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As we all know by now, the success rate for small businesses in North America doesn’t exactly offer a strong argument in the favor of the entrepreneurial spirit. It’s tough going because the marketplace is tough. It’s hard because in order to really succeed in today’s world it seems like you...

It’s not enough just to have an idea. And no matter how strong your entrepreneurial spirit, there is one thing that has a major impact on the success of any venture: location. Recent studies have confirmed that where you start and run your business has a proven impact on the potential for your...

All over the world, businesses have become more accountable for their carbon footprints, and have taken measures to appear “green” to the media and investors. Conserving energy can save your company considerable expenses in utility bills as well as refine your company’s public image. Large...

creative strategy Definition The outline prepared by the creative team of an advertising agency for the launching of an advertising campaign or message. A creative strategy is generally the result of a team composed of one or more copywriters, an art director and a creative director. The...

creative financing Definition Creating an innovative capital structure, and arranging extended loan and trade credit repayment terms, to achieve a level of financial leverage not ordinarily possible.

creative brief Definition A document produced by a requesting party to be used by professionals operating within an inventive field to produce various useful deliverables. For example, a business might generate a creative brief to instruct an advertising agency to produce a visual design, a...

create Definition To build, assemble, or produce an object or idea. The act of creating is usually tied to being innovative with existing materials. For example, a person may create a new product by combining existing products that a company sells

creaming Definition Selling a unique or new product in the top price range before substitutes appear and bring down the price. By the time this occurs, the firm has already 'creamed' the market.

crawling peg system Definition Procedure in which a currency's exchange rate is periodically adjusted, usually to counter the effects of inflation. The exchange rate remains fixed between one change (crawl) to the next.

Crash of 1987 Definition October 19, 1987, the day on which the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 22.6%. Also known as Black Monday, the Crash of 1987 was the largest one day drop in stock prices in U.S. history. See Black Friday; Crash of 1929; Stock Market Crash.

creative accounting Definition Use of unorthodox 'massage parlor' techniques which, while following provisions of GAAP, paint a desired (negative or positive, as the case may be) picture of a firm's finances. For example, selling an asset (whose market value is high but book value is low) to...

acid test ratio Key measure of a firm's liquidity, it answers the question "Can this firm meet its current obligations from its liquid assets if suddenly all sales stop?" More stringent than 'current ratio,' it excludes inventories (typically the least liquid of current assets) to concentrate on...

fiduciary duty A legal obligation of one party to act in the best interest of another. The obligated party is typically a fiduciary, that is, someone entrusted with the care of money or property. Also called fiduciary obligation. fiduciary duty is in the Corporate, Commercial, & General Law...

creditor <p>A party to whom money is owed.</p> <p>Common classifications of a creditor include (1) Secured: who has a legal right to take a specific property of the borrower and sell it in case of a default. (2) Unsecured: who does not have any such right. (3) Preferential or senior: who takes...

memorandum of understanding (MOU) <p>A document that expresses mutual accord on an issue between two or more parties.</p> <p>Memoranda of understanding are generally recognized as binding, even if no legal claim could be based on the rights and obligations laid down in them. To be legally...

economic growth <p>Increase in a country's productive capacity, as measured by comparing gross national product (GNP) in a year with the GNP in the previous year.</p> <p>Increase in the capital stock, advances in technology, and improvement in the quality and level of literacy are considered to...

brand development index (BDI) Percentage of a brand's sales in a particular area in relation to the percentage of the country's population in that area. If a brand has 10 percent of sales, for example, in an area where the 20 percent of country's people live then its BDI in that area is 50 (10 x...

key performance indicators (KPI) Key business statistics such as number of new orders, cash collection efficiency, and return on investment (ROI), which measure a firm's performance in critical areas. KPIs show the progress (or lack of it) toward realizing the firm's objectives or strategic...

operating activities <p>An activity that directly affects an organization's cash inflows and outflows, and determine its net income.</p> <p>Cash inflows result from sales of goods or services, sale of shares, and from income earned on investments. Cash outflows result from equipment and...

marshalling of assets Legal rule that directs the claims of creditors of an insolvent debtor to achieve a fair distribution of debtor's assets among them. For example (between two creditors), if one has recourse to one source of funds and the other has recourse to two such sources, the funds...