Angel Investor – someone who gives entrepreneurs money based on their belief in the idea, who usually wants his/her money back, sometimes with interest or partial ownership in the business

Automatic Replenishment – a collaborative inventory management system between manufacturer and retailer where POS data automatically generates a reorder when stock quantity falls below a specified minimum

Bar Code – also known as a universal product code (UPC); a scan-able electronic code identifying manufacturer and item number that is used for inventory management

Basic Product – a product bought/sold for years with few style changes

Brand Extensions – extending existing brand names to new product categories

Brand Name—a name that provides the customer with an easily identified theme or connection between products sold by one business to increase product recognition

Business Concept – your product, your potential customer, your competition, the format you imagine for your business and the value you expect to offer your potential customer

Business Life Cycle – the changes occurring in a business over time, including ownership structures, financing, and sales

Business Objective – description of what you want from a business and how you will define and organize your business

Business Plan – a written document that defines your product concept, potential customers, and necessary financial resources needed to achieve your business objective

CAD – Computer Assisted Design or use of computer technology to assist in design and pattern creation

CMT Contractor – a firm that is contracted to cut, make (sew), and trim a product from fabric, findings and cutting marker

COD (Cash on Delivery) – payment for shipments must be received when the goods are delivered or they will be returned to sender

Cash Buyouts – one or more employees purchase a business for cash or promissory notes

Co Brands – brands bearing two or more brand names, such as fabric and garment brand names (Goretex and Northface)

Commercialize – to modify a product to ready it for sale in the marketplace

Consumer Panel Research – market research used to gather product reaction from consumers by paying a panel of people to try out a series of products and discuss their reactions

Contractor – an independent firm that owns its own machinery and employs its own operators and manufactures products full or part time for other firms

Converter – a business that purchases unfinished textiles and changes them by dyeing, printing, or finishing

Copyright – legally protects the use written material or textile design for 70 years and requires no registration

Core Competency – the unique qualifications of your business to be the source of product or service offerings

Corporation – a business structure in which the corporation rather than you as business owner or partner earns the profits and assumes the liability of the business

Designer Label – a brand bearing the name of the designer, and usually indicating exclusive materials, limited production, and higher price

Digitizer – a computer accessory used to draw or trace a garment pattern or textile motif to enter its digital image into a computer file

Distribution Channels – the means by which a product is sold to customers; the sales locations selected for a product such as wholesale, store retailers, catalog, and internet

Domestic – product or service originating in the United States

EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) – the computerized exchange of digital information and specifications during manufacturing or distribution

Employee Stock Ownership – employees purchase stock in exchange for profit sharing and voting rights on the actions of a business

FOB Buyer – shipping is free-on-board to the buyer; the seller pays shipping

FOB Seller – shipping is free-on-board to the seller; the buyer pays shipping

Fabric Distributor – a wholesaler of textiles that might represent one or more fabric producers

Fabric Producer – a mill that weaves or knits textiles or a converter that finishes textiles

Fashion Forward – leading fashion trends

Fashion Product – a style adopted by a large number of people at a particular time

Fit Tests – evaluation of garment fit on fit models, usually in one designated size

Flexible Manufacturing Strategies – processes that adapt production assembly and set up to a variety of styles and garments quickly, including modular manufacturing and mass customization

Focus Groups – market research that asks a group of people to discuss their product needs or react to new products

Forecasting – process used to predict the style or production needs for the future often using market trends and past sales data

Full Package Contractor – a contractor that carries out all steps of production for a design from fabric purchase to cutting, sewing, trimming, packaging, and distribution

Full Package Sourcing – offering finished products by coordinating material purchase and production, working closely with firms in designing, selecting materials, approving samples, completing production, and sometimes even delivery to a firm’s final customer

IPO (Initial public offering) – selling of stock on a public market as a funding approach; often used after establishing a solid reputation in the market

Innovative Market Development – expand geographic or target markets for a product

Innovative Process Development – improve process efficiencies by adopting flexible strategies and advanced technology

Intellectual Property – legal rights to things people create such as unique ideas, names, symbols designs, processes, and products

Intercept Studies – market research at retail outlets and shopping malls that intercept and ask consumers to compare several products by showing them the items

Intrapreneur – person using innovation and change within a large organization as a business concept

Inventory Costs – the expense of holding finished and in-process products or inventory, including warehouse maintenance and money invested for materials and products not yet sold

Joint Venture – a business ownership arrangement where two businesses establish a factory together, often sharing ownership at least for a set period of time

Lead Time – the amount of time required for materials acquisition, design, production, and shipping before product can be delivered

Leverage Buyouts – managers or employees borrow money from financial institutions to purchase a business

Licensing – a legal agreement with a firm to purchase the right to use a brand name, trademark, cartoon character, designer name, or other marketable label on goods it produces and sells. In exchange, the designer or licenser, receives a royalty or fee for each item produced.

Life Cycle Theory of Entrepreneurship – measures success of a venture based on growth

Limited Liability Company (L.L.C.) – cheaper and less complex to set up than a corporation but with some of the tax and liability advantages

Line Extension – existing product line extended to encompass new size ranges, colors, fabrics, garment types, or target market

Line of Credit – a set amount of money that a company can draw against from a lending institution, like a loan except that the borrower only pays interest on the amount actually used

Logistics – organizing and tracking inventory of both materials and finished goods for efficient shipping of orders and reorders

Logo – a symbol or graphic design used to represent a brand

Market Penetration – the percentage of a potential market held by one product

Market Position – defining a product based on its place in the market, such as low priced, high fashion, or basic

Marketability – level of interest in a product among potential customers

Mass Customization – the adaptation of mass production, process & information technologies, and management strategies to increase customization for individual customers

Minimum Order Requirement– a minimum yardage or dollar amount that must be purchased or must be purchased in order to receive a volume discount

Multibrand – adding new brands to a brand name as an expansion, for example, Levi’s Dockers

NAICS Codes – North American Industry Classification System categorizes businesses based on their products or services offered (replaced SIC codes or Standard Industrial Classification system after NAFTA)

Net 30 – full payment for delivered goods is due within 30 days of delivery

Niche Market – a specialty market for a unique product

Off-shore – product or service originating outside of the United States

Outsource – to contract with another company to produce your product or some part of the product instead of doing it in your own factory

POS (Point of Sale) Data – sales information about product and customer collected at the time and location of purchase

Partnership – you and at least one more person pool your resources and run the partnership, or, for a limited partnership, some partners contribute capital as a passive investment instead of active participation

Patent – legally protects products or processes from unlicensed manufacture, sale, and use for 20 years; requires extensive and expensive research to establish originality

Point-of-purchase Interviews – market research that asks customers at retail outlets about the specific products they are buying at that moment

Price Leadership – a pricing strategy that sets a product price expecting others to follow

Private Label – a brand owned, developed, and sold exclusively by a retailer

Product Configurator – interactive program involving customers in product design by select desired product features on the Internet for ordering mass customized garments

Product Hierarchy – a classification system that helps a business to clearly define its product line by coordinating the addition of new products with existing products

Product Life Cycle – the expected sales period of a product over time that included introduction, growth, maturity, and decline

Product Maintenance– keeping a product interesting to the target market with updates, additions, expansions, and marketing strategies

Production Patterns – patterns modified for mass production

Production Planning – arranging for availability at the right time, place, and correct quantities of the equipment, materials, and labor necessary for producing and distributing an order

Prototype – a completely constructed example of a potential product

RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) – an identification system that uses radio frequency electronic tags and antenna on product for tracking by a transmitted radio signal

Resource Based Theory of Entrepreneurship – measures success of a venture based on the ability to take a discovery, do something with it (innovate), and commercialize its value

Retail Exchange – sells products for a number of businesses for a fee by providing web-based infrastructure

SKU (Stock Keeping Unit) – a way of tracking stock by assigning a unique number to the smallest unit available for order, such as one item in a particular size, fabric, and color

Secure Platform – refers to the use of a computer operating system that can maintain privacy and is protected from viruses, worms, and information theft

Shopping the Market – a method of identifying and comparing competition by looking at products available at retail outlets that could also distribute your product

Sole Proprietorship – a single owner who runs the business, earns all profits, and is totally responsible for any business debt

Stock Item – an item always kept in stock for immediate shipment upon order

Succession – planning for a change in business ownership

Supply Chain Management – overall organization and management of interactions with suppliers and customers for timely and efficient production and delivery

Swatch – a sample piece of cloth

Target Market – potential customers for a product defined by a business through demographics, purchase behaviors, or lifestyle variables

Trade Dress – protection for a unique or distinctive combination of colors, designs or other features that establishes an overall image or the packaging of a product, which has sometimes but infrequently protected apparel design

Trade Organization – membership organizations that support a specific set of products through joint promotion or research on developments and trends

Trade Shows – shows organized by product type to display, sell, and purchase products, materials, and services

Trademark – a name or logo that easily identifies a business and product and also provides legal protection from other people using the same mark

UPS (Unit Production System) – an overhead computerized system of moving and tracking components during the assembly process

Value Add – the value of a product to the consumer that will make them want to purchase it or a value proposition

Value Proposition – the value of your product or service to the customer

Vendor – a seller of product or services

Venture Capital Firm – a firm that pools investments from a number of members to invest in high risk, potentially high-growth start-ups in exchange for a share of the business

Venture Project – use of innovative business approaches and product ideas