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III. Answer the following questions.
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1. What type of a person may succeed in building a business? 2. What are the aims and motives for establishing small firms? 3. In what way do small businesses create competition among manufacturers and merchants? 4. What are the economic contributions of small business? 5. Is it necessary to be an expert at everything to run a small business? 6. What must you choose carefully to succeed in your business? 7. What must you do to control your business properly? 8. What may be the causes of failure in business? 9. In what way should you watch out the crucial factors in your business? 10. What are the three criteria for successful business? 11. What does a failure of a small business venture often turns out to be? 12. What is the positive effect of unsuccessful attempts to start a business?
IV. Read and translate the following texts.
What special problems face small business
Small firms (with, say, less than 500 workers) are often faced with the problems of limited capital. This has a number of side-effects. It means first that they are unable to benefit from economies of scale. Bank managers will be less inclined to lend them funds and will charge them higher rates of interest when they do.
People will be prepared to buy shares in well-known companies. They will not want to buy securities of any sort from small unknown companies. Whereas large firms can threaten to withdraw their business, if debts owing to them are not settled on time, they tend to be regrettable slow on paying their own bills.
An engineer may set up a firm using his technical skills as the basis of the business. As the business grows, his defects as a marketing manager, accountant and personnel manager will begin to appear. He can’t be an expert in all sections of the business, nor can he afford to consult his larger competitors.
The small firm is also unlikely to be able to afford sophisticated technological equipment such as a mainframe computers or visual display, however useful they might be. Advertising cost spread out over a large number of units may be insignificant, but given a smaller level of output they prove an intolerable burden. Inevitably, television advertising tends to be a resource available only to the larger concerns.
Vocabulary
to benefit – извлекать пользу, выгоду
economies of scale – экономия, обусловленная ростом масштабов производства, экономия от масштаба, эффект масштаба
to incline to – располагать к
to lend – давать взаймы; ссужать, давать под проценты
funds – денежные средства, деньги
rate of interest – процент, процентная ставка, норма процента
to buy securities – покупать ценные бумаги
to threaten – грозить, угрожать
to withdraw a business – ликвидировать дело, предприятие
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to settle a debt – погасить, выплатить долг
to pay a bill – оплатить счет; урегулировать платеж по счету
to set up a firm – создавать фирму, компанию
competitor – конкурент; противник, соперник
sophisticated technological equipment – усложненное технологическое оборудование
advertising cost – затраты на рекламу, рекламные издержки
output – продукция; продукт, изделие; выпуск
burden – ноша, груз; накладные расходы
Starting-up financing
The young businessman must find sources of money that will last until revenue begins to exceed cash outflows. He must be creative in finding start-up funding. New small businesses can start with the businessman's own assets. On top of that, start-up financing may come from friends and relatives. The larger businesses can obtain funds from venture capital investors.
One of the personal assets the businessman can use to raise funds for the business is his home. The value of the home that the owner has paid for is called the owner's equity in the home. By pledging this equity, the homeowner can obtain a second mortgage or a home equity loan.
A businessman can find another source of start-up financing by a life insurance policy. Many policies build up cash surrender value – the money that the policy holder can borrow at a low interest rate. Those who need more funds can obtain a variable rate installment loan. It is a personal loan with an interest rate tied to the prime rate or some other index. When the index changes the rate changes in the same direction.
Some good sources of start-up funds are family members and friends. Many people can afford to lend at a low interest rate. The lender can share ownership of the business or can become a partner or shareholder in a corporation.
In some cases new companies can obtain cash from venture capital firms. These financial intermediaries specialize in funding ventures with good promise and invest in businesses which generate high profits within five years. Initially venture capital firms invested in high-tech industries, but now other branches enjoy this kind of financial aid, especially those working in the health-care field. The venture capital firms provide seed money to start a new company funds to help the venture grow and gain the market and money to buy out a business.
Vocabulary
revenue – доход; выручка
to exceed cash flow – превышать движение денежной наличности
assets – активы, средства, фонды, авуары
to obtain funds – привлекать средства
to raise funds – получать деньги; мобилизовать капитал; получать ссуду
owner – владелец; собственник, хозяин
to plege – отдавать в залог, закладывать
to obtain a mortgage – получить закладную; ипотеку
life insurance policy – полис страхования жизни
cash surrender value – выкупная стоимость
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policy holder – держатель страхового полиса, страхователь
interest rate – ставка процента, ссудный процент
installment loan – личный кредит, ссуда с погашением в рассрочку
prime rate – прайм-рейт, учетная ставка
lender – заимодавец, кредитор; ростовщик
ownership – собственность; владение, имущество; право собственности
financial intermediary – финансовый посредник
to generate high profits – приносить огромную прибыль, доход
to provide seed money – предоставлять, обеспечивать начальные инвестиции
to gain the market – завоевывать рынок
to buy out a business – купить предприятие
V. Read and translate the following text with a dictionary.
Small business in the USA
Not all people who start businesses dream of huge multimillion-dollar corporations with international sales. Many just want to sell things – fruits and vegetables, home appliances, clothes or computers so that they can be «their own bosses». These small businesses are an important part of the economy. Many of them provide needed goods and services in city neighborhood, in small towns or in rural areas, where large companies might not provide adequate service.
Every year hundreds of thousands of Americans start their own businesses. A government agency, the Small Business Administration helps with information, advice, and, sometimes, loans and grants. Many large companies with many stores started as one-store operations.
The Coca-Cola Company, which distributes its soft drinks around the world, began when a pharmacist mixed together the first Coca-Cola drink and began selling in the southern city of Atlanta, Georgia.
Blue jeans, the popular denim trousers known to teenagers around the world, were invented by a poor cloth peddler who sold his first pair to gold miners in California in the 1880s. His company, Levi Strauss, remains one of the largest clothing manufacturers in the United States.
One of the most significant changes in recent decades has been a shift away from the production of goods to the delivery of services as the dominant feature of the American economy. Where once most workers in the United States produced actual goods – from toothpaste to tires – most Americans today work in the sector of the economy that is broadly defined as providing services. Service industries include retail businesses, hotels and restaurants, federal and local government, office administration, banking and finance, and many other types of work. At the same time, as many traditional manufacturing enterprises in the United States decline or grow slowly, new companies spring up that are developing high technology computer, aerospace or biochemical products and services.
Business organizations in the US have been eager to spread the message of free enterprise to new generations of Americans. Through a variety of means, they carry their message into the schools and into the television screens of the nation. One of many activities sponsored by US businesses is a nationwide program called Junior Achievement. Local business people help high-school-age «junior achievers» to organize small companies, sell stock to friends and parents, produce and market a product (key chains, perhaps, or wall decorations) and pay stockholders a dividend. The same young people act as company officers, sales people and production workers. The idea is to give young people a deeper appreciation to the role entrepreneurship plays in a capitalist society and to give them experience in business practices.
The list of best selling books often includes works by successful business people relating their personal formulas for getting ahead.
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VI. Give English equivalents to the following word combinations:
основать, открыть дело; международная торговля; снабжать, обеспечивать товарами; изменение, сдвиг, смена; существенный признак, основная черта экономики; производить товары; розничное торговое предприятие; промышленное предприятие; приходить в упадок; расти, увеличиваться; возникать, появляться; свободное предпринимательство; продавать акции; торговать, продавать на рынке, сбывать; работать в качестве кого-либо; служащий компании; производственный рабочий; предпринимательство; преуспевать.
UNIT 5
Text 1
Businessman’s day
I am a successful businessman. The alarm clock goes off at 7 o'clock. I jolt out of bed at the same time. The automatic coffee maker kicks on in the kitchen. I jump in the shower, shave, open one of the half-dozen boxes of freshly laundered white shirts waiting on the shelf, finish dressing, and pour a cup of coffee. I sit down to a piece of whole wheat toast, eggs with bacon for breakfast while I flip through the Fleet Street Journal. It takes me about 15 minutes to wake up and get ready. My briefcase in one hand and gym bag in the other, I hop in the car, ready to start the day.
I clock in at exactly 8.30. My secretary is always at the office when I come. She is a good secretary. A good secretary has to learn a lot about her boss. She must know how to talk to customers on the telephone and in the office and must also arrange both business and social engagements. It is my secretary’s job to remind me about the appointments, to book a table at a restaurant for the lunch engagement and to take notes from me for several business letters.
I am the Managing Director of a big trade firm. My firm sells the goods all over the world. My company has a worldwide reputation because our goods are in great demand. My office is on the second floor. It is quite large and well furnished. My desk is in the middle of the room and underneath it is a new blue rug. The desk is very large and on it is a photograph of my wife, two metal boxes for letters and files, a round metal box for pencils and pens, a small tray for pins and paper fasteners. There is a comfortable armchair behind the desk and two chairs in front of it. There are some filing cabinets in the corner near the door. The window is on the right of the desk. There are pale blue curtains at the window. I am fond of blue.
As soon as I appear in my office, I start looking through business mail. I take a seat in front of the computer and prepare for hours of phone calls and meetings that occupy my morning. I take much interest in the latest political and business news. Sometimes I meet the representatives of English and French firms or I go to different countries to discuss business matters with my business partners. I am a very busy man. I always have a lot of work. So, my job schedule is very tight.
At noon I rush to the health club where I strip off the grey suit and change into my T-shirt, shorts and the latest in design running shoes for tennis. In an hour I am sitting in the club dining room where I have scheduled lunch with a potential client. We discuss business over sparkling water, pasta and a cup of coffee. After lunch I am back at my office, eager for several more hours of frantic meetings and phone calls. Sometimes I phone out for delivery of dinner to keep me going through the next two to three hours I’ll spend at my office.
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As a rule, I finish my working day at 6 o’clock in the evening. On the way home I think about the day at the office and make a note in my diary about some of the business I have to do. I also think about my wife and my house. Sometimes I take my wife flowers and she is always glad to have them. We are very fond of each other and we never argue. My wife sometimes thinks that I spend too much time at the office and too little time with her but then she tells herself that she can’t have everything.
Vocabulary
alarm-clock – будильник
to flip through – пролистать
briefcase – портфель
to hop in the car – трястись в автомобиле
to clock in – начинать работу
to arrange business and social engagements – организовывать деловые и светские встречи
to remind – напоминать, делать напоминание
to take (to make) notes – делать заметки, записывать
managing director – директор-распорядитель, управляющий
trade firm – торговая фирма
worldwide reputation – международная, мировая известность
to be in great demand – пользоваться большим спросом
to look (to go) through the mail – просматривать почту
meeting – заседание, собрание; встреча
to take interest in the latest political and business news – интересоваться последними политическими и деловыми новостями
to meet the representatives of the firms – встречать представителей фирм
to discuss business matters – обсуждать деловые вопросы
job schedule is tight – напряженный рабочий график
diary – дневник, ежедневник
I. Give Russian equivalents to the following word combinations:
to be a successful businessman; to flip through; to remind about the appointments; to take notes; managing director; to have a worldwide reputation; to be in great demand; meeting; to meet the representatives of the firms; to discuss business matters; to be back at the office; to make a note in a diary.
II. Give English equivalents to the following word combinations:
будильник; портфель; начинать работу; организовывать деловые и светские встречи; торговая фирма; просматривать почту; интересоваться последними деловыми новостями; напряженный рабочий график.
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