Unit 15 Murcar Commercial Park Bridge Don

2.

INFORMATION TO HELP YOUR BUSINESS GROW

It's good to know that you have at your disposal a Scotland-wide net­work of Business Shops designed specifically to help your business. Having already established itself as an invaluable contributor, now handling over 70,000 inquiries a year, there are 37 outlets and 100 Business Information Officers around Scotland ready to find answers to your questions.

Whatever your questions are — accessing new market, sourcing new supplies, developing your employment strategy or achieving financial sup­port — there's local help at hand. With active linksto Scotland's public and private business support network there is no simpler or smarter way to source the assistanceyou require. And remember that to access this price­less resource you only have to dial a single number that will automatically routeyou to your local Business Shop. So call the number as soon as you can and get some help to grow your business.

Vocabulary

to afford – позволить

thrilled– взволнованный

installation– установка

workmanship (craftsmanship) – искусство, мастерство, квалификация

contributor – содействующий, помощник

at hand – находящийся под рукой

link – связь

assistance– помощь

to dial – набирать номер

to route – направлять, распределять

Exercise 6: Read the first ad. Choose the right answer.

1. The company advertises its________ .

a) telephones b) windows c) houses

2. What do the customers like in the company?

a) prices b) spare parts c) installation d) service

e) delivery f) quality

3. The customers install the windows themselves.

a) yes b) no

Exercise 7: Find this information in the first ad.

1. The name of the company.

2. The address of the company.

3. Something special about the way the company advertises its prod­uct.

Exercise 8: Read the second ad. Match the beginnings of the sentences with their ends.

1. There are 37 outlets and 100 Business Information Officers around Scotland ready ...

2. Whatever your questions are ...

3. To access this priceless resource ...

4. Call the number and ...

5. There is no simpler smarter way ...

A. get some help to grow your business

B. to find answers to your questions

C. to source the assistance you require

D. there is local help at hand

E. you only have to dial a single number

UNIT 4: SUCCESS IN BUSINESS

If you start a business of your own, your aim is to do well, in other words — to succeed. Every person understands the word "success" in his own way. And what does "success" in business mean for you? Tick the suitable answer and explain why you have chosen it.

Success is

+ when you are popular with your customers

+ when your products cost a lot

+ a lot of money earned

+ when you win all the competitions among other companies special­izing in the same area

+ when you reach all your goals

+ when your company is constantly expanding

+ when the staff is working as a good team

Text 1: Now read the article which information will probably help you to succeed in running a business properly.

Tipsfor building businessvalue

+ Aim to increase the business's recurring profits.

+ Focus on maintaininglong-term sales growth.

+ Enhancethe "quality" of earnings by developing relationships with key customers.

+ Run the businesswith the same degree of governance and financial reportingas if it were a publiccompany.

+ Adopt transparent and conservative accounting policiesthat are appro­priate to the business sector.

+ Maintain flexibility by reconsideringlarge capital investment and through the ability to rent — rather than own — non-core assets.

+ If the owner-manager is personally part of what makes the business valuable, but will not be continuing to manage it, consider how to compensate for this by, for example, bringing in new management or transferring key business contacts to existing managers.

+ Make sure any questions over the value of business assets, tax or other compliance issuesare resolved in advanceof the sale — if it turns out something is awry, the seller will lose credibilityand it can decimatethe business's value.

+ Identifyand protect your intellectual property.

+ Get the timing right.

Tipsfor optimising thesale price

+ Consult professional advisers at the outsetand use the time before the sale process to build the value of the business to a potential buy­er.

+ Make sure a sale is the best route and that all the shareholdersare in agreement.

+ Use all available meansto identify likely buyers, including those over­seas.

+ Analyse buyers' motives and what they are looking for; identify where they perceive the value in the business lies.

+ Make sure the selling memorandum demonstrates the business's strength and potential, but is accurate. Any inaccuraciesare sure to come to light and will make a buyer become suspiciousor drop the price.

+ Sell the excitement and enthusiasm of business and make the pur­chaser enthusedand excited.

+ Emphasise the opportunity the business presents for growth and prof­it.

+ Manage the negotiationprocess actively and keep to a strict timeta­ble.

+ Keep the sale process competitive and make sure there are alterna­tive buyers.

+ Obtain advicein advance on the tax implications of the sale.

The timing of the sale is probably the most critical test for the entre­preneur to realise the maximum value of his efforts. Market conditions are good at the moment, with opportunities available to companies and indi­viduals rangingfrom complete sales to partial disposals.

(from Press and Journal)

Vocabulary

tip – намек, совет

value – стоимость, цена

recurring profits – постоянная прибыль

to maintain – поддерживать; сохранять; удерживать

long-term – долговременный, долгосрочный

to enhance – увеличивать, повышать (цену)

key customers – основные, важнейшие клиенты

to run the business – управлять компанией, делом

financial reporting – финансовый отчет

public – общественный, государственный

to adopt transparent and conservative accounting policies – принимать понятную и осторожную бухгалтерскую политику

appropriate (to, for) – подходящий, соответствующий

to reconsider – пересматривать

non-core assets – не основные активы (имущество)

compliance issues – требующие согласования вопросы

to resolve – решать, разрешать

in advance – заранее

awry – неправильный

credibility – доверие

to decimate the value – уменьшить ценность

to identify – опознавать, устанавливать, выяснять

at the outset – вначале

a shareholder – акционер, пайщик

available means – доступные средства

overseas – заграница, заграничный

accurate– точный, правильный

inaccuracy– неточность

suspicious – подозрительный

to drop the price – понизить цену

a purchaser – покупатель

negotiations– переговоры

to obtain advice – получить совет

to range – колебаться в известных пределах

partial disposals – частичная продажа

Exercise 1: Find the synonyms in the text to the words and phrases below.

to enlarge; price; income; main clients; to possess a business; sort out; before; at the beginning; abroad; talks; partial sales.

Exercise 2: Find the words in the article to complete the following statements.

1. When a businessman develops relationships with key customers, he ____________ the profit.

2. It is very difficult to____________ a company successfully.

3. If you don't have your own office, ____________ it from somebody else.

4. I saw many firms which lost their customers because people didn't have ____________ to them any more.

5. Businessmen who resolve all the questions __________ are the most successful.

6. Investigate the market, may be its___________ are bad at the mo­ment.

7. Consult specialists and___________ advice about potential sales.

8. Any inaccuracies are sure to come to light and will make a buyer ____________ the price.

Text 2: For many companies "success" means constant growth and expan­sion. This text deals with the main ways of raising new capital for the company's further expansion. Read it and enumerate these methods.

The large corporation has grown to its present size in part because it has found innovative ways to raise new capital for further expansion. Five primary methods used by corporations to raise new capital are:

+ ISSUINGBONDS. A bondis a written promise to pay a specific amount of money at a certain date in the future or periodically over the course of a loan, during which time interest is paid at a fixed rate on spec­ified dates. Should the holder of the bond wish to get back money before the note is due, the bond may be sold to someone else. When the bond reaches "maturity"the company promises to pay back the principal at its face value.

Bonds are desirablefor the company because the interest rate is lower than in most other types of borrowing. Also, interest paid on bonds is a tax deductiblebusiness expensefor the corporation. The disadvantage is that interest payments ordinarily are made on bonds even when no profits are earned. For this reason, a smaller corporation can seldom raise much cap­ital by issuing bonds.

+ SALES OF COMMON STOCK. Holders of bonds have lentmoney to the company, but they have no voice in its affairs, nor do they share in profits or losses. Quite the reverse is true for what are known as "equity" investors who buy common stock. They own shares in the corporation and have certain legal rights including, in most cases, the right to votefor the board of directorswho actually manage the company. But they receive no dividends until interest payments are made on outstanding bonds.

If a company's financial health is good and its assets sufficient, it can create capital by voting to issue additional shares of common stock. For a large company, an investment banker agrees to guarantee the purchase of a new stock issue at a set price. If the market refuses to buy the issue at a minimum price, the banker will take them and absorbthe loss. Like print­ing paper money, issuing too much stock diminishesthe basic value of each share.

+ ISSUING PREFERRED STOCK. This stock pays a "preferred" dividend. That is, if profits are limited, the owners of preferred stock will be paid dividends before those with common stock. Legally, the owners of this stock stand next in line to the bondholders in getting paid. A compa­ny may choose to issue new preferred stock when additional capital is de­sired.

+ BORROWING. Companies can also raise short-term capital — usu­ally working capital to finance inventories — in a variety of ways, such as by borrowing from lending institutions, primarily banks, insurance compa­niesand savings-and-loan establishments. The borrower must pay the lender interest on the loan at a rate determined by competitive market forces. The rate of interest charged by a lender can be influenced by the amount of funds in the overall money supply available for loans. If money is scarce, interest rates will tend to rise because those seeking loans will be compet­ing for funds. If plenty of money is available for loans, the rate will tend to move downward.

If corporate borrower finds that it needs to raise additional money, it can refinance an existing loan. In this transaction the lender is essentially lending more money to its debtor. But if interest rates have gone up dur­ing the period since the original loan was secured, borrowers pay a higher rate in order to hold additional funds. Even if the rate has gone down, the lender benefits by having increased the size of its original loan at a lower rate of interest.

+ USING PROFITS. Some corporations pay out most of their profits in the form of dividends to their stockholders. Investors buy into these companies because they want a high income on a regular basis. But some other corporations, usually called "growth companies," prefer to take most of their profits and reinvest them in research and expansion. Persons who own such stocks are content— to accept a smaller dividend or none at all, if by rapid growth the shares increase in price. These persons prefer to take the risk of obtaining a "capital gain," or rise in value of the stock, rather than be assured a steady dividend.

The typical corporation likes to keep a balance among these methods of raising money for expansion, frequently plowing backabout half of the earnings into the business and paying out the other half as dividends. Un­less some dividends are paid, investors may lose interest in the company.

Vocabulary

issue– эмиссия

bond – облигация ; боны

loan– заем

maturity– срок платежа по векселю

desirable– желательный, подходящий

borrowing– заем; заимствование

a tax deductible expense – расход (трата) не облагаемый налогом

common stock – акционерный капитал; акция

to lend – давать взаймы; одолжить, ссужать

affair– дело

to vote – голосовать

a board of directors – совет директоров

sufficient – достаточный

to absorb – поглощать, забирать

to diminish – уменьшать

inventory– товарно-материальные ценности

insurance company – страховая компания

scarce – недостаточный, скудный

to be content – быть согласным

to plow back – вкладывать

Exercise 3: Complete the following sentences using the information from the Text 2.

1. A bond is____________ .

a) a written promise to pay a definite sum of money in a year

b) an oral promise to pay a specific amount of money at a certain date in the future

c) a written promise to pay a specific amount of money which al­lows to pay it either at a certain date in the future or periodically over the course of a loan

2. Investors who buy common stock can__________ .

a) receive dividends

b) manage a company

c) vote for the board of directors

3. The corporations called "growth companies" usually__________ .

a) reinvest the most of their profits in research and expansion

b) pay out the most of their profits in the form of dividends to their stockholders

c) assure their stockholders a small but steady dividend

Exercise 4: Match the beginnings of the sentences to their ends using the information from the Text 2.

1. Five main methods used by corporation to raise new capital are...

2. A bond is...

3. Interest paid on bond is...

4. Issuing too much stock ...

5. A preferred stock is...

6. Short-term capital is...

7. If plenty of money is available for loans...

8. A "growth company" is...

A. a written promise to pay a specific amount of money at a certain date in the future or periodically over the course of a loan.

B. diminishes the basic value of each share.

C. a stock which dividends are paid before those with common stock.

D. issuing bonds, issuing preferred stock, borrowing, sales of common stock and using profits.

E. a corporation which takes most of its profits and reinvests them in research and expansion.

F. a tax deductible business expense for the corporation.

G. the rate will tend to move downward.

H. working capital to finance inventories.

Exercise 5: Give the Russian equivalents for the following words and phrases.

To raise new capital; to issue; a specific amount of money; a bond; a loan; "maturity"; desirable; borrowing; a tax deductible expense; common stock; to lend; affair; to vote for; a board of directors; to diminish; inven­tory; to plow back; to pay out.

Exercise 6: Find the antonyms to the following words and phrases in the text

to give back money; to disagree; scarce; profits; long-term capital; to pay out.

Exercise 7: Work with a partner to complete the missing parts of the lecture on economics.

There are five main ways used by companies to ____________. They are issuing bonds, sales of common stock, issuing preferred stock, ____________and using profits. Bonds are ____________ for the company because the interest rate is lower than in most other types of borrowing. The corpora­tion doesn't pay taxes on bonds, it is a tax ____________ for the company. Though holders of bonds ____________ money to the company, they can't share in ____________ and ____________ and vote for the ____________.

Exercise 8: Work with a partner and decide how you would explain these notions to an outsider.

+ a bond

+ a loan

+ "maturity"

+ a common stock

+ a holder

+ dividends

+ "growth companies"

Text 3: Probably, the best award for your business will be success itself, but in some countries if you really do well, you can get a special prize. Read an article about this and say if it's possible to organize such kind of competi­tion in our country.