ShmoopTube

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Ah, the wonderful world of business...full of big-time deals, money making, and… [Business people shaking hands]

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… really, really boring meetings. [People asleep in a meeting]

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Seriously, bring something to doodle on…

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Okay, but besides the meetings, the whole "starting a business" thing probably seems

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pretty exciting!

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But before you give it a whirl, it's important to do some research about the needs of a business. [Guy studying about businesses]

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Dive in too quickly, and you might land in a whole pile of unexpected costs. [Man falls over]

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And spoiler alert: it's no fun to swim around in a pool full of bills. [Man sinking in pool of bills]

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No matter what kind of business you're running, there are all sorts of basic needs that need

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to be met, like…rent.

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Whether your business requires a big factory… [Picture of a factory]

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…or a tiny shop, there's going to be some physical space where your business will thrive. [An ice cream stand]

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The library might be a great, free place to study, but you'd have a tough time running

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a business there.

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Especially if you happen to manufacture industrial equipment. [Guy running a production line in the library is told to be quiet]

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Librarians aren't wild about talking, and they like loud, metallic squealing even less.

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You'll also need to cover salaries.

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A thriving business will have lots of moving parts, and will require lots of different [Workers in a factory]

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people to cover all those different tasks.

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And at the end of the day, they'll definitely want to get paid.

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Smiles and gratitude are nice, but they don't pay for groceries. [Man trying to get groceries for free by smiling]

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…Or…maybe they will.

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Huh.

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Honestly, we've never tried…

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Businesses also have to advertise.

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Whether you invest in posters, billboards, or TV ads, advertising's vital if you want [Cars driving past a billboard]

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to get the word out about your business.

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If your business is a secret that you lock away in your diary, that might mean you're ['Super secret diary' is closed]

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a great secret keeper, but you probably won't make a cent. [The diary is stamped priceless]

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If your business produces goods, you'll have to research what it takes to make those goods: [Coop pointing at a blackboard]

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what supplies you'll need, how much of those supplies you'll need, and how much these supplies

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cost.

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So if you want to make butter, it's not just enough to know that you'll need cream. [Woman carrying lots of cream]

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You'll also need to know how much cream you'll need…

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…and how much that'll cost.

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And don't be too surprised if it costs a bit more than your weekly groceries.

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For businesses that produce goods, it's also important to be aware of unit price, aka, [Dino pointing at a blackboard]

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the price of an item per a particular unit, like liters or kilograms.

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So all those butter makers out there need to do some research to find out who offers [Person sits down behind a computer]

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cream for the lowest price per liter, because saving one cent per liter could mean

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saving big bucks.

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And don't worry: you won't have to wrangle all of those extra pennies. [Piles of pennies]

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That's a job for a banker.

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If your business doesn't produce goods, but instead offers a service, you'll need to research [Guy looking for service industry books in the library]

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all the things that go into offering that service.

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For example, a company that operates a bus service doesn't need to make their own buses…

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…but they do need to rent or buy buses, and maintain and clean them.

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But we've seen the messes that get left after a long bus trip…they might just want to [A bus on fire]

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burn the whole thing to the ground. [Guy dancing in front of the bus]

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So whatever kind of business you're looking to run, you'll need to do a lot of research,

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comparing info from different official-looking websites to be sure that your numbers are

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accurate.

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Because if all your info about unit prices comes from Joel's Best Guesses Dot Com, our [Man walks away from the computer]

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best guess is that you might find yourself with a bit less money than you thought you'd [Joel is punched in the face]

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have…

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Sorry, Joel.

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We're sure you try really hard.

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