Entrepreneurial spirit

The U.S. holds an unprecedented entrepreneurial spirit. According to the Small Business Administration, over 500,000 new companies with employees are created annually in the United States. Industry experts attribute the high rate to increased layoffs, less executive job security, and more flexibility to operate a business as a secondary source of income.
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Profit margin

A company's profit margin is defined as net income divided by net revenue. Profit margin is usually expressed as a percentage. Calculating profit margin allows for normalized comparison of companies in the same industry. Higher profit margins indicate good performance while lower margins indicate inefficiency. Profit margins vary from industry to industry.
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Customer service

A Rockefeller University survey found that almost 70% of customers leave because of perceived rude or indifferent behavior by an employee, versus about 20% combined for price and product quality. Another study of customer complaint behavior, conducted by research consultancy TARP, found that only 5% of customers with problems complain to management while 50% simply walk away.
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Delegation guidelines

The hallmark of good supervision is effective delegation. Author Thomas R. Horton suggests the following delegation guidelines: delegate the entire task to one person; select the appropriate person; clarify the preferred results; delegate responsibility and authority; ask for a summary back from the delegatee; get progress feedback; evaluate and reward performance.
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ROI

ROI stands for Return On Investment. The simple ratio is used to evaluate the net benefits of a project or investment versus its cost. In math terms, the ROI ratio equals the benefit divided by the cost. ROI is a popular method due to its simplicity. If the resulting ROI is negative, the project or investment is deemed a poor investment.
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Economies of scale

The concept of "economy of scale" suggests generally that as production output increases, unit cost decreases. Economies of scale are achieved through such things as mass production, technology, marketing and communication. Economies of scale may also be produced through location, for example, production facilities that share services or fast food restaurants that share customers.
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Green business

A green business is an ecologically-friendly business. It is not limited to any particular market — it could be any kind of product for any market. What characterizes a green business is that it is run in such a way as to conserve natural resources, eliminate waste and remain ecologically in balance. Addressing climate change is the number one perceived green issue among most businesses.
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