Ex. 3. Read and translate the text. Answer the questions.

 

Setting up a Small Business

Not long ago I decided to set up a small business. As I had no experience in business activities it was difficult for me to choose an appropriate business. So I went to the lawyer’s for consultation.

After clarifying all the details of my project and my financial possibilities he recommended me to set up a small business in field of services. According to the lawyer anyone who wants to set up a small business is to make sure that he/she is choosing one which will work and yield big profit. This requires a thorough investigation into the customers needs. So, the first step I had to take was to study my future customers’ needs and wants.

I knew there were many car owners in my neighborhood. Why not of open a car service station? - said I to myself, and god down to business. One of the difficulties I was faced with (I encountered) was lack of money, and I had to borrow it from the bank. The next day I made a loan of 2 mln pounds, and was on the seventh heaven because now I could put my project into practice.

Now, at the prime of my business life I still remember me lawyer’s words: when choosing a business weigh all pros and cons and ask yourself the questions: what kind of customers am I going to serve upon? How many potential customers are there in my district? How shall I attract customers? What products or services shall I offer?

 

Vocabulary

1. to set up a small business – открыть малое предприятие

2. appropriate – надлежащий

3. lawyer – юрист, адвокат

4. to make sure – удостовериться;

5. to yield profits – приносить прибыль

6. thorough investigation into – тщательное изучение

7. to attract – привлекать

8. to be faced with (to encounter) – столкнуться с

9. loan - заём

10. to borrow – взять взаймы

11. in the prime of – в расцвете

12. to weigh all pros and cons – взвесить все «за» и «против»

13. district – район (города)

14. to choose – выбирать

 

Answer the questions:

1. What did you decide to do not long ago?

2. Where you experienced in business activities?

3. Whom did you decide to consult?

4. What did the lawyer recommend you to do?

5. What is it necessary for a would-be businessman to keep in mind /помнить, иметь ввиду/?

6. What difficulties did you encounter when starting your business?

7. Why were you “on the seventh heaven” when you solved your money problem?

8. What words of your lawyer do you still remember?

 

Ex. 4. Read and retell the text.

Doing Business Together with a Partner

It’s common knowledge that doing business has become very popular everywhere. At present it is a comparatively new and perspective tendency in modern life. So, not long ago I made up my mind to go into business. Following my lawyer’s advice I chose small business in the field of services. It goes without saying that I weighed all pros and cons before making a decision. I understand that production of goods is very profitable but provision of services is profitable too. After all, people do business for profit.

At first I wanted to be a sole trader, but then I changed my mind and organized a partnership. I went into business with my friend Jean. She has a solid background in accounting; she is good at keeping the books and ordering stock. As for me, I enjoy selling and like talking to customers.

So far our business is going pretty well, and the shop is beginning to attract more customers. I won’t be boasting if I say that we begin to make a good profit. By the way, we have a certain arrangement for distribution of profits and losses. They are equally shared. I hope to be in business for a long time.

 

Ex. 8. Compose a story, using the following words in the proper form.

How I Started my Business

not long ago

to make up one’s mind

to set up a small business

to be frank with you

to have no experience in

to consult the lawyer

to advise

to choose a business

in the field of

production of goods

provision of services

to weigh all pros and cons

to have to solve many problems

what customers to serve

how many customers to serve

how to attract them

to manage

to find a successful solution of

to be satisfied with

to make progress

how my business in prospering

to make big profits

Ex. 5. Read the text and do the tasks.

The Main Forms of Business Organization

Business is production, distribution, and sale of goods and services for the benefit of the buyer and the profit of the seller. In the modern world the control of production is largely in the hands of individual business people or entrepreneurs, who organize and direct industry for gaining profit. The main forms of business organization are described below.

Individual Proprietorship (Sole Trader or Sole Proprietor)

This is the simplest way of starting a business. You are self-employed and fully responsible for all the aspects of the management of your business. In this form of organization the owner is in sole charge of the business and is responsible for its success or failure. Any line of business is open to the owner.

Although this form of small business has its advantages, it has certain drawbacks. In the first place the single owner is seldom able to invest as much capital as can be secured by a partnership or a corporation. If single owners are able to invest large amounts of capital, they run great risk of losing it all because they are personally liable for all the debts or their businesses. This is called unlimited liability.

Partnership

Two or more people starting a business together can set up a partnership. All partners are responsible for the debts of the partnership and profits and losses are shared between them.

The agreement to form an association of this nature is called a partnership contract and may include general policies, distribution of profits, fiscal responsibilities, and a special length of time during which the partnership is in effect.

Public and Private Companies

A company is usually formed for the purpose of conducting business that is separate from its owners, the shareholders. The main difference is between public and private companies.

Private companies cannot sell shares to or raise money from the general public. A private company can be formed with a minimum of two people becoming its shareholders. They must appoint a director and a company secretary. If the company goes out of business, the responsibility of each shareholder is limited to the amount that they have contributed; they have limited liability. Such a company has Ltd (Limited) after its name. Private limited companies are often local family businesses and are common in the building, retailing and clothing industries.

Public companies can sell their shares to the general public (which they usually do through a stock exchange). A company continues to exist despite changes in (or deaths among) its owners. A company can hold assets; it can sue, and it can be sued. The profits are distributed to the members as dividends on their shareholding. Losses are borne by the company. The day-to-day management of the company is carried out by a board of directors.

Many large businesses in the UK are Public Limited Companies (PLC), which means that the public can buy and sell their shares on the stock exchange. Marks & Spencer, British Telecom and the National Westminster Bank are the examples of public limited companies.

In the US, businesses take the same basic forms. American companies have abbreviation Inc and Corp.

Other types of companies are:

1) Associated company, which is a company over which another company has substantial influence; for example it owns between 20 per cent and 50 per cent of its shares.

2) Holding company, a company that owns another company or other companies and which is sometimes referred to as the parent company (most public companies operate through a number of companies controlled by the group’s holding company).

3) Subsidiary company, a company controlled by a holding company, usually because the holding company owns (or indirectly owns through another subsidiary) more than 50 per cent of the subsidiary company’s share.

Corporation

As business became more competitive, new and more complex corporate combinations appear. Single ownerships and the partnerships have finance weaknesses and that is the reason why the corporation came into existence.

A corporation is a business organization authorized by the state to conduct business and is a separate legal entity from its owners. It is the dominant form of American business because it makes it possible to gather large amounts of capital together.

Before a corporation may do business, it must apply for and receive a charter from the state. The state must approve the articles of incorporation, which describe the basic purpose and structure of the proposed corporation.

The stockholders usually meet once a year to elect directors and to carry on other important business. Each share of stock entitles its owner to one vote. A stock holder who cannot attend the meeting can legally authorize another to vote his or her shares by proxy.

Management of a corporation consists of the board of directors who decide corporate policy, and the officers, who carry on the daily operations. The board is elected by the stockholders, and the officers are appointed by the board.

 

Vocabulary

1. distribution – распределение

2. for the benefit of – на благо (ради)

3. entrepreneur – владелец предприятия, предприниматель

4. direct – руководить

5. gain – получать

6. proprietorship – предпринимательство

7. sole proprietor – единоличный владелец

8. self-employed – обслуживающий собственное предприятие, работающий не по найму

9. be responsible for – отвечать за

10. be in charge of – возглавлять (отвечать за)

11. failure – провал

11. advantages – преимущества

12. disadvantages - недостатки

13. drawbacks – недостатки, упущения

14. run risk – подвергаться риску

15. lose – терять

16. be liable for – нести ответственность

17. debts – долги

18. set up – создавать

19. losses – убытки

20. share – делить, разделять

21. agreement – соглашение

22. fiscal – финансовый

23. be in effect – действовать, работать

24. public – государственный

25. private – частный

26. raise – собирать

27. stock exchange – фондовая биржа

28. exist – существовать

29. despite – несмотря на

30. assets – активы, капитал

31. sue (be sued) – предъявлять иск (выступать в качестве ответчика)

32. bear (bore, borne) – выносить, терпеть

33. carry out – выполнять

34. board of directors – совет директоров

35. retailing – розничная торговля

36. appoint – назначать

37. contribute – вкладывать

38. associated company – дочерняя компания; подконтрольная компания

39. influence – влияние

40. is referred to as – называется

41. parent company – компания, владеющая контрольным пакетом акций

42. subsidiary company – дочерняя компания; филиал

43. entity - организация, предприятие

44. charter - документ, содержащий согласие государственного органа на создание корпорации

45. by proxy - по доверенности