Glossary

Glossary

• Business: Based on the SWOT analysis (of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats), the mission and vision of the project, its differentiating characteristics and its proposed competitive advantages are set out. It is also essential to detail the objectives to be pursued (remembering that they must be specific, measurable, ambitious, realistic, time-related -SMART) and the strategies proposed to achieve them.
• Ecological footprint: Indicator of the environmental impact generated by human demand on the planet’s existing resources, relating it to the Earth’s ecological capacity to regenerate its resources. It is expressed as the surface area necessary to produce the resources consumed by an average citizen of a given human community, as well as the surface area necessary to absorb the waste it generates, regardless of the location of these areas.
• Entrepreneurship: entrepreneurship covers activities that contribute to the formation and growth of a business, the primary consequence of which is the creation of value (wealth, employment). It can also refer to non-profit forms of organisation, for example in social entrepreneurship.
• Executive summary: This is the presentation letter of the plan. It is an extract of the description and differentiating characteristics of the business to be carried out. It is also necessary to briefly reflect the objectives, the required investment, the necessary resources and the expected profitability. Although it is the first section, it should be written last.
• Financial study: The financial study develops the calculation of the payback period and the profitability of the business (ROI Return on Investment). In short, the aim is to demonstrate that the project is profitable.
• Market research: This involves collecting and analysing data and information on potential clients, the competition, and the characteristics of the market in which it is going to be developed.
• Organisation and necessary resources: This section sets out the legal and organisational structure of the business, as well as its organisational areas. It will describe the legal structure (individual or legal entity, among others), the necessary human resources and the necessary infrastructure, equipment and technology.
• Responsible consumption: Consists of choosing products and services not only on the basis of their quality and price, but also on the basis of their environmental and social impact, and on the conduct of the companies that produce them (United Nations, Earth Summit 2002).
• Self-employment: Self-employment is a type of work that involves generating income independently. It includes, for example, those who have a sole proprietorship and the self-employed who offer their services. Self-employment is thus characterised by the fact that the activity is carried out without being dependent on a salaried job.
• Silver economy: according to the French Ministry of the Economy and Finance, the main objectives of the Silver Economy are to improve the quality of life of the elderly, to guarantee their autonomy for as long as possible and even to extend their life expectancy. This name covers all the products and services aimed at seniors, which are developing with the ageing of the French population. “The new economic, technological and industrial needs linked to advancing age … [open] a vast field for the economy and industry in our countries.”
• Social innovation: according to the “social innovation” working group of the Conseil Supérieur de l’Economie Sociale et Solidaire (CSESS): “Social innovation consists of developing new responses to new or poorly satisfied social needs, under current market and social policy conditions, involving the participation and cooperation of the actors concerned, in particular users.”
• Sole proprietorship: This consists of a single natural person, who is the owner, manages the business and benefits from the profits.
• Sustainable development: Development that meets the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs (Our Common Future Report, 1987). It seeks to achieve, in a balanced way, economic development, social development and environmental protection.