Glossary of Business Terms
In the context of personal Web businesses, the following terms have the following meanings.
|
Term |
Description |
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autonomous business model |
In the context of Web businesses, a business model in which the customers are both the producers and consumers of content. An autonomous Web business operates with very little work on the part of its creator and usually makes money through advertising. |
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brand |
A symbol that identifies and differentiates the product(s) and/or service(s) of your business from those of your competitors. |
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brand equity |
The (often tacit) value that your brand brings you. For example, Nike's "swoosh" symbol has a tremendous amount of brand equity. Imagine two identical shoes made by Nike, except one has the swoosh and the other doesn't. Which shoe will sell more? Obviously, the one with the swoosh. That's brand equity in a nutshell. |
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business model |
A well-thought-out plan for how your business intends to make enough money doing whatever it does; the high level design of your business. A business model is to a business as a software design model (for example, object-oriented design) is to a computer program. |
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corporation |
Best thought of as an artificial person, separate from the owner(s) (shareholders) who constitute it. Business owners typically form a corporation to limit their liability. For example, if someone successfully sues you because of something on your Web site, if you're incorporated they typically can't get your house, car, or other personal assets as a settlement (but they can get the corporation's assets!). |
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domain name |
The name of your Web site minus the www prefix. For example, the domain name for the Web site whose address is http://www.girlswithknives.com is simply girlswithknives.com. |
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heuristic |
A procedure for doing something that has a good chance of succeeding, but whose success is not guaranteed. |
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incorporating |
The act of forming a corporation. |
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personal Web business |
A Web business that operates under the autonomous business model. |
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topic |
The content area on which your Web site is based. |
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theme |
See topic. |
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Web business |
A Web site that makes money. |
|
Web site |
A collection of Web pages. |