{"id":2758,"date":"2023-02-19T16:10:45","date_gmt":"2023-02-19T16:10:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/content.one.lumenlearning.com\/introductiontobusiness\/chapter\/learn-it-1b-what-is-business\/"},"modified":"2025-05-19T13:24:47","modified_gmt":"2025-05-19T13:24:47","slug":"learn-it-1b-what-is-business","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/content.one.lumenlearning.com\/introductiontobusiness\/chapter\/learn-it-1b-what-is-business\/","title":{"raw":"Learn It 1.1.2: What Is Business?","rendered":"Learn It 1.1.2: What Is Business?"},"content":{"raw":"<h2>Profit, Loss, and Value<\/h2>\r\n<p>Businesses can generate profits from the sale of goods and\/or services. Profits are the financial reward that comes from taking the risk of running or owning a business. Businesses that suffer extraordinary losses during a short period of time, or slowly see their profits decline, may end up closing or filing for bankruptcy<strong>.<\/strong><\/p>\r\n<section class=\"textbox keyTakeaway\">\r\n<h3>profits and losses<\/h3>\r\n<p><strong>Profit<\/strong> is the amount of\u00a0revenue<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>or\u00a0income that a business owner retains after paying all the\u00a0expenses associated with the operation of the business. If the expenses of the business exceed the revenue or income generated from operations, then the business will suffer a <strong>loss<\/strong>.<\/p>\r\n<\/section>\r\n<p>The goal of most businesses is to generate a profit by increasing revenue while minimizing expenses. One of the best ways they do this is by providing their customers with value.<\/p>\r\n<section class=\"textbox keyTakeaway\">\r\n<h3>value<\/h3>\r\n<p>When businesses talk about\u00a0<strong>value<\/strong>, they are referring to the relationship between the price a customer pays for the good or service and the perceived benefits the customer receives in exchange for their time and money.<\/p>\r\n<\/section>\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_62\" align=\"alignright\" width=\"300\"]<img class=\"wp-image-62 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5830\/2022\/08\/16143740\/50204515612_cd640fea6e_w-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"hamburger and french fries\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" \/> Figure 1. So called \"value\" items at fast food restaurants are low-cost, bundled options that create the perception of a good deal.[\/caption]\r\n\r\n<p>Value has become such a key component of today's business model that if you go to almost any fast food restaurant, you'll find a \"value meal\" or \"value menu\" advertised. Such businesses are sending the message to their customers that they'll receive the most \"bang for the buck\" or the highest value in terms of quantity obtained in exchange for money spent. It's a business model based on the belief that if you give your customers value, then profit will follow. While all businesses seek to increase their revenue, what a business actually does with those funds can vary and depends on whether it's a for-profit or nonprofit organization.<\/p>\r\n<section class=\"textbox tryIt\">[ohm2_question height=\"500\" hide_question_numbers=1]2999[\/ohm2_question]<\/section>","rendered":"<h2>Profit, Loss, and Value<\/h2>\n<p>Businesses can generate profits from the sale of goods and\/or services. Profits are the financial reward that comes from taking the risk of running or owning a business. Businesses that suffer extraordinary losses during a short period of time, or slowly see their profits decline, may end up closing or filing for bankruptcy<strong>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<section class=\"textbox keyTakeaway\">\n<h3>profits and losses<\/h3>\n<p><strong>Profit<\/strong> is the amount of\u00a0revenue<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>or\u00a0income that a business owner retains after paying all the\u00a0expenses associated with the operation of the business. If the expenses of the business exceed the revenue or income generated from operations, then the business will suffer a <strong>loss<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<p>The goal of most businesses is to generate a profit by increasing revenue while minimizing expenses. One of the best ways they do this is by providing their customers with value.<\/p>\n<section class=\"textbox keyTakeaway\">\n<h3>value<\/h3>\n<p>When businesses talk about\u00a0<strong>value<\/strong>, they are referring to the relationship between the price a customer pays for the good or service and the perceived benefits the customer receives in exchange for their time and money.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<figure id=\"attachment_62\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-62\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-62 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5830\/2022\/08\/16143740\/50204515612_cd640fea6e_w-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"hamburger and french fries\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-62\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Figure 1. So called &#8220;value&#8221; items at fast food restaurants are low-cost, bundled options that create the perception of a good deal.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Value has become such a key component of today&#8217;s business model that if you go to almost any fast food restaurant, you&#8217;ll find a &#8220;value meal&#8221; or &#8220;value menu&#8221; advertised. Such businesses are sending the message to their customers that they&#8217;ll receive the most &#8220;bang for the buck&#8221; or the highest value in terms of quantity obtained in exchange for money spent. It&#8217;s a business model based on the belief that if you give your customers value, then profit will follow. While all businesses seek to increase their revenue, what a business actually does with those funds can vary and depends on whether it&#8217;s a for-profit or nonprofit organization.<\/p>\n<section class=\"textbox tryIt\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" id=\"ohm2999\" class=\"resizable\" src=\"https:\/\/ohm.one.lumenlearning.com\/multiembedq.php?id=2999&theme=lumen&iframe_resize_id=ohm2999&source=tnh\" width=\"100%\" height=\"500\"><\/iframe><\/section>\n","protected":false},"author":21,"menu_order":5,"template":"","meta":{"_candela_citation":"[{\"type\":\"cc\",\"description\":\"hamburger and french fries\",\"author\":\"Marco Verch\",\"organization\":\"Flickr\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/30478819@N08\/50204515612\/\",\"project\":\"\",\"license\":\"cc-by\",\"license_terms\":\"\"},{\"type\":\"original\",\"description\":\"Reading: Getting Down to Business\",\"author\":\"Linda Williams and Lumen Learning\",\"organization\":\"\",\"url\":\"\",\"project\":\"\",\"license\":\"cc-by\",\"license_terms\":\"\"},{\"type\":\"original\",\"description\":\"Practice Questions\",\"author\":\"Robert Danielson\",\"organization\":\"Lumen Learning\",\"url\":\"\",\"project\":\"\",\"license\":\"cc-by\",\"license_terms\":\"\"}]","pb_show_title":"on","pb_short_title":"","pb_subtitle":"","pb_authors":[],"pb_section_license":""},"chapter-type":[],"contributor":[],"license":[],"part":2754,"module-header":"learn_it","content_attributions":[{"type":"cc","description":"hamburger and french fries","author":"Marco Verch","organization":"Flickr","url":"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/30478819@N08\/50204515612\/","project":"","license":"cc-by","license_terms":""},{"type":"original","description":"Reading: Getting Down to Business","author":"Linda Williams and Lumen Learning","organization":"","url":"","project":"","license":"cc-by","license_terms":""},{"type":"original","description":"Practice Questions","author":"Robert Danielson","organization":"Lumen Learning","url":"","project":"","license":"cc-by","license_terms":""}],"internal_book_links":[],"video_content":null,"cc_video_embed_content":{"cc_scripts":"","media_targets":[]},"try_it_collection":null,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/content.one.lumenlearning.com\/introductiontobusiness\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/2758"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/content.one.lumenlearning.com\/introductiontobusiness\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/content.one.lumenlearning.com\/introductiontobusiness\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/chapter"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/content.one.lumenlearning.com\/introductiontobusiness\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/21"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/content.one.lumenlearning.com\/introductiontobusiness\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/2758\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9260,"href":"https:\/\/content.one.lumenlearning.com\/introductiontobusiness\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/2758\/revisions\/9260"}],"part":[{"href":"https:\/\/content.one.lumenlearning.com\/introductiontobusiness\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/parts\/2754"}],"metadata":[{"href":"https:\/\/content.one.lumenlearning.com\/introductiontobusiness\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/2758\/metadata\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/content.one.lumenlearning.com\/introductiontobusiness\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2758"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"chapter-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/content.one.lumenlearning.com\/introductiontobusiness\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapter-type?post=2758"},{"taxonomy":"contributor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/content.one.lumenlearning.com\/introductiontobusiness\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/contributor?post=2758"},{"taxonomy":"license","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/content.one.lumenlearning.com\/introductiontobusiness\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/license?post=2758"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}