Key Business Terminology and Professional Jargon Defined

Essential Business Terminology and Jargon

Business Forecast

A prediction of various aspects of a business’s future movement based on its current situation, external factors, new products, and marketing plans.

USP (Unique Selling Proposition)

What makes your company, product, or service different from similar offerings. In other words, the reasons why customers should choose your company rather than another.

Competitive Advantage

A superiority gained by an organization when it can provide the same value as its competitors but at a lower price, or can charge higher prices by providing greater value through differentiation.

Leverage

To utilize something to the business’s advantage (e.g., leverage our contacts to spread the word).

Drill Down

Something that deserves closer inspection (e.g., we need to drill down to the finer details).

Scalable

Something that will work easily on a larger scale than the one it currently works on. For example, a scalable business model is one that’s easy to replicate in order to expand the business.

Bootstrap

To self-fund using personal resources, like friends and family, to generate initial capital.

Burn Rate

How fast you are spending your money.

Benchmarking

Comparing one's products or processes to those of competitors in order to improve quality and performance.

Disruptive

Innovative or groundbreaking.

Stark

Extreme and obvious, often used with ‘difference’ or ‘contrast’.

To be Conceived as

To be thought of as.

To Break the Ice

To do something that helps relieve tension and get conversation going, especially between people meeting for the first time.

Nuances

Subtle differences in meaning.

To Stand Someone in Good Stead

To be useful to someone in the future.

Pompous

Arrogant and self-important.

To Pigeonhole Someone

To label someone and put them in a restrictive category.

Mundane

Boring, uninteresting, or ordinary.

To Collaborate

To work together with others in order to achieve something.

Value Proposition

A benefit that a company’s products or services provide to customers.

To Work Cross-Functionally

To work with people from different divisions or departments.

Deliverable

Something that a person has agreed to have ready by a specific time.

Timeline

A project schedule.

Stakeholder

Someone who has an interest in the success or failure of a project or product.