Definitions and vocabulary. That’s what business is all about. You define your product, you define your business, and you define your competition. Then you create a vocabulary with which to discuss each. Lawyers make millions because no one else understands legal vocabulary. Accountants are vital to business because few can use the vocabulary with which taxes are created.
Monday’s post was an announcement of a new project I’ve entered: SmarterMarkets.com. It’s one of many projects that my new publishing company, Jumping Duck Media, is producing. Ironically, all of these projects should have been around long ago – all that prevented them was my fear of handling more than myself as a business entity.
To a casual observer, it is impossible to start a business. You need to register the name, register the product (patent or copyright), find financing, write a business plan, secure investors, etc and so on. I never ‘got around’to starting Jumping Duck because I was afraid of the process. To me, it was “Mission: Impossible.”
In reality, creating a business is remarkably simple! The “assumed business name” registration took about 5 minutes to do online. Licensing is fairly straight forward if you understand the terminology of the paperwork (I went to business school to learn this specific vocabulary, but you can always ask a business adviser for help). Also, you don’t actually need a business plan or investors to start a company!
We define “small business owners” and “entrepreneurs” as people with overabundances of free time and genius. Is this a true definition? I won’t argue the intelligence of business owners – all of them are very bright – but why do we attribute this definition to that particular segment of the market?
Vocabulary.
Knowing the vocabulary of business makes the act of starting a business very straightforward. Just like knowing the vocabulary of law makes passing the bar exam easier.
What unique vocabulary do you use in your line of business? How would someone unfamiliar with these specific terms define you and your competition? How can you use this definition to your advantage?
