Being an Entrepreneur

I had lunch today with my friend Sam. She recently quit her job with a large company to strike out on her own. She has always been an entrepreneur in small ways, but she decided to start her own business. The start-up she launched provided technology consulting services for small- to medium-sized companies.

At first, she considered becoming partners with one or two of her co-workers. She wasn't sure if she could raise the seed money she needed for the start-up costs. But, she was able to raise the capitalby taking on a silent partner, her uncle who had a lot of investment capital but didn't want to be involved in the day-to-day operations of a business now that he's retired.

One way that Sam is able to cut down on overhead is to make this a home-based business. She converted her garage into an office where she and her employees could work. Since most of the work would be done on site at her client's office, she didn't need a lot of office space.

I asked Sam if she was nervous about quitting her job to start her own business. She said that it's a big risk but that she was looking forward to the challenge. If she fails, she said, she can always audition for American Idol. Well, I thought, I've heard Sam sing. I really hope her business takes off!

(From ESLPodcast 109.)

· Why did Sam quit her job at a big company?

· What kind of services did her small business provide?

· Why did she consider becoming partners with some of her co-workers at first?

· Who provided the necessary capital in the long run?

· Which way did Sam use to cut overheads?

· Why didn’t she need a lot of office space?

· What is there in Sam’s character that helps her with a start up?

· Why is it always a good idea to have a substitute plan in life?

6. Read the dialogue “A Business Plan”. Guess the missing words by their definitions below. Listen to the dialogue and check your answers.

A Business Plan

About a year ago, I came up with an idea that I thought would r_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ the way people sell their g_ _ _ _ on the Internet. After a lot of planning, I decided to try to attract i_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _by developing a b_ _ _ _ _ _ _ p_ _ _. I got some advice from my friend Steve who is a very successful e_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _.

First, he told me I needed to figure out my b_ _ _ _ _ _ _ m_ _ _ _. How would my investors make money? How long would it take for the company to be in the b_ _ _ _? Steve said that the proposal would need to show r_ _ _ _ _ _ p_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ for the first five years, and that I should give an e_ _ _ _ _ _ _ of g_ _ _ _ s_ _ _ _ for that same period.

Steve also said that I should include what I thought was the t_ _ _ _ _ m_ _ _ _ _ for the new service and my plan for convincing p_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ b_ _ _ _ _ that the new service would give them a c_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ a_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _.

After working on the plan for a few months, I thought it was ready to show to some prospective investors. All I need is just one big investor to take a c_ _ _ _ _ on it. Hopefully, this time next year, I’ll be well on my w_ _ to building a new b_ _ _ _ _ _ _ e_ _ _ _ _.

(From ESL Podcast 196.)

Definitions:

1) to completely change;

2) products, physical things that people offer for money;

3) someone who gives you money for your business with a view for profit;

4) a document of several pages that describes what your new business is and how are you going to make money;

5) someone who is good at starting new businesses;

6) the way you are going to make money;

7) to be getting profit from your business;

8) your prediction, guess about how much money you are going to get;

9) a guess, what you think smth will be;

10) the amount of your product that you sell not including refunds or other returns that your customers might have;

11) customers you are going to sell your product to;

12) someone who might buy your product or service;

13) an improvement in business meaning that you will be able to sell more of your product if you buy my service;

14) to try if it will work;

15) you will be very close to your objective;

16) a large company with has many offices or sells many different things.

Date: 2015-12-17; view: 856