Small Business Encyclopedia
About Encyclopedia
No matter what business topic you're interested in, you'll find our category list is an easy way to navigate our small-business encyclopedia. From Accounting and Advertising to Location and Operations, every topic offers information on the terms that matter most. And if you can't find what you need here, our Terms A - Z list makes tracking down terms a snap.
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Popular Terms
Sole Proprietorship
Definition: A business that legally has no separate existence from its owner. Income and losses are taxed on the individual's personal income tax return.
Pricing a Product
Definition: To establish a selling price for a product.
Competitive Analysis
Definition: Identifying your competitors and evaluating their strategies to determine their strengths and weaknesses relative to those of your own product or service.
Network Marketing
Definition: A business model in which a distributor network is needed to build the business. Usually such businesses are also multilevel marketing in nature in that payouts occur at more than one level.
Partnership
Definition: A legal form of business operation between two or more individuals who share management and profits. The federal government recognizes several types of partnerships. The two most common are general and limited partnerships.
Market Research
Definition: The process of gathering, analyzing and interpreting information about a market, about a product or service to be offered for sale in that market, and about the past, present and potential customers for the product or service; research into the characteristics, spending habits, location and needs of your business's target market, the industry as a whole, and the particular competitors you face.
Popular Articles
'I Was Called Crazy': This 27-Year-Old's Side Hustle Hit $30,000 a Month in Under a Year — Now It's Worth Millions
Changing regulations forced Angel Rodriguez's jet ski rental company to shut down, and the young entrepreneur had to figure out his next move — fast.
This 30-Year-Old's $6,000-a-Month Side Hustle Started Making Money 'Immediately' — But He's Not Quitting His Day Job
Derrick Mathy works in orthopedic surgical device sales and is on a mission to bring people together in real life.
Elon Musk's xAI Claims Its New Grok 3 AI Is Better Than ChatGPT and DeepSeek: 'Seeing the Beginnings of Creativity'
xAI debuted the new AI on Monday, claiming it has 10 times the computational power of Grok 2.
'Unprecedented in Our 53-Year History': Southwest Airlines Announces Its First Mass Layoffs Ever
The airline is eliminating 15% of its corporate workforce, including many in senior leadership positions.
70 Small Business Ideas to Start in 2025
We put together a list of the best, most profitable small business ideas for entrepreneurs to pursue in 2025.
14 Amazingly Free Stock Photo Websites
Looking for the perfect image for your next project? Try some of these free online resources.