American English · B2 · Unit 5
Starting something
Starting a business
By the end you can
- Describe a business idea and its risks
- Persuade someone to support your idea
- Understand a short business plan
Words and phrases
| American English | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| a business plan | a document that describes a business and its goals | Do you have a business plan? |
| a gap in the market | something people want that nobody sells yet | There's a gap in the market for late-night cafés. |
| the risk is | the danger is | The risk is that customers won't pay $8 for a coffee. |
| invest in | put money into (to make more) | Why should I invest in this? |
| break even | earn as much as you spend | We expect to break even in the second year. |
| return on investment | the profit you get back from money you put in | What kind of return on investment can I expect? |
| a startup | a new, small company | She works at a startup in Denver with four people. |
| the target market | the people you want to sell to | Young families are the target market. |
| word of mouth | people telling each other about something | Most of our customers come through word of mouth. |
| a small business loan | money a bank lends to a small business | We got a small business loan from a local bank. |
| profit | the money you earn after costs | We made a small profit in the first year. |
| scale up | grow bigger | We want to scale up next year. |
Then talk it through
Pitching an idea to someone who might invest in it. In the app you have this conversation out loud or typed, with the unit's goals to tick off and corrections at the end.