Business encyclopedia

Learn everything there is to know about running a business

Use the topic list below to navigate Shopify’s business encyclopedia. From retail and enterprise to branding and entrepreneurship, you’ll find everything you need to know about building a successful business. If you can’t find the topic you’re looking for, use the search bar above for a list of relevant articles.

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Retail

A retail sale occurs when a business sells a product or service to an individual consumer for his or her own use.

Retail

Merchandising

Merchandising is everything you do to promote and sell your products once the potential customer is in your store.

Merchandising

Entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship is both the study of how new businesses are created as well as the actual process of starting a new business.

Entrepreneurship

Sole Proprietorship

A sole proprietorship is a business owned and run by an individual.

Inventory Management

Inventory management involves keeping track of a company’s stocked goods.

Branding

Branding is all of the ways you establish an image of your company in your customers’ eyes.

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Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)

ERP is a comprehensive software platform used to help a business run more efficiently and effectively by automating core processes.

Business License

A business license grants the owner the right to start and run a business.

Stock Keeping Unit (SKU)

A SKU is a unique code consisting of letters and numbers that identify characteristics about each product.

Unique Selling Proposition (USP)

A unique selling proposition, more commonly referred to as a USP, is the one thing that makes your business better than the competition.

Manufacturing

Manufacturing is the making of goods by hand or by machine that upon completion the business sells to a customer.

Crowdfunding

Crowdfunding is the process of raising money for a business, project, or charitable cause from many individual donors – the crowd.

Resources

What is Shopify?

Learn more about the Shopify platform

How to start an online store

Step-by-step guide for starting up

Best ecommerce platforms

Find the right tool and start selling

Small business ideas

Discover profitable business ideas today

How to make money online

Practical advice for earning a side income

Introduction to dropshipping

Start making sales without inventory

Introduction to print on demand

Add custom designs to popular products