what is a business 
the term business refers to an organization or enterprising entity engaged in commercial industrial or professional activities the purpose of a business is to organize some sort of economic production of goods or services businesses can be for profit entities or non profit organizations fulfilling a charitable mission or furthering a social cause businesses range in scale and scope from sole proprietorships to large international corporations the term business also refers to the efforts and activities undertaken by individuals to produce and sell goods and services for profit alex dos diaz investopediaunderstanding a businessthe term business often refers to an entity that operates for commercial industrial or professional reasons the concept begins with an idea and a name and extensive market research may be required to determine how feasible it is to turn the idea into a business 1businesses often require business plans before operations begin a business plan is a formal document that outlines the company s goals and objectives and lists the strategies and plans to achieve these goals and objectives business plans are essential when you want to borrow capital to begin operations 1determining the legal structure of the business is an important factor to consider since business owners may need to secure permits and licenses and follow registration requirements to begin legal operations 1 corporations are considered to be juridical persons in many countries meaning that the business can own property take on debt and be sued in court 2a good name is often one of the most valuable assets of a business so it s important that business owners choose their name wisely 3most businesses operate to generate a profit commonly called for profit however some businesses that have a goal to advance a certain cause without profit are referred to as not for profit or nonprofit these entities may operate as charities arts culture educational and recreational enterprises political and advocacy groups or social services organizations 4business activities often include the sale and purchase of goods and services business activity can take place anywhere whether that s in a physical storefront online or on the roadside anyone who conducts business activity with financial earnings must report this income to the internal revenue service irs 5a company often defines its business by the industry in which it operates for example the real estate business advertising business or mattress production business are examples of industries business is a term often used to indicate transactions regarding an underlying product or service for example exxonmobil conducts its business by providing oil types of businessesthere are many ways to organize a business and there are various legal and tax structures that correspond with each businesses are commonly classified and generally structured as business sizessmall owner operated companies are called small businesses commonly managed by one person or a small group of people with less than 100 employees these companies include family restaurants home based companies clothing books and publishing companies and small manufacturers 9 as of 2021 33 2 million small businesses in the united states with 61 7 million employees were operating 10the small business administration sba uses the number of employees working at a company and its annual revenue to formally define a small business for 229 industry sectors from engineering and manufacturing to food service and real estate the sba sets sizing standards every five years 11businesses that meet the standards of the sba can qualify for loans grants and small business set asides contracts where the federal government limits competition to help small businesses compete for and win federal contracts 12there is no definitive specification in the u s to define a mid sized or medium sized company however when large u s cities such as philadelphia baltimore and boston evaluate the landscape of operating businesses a medium sized company is defined as one with 100 to 249 employees or 10 million to less than 1 billion in annual gross sales 1314large businesses commonly have 250 or more employees and garner more than 1 billion in gross receipts 13 they may issue corporate stock to finance operations as a publicly traded company large enterprises may be based in one country with international operations they are often organized by departments such as human resources finance marketing sales and research and development unlike small and mid sized enterprises owned by a person or group of people large organizations often separate their tax burden from their owners who usually do not manage their companies but instead an elected board of directors enacts most business decisions 9examples of well known businessesapple aapl is known for its innovative products including its personal computers smart devices and music and video streaming services founded in 1977 by steve jobs and steve wozniak apple became the first publicly traded company whose value hit 1 trillion 15 the company s stock ended the trading day at about 172 on may 23 2023 its market cap was almost 2 7 billion the company employs more than two million people including 80 000 individuals who work as direct apple employees the remaining jobs include suppliers manufacturers and others who are supported through the apple store 16 the company reported net sales of 394 33 billion for the 12 months ending sept 24 2022 17apple s key to success lies in its family of products and its ability to innovate the company focuses on design and quality two key elements that were a key part of jobs corporate vision the products that apple creates and markets can be used under the same operating system which allows consumers to sync them together thus lowering corporate costs apple s ability to create develop and market new products and services also put it ahead of its competition 18walmart wmt is one of the world s largest retailers and operates as a multinational corporation the company was founded in 1962 by sam walton in arkansas 19 it has more than 10 500 locations in more than 20 different countries and employs over 2 1 million people 2019the company went public in 1970 and trades on the new york stock exchange nyse walmart stock traded above 148 with a market cap of 399 79 billion on may 23 2023 the company earned 611 3 billion in revenue for the full year of 2022 which is an increase of 6 7 from the previous fiscal year 21walmart s success can be attributed to several factors including its brand name pricing diversification especially with the addition of its online marketplace efficient supply chain management and its financial strength 20