I’d like to believe I am not dumb. In fact, there is objective evidence pointing towards the fact that I may be okay-ish at understanding things. Except for business. And cars. I am constantly living under the fear that someone will ask me “is that your cab?” when the said cab is standing on the opposite end of the road and I can’t see its number plate.
It’s the same with trade-investment stuff. I was recently watching Shark Tank (they call investors sharks; makes me giggle) and did not understand a word of negotiation. To the point that I stopped watching, which is a shame because the show is really interesting.
So, I figured there might be some other people like me out there who are too lazy to Google stuff and too shy to ask others the meanings of these words which apparently everyone is supposed to know. I have made a list of some of them. You’re welcome.
1. QSR
In the episode with the food products, you must have heard this word. It stands for Quick Service Restaurant or a restaurant that serves fast food.
2. Revenue
Revenue means the money a company makes before any expenses are subtracted from it. The profit, on the other hand, accounts for expenditure.
3. Revenue Run Rate
This is a method that helps one predict the revenue for the foreseeable period of time. This helps companies take informed decisions based on numbers.
4. Valuation
Simply, the value of a company. It is calculated by business evaluators based on many factors or formulas which will confuse you further so for now this is enough. The value of a company.
5. Supply Chain
Every process that is related to the production and distribution of products and services before they are bought. You must have heard this phrase a lot during the pandemic. Now you know what it means.
6. D2C
Direct-To-Consumer, as the name suggests, refers to businesses that provide services or products directly to the consumers with no middle-party. Popular examples of this in India are – Sleepy Owl, BoAT among others.
7. Retailers
Retailers are people/organisation that sells a product directly to the customer. They are different from distributors who sort of act like the link between manufacturer and wholesaler or retailer.
8. Equity
Equity! F*cking equity that the judges keep mentioning over and over again. I get it now. This means the value of an asset that a person, as a shareholder, will get when the debt, if any, associated with that asset is paid off. Basically, asset minus any liability.
9. Consumer Contracts
A legal contract between the buyer and a seller pertaining to the purchase of the product being sold.
10. Turnover
Turnover means the total sales a company is able to make over a given period of time. It is different from ‘profit’ which, as explained before, means the difference between the earnings and the expenditure.
It’s never too late to learn. Having said that, I should probably not run a business.