If you have recently started (or are considering starting) your very own business, you might find that one of the scariest (and, in retrospect, one of the funniest) aspects to the learning curve is familiarizing yourself with the dreaded "business lingo."  People seem to throw around fancy terminology rather capriciously, as if it came oh-so-naturally to them.  Personally, I would say that one of the confusing terms for the fledgling entrepreneur concerns the "profit margin."

A profit margin is technically calculated by "dividing annual net earnings after taxes by revenues, displayed as a percentage."

Wow.  We couldn't possibly "vague" that up, could we?

You might find a more user-friendly definition for "profit margin" in The Idiot's Guide to Business series.  But seriously—who wants to be seen carrying that out of the bookstore?  What if you run into people you know, people whom you have just bragged to that you're a proud new business-owner?  Besides, you really don't need an Idiot's Guide to anything. You're not an idiot.  You just might not know the bloody term.

Broken down, the simple math equation behind all those fancy words is as follows:

(REVENUES – EXPENSES) ÷ REVENUES = PROFIT MARGIN

Or, if you would like to break it down further, think of it as:

REVENUES = TOTAL SALES

TOTAL SALES – EXPENSES = NET EARNINGS

It's just an example, granted, but that's really it.  Each one of those dry-sounding business terms, with their convoluted, wordy definitions—can be broken down right into fifth-grader math. Business, and all its arithmetic, is all about dollars and sense—common sense!

It's easy, especially in the beginning, to get a little put-off by all those gnarled new words and phrases.Break them down, step-by-step. You'll discover that their barks are way worse than their bites.  It's exciting to learn new things in life, but don't get discouraged or think you know nothing about business just because of a few fancy words.  Sticks and stones, I say!