies. For startups, a business plan can be essential for winning over potential lenders and investors. Established businesses can find one useful for staying on track and not losing sight of their goals. This article explains what an effective business plan needs to include and how to write one.

Key Takeaways

• A business plan is a document describing a company's business activities and how it plans to achieve its goals.
• Startup companies use business plans to get off the ground and attract outside investors.
• For established companies, a business plan can help keep the executive team focused on and working toward the company's short- and long-term objectives.
• There is no single format that a business plan must follow, but there are certain key elements that most companies will want to include.

Investopedia / Ryan Oakley

Any new business should have a business plan in place prior to beginning operations. In fact, banks and venture capital firms often want to see a business plan before they'll consider making a loan or providing capital to new businesses.

Even if a business isn't looking to raise additional money, a business plan can help it focus on its goals. A 2017 Harvard Business Review article reported that, "Entrepreneurs who write formal plans are 16% more likely to achieve viability than the otherwise identical nonplanning entrepreneurs."

Ideally, a business plan should be reviewed and updated periodically to reflect any goals that have been achieved or that may have changed. An established business that has decided to move in a new direction might create an entirely new business plan for itself.

There are numerous benefits to creating (and sticking to) a well-conceived business plan. These include being able to think through ideas before investing too much money in them and highlighting any potential obstacles to success. A company might also share its business plan with trusted outsiders to get their objective feedback. In addition, a business plan can help keep a company's executive team on the same page about strategic action items and priorities.

Business plans, even among competitors in the same industry, are rarely identical. However, they often have some of the same basic elements, as we describe below.

While it's a good idea to provide as much detail as necessary, it's also important that a business plan be concise enough to hold a reader's attention to the end.

While there are any number of templates that you can use to write a business plan, it's best to try to avoid producing a generic-looking one. Let your plan reflect the unique personality of your business.

Many business plans use some combination of the sections below, with varying levels of detail, depending on the company.

The length of a business plan can vary greatly from business to business. Regardless, it's best to fit the basic information into a 15- to 25-page document. Other crucial elements that take up a lot of space—such as applications for patents—can be referenced in the main document and attached as appendices.

These are some of the most common elements in many business plans:

• Executive summary: This section introduces the company and includes its mission statement along with relevant information about the company's leadership, employees, operations, and locations.
• Products and services: Here, the company should describe the products and services it offers or plans to introduce. That might include details on pricing, product lifespan, and unique benefits to the consumer. Other factors that could go into this section include production and manufacturing processes, any relevant patents the company may have, as well as proprietary technology . Information about research and development (R&D) can also be included here.
• Market analysis: A company needs to have a good handle on the current state of its industry and the existing competition. This section should explain where the company fits in, what types of customers it plans to target, and how easy or difficult it may be to take market share from incumbents.
• Marketing strategy: This section can describe how the company plans to attract and keep customers, including any anticipated advertising and marketing campaigns. It should also describe the distribution channel or channels it will use to get its products or services to consumers.
• Financial plans and projections: Established businesses can include financial statements, balance sheets, and other relevant financial information. New businesses can provide financial targets and estimates for the first few years. Your plan might also include any funding requests you're making.

The best business plans aren't generic ones created from easily accessed templates. A company should aim to entice readers with a plan that demonstrates its uniqueness and potential for success.

2 Types of Business Plans

Business plans can take many forms, but they are sometimes divided into two basic categories: traditional and lean startup. According to the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) , the traditional business plan is the more common of the two.

• Traditional business plans : These plans tend to be much longer than lean startup plans and contain considerably more detail. As a result they require more work on the part of the business, but they can also be more persuasive (and reassuring) to potential investors.
• Lean startup business plans : These use an abbreviated structure that highlights key elements. These business plans are short—as short as one page—and provide only the most basic detail. If a company wants to use this kind of plan, it should be prepared to provide more detail if an investor or a lender requests it.

Why Do Business Plans Fail?

A business plan is not a surefire recipe for success. The plan may have been unrealistic in its assumptions and projections to begin with. Markets and the overall economy might change in ways that couldn't have been foreseen. A competitor might introduce a revolutionary new product or service. All of this calls for building some flexibility into your plan, so you can pivot to a new course if needed.

How frequently a business plan needs to be revised will depend on the nature of the business. A well-established business might want to review its plan once a year and make changes if necessary. A new or fast-growing business in a fiercely competitive market might want to revise it more often, such as quarterly.

What Does a Lean Startup Business Plan Include?

The lean startup business plan is an option when a company prefers to give a quick explanation of its business. For example, a brand-new company may feel that it doesn't have a lot of information to provide yet.

Sections can include: a value proposition ; the company's major activities and advantages; resources such as staff, intellectual property, and capital; a list of partnerships; customer segments; and revenue sources.

A business plan can be useful to companies of all kinds. But as a company grows and the world around it changes, so too should its business plan. So don't think of your business plan as carved in granite but as a living document designed to evolve with your business.

Harvard Business Review. " Research: Writing a Business Plan Makes Your Startup More Likely to Succeed ."

U.S. Small Business Administration. " Write Your Business Plan ."

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Step-by-Step Guide to Writing a Simple Business Plan

By Joe Weller | October 11, 2021

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A business plan is the cornerstone of any successful company, regardless of size or industry. This step-by-step guide provides information on writing a business plan for organizations at any stage, complete with free templates and expert advice. 

Included on this page, you’ll find a step-by-step guide to writing a business plan and a chart to identify which type of business plan you should write . Plus, find information on how a business plan can help grow a business and expert tips on writing one .

What Is a Business Plan?

A business plan is a document that communicates a company’s goals and ambitions, along with the timeline, finances, and methods needed to achieve them. Additionally, it may include a mission statement and details about the specific products or services offered.

A business plan can highlight varying time periods, depending on the stage of your company and its goals. That said, a typical business plan will include the following benchmarks:

• Product goals and deadlines for each month
• Monthly financials for the first two years
• Profit and loss statements for the first three to five years
• Balance sheet projections for the first three to five years

Startups, entrepreneurs, and small businesses all create business plans to use as a guide as their new company progresses. Larger organizations may also create (and update) a business plan to keep high-level goals, financials, and timelines in check.

While you certainly need to have a formalized outline of your business’s goals and finances, creating a business plan can also help you determine a company’s viability, its profitability (including when it will first turn a profit), and how much money you will need from investors. In turn, a business plan has functional value as well: Not only does outlining goals help keep you accountable on a timeline, it can also attract investors in and of itself and, therefore, act as an effective strategy for growth.

For more information, visit our comprehensive guide to writing a strategic plan or download free strategic plan templates . This page focuses on for-profit business plans, but you can read our article with nonprofit business plan templates .

Business Plan Steps

The specific information in your business plan will vary, depending on the needs and goals of your venture, but a typical plan includes the following ordered elements:

• Executive summary
• Description of business
• Market analysis
• Competitive analysis
• Description of organizational management
• Description of product or services
• Marketing plan
• Sales strategy
• Funding details (or request for funding)
• Financial projections

If your plan is particularly long or complicated, consider adding a table of contents or an appendix for reference. For an in-depth description of each step listed above, read “ How to Write a Business Plan Step by Step ” below.

Broadly speaking, your audience includes anyone with a vested interest in your organization. They can include potential and existing investors, as well as customers, internal team members, suppliers, and vendors.

Do I Need a Simple or Detailed Plan?

Your business’s stage and intended audience dictates the level of detail your plan needs. Corporations require a thorough business plan — up to 100 pages. Small businesses or startups should have a concise plan focusing on financials and strategy.

How to Choose the Right Plan for Your Business

In order to identify which type of business plan you need to create, ask: “What do we want the plan to do?” Identify function first, and form will follow.

Use the chart below as a guide for what type of business plan to create:

Is the Order of Your Business Plan Important?

There is no set order for a business plan, with the exception of the executive summary, which should always come first. Beyond that, simply ensure that you organize the plan in a way that makes sense and flows naturally.

The Difference Between Traditional and Lean Business Plans

A traditional business plan follows the standard structure — because these plans encourage detail, they tend to require more work upfront and can run dozens of pages. A Lean business plan is less common and focuses on summarizing critical points for each section. These plans take much less work and typically run one page in length.

In general, you should use a traditional model for a legacy company, a large company, or any business that does not adhere to Lean (or another Agile method ). Use Lean if you expect the company to pivot quickly or if you already employ a Lean strategy with other business operations. Additionally, a Lean business plan can suffice if the document is for internal use only. Stick to a traditional version for investors, as they may be more sensitive to sudden changes or a high degree of built-in flexibility in the plan.

How to Write a Business Plan Step by Step

Writing a strong business plan requires research and attention to detail for each section. Below, you’ll find a 10-step guide to researching and defining each element in the plan.

Step 1: Executive Summary

The executive summary will always be the first section of your business plan. The goal is to answer the following questions:

• What is the vision and mission of the company?
• What are the company’s short- and long-term goals?

See our  roundup of executive summary examples and templates for samples. Read our executive summary guide to learn more about writing one.

Step 2: Description of Business

The goal of this section is to define the realm, scope, and intent of your venture. To do so, answer the following questions as clearly and concisely as possible:

• What business are we in?
• What does our business do?

Step 3: Market Analysis

In this section, provide evidence that you have surveyed and understand the current marketplace, and that your product or service satisfies a niche in the market. To do so, answer these questions:

• Who is our customer? 
• What does that customer value?

Step 4: Competitive Analysis

In many cases, a business plan proposes not a brand-new (or even market-disrupting) venture, but a more competitive version — whether via features, pricing, integrations, etc. — than what is currently available. In this section, answer the following questions to show that your product or service stands to outpace competitors:

• Who is the competition? 
• What do they do best? 
• What is our unique value proposition?

Step 5: Description of Organizational Management

In this section, write an overview of the team members and other key personnel who are integral to success. List roles and responsibilities, and if possible, note the hierarchy or team structure.

Step 6: Description of Products or Services

In this section, clearly define your product or service, as well as all the effort and resources that go into producing it. The strength of your product largely defines the success of your business, so it’s imperative that you take time to test and refine the product before launching into marketing, sales, or funding details.

Questions to answer in this section are as follows:

• What is the product or service?
• How do we produce it, and what resources are necessary for production?

Step 7: Marketing Plan

In this section, define the marketing strategy for your product or service. This doesn’t need to be as fleshed out as a full marketing plan , but it should answer basic questions, such as the following:

• Who is the target market (if different from existing customer base)?
• What channels will you use to reach your target market?
• What resources does your marketing strategy require, and do you have access to them?
• If possible, do you have a rough estimate of timeline and budget?
• How will you measure success?

Step 8: Sales Plan

Write an overview of the sales strategy, including the priorities of each cycle, steps to achieve these goals, and metrics for success. For the purposes of a business plan, this section does not need to be a comprehensive, in-depth sales plan , but can simply outline the high-level objectives and strategies of your sales efforts. 

Start by answering the following questions:

• What is the sales strategy?
• What are the tools and tactics you will use to achieve your goals?
• What are the potential obstacles, and how will you overcome them?
• What is the timeline for sales and turning a profit?
• What are the metrics of success?

Step 9: Funding Details (or Request for Funding)

This section is one of the most critical parts of your business plan, particularly if you are sharing it with investors. You do not need to provide a full financial plan, but you should be able to answer the following questions:

• How much capital do you currently have? How much capital do you need?
• How will you grow the team (onboarding, team structure, training and development)?
• What are your physical needs and constraints (space, equipment, etc.)?

Step 10: Financial Projections

Apart from the fundraising analysis, investors like to see thought-out financial projections for the future. As discussed earlier, depending on the scope and stage of your business, this could be anywhere from one to five years. 

While these projections won’t be exact — and will need to be somewhat flexible — you should be able to gauge the following:

• How and when will the company first generate a profit?
• How will the company maintain profit thereafter?

Business Plan Template

Download Business Plan Template

Microsoft Excel | Smartsheet

This basic business plan template has space for all the traditional elements: an executive summary, product or service details, target audience, marketing and sales strategies, etc. In the finances sections, input your baseline numbers, and the template will automatically calculate projections for sales forecasting, financial statements, and more.

For templates tailored to more specific needs, visit this business plan template roundup or download a fill-in-the-blank business plan template to make things easy. 

If you are looking for a particular template by file type, visit our pages dedicated exclusively to Microsoft Excel , Microsoft Word , and Adobe PDF business plan templates.

How to Write a Simple Business Plan

A simple business plan is a streamlined, lightweight version of the large, traditional model. As opposed to a one-page business plan , which communicates high-level information for quick overviews (such as a stakeholder presentation), a simple business plan can exceed one page.

Below are the steps for creating a generic simple business plan, which are reflected in the template below .

• Write the Executive Summary This section is the same as in the traditional business plan — simply offer an overview of what’s in the business plan, the prospect or core offering, and the short- and long-term goals of the company. 
• Add a Company Overview Document the larger company mission and vision. 
• Provide the Problem and Solution In straightforward terms, define the problem you are attempting to solve with your product or service and how your company will attempt to do it. Think of this section as the gap in the market you are attempting to close.
• Identify the Target Market Who is your company (and its products or services) attempting to reach? If possible, briefly define your buyer personas .
• Write About the Competition In this section, demonstrate your knowledge of the market by listing the current competitors and outlining your competitive advantage.
• Describe Your Product or Service Offerings Get down to brass tacks and define your product or service. What exactly are you selling?
• Outline Your Marketing Tactics Without getting into too much detail, describe your planned marketing initiatives.
• Add a Timeline and the Metrics You Will Use to Measure Success Offer a rough timeline, including milestones and key performance indicators (KPIs) that you will use to measure your progress.
• Include Your Financial Forecasts Write an overview of your financial plan that demonstrates you have done your research and adequate modeling. You can also list key assumptions that go into this forecasting. 
• Identify Your Financing Needs This section is where you will make your funding request. Based on everything in the business plan, list your proposed sources of funding, as well as how you will use it.

Simple Business Plan Template

Download Simple Business Plan Template

Microsoft Excel |  Microsoft Word | Adobe PDF  | Smartsheet

Use this simple business plan template to outline each aspect of your organization, including information about financing and opportunities to seek out further funding. This template is completely customizable to fit the needs of any business, whether it’s a startup or large company.

Read our article offering free simple business plan templates or free 30-60-90-day business plan templates to find more tailored options. You can also explore our collection of one page business templates . 

How to Write a Business Plan for a Lean Startup

A Lean startup business plan is a more Agile approach to a traditional version. The plan focuses more on activities, processes, and relationships (and maintains flexibility in all aspects), rather than on concrete deliverables and timelines.

While there is some overlap between a traditional and a Lean business plan, you can write a Lean plan by following the steps below:

• Add Your Value Proposition Take a streamlined approach to describing your product or service. What is the unique value your startup aims to deliver to customers? Make sure the team is aligned on the core offering and that you can state it in clear, simple language.
• List Your Key Partners List any other businesses you will work with to realize your vision, including external vendors, suppliers, and partners. This section demonstrates that you have thoughtfully considered the resources you can provide internally, identified areas for external assistance, and conducted research to find alternatives.
• Note the Key Activities Describe the key activities of your business, including sourcing, production, marketing, distribution channels, and customer relationships.
• Include Your Key Resources List the critical resources — including personnel, equipment, space, and intellectual property — that will enable you to deliver your unique value.
• Identify Your Customer Relationships and Channels In this section, document how you will reach and build relationships with customers. Provide a high-level map of the customer experience from start to finish, including the spaces in which you will interact with the customer (online, retail, etc.). 
• Detail Your Marketing Channels Describe the marketing methods and communication platforms you will use to identify and nurture your relationships with customers. These could be email, advertising, social media, etc.
• Explain the Cost Structure This section is especially necessary in the early stages of a business. Will you prioritize maximizing value or keeping costs low? List the foundational startup costs and how you will move toward profit over time.
• Share Your Revenue Streams Over time, how will the company make money? Include both the direct product or service purchase, as well as secondary sources of revenue, such as subscriptions, selling advertising space, fundraising, etc.

Lean Business Plan Template for Startups

Download Lean Business Plan Template for Startups

Microsoft Word | Adobe PDF

Startup leaders can use this Lean business plan template to relay the most critical information from a traditional plan. You’ll find all the sections listed above, including spaces for industry and product overviews, cost structure and sources of revenue, and key metrics, and a timeline. The template is completely customizable, so you can edit it to suit the objectives of your Lean startups.

See our wide variety of  startup business plan templates for more options.

How to Write a Business Plan for a Loan

A business plan for a loan, often called a loan proposal , includes many of the same aspects of a traditional business plan, as well as additional financial documents, such as a credit history, a loan request, and a loan repayment plan.

In addition, you may be asked to include personal and business financial statements, a form of collateral, and equity investment information.

Download free financial templates to support your business plan.

Tips for Writing a Business Plan

Outside of including all the key details in your business plan, you have several options to elevate the document for the highest chance of winning funding and other resources. Follow these tips from experts:.

• Keep It Simple: Avner Brodsky , the Co-Founder and CEO of Lezgo Limited, an online marketing company, uses the acronym KISS (keep it short and simple) as a variation on this idea. “The business plan is not a college thesis,” he says. “Just focus on providing the essential information.”
• Do Adequate Research: Michael Dean, the Co-Founder of Pool Research , encourages business leaders to “invest time in research, both internal and external (market, finance, legal etc.). Avoid being overly ambitious or presumptive. Instead, keep everything objective, balanced, and accurate.” Your plan needs to stand on its own, and you must have the data to back up any claims or forecasting you make. As Brodsky explains, “Your business needs to be grounded on the realities of the market in your chosen location. Get the most recent data from authoritative sources so that the figures are vetted by experts and are reliable.”
• Set Clear Goals: Make sure your plan includes clear, time-based goals. “Short-term goals are key to momentum growth and are especially important to identify for new businesses,” advises Dean.
• Know (and Address) Your Weaknesses: “This awareness sets you up to overcome your weak points much quicker than waiting for them to arise,” shares Dean. Brodsky recommends performing a full SWOT analysis to identify your weaknesses, too. “Your business will fare better with self-knowledge, which will help you better define the mission of your business, as well as the strategies you will choose to achieve your objectives,” he adds.
• Seek Peer or Mentor Review: “Ask for feedback on your drafts and for areas to improve,” advises Brodsky. “When your mind is filled with dreams for your business, sometimes it is an outsider who can tell you what you’re missing and will save your business from being a product of whimsy.”

Outside of these more practical tips, the language you use is also important and may make or break your business plan.

Shaun Heng, VP of Operations at Coin Market Cap , gives the following advice on the writing, “Your business plan is your sales pitch to an investor. And as with any sales pitch, you need to strike the right tone and hit a few emotional chords. This is a little tricky in a business plan, because you also need to be formal and matter-of-fact. But you can still impress by weaving in descriptive language and saying things in a more elegant way.

“A great way to do this is by expanding your vocabulary, avoiding word repetition, and using business language. Instead of saying that something ‘will bring in as many customers as possible,’ try saying ‘will garner the largest possible market segment.’ Elevate your writing with precise descriptive words and you'll impress even the busiest investor.”

Additionally, Dean recommends that you “stay consistent and concise by keeping your tone and style steady throughout, and your language clear and precise. Include only what is 100 percent necessary.”

Resources for Writing a Business Plan

While a template provides a great outline of what to include in a business plan, a live document or more robust program can provide additional functionality, visibility, and real-time updates. The U.S. Small Business Association also curates resources for writing a business plan.

Additionally, you can use business plan software to house data, attach documentation, and share information with stakeholders. Popular options include LivePlan, Enloop, BizPlanner, PlanGuru, and iPlanner.

How a Business Plan Helps to Grow Your Business

A business plan — both the exercise of creating one and the document — can grow your business by helping you to refine your product, target audience, sales plan, identify opportunities, secure funding, and build new partnerships. 

Outside of these immediate returns, writing a business plan is a useful exercise in that it forces you to research the market, which prompts you to forge your unique value proposition and identify ways to beat the competition. Doing so will also help you build (and keep you accountable to) attainable financial and product milestones. And down the line, it will serve as a welcome guide as hurdles inevitably arise.

Streamline Your Business Planning Activities with Real-Time Work Management in Smartsheet

Empower your people to go above and beyond with a flexible platform designed to match the needs of your team — and adapt as those needs change. 

The Smartsheet platform makes it easy to plan, capture, manage, and report on work from anywhere, helping your team be more effective and get more done. Report on key metrics and get real-time visibility into work as it happens with roll-up reports, dashboards, and automated workflows built to keep your team connected and informed. 

When teams have clarity into the work getting done, there’s no telling how much more they can accomplish in the same amount of time.  Try Smartsheet for free, today.

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What is a Business Plan? Definition and Resources

9 min. read

Updated April 8, 2024

If you’ve ever jotted down a business idea on a napkin with a few tasks you need to accomplish, you’ve written a business plan — or at least the very basic components of one.

The origin of formal business plans is murky. But they certainly go back centuries. And when you consider that 20% of new businesses fail in year 1 , and half fail within 5 years, the importance of thorough planning and research should be clear.

But just what is a business plan? And what’s required to move from a series of ideas to a formal plan? Here we’ll answer that question and explain why you need one to be a successful business owner.

• What is a business plan?

A business plan lays out a strategic roadmap for any new or growing business.

Any entrepreneur with a great idea for a business needs to conduct market research , analyze their competitors , validate their idea by talking to potential customers, and define their unique value proposition .

The business plan captures that opportunity you see for your company: it describes your product or service and business model , and the target market you’ll serve. 

It also includes details on how you’ll execute your plan: how you’ll price and market your solution and your financial projections .

Reasons for writing a business plan

If you’re asking yourself, ‘Do I really need to write a business plan?’ consider this fact: 

Companies that commit to planning grow 30% faster than those that don’t.

Creating a business plan is crucial for businesses of any size or stage. 

If you plan to raise funds for your business through a traditional bank loan or SBA loan , none of them will want to move forward without seeing your business plan. Venture capital firms may or may not ask for one, but you’ll still need to do thorough planning to create a pitch that makes them want to invest.

But it’s more than just a means of getting your business funded . The plan is also your roadmap to identify and address potential risks. 

It’s not a one-time document. Your business plan is a living guide to ensure your business stays on course.

Related: 14 of the top reasons why you need a business plan

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What research shows about business plans

Numerous studies have established that planning improves business performance:

• 71% of fast-growing companies have business plans that include budgets, sales goals, and marketing and sales strategies.
• Companies that clearly define their value proposition are more successful than those that can’t.
• Companies or startups with a business plan are more likely to get funding than those without one.
• Starting the business planning process before investing in marketing reduces the likelihood of business failure.

The planning process significantly impacts business growth for existing companies and startups alike.

Read More: Research-backed reasons why writing a business plan matters

When should you write a business plan?

No two business plans are alike. 

Yet there are similar questions for anyone considering writing a plan to answer. One basic but important question is when to start writing it.

A Harvard Business Review study found that the ideal time to write a business plan is between 6 and 12 months after deciding to start a business. 

But the reality can be more nuanced – it depends on the stage a business is in, or the type of business plan being written.

Ideal times to write a business plan include:

• When you have an idea for a business
• When you’re starting a business
• When you’re preparing to buy (or sell)
• When you’re trying to get funding
• When business conditions change
• When you’re growing or scaling your business

Read More: The best times to write or update your business plan

How often should you update your business plan?

As is often the case, how often a business plan should be updated depends on your circumstances.

A business plan isn’t a homework assignment to complete and forget about. At the same time, no one wants to get so bogged down in the details that they lose sight of day-to-day goals. 

But it should cover new opportunities and threats that a business owner surfaces, and incorporate feedback they get from customers. So it can’t be a static document.

For an entrepreneur at the ideation stage, writing and checking back on their business plan will help them determine if they can turn that idea into a profitable business .

And for owners of up-and-running businesses, updating the plan (or rewriting it) will help them respond to market shifts they wouldn’t be prepared for otherwise. 

It also lets them compare their forecasts and budgets to actual financial results. This invaluable process surfaces where a business might be out-performing expectations and where weak performance may require a prompt strategy change. 

The planning process is what uncovers those insights.

Related Reading: 10 prompts to help you write a business plan with AI

• How long should your business plan be?

Thinking about a business plan strictly in terms of page length can risk overlooking more important factors, like the level of detail or clarity in the plan. 

Not all of the plan consists of writing – there are also financial tables, graphs, and product illustrations to include.

But there are a few general rules to consider about a plan’s length:

• Your business plan shouldn’t take more than 15 minutes to skim.
• Business plans for internal use (not for a bank loan or outside investment) can be as short as 5 to 10 pages.

A good practice is to write your business plan to match the expectations of your audience. 

If you’re walking into a bank looking for a loan, your plan should match the formal, professional style that a loan officer would expect . But if you’re writing it for stakeholders on your own team—shorter and less formal (even just a few pages) could be the better way to go.

The length of your plan may also depend on the stage your business is in. 

For instance, a startup plan won’t have nearly as much financial information to include as a plan written for an established company will.

Read More: How long should your business plan be?  

What information is included in a business plan?

The contents of a plan business plan will vary depending on the industry the business is in. 

After all, someone opening a new restaurant will have different customers, inventory needs, and marketing tactics to consider than someone bringing a new medical device to the market. 

But there are some common elements that most business plans include:

• Executive summary: An overview of the business operation, strategy, and goals. The executive summary should be written last, despite being the first thing anyone will read.
• Products and services: A description of the solution that a business is bringing to the market, emphasizing how it solves the problem customers are facing.
• Market analysis: An examination of the demographic and psychographic attributes of likely customers, resulting in the profile of an ideal customer for the business.
• Competitive analysis: Documenting the competitors a business will face in the market, and their strengths and weaknesses relative to those competitors.
• Marketing and sales plan: Summarizing a business’s tactics to position their product or service favorably in the market, attract customers, and generate revenue.
• Operational plan: Detailing the requirements to run the business day-to-day, including staffing, equipment, inventory, and facility needs.
• Organization and management structure: A listing of the departments and position breakdown of the business, as well as descriptions of the backgrounds and qualifications of the leadership team.
• Key milestones: Laying out the key dates that a business is projected to reach certain milestones , such as revenue, break-even, or customer acquisition goals.
• Financial plan: Balance sheets, cash flow forecast , and sales and expense forecasts with forward-looking financial projections, listing assumptions and potential risks that could affect the accuracy of the plan.
• Appendix: All of the supporting information that doesn’t fit into specific sections of the business plan, such as data and charts.

Read More: Use this business plan outline to organize your plan

• Different types of business plans

A business plan isn’t a one-size-fits-all document. There are numerous ways to create an effective business plan that fits entrepreneurs’ or established business owners’ needs. 

Here are a few of the most common types of business plans for small businesses:

• One-page plan : Outlining all of the most important information about a business into an adaptable one-page plan.
• Growth plan : An ongoing business management plan that ensures business tactics and strategies are aligned as a business scales up.
• Internal plan : A shorter version of a full business plan to be shared with internal stakeholders – ideal for established companies considering strategic shifts.

Business plan vs. operational plan vs. strategic plan

• What questions are you trying to answer? 
• Are you trying to lay out a plan for the actual running of your business?
• Is your focus on how you will meet short or long-term goals? 

Since your objective will ultimately inform your plan, you need to know what you’re trying to accomplish before you start writing.

While a business plan provides the foundation for a business, other types of plans support this guiding document.

An operational plan sets short-term goals for the business by laying out where it plans to focus energy and investments and when it plans to hit key milestones.

Then there is the strategic plan , which examines longer-range opportunities for the business, and how to meet those larger goals over time.

Read More: How to use a business plan for strategic development and operations

• Business plan vs. business model

If a business plan describes the tactics an entrepreneur will use to succeed in the market, then the business model represents how they will make money. 

The difference may seem subtle, but it’s important. 

Think of a business plan as the roadmap for how to exploit market opportunities and reach a state of sustainable growth. By contrast, the business model lays out how a business will operate and what it will look like once it has reached that growth phase.

Learn More: The differences between a business model and business plan

• Moving from idea to business plan

Now that you understand what a business plan is, the next step is to start writing your business plan . 

If you’re stuck, start with a one-page business plan template and check out our collection of over 550 business plan examples for inspiration. They’re broken out over dozens of industries—you can even copy and paste sections into your plan and rewrite them with information specific to your business.

See why 1.2 million entrepreneurs have written their business plans with LivePlan

Tim Berry is the founder and chairman of Palo Alto Software , a co-founder of Borland International, and a recognized expert in business planning. He has an MBA from Stanford and degrees with honors from the University of Oregon and the University of Notre Dame. Today, Tim dedicates most of his time to blogging, teaching and evangelizing for business planning.

Table of Contents

• Reasons to write a business plan
• Business planning research
• When to write a business plan
• When to update a business plan
• Information to include
• Business vs. operational vs. strategic plans

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10 Business Plan Words Every Manager Needs to Know By Heart If you're starting or running a business, you'll need to know this list of essential business planning words.

By Tim Berry • Jan 30, 2012

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

So I've changed my mind -- again -- and come up with this list of essential business planning words every manager should know:

1. Business plan: An organized collection of milestones, tasks, assumptions and basic business numbers. It covers strategy and details what's supposed to happen when, who's in charge of what, how progress is measured, when money is to be spent and from where, and when money is expected to come in. It isn't a document; it's a plan. If it isn't reviewed and revised monthly, then it won't be very useful. So it has to be practical and just big enough to serve the business need.

Related: To Make Business Planning Less Daunting, Let's Call It Something Else 2. Business planning: Steering a company using a cyclical process. Plan, review and revise as necessary to optimize. Business planning is management.

3. Business strategy: A combination of strengths and weaknesses, opportunities and threats, target market, business offering and product-market fit. Focus is vital. Who isn't in your market and what you're not offering can be more useful information than who is and what you are offering. All of this can be expressed in bullets, slides, a few key paragraphs or any other way that keeps strategy and focus top of mind.

4. Business forecast: A simplified, manageable set of assumptions about future cash flow, including sales, cost of sales, expenses, assets, liabilities and capital. It isn't about predicting the future; it's about connecting the dots on assumptions and drivers in your monthly projections over the next year and your annual forecasts for the subsequent two years. It focuses on what drives the key components, expressed as money. Those drivers include factors like capacity, sales and marketing activities, management compensation, direct costs, and so forth. The goal is to lay out connections between key assumptions in projections spread month by month as expected amounts. For example, you would project how direct costs look as a percentage of sales. Usually the relationships are more important than the actual numbers. So, to follow the example, if your actual sales are higher than expected, you can tell from your forecast that direct costs also will be higher than expected. Companies with a good forecasting process rarely get through a month without some change in the forecast.

5. Strategic plan: A business plan that leaves out the nuts and bolts.

6. Operations plan: A business plan that leaves out the strategy.

7. Marketing plan: A business plan that leaves out the overall company financial strategy.

Related: The Top 10 Business Plan Mistakes

8. Annual plan: A business plan that leaves out plans for the second and third year.

9. Bank-ready business plan:

a. A document created as output from a business plan, formatted for easy reading and highlighting past financial performance and current financial position. Bankers look for payment history and assets backing the loan.

b. When used to describe a canned boilerplate document somebody is selling, as in turnkey or ready-made, it is just sleazy sales hype for a bad product. Buyer beware: A ready-made business plan is always a waste of money.

10. Investor-ready or funding-ready business plan:

a. A document or pitch created as output from a business plan, describing a business investors will be interested in based on the specifics of that business. The most common and essential highlights are management team, product-market fit, potential market, potential growth, defensibility (some hard-to-copy elements like technology or knowhow), scalability and potential return for investors. No matter how brilliant, beautiful or creative it might be, it isn't investor ready -- and never will be -- if it doesn't describe a business with real prospects for investors.

b. See 9b above.

Related: Three Financial Guesstimates Every Business Plan Needs

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127 Top Business Jargon Examples [And How to Fix Them]

Table of Contents

Why does business jargon exist, the essential perspective, the “but it sounds nice” trap, the top 127 jargon and gobbledygook examples.

Skilled business writing rejects business jargon. Yet, industry-specific phrases and buzzwords are very commonly used. Even the best writers and business leaders can fall into the jargon trap if they’re not careful.

Fortunately, by using the right perspective, you can revise business buzzwords out of your text or avoid it in the first place. 

This article will highlight the perspective that is needed to easily identify confusing jargon. To start you off on your jargon hunt, we’ve also prepared our list of the top 127 jargon and gobbledygook examples in business writing.

Sadly, the primary reason business writers use too much jargon is everyone else is using it. We learn to write by modeling others. Business writing is notorious for corporate lingo. There is even a book that addresses this problem, Why Business People Sound like Idiots .

Meaningless jargon has become so commonplace that the writer does not perceive the term as jargon. Instead, the writer incorrectly sees jargon as an insider-term or in-the-know business dialect. However, this writing ignores the most crucial factor in business writing: the audience.

Jason Fried, the founder of Basecamp and author of Rework , stated, “Jargon is insecurity.” Instead of using strong, clear, words that accurately reflect concepts, we lapse into vague corporate-speak by parroting beaten-to-death jargon.

To help combat corporate jargon in professional writing we created the Jargon Grader. It’s a simple app that helps you identify and eliminate jargon in your writing. Just paste your text into the application and review the flagged words. Try the Jargon Grader for free [click here] .

Jargon is defined as language that is not well understood outside of a specified group. Therefore, useful language for one group could be total jargon to another group.

The only way to know if a term is jargon or not is to put yourself in the shoes of your audience. How well does your reader understand the document topic? An executive in your company is likely familiar with company-wide acronyms. Conversely, a client might be confused by the same acronym.

Jargon or gobbledygook phrases must be revised or placed in a context that makes the idea accessible to the reader. This may mean fully writing out acronyms, explaining terminology, or modifying the content to better orient the reader.

Overused colloquial phrases, such as “at the end of day,” weaken your message. A phrase like this is so beaten to death that it no longer has any resonant meaning. 

" Plain language removes barriers between you and your readers, " says Hoa Loranger at the Nielsen Norman Group . " No one has ever complained that a text was too easy to understand. "

Business writing has a clear purpose. It is generally meant to inform or persuade.

It’s tempting to use impressive-sounding language to persuade the reader of your personal competence in the subject area. It seems like an easy way to demonstrate your knowledge. Plus, you’re including the latest industry terms, which shows what your company knows is on trend. Doesn’t it sound nice?

However, this tactic will often leave the reader confused or ill-informed. Jargon is easy to skim past. Buzz terms are so overused that they have lost real meaning.

A good writer proves their subject area expertise by being able to communicate it to any audience. Audience comprehension of a complex topic is the best proof of your knowledge.

Eliminate jargon with our free Jargon Grader

Check your business documents for over 700 jargon phrases by uploading them for free into our jargon tool.

110% - Isn’t that just bad math? Exaggeration brings questions to your other numbers.

Agile - Are you using the Agile methodology ? If not, you’re using a buzzword.

A-ha moment

All-hands meeting

ASAP - But, when? Specific dates and times create action.

At this point in time - Simplicity is bliss. Try: At this point or Now

Back of the envelope - Try: initial estimate or rough calculation

Balls in the air

Bandwidth - Try: capacity or time

Bang for the buck - Easy to promise, but what does it really mean?

Banner year

Beat the bushes

Beef up - Try: reinforce or intensify

Best in class

Best practices

Big bang for the buck

Bleeding edge

Boil the ocean

Boondoggle - Using a cute word for a mistake won’t make the explanation easier.

Boots on the ground

Bring to the table

Buck the trend

Build capacity

Cast a wider net

Change agent

Circle back - Try: revisit or  discuss later

Core competency

Corporate values

Cradle to grave

Crowdsource

Crushing it - It may be Gary Vaynerchuk’s favorite phrase, but what does it really mean?

Culture fit

Do more with less

Drill down - Try: analyze or scrutinize

Drink the kool-aid

Due diligence

End of week

Fire fighting

First and foremost - You can drop the ‘and foremost’ for a stronger, simpler sentence.

Forward planning - Can one plan backward?

Frictionless

Game changer

Growth hacking

Guesstimate

Hand holding

Headwinds - Try: challenges or constraints

Impact - Everyone loves impact, but it can easily be a fluff word. Give it real meaning.

In the black

In the loop

In today’s world - What other world are we in?

Irregardless - Most believe this word is not a word .

It's a paradigm shift

It is what it is - Why not add “...and I don’t care.”

Kick the tires - Try: test or trial

Land and expand

Let's be honest - What is the other option?

Lipstick on a pig

Lots of moving parts

Low hanging fruit

Magic bullet

Make it pop

Mission-critical

Move the needle - This phrase calls for statistics. Do you have them?

On the runway

Open the kimono

Organic growth

Special projects

Peel the onion

Perfect storm

Personal brand

Pre-think - Does ‘pre’ add any value here?

Productize - Does your audience see this verb as a word?

Pull the trigger - Try: initiate or kick-off

Raise the bar

Reinvent the wheel

Resource intensive

Results-oriented - This should be a given.

Revolutionize - A rare occurrence stated commonly.

Run it up the flagpole

Scalability

Secret sauce

Shovel ready - Try: prepared or simple ready

Silver bullet

Solutioneering - Be careful of words that didn’t exist last year.

Strategic partnership - Which partnerships are not strategic?

Survival strategy

Sweetheart deal

Synergy - Perhaps the most infamous jargon term.

Table the conversation

Take offline

Take it to the next level

Test the water - Try: trial or investigate

Thought leader - Today, everyone is a thought leader. Use the term thoughtfully .

Top of mind

Touch base - Try: contact or chat

Transparent

Trim the fat

Value add - value implicitly adds value. If there is no add, there is no value.

Where the rubber meets the road - Try: implementation area

Note, this list of jargon examples does not include individual company jargon which must be tracked and translated into everyday business-speak. Only you can navigate and identify your organization’s special brand of business jargon phrases.

Eliminate your business writing jargon by improving your overall business writing skills.

Take our Effective Business Writing Techniques Course to take your business writing skills to the next level. You'll never use business jargon again.

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Business Jargon

Glossary of Grammatical and Rhetorical Terms

• An Introduction to Punctuation
• Ph.D., Rhetoric and English, University of Georgia
• M.A., Modern English and American Literature, University of Leicester
• B.A., English, State University of New York

Business jargon is the specialized language used by members of corporations and bureaucracies. Also known as corporate jargon , business-speak , and bureaucratese .

Business jargon typically includes buzzwords , vogue words , and euphemisms . Contrast with plain English .

Examples and Observations

• "'He's successful in interfacing with clients we already have, but as for new clients, it's low-hanging fruit. He takes a high-altitude view, but he doesn't drill down to that level of granularity where we might actionize new opportunities.' "Clark winced. 'I remember that one. I think I may have had a minor stroke in the office when he said that.'" (Emily St. John Mandel, Station Eleven . Alfred A. Knopf, 2014)

The Poisonous Spell of Business Jargon

"The next time you feel the need to reach out, touch base, shift a paradigm, leverage a best practice or join a tiger team, by all means do it. Just don’t say you’re doing it. "If you have to ask why, chances are you’ve fallen under the poisonous spell of business jargon . No longer solely the province of consultants, investors and business-school types, this annoying gobbledygook has mesmerized the rank and file around the globe. "'Jargon masks real meaning,' says Jennifer Chatman, management professor at the University of California-Berkeley’s Haas School of Business. 'People use it as a substitute for thinking hard and clearly about their goals and the direction that they want to give others.'" (Max Mallet, Brett Nelson and Chris Steiner, "The Most Annoying, Pretentious And Useless Business Jargon." Forbes , January 26, 2012)

"Laser-Focused"

"At companies ranging from children’s book publishers to organic-food purveyors, CEOs are increasingly training powerful beams of light on their targets. The phrase 'laser-focused' appeared in more than 250 transcripts of earnings calls and investor events this year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg, on pace to eclipse the 287 in all of 2012. 'It’s business jargon ,' says L.J. Rittenhouse, CEO of Rittenhouse Rankings, who consults with executives on communication and strategy. 'What would a more candid disclosure be? "We are focused." What does a laser have to do with it?' . . . "David Larcker, a professor at the Stanford Graduate School of Business who has studied deception on investor conference calls, says that when executives 'start using a lot of jargon, it makes you wonder about the believability.' Rittenhouse, who analyzes shareholder letters for an annual report on CEO candor and reviews about 100 conference-call transcripts each year, has found that companies that use 'fact-deficient, obfuscating generalities' have worse share performance than more candid companies." (Noah Buhayar, "The CEO's Favorite Cliché." Bloomberg Businessweek , September 23-29, 2013)

Business-Speak

"In an infamous December 2012 press release, Citigroup announced that it would begin 'a series of repositioning actions that will further reduce expenses and improve efficiency,' resulting in 'streamlined operations and an optimized consumer footprint across geographies.' Translation: 11,000 people would be repositioned out the door. "Business-speak, with its heartless euphemisms and empty stock phrases, is the jargon that everyone loves to hate. . . . "For several years, Mark Liberman, a linguist at the University of Pennsylvania, has been keeping an eye on the words and phrases that are condemned as business-speak, and he has noticed that as much as 'mission statements' and 'deliverables,' what gets under people’s skin are expressions like 'impactful,' 'at the end of the day,' and 'low-hanging fruit.' As he has investigated these expressions, he noted in a post last month on the blog Language Log, he has found that they are as common in sports, politics, social science, and other spheres as they are in business." (Joshua J. Friedman, "Jargon: It’s Not the Business World’s Fault!" The Boston Globe , September 15, 2013) "Dharmesh's culture code incorporates elements of HubSpeak. For example, it instructs that when someone quits or gets fired, the event will be referred to as 'graduation.' This really happens, over and over again. In my first month at HubSpot I've witnessed several graduations, just in the marketing department. We'll get an email from Cranium saying, 'Team, Just letting you know that Derek has graduated from HubSpot, and we're excited to see how he uses his superpowers in his next big adventure!'" (Dan Lyons, Disrupted: My Misadventure in the Start-Up Bubble . Hachette, 2016)

Business-Speak in Higher Education

"As universities are beaten into the shapes dictated by business, so language is suborned to its ends. We have all heard the robotic idiom of management, as if a button had activated a digitally generated voice. Like Newspeak in Nineteen Eighty-Four , business-speak is an instance of magical naming, superimposing the imagery of the market on the idea of a university–through ‘targets,' ‘benchmarks,' time-charts, league tables, ‘vision statements,' ‘content providers.' We may laugh or groan, depending on the state of our mental health at the thickets of TLAs–three-letter acronyms , in the coinage of the writer Richard Hamblyn–that accumulate like dental plaque. . . . "The code conceals aggression: actions are undertaken in its name and justified by its rules; it pushes responsibility from persons to systems. It pushes individuals to one side and replaces them with columns, boxes, numbers, rubrics, often meaningless tautologies (a form will ask first for ‘aims,' and then for ‘objectives’)." (Marina Warner, "Learning My Lesson." London Review of Books , March 19, 2015)

"The Epic Poetry of Modern Business"

"Jargon is an invaluable tool in massaging meaning for marketing purposes. Investment is a particularly fertile field. Promoters may describe a start-up with no customers as 'pre-revenue,' optimistically implying that sales are inevitable. Hoped-for turnover will be projected in a 'business plan,' a document used for raising finance and scrupulously ignored thenceforth. "Terminology that deflects criticism while bestowing spurious professionalism is essential to the manager. Hence the phrase 'I'm outside the loop on that' excuses knuckle-dragging cluelessness. 'I'm afraid I don't have the bandwidth' is a polite way of saying: 'You aren't important enough for me to help you.' And 'It is my understanding that . . .' allows the speaker to assert vague suspicions as solid facts... "Jargon is the epic poetry of modern business. It can turn a bunch of windbags in a meeting room into a 'quick wins taskforce.' I once asked a handyman toiling in an office doorway whether he was installing a wheelchair ramp. 'No,' he said solemnly, 'it's a diversity access feature.'" (Jonathan Guthrie, "Three Cheers for the Epic Poetry of Jargon." Financial Times , Dec. 13, 2007)

Financial Jargon: "Reversification"

"The images and metaphors keep doing headstands. To 'bail out' is to slop water over the side of a boat. That verb has been reversified so that it means an injection of public money into a failing institution; taking something dangerous out has turned into putting something vital in. 'Credit' has been reversified: it means debt. 'Inflation' means money being worth less. 'Synergy' means sacking people. 'Risk' means precise mathematical assessment of probability. 'Noncore assets' means garbage. These are all examples of how the process of innovation, experimentation, and progress in the techniques of finance has been brought to bear on language, so that words no longer mean what they once did. It is not a process intended to deceive, but . . . it confines knowledge to a priesthood—the priesthood of people who can speak money."

(John Lanchester, "Money Talks." The New Yorker , August 4, 2014)

Greenspan's Fed-Jargon

"A special area of financial jargon is Greenspeak, the terms and phrases of Federal Reserve Board Chairman [1987-2006], Alan Greenspan. For decades a small group of economists known as Fed-watchers, pored over the statements made by the Federal Reserve, looking for indications of changes in Federal Reserve policy. Today, almost every investor and business person in the U.S. listens to the latest Fed pronouncements. From his 1999 description of the technology stock market as 'irrational exuberance,' to his 'considerable period,' 'soft patch,' and 'short-lived' descriptions of the economy and monetary policy in 2003-2004, the words of Alan Greenspan [became] common in American business jargon ." (W. Davis Folsom, Understanding American Business Jargon: A Dictionary , 2nd ed. Greenwood, 2005)

• What's a Buzzword?
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• What Is Academese?
• A List of the Most Common Business Degrees
• Logos (Rhetoric)
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• Multiple Exclamation Points
• The Definition of Taboo Language
• Slang, Jargon, Idiom, and Proverb Explained for English Learners
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Business Terms

A comprehensive dictionary of key small business terms & definitions. Gain a clear understanding of industry jargon to stay informed to make informed decisions for your small business’s success.

Acquisition

Process where one company purchases most or all of another company's shares to gain control.

Adaptive Firm

A business that modifies its strategies and operations to adapt to changes in the business environment.

A document or information added or attached to the original documents, detailing changes or additions.

Affiliate Marketing

A marketing tactic where a business earns a commission for marketing another company's products.

An individual authorized to act on behalf of another (business or person) in business transactions.

Agile Working

A way of working that empowers employees to work where, when, and how they choose to increase productivity and efficiency.

All Rights Reserved

A copyright term indicating that the copyright holder reserves all rights provided by copyright law.

A formal change or addition made to a document or agreement.

Angel Investor

A high net worth individual who provides financial backing for small startups or entrepreneurs, usually in exchange for ownership equity.

Annual Meeting

A mandatory yearly gathering of a company's interested shareholders.

Annual Report

A comprehensive report on a company's activities throughout the preceding year.

Anonymous LLC

A limited liability company where the ownership details are not publicly disclosed.

A certificate that authenticates the origin of a public document for use across countries.

Arbitration

A dispute resolution technique outside of courts, where the parties to a dispute refer it to one or more persons for a binding decision.

Arm’s Length Relationship

A relationship wherein the parties are acting independently and on their own best interest.

Articles of Incorporation

A document required to form a corporation, detailing the primary characteristics of the corporation.

Articles of Organization

A document that establishes the existence of an LLC, setting forth certain basic information about the new entity.

Asset Protection Trust

A financial-planning vehicle that holds a person's assets to shield them from creditors.

Use of various control systems for operating equipment with minimal or reduced human intervention.

B Corporation

B Corporations are businesses certified by the nonprofit B Lab for meeting rigorous standards of social and environmental performance.

Business-to-business (B2B) refers to transactions between two businesses, like a manufacturer selling to a wholesaler.

Business-to-consumer (B2C) pertains to businesses selling products or services directly to individual consumers.

Business-to-government (B2G) includes transactions where businesses provide products or services to government entities.

Barriers to Entry

Barriers to Entry are obstacles that make it difficult for new companies to enter a specific market.

Benefits are forms of value, other than payment, that are provided to employees in return for their contribution to the organization.

Better Business Bureau

The Better Business Bureau (BBB) is a private nonprofit organization that provides free business reviews on more than 4 million businesses.

Blockchain is a type of database that takes a number of records and puts them in a block (rather like collating them on to a single sheet of paper).

A blog is an online journal or informational website displaying information in reverse chronological order, with the latest posts appearing first.

Board Chair

The Board Chair is the highest officer of an organizational board of directors and leads the board's functions.

Board of Directors

A Board of Directors is a group of people who jointly supervise the activities of an organization.

A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that identifies one seller's goods or service as distinct from those of other sellers.

Brand Loyalty

Brand loyalty is a consumer's commitment to repurchase or continue using the brand.

Breach of Contract

A Breach of Contract is a legal concept in which a binding agreement or bargained-for exchange is not honored by one or more of the parties.

A brochure is an informative paper document that can be folded into a template, pamphlet, or leaflet.

A Broker is an individual or firm that charges a fee or commission for executing buy and sell orders submitted by an investor.

Business Address

The Business Address is the location of a business's primary operations or registered office.

Business Manager

A Business Manager oversees the activities of a business or department, making strategic decisions to ensure profitability.

Business Name

The Business Name is the official name under which a company does business.

Business Name Checker

A Business Name Checker is a tool to check the availability of a specific business name in a certain jurisdiction.

Business Plan

A Business Plan is a formal written document containing business goals, methods to achieve them, and the time frame for their achievement.

Business Structure

Business Structure refers to the legal organization of a business, which can range from sole proprietorship to corporation.

Business Travel

Business Travel is travel undertaken by company employees for the purpose of conducting business on behalf of the company.

Buy-Sell Agreement

A Buy-Sell Agreement is a legally binding agreement used to reallocate a share of a business if an owner leaves or dies.

Buyer’s Market

A Buyer’s Market refers to a market condition characterized by lower prices and increased supply, favoring buyers.

Bylaws are the rules and methods that govern the conduct of a company and manage the affairs

C Corporation (C Corp)

C Corporation is a legal structure for a corporation in which the owners, or shareholders, are taxed separately from the entity.

C-Level refers to high-ranking executive titles within an organization usually beginning with the letter 'C', like CEO, CFO, COO, etc.

Call to Action

A Call to Action (CTA) in business is a prompt that tells the target audience to take some specified action.

Captive Market

A Captive Market refers to a scenario where customers are obliged to buy a company's product due to lack of alternatives.

Certificate of Amendment

A document issued by a state to represent changes made to a corporation’s charter.

Certificate of Authority

A document that gives a foreign corporation authority to conduct business in a state other than its home state.

Certificate of Cancellation

Filed when a corporation or LLC decides to formally terminate its existence.

Certificate of Good Standing

A document proving that a corporation is legally registered and allowed to conduct business.

Certified Public Accountant

A Certified Public Accountant (CPA) is a professional designation for accountants who have met certain requirements.

A Chatbot is a computer program that simulates and processes human conversation, enabling interaction with customers.

Chief Executive Officer

A Chief Executive Officer (CEO) is the highest-ranking officer in a company, responsible for making major corporate decisions.

Chief Financial Officer

A Chief Financial Officer (CFO) manages a company's financial actions and strategy.

Chief Human Resources Officer

A Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO) is responsible for developing and executing human resource strategy.

Chief Investment Officer

The Chief Investment Officer (CIO) oversees the investment portfolio of a company or organization.

Chief Marketing Officer

The Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) manages the execution of a company's marketing and advertising initiatives.

Chief Operations Officer

The Chief Operations Officer (COO) oversees a company's business operations ensuring they are efficient and effective.

Classified Board of Directors

A Classified Board of Directors is one that is divided into classes serving different term lengths.

Close Corporation

A Close Corporation is a company whose shares are held by a select few individuals who are usually closely associated with the business.

Competitive Advantage

A Competitive Advantage is a unique advantage that allows a company to outperform its competitors.

Competitive Analysis

Competitive Analysis is the strategy of identifying major competitors and researching their products, sales, and marketing strategies.

Compliance in business refers to a company obeying all legal laws and regulations in regard to how they manage the business.

Consideration

Consideration is what is given in exchange for goods or services in a contract, like money, services, or goods.

Consolidation

In business, Consolidation refers to the merger of two or more corporations into a new entity.

Constituent

A Constituent refers to any key party who has an interest in the outcomes of a business, like shareholders or employees.

Content Marketing

Content Marketing involves creating and sharing online material that promotes a brand and stimulates interest in its products or services.

Conversion in business refers to the process of turning a prospect into a customer.

Conversion Rate

Conversion Rate is the percentage of users who take a desired action like making a purchase or filling out a form.

Copyright is a legal right that protects original works of authorship, such as books, music, film, and software.

Corporate Charter

A Corporate Charter, also known as articles of incorporation, is a legal document establishing a corporation.

Corporate Indicator

Corporate Indicator refers to words like Corp, Inc, Co, etc., which indicate a company is incorporated.

Corporate Kit

A Corporate Kit is a customized binder with documents needed for the ongoing management of a corporation or LLC.

Corporate Resolution

A Corporate Resolution is a formal declaration made by a board of directors on behalf of the company.

Corporate Seal

A Corporate Seal is a stamp used by a company to authenticate its corporate activities and legal documents.

Corporation

A Corporation is a legal entity separate from its owners (shareholders), offering them limited liability protection.

Deed of Trust

A Deed of Trust is a legal document in real estate that transfers title to a neutral third party, the trustee, until a debt is paid.

Direct Mail Marketing

Direct Mail Marketing is a promotional strategy where printed ads are sent directly to potential customers through postal mail.

A Director is an elected individual who, along with other directors, oversees the policies and direction of a corporation or organization.

Dissolution

Dissolution is the formal process through which a business ends its operations and distributes its assets.

To Dissolve a company means to legally terminate its existence, often following the settlement of debts and distribution of assets.

Doing Business As (DBA)

Doing Business As (DBA) is a name under which a corporation operates, not its legal name.

Domain Name

A Domain Name is an online address, often chosen to represent a business, where internet users can access a website.

Domestication

Domestication refers to a process where a foreign corporation becomes a domestic one in another state.

Downsizing refers to a strategic reduction in a company’s size, often involving layoffs, to improve efficiency or manage costs.

Early Adopters

Early Adopters are individuals or entities that start using a product or technology soon after it becomes available.

eCommerce, short for electronic commerce, is the selling and buying of goods and services over the internet.

An Employer Identification Number (EIN) is a unique number assigned by the IRS to a business for tax purposes.

Employment Agreement

An Employment Agreement is a legal contract detailing the terms and conditions of employment between employer and employee.

Entity Type

Entity Type refers to the legal structure of a business, such as a corporation, partnership, or sole proprietorship.

Entrepreneur

An Entrepreneur is an individual who starts, organizes, and manages a business, assuming the risks and rewards.

Experience Curve

The Experience Curve is a business concept that suggests costs per unit can decrease the more a company produces a product.

Family Limited Partnerships

A Family Limited Partnership is a type of arrangement created to manage and control a family business or assets.

Features, Advantages, and Benefits (FAB)

FAB refers to product characteristics (Features), their advantages, and how they benefit the consumer.

Fictitious Business Name

A Fictitious Business Name, similar to DBA, is a name under which a company operates but is not its legal name.

Fiduciary Duty

Fiduciary Duty is the legal responsibility of one party to act in the best interest of another in managing assets.

First Mover Advantage

First Mover Advantage refers to the competitive edge gained by being the first to market with a product or service.

Form 1023 is an IRS form that non-profits fill out to apply for federal tax-exempt status.

Form 2553 is an IRS form used by corporations and LLCs to elect to be treated as an S corporation for tax purposes.

Form 8832 is an IRS form that a business entity uses to elect how it will be classified for federal tax purposes.

A Freelancer is an individual who is self-employed, offering services to multiple clients without long-term commitments.

General Corporation

A General Corporation is a business entity that offers limited liability for its shareholders, who own and control it.

Going Public

Going Public refers to a private company's initial public offering (IPO), becoming a publicly-traded and owned entity.

Golden Parachute

A Golden Parachute is a clause in a top executive's employment contract ensuring a large payout if the executive leaves the company.

Good Faith in business implies dealings are conducted honestly and without intention of defrauding or deceiving.

In business, Goodwill is the intangible asset that arises when a business is acquired and the purchase price exceeds its book value.

A Guarantor is a person or entity that guarantees to fulfill a responsibility or repay a debt of another person or entity.

Guerrilla Marketing

Guerrilla Marketing refers to unconventional marketing strategies intended to get maximum results from minimal resources.

In business, Harvesting refers to the reduction or termination of investment in a product, service, or business.

Holding Company

A Holding Company is an entity that owns the securities for other companies but doesn't produce goods or services itself.

Human Resources

Human Resources (HR) is the department in a business responsible for all aspects related to its workforce.

Ideas Versus Opportunities

This refers to the distinction between an innovative concept (idea) and a viable, marketable proposition (opportunity).

Incorporated Business

An Incorporated Business is a company that has been formed into a legal corporation by completing the required procedures.

Incorporation

Incorporation is the legal process of forming a corporate entity, providing liability protection for its owners.

Incorporator

An Incorporator is an individual or entity responsible for the process of incorporation of a business.

Incorporators Statement

An Incorporators Statement is a document containing initial decisions made by the incorporator(s) of a corporation.

Independent Contractor

An Independent Contractor is a self-employed individual who provides goods or services under a contract or verbal agreement.

Initial Public Offering (IPO)

An IPO is when a private corporation offers its shares to the public in a new stock issuance.

An Injunction is a legal order that requires an individual or entity to stop doing something to prevent harm or damage.

In business, Innovators are companies or individuals that are first to introduce new products or methods.

Intrapreneurship

Intrapreneurship refers to the practice of entrepreneurship within the confines of an established company.

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the U.S. government agency responsible for tax collection and tax law enforcement.

A Jurat is a statement on an affidavit indicating when, where, and before whom it was sworn to.

Labor refers to the human resources that a company utilizes in its operations or production process.

Limited Liability Company

An LLC is a business structure combining the pass-through taxation of a partnership with the limited liability of a corporation.

Limited Liability Partnership

A Limited Liability Partnership (LLP) is a partnership where some or all partners have limited liabilities.

Limited Partnership

A Limited Partnership (LP) consists of one or more general partners and one or more limited partners.

Limited Personal Liability

Limited Personal Liability shields personal assets from business debts and obligations.

Loyalty Programs

Loyalty Programs incentivize repeat purchases by offering rewards to frequent customers.

Management refers to the coordination and administration of tasks to achieve a goal.

A Manager is a person who is responsible for controlling or administering an organization or group of staff.

Manager-Managed

In a Manager-Managed LLC, members appoint a manager(s) to conduct the business.

A Market is a place where buyers and sellers interact to trade goods, services, or contracts.

Market Correction

A Market Correction is a decrease in the market price of an asset or market index, typically by at least 10%.

Market Development Funds

Market Development Funds are resources provided by manufacturers to promote products or services.

Market Penetration Strategy

A strategy aiming to increase market share for existing products or services in existing markets.

Market Segmentation

Market Segmentation is the process of dividing a market into distinct subsets of consumers with common needs or characteristics.

Market Share

Market Share is the percentage of an industry's sales that a specific company owns.

Market Size

Market Size refers to the total potential buying power in a market, often measured in terms of total sales or total customers.

Marketing Mix

The Marketing Mix includes product, price, place, and promotion strategies of a business.

In a business context, a Member is an owner of a company, particularly in LLCs or cooperatives.

A Merger is a strategic move where two companies agree to combine their operations into a single entity.

Mission Statement

A Mission Statement is a formal summary of the aims and values of a company or organization.

Model Registered Agents Act

An act providing a statutory framework for the service of process on registered agents.

Multi-Member LLC

A Multi-Member LLC is a Limited Liability Company with more than one owner.

Name Registration

Name Registration is the process of legally registering a business's trade name.

Name Reservation

Name Reservation is the act of reserving a company name prior to its formation.

Newsletter Subscriptions

Newsletter Subscriptions are opt-in services where businesses send regular updates to subscribers via email.

Notice of Litigation

A Notice of Litigation is a written notification that a lawsuit has been filed involving certain legal rights of the recipient.

Operating Agreement

An Operating Agreement outlines the governance and operating procedures of an LLC.

Operations Control

Operations Control involves monitoring and managing a company's operational activities.

Operations Plan

An Operations Plan is a plan that describes how the regular operations of a business will run.

Outsourcing

Outsourcing involves hiring outside individuals or organizations to handle certain business tasks.

A Partner is an individual who shares ownership in a business.

Partnership

A Partnership is a legal form of business operation between two or more individuals who share management and profits.

Partnership Agreement

A Partnership Agreement outlines the terms and conditions agreed upon among business partners.

A Patent is a legal protection that gives inventors exclusive rights to their inventions.

Perpetual Existence

Perpetual Existence refers to a corporation's continued existence, regardless of changes in ownership or management.

PEST Analysis

PEST Analysis studies external factors (Political, Economic, Social, and Technological) affecting a business.

Positioning

Positioning refers to a marketing strategy aiming at making a brand occupy a distinct position in the mind of the customer.

A President is a senior executive in a company who reports to the Board of Directors.

Pricing Strategy

Pricing Strategy is the method companies use to price their products or services.

Product Life Cycle

Product Life Cycle is the cycle through which every product goes from introduction to withdrawal or eventual demise.

Product Line Pricing

Product Line Pricing is a strategy to set prices for a line of products based on cost differences between the products, customer perceptions, and competitors' prices.

Professional Association

A Professional Association is a group of individuals who share common professional interests.

Professional Corporation

A Professional Corporation is a type of corporation for professionals such as lawyers, doctors, architects, or accountants.

Professional LLC

A Professional LLC is a special type of LLC for licensed professionals like doctors, lawyers, or accountants.

A Promoter initiates and takes on the risk of setting up a business or enterprise.

Proprietary (Private) Limited Company

A Proprietary Limited Company is a privately-owned entity in which ownership is issued, subscribed, or transferred by private dealings.

A Proxy is an individual authorized to act on behalf of another, particularly in the context of voting at a shareholder meeting.

Public Benefit Corporation

A Public Benefit Corporation is a type of corporation intended to produce a public benefit and operate in a responsible and sustainable manner.

Publicly Traded

A company is Publicly Traded if its shares can be bought/sold on a stock exchange.

Punitive Damages

Punitive Damages are awarded in legal cases as a form of punishment and deterrent for outrageous conduct.

A Quorum is the minimum number of members who must be present to make decisions at a meeting.

A Receiver is a person appointed as custodian of a person's or business's property, usually in cases of bankruptcy or insolvency.

Recession-Proof

A Recession-Proof business or industry is one that is not greatly affected by a poor economy.

Registered Agent

A Registered Agent receives service of process and other legal documents on behalf of a business.

Regulations

Regulations are rules established by government or other authority to control the way something is done.

Reinstated Articles of Incorporation

These are articles that have been reinstated after a corporation has been administratively dissolved.

Reinstatement

Reinstatement is restoring a corporation to active status after it has been administratively dissolved.

A Resolution is a formal decision made by a company’s shareholders or board of directors.

Respondeat Superior

Respondeat Superior is a legal doctrine holding an employer liable for an employee's actions done within their employment.

Rights of First Refusal

Rights of First Refusal allow stakeholders first chance to buy a stake before the owner sells to someone else.

S Corporation (S Corp)

An S Corp is a corporation that elects to pass corporate income, losses, deductions, and credits through to their shareholders for federal tax purposes.

S Election is the IRS form filed by corporations that want to be treated as an S Corp.

Secretary of State

The Secretary of State is a state government official who handles business filings.

Senior Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE)

SCORE is a nonprofit association dedicated to helping small businesses through education and mentorship.

A Series LLC allows for segregation of assets, obligations, and operations into independent series within the LLC.

Service of Process

Service of Process is the procedure of giving an appropriate party notice of legal action.

A Share represents a unit of ownership in a corporation or financial asset.

Shareholder Agreement

A Shareholder Agreement is a contract between a corporation's shareholders, outlining rights and obligations.

Single-Member LLC

A Single-Member LLC is an LLC with only one owner.

Small Business Administration

The Small Business Administration provides support to small businesses in the form of loans and advice.

Small Business Investment Council (SBIC)

SBIC is a privately owned investment company licensed by the Small Business Administration to provide financing to small businesses.

Sole Proprietor

A Sole Proprietor is the single owner of a business that is not incorporated or registered as an LLC.

Statement of Information

A Statement of Information updates or confirms the records of a business entity's data with the state.

Statutes are written laws passed by legislative bodies.

Statutory Agent

A Statutory Agent, similar to a Registered Agent, receives service of process and official government communications on behalf of a business.

Subscription Business Model

A Subscription Business Model charges customers a recurring fee to access a product or service.

A Subsidiary is a company controlled by a holding or parent company.

SWOT Analysis

SWOT Analysis is a strategic planning tool assessing strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.

A Takeover occurs when an acquiring company makes a bid to assume control of a target company.

Target Market

A Target Market is a specific group of customers at which a company aims its products and services.

A Tort is a civil wrong causing harm to someone, for which the injured person may sue the wrongdoer.

A Treasurer is an officer responsible for managing an organization's financial affairs and investments.

Underwriter

An Underwriter evaluates and assumes another party's risk for a fee in the form of a commission, premium, spread, or interest.

Valuation is the process of determining the current worth of an asset, company, or property.

Venture Capital

Venture Capital is financing provided to early-stage, high-potential, start-up companies.

Voluntary Dissolution

Voluntary Dissolution is the closing of a company initiated by its owners.

Voting Rights

Voting Rights are the rights of shareholders to vote on matters of corporate policy and on who is to compose the board of directors.

A Website is a collection of web pages representing a business, brand, or other entity on the Internet.

A Wholesaler is an intermediary entity in the distribution channel that buys in bulk and sells to resellers rather than consumers.

Winding Up is the process of selling all the assets of a company, paying off creditors, and distributing any remaining assets to the partners or shareholders.

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• 35 Terms to Enhance Your Business English Vocabulary

If you’re learning English in order to better your job prospects, the chances are that at some point you’re going to need to understand and employ a more specialised vocabulary.

Working in a business environment will expose you to a raft of new words that don’t tend to be covered by standard English as a Foreign Language courses. In this introductory guide, we explain some of the words and phrases you can expect to hear in an office, including both official terms and the so-called “office jargon” that has crept into use in the 21st century workplace.

If you would like to study business, visit our Business Summer School course at one of Oxford Royale’s venues: Oxford Summer School ,  Cambridge Summer School ,  London Summer School ,  San Francisco Summer School  and  Yale Summer School .

Basic business terms

Let’s start by looking at a few very basic business terms that you might hear or need to use when you gain full-time employment (or even set up a business of your own).

1. Business plan

A business plan is, as the name suggests, a document used to outline plans for a business, setting out growth goals for the next three to five years, and identifying information needed to achieve those goals, such as target market, unique selling points, marketing goals, and so on. It might also outline strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (also known by the abbreviation “SWOT”). Business plans are essential for those setting up or developing a business, and will be needed in order to secure funding from banks, the Government or investors.

2. Balance sheet

A balance sheet details the company accounts at a certain point in time (often the end of the financial year). It lists the values of the company’s assets (things belonging to it), liabilities (what it owes) and ownership equity (what’s left after liabilities). It’s intended to provide a snapshot of how the company is doing financially, which can then be compared with goals outlined in the business plan.

3. Start-up

The term “start-up” is used to describe a brand new business, typically in its first few months or years of trading. The term has connotations of entrepreneurship, and the implication is often that the company will grow significantly in size. It’s often associated with the tech industry, because the term was used extensively during the dot com boom, but it can apply to any new business. Start-ups are typically thought of as forward-thinking, often with a relaxed atmosphere in unconventional offices. Because start-ups are in their infancy, they have a small number of employees and often no strict hierarchy, making them attractive places to work.

4. Forecast

Just as a weather forecast predicts what the weather’s going to be doing, so a business forecast predicts various aspects of a business’s future movement based on its current situation, external factors, new products, plans for marketing and such like. The timeframes are usually somewhat longer than those involved in a weather forecast – three to five year forecasts are common. Types of business forecast include sales, profit and loss, and cashflow; the latter helps business owners predict whether they’re likely to run out of money.

5. Marketing

Marketing refers to the promotion of a product or service. It can take numerous forms, including advertising, emailing customers, sending out leaflets or brochures, engaging with potential customers via social media, and so on.

A “USP” is the “Unique Selling Proposition” of a company, product or service – in other words, what makes it different from similar offerings. USPs are considered when a company is set up or a new product or service is launched, and they’re also at the forefront of marketers’ minds, because it’s the unique aspects that enable those charged with marketing to succeed, by highlighting reasons why customers should choose them rather than another company.

The abbreviation “HR” stands for “Human Resources”, and it’s the part of a company that deals with matters relating to its employees. The goal of someone who specialises in HR is to ensure that employees are happy and productive, reducing turnover of employees (that is, reducing the frequency with which employees leave and new ones are hired) and maximising the cost-effectiveness of the company’s investment in its workforce. HR oversees employee training and development, enforces company regulations and deals with payroll (everything to do with the payment of employees). HR is also there to handle disciplinary matters, and to deal impartially with problems arising between employees, and between employees and their managers.

8. Recruitment

Recruitment is the process of hiring new employees. Companies exist whose sole purpose is to match employers with potential employees; these are known as recruitment agencies.

“Brand” is the term given to a company’s name and the recognisable attributes that go with that company, which define its unique identity. The company’s tone of voice and design of official communications are part of what gives it this “brand identity”.

10. Public Relations

Public Relations, or PR, is the role within a business devoted to communicating with the press, and ensuring favourable media coverage of a company, product or service.

11. Minutes

The “minutes” of a meeting are notes taken during the meeting to record what was said, what was agreed, and to assign actions to individuals whose responsibility it will be to complete them.

12. Cold call

This is a phone call, usually from a sales representative of a company, to a potential customer or client who is not expecting the call and with whom there has been no previous contact, with the aim of trying to sell them something. Cold calls have a bad reputation, and are often referred to by customers as “nuisance” calls.

Office jargon

A particular category of business-related vocabulary is known in English as “office jargon”, and it’s a widely derided language all of its own. Also known as “management speak”, these are the self-aggrandising terms that many people in business use in order to make themselves sound clever and important; at least, that’s what they think. In reality, most people loathe office jargon, and those who use it lose the respect of those around them. We introduce you to a few such terms here, so that you know what they mean if you hear them yourself (and so that you know what to avoid saying in a business environment!).

13. Going forward

This is usually used to mean “from now on”. Some may consider it to have connotations of moving on positively from something negative that may have occurred: “we’ll adopt a different approach going forward”.

14. Thinking outside the box

A favourite of ‘quirky’ creative agencies, the phrase “thinking outside the box” means to think creatively, abandoning all preconceptions.

15. Blue sky thinking

The archetypal piece of office jargon, the term “blue sky thinking” is another way of expressing the idea of “thinking outside the box”.

You’ll know the word “action” from its normal contexts, such as action movies, or simply describing something being done (“taking action”). However, in the business environment this one of many examples of a noun being turned into a verb. “Can you action that?” might be a request you’d hear in an office, meaning simply “Can you do that?”

17. Stakeholders

This word is used to refer to anyone who’s involved in a particular project. If someone has a say in the outcome of a piece of work, they are a “stakeholder”.

This term refers to the idea of gaining acceptance for something. If someone agrees to subscribe to a particular way of doing things, for example, they are “buying in” to the idea. You might see a phrase like “seek buy-in from employees” in an HR document discussing the implementation of a new set of rules, for example.

19. Leverage

Though “leverage” is another word that’s meant to be a noun – meaning the use of a lever to apply force – it’s often heard in a business context being used as a verb, meaning to utilise something to the business’s advantage – “leverage our contacts to spread the word”, for example.

20. Touch base

This is surely one of the most cringe-worthy pieces of office jargon, and it’s filtered its way through from the pitches of American baseball into the offices of the UK. All it means in the office environment is “to make contact”. You might hear “let’s touch base”, meaning “let’s talk”.

21. On the same page

In the world of office jargon, it’s apparently acceptable to take a well-known idiom – in this case “singing from the same hymn sheet” – and dumb it down for use in the boardroom. If you’re “on the same page” as someone, you’re approaching something from the same point of view as them, with the same agreed assumptions in mind.

22. Feedback

Yet another example of a noun becoming a verb for the purposes of awful office jargon is the word “feedback”, which should be used as a noun to describe constructive comments on something (as in essay feedback). However, in an office environment it’s not unusual to hear it used as a verb – “We’re waiting for him to feed back on the ideas” – or even, horrifically, in the past tense: “He’s fed back to us that he doesn’t like it”.

23. Price point

For some reason, some business types like to talk about “price points” instead of just “prices”. This is one of many examples of using more complicated language in lieu of a simpler word or phrase.

24. End of play

This irritating term refers to the end of the working day. “Close of play” is a variant, as in “Can you get this over to me by close of play today?”

25. Drill down

You might hear this term used to describe something that deserves closer inspection: “we need to drill down to the finer details”.

26. Best practice

You might hear colleagues referring to industry “best practice”, which describes a generally acknowledged ‘best way of doing things’ in order to achieve optimum results.

27. Core competency

This bewildering phrase refers to the strengths of a person or company. The word “competent” doesn’t even refer to strength – it means the ability to do something to a satisfactory standard.

28. Scalable

If something is “scalable”, this means that it’s an idea that will work easily on a larger scale to the one it currently works on. For example, a “scalable” business model is one that’s easy to replicate in order to expand the business.

29. Skill set

This refers to someone’s range of skills. It’s jargon because it’s an unnecessary way of describing what could easily be referred to simply as “skills”.

30. Vertical

You’d have thought that the word “vertical” is simply the opposite to “horizontal”, but not in a business context. In the world of business jargon, it refers to an area of expertise. Rather than saying “we cater for the logistics industry”, some business types might say “we cater for the logistics vertical”.

31. Get the ball rolling

This is simply a way of saying “start”. You might hear it at the beginning of a meeting, when the person organising the meeting might say “let’s get the ball rolling” to mean “let’s begin the meeting”.

32. Annual leave

Many business people now write in their out-of-office emails that they’re on “annual leave”. This simply means that they are on holiday. “Annual leave” is really a term used by the military, and it’s unclear how it became adopted into the world of civilian business.

33. Low-hanging fruit

Imagine picking fruit from a tree: you’d go for the ones hanging low first, as they’re easiest to get. In business, the phrase “low-hanging fruit” is used to describe the tasks or opportunities that are easiest to tackle.

34. Quick wins

This horrible phrase refers to the same sort of thing as “low-hanging fruit” – the things that are easiest to achieve.

35. Helicopter view

Believe it or not, this means “a quick overview”. Why anybody felt that describing it in this way was necessary is anybody’s guess; but the same could be said of any of the examples on this list of office jargon, so you’re best off avoiding these terms if you want to be taken seriously in an office environment.

Image credits: business plan