B2 Business

B2 VOCABULARY: BUSINESS

Squeezed

PICTURE

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"Two sisters. 600 pounds and a blender. And a 40 million offer they turned down."

Business verbs (set up, launch, expand, take over) · do or make? · idioms with business

Reading

Speaking

A · LEAD-IN

Do or make?

Quick test - no teaching yet. Do or make? Send your six answers to your teacher by private chat.

1. ______ a decision

2. ______ business with someone

3. ______ money

4. ______ a good job

5. ______ market research

6. ______ a deal

PICTURE

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B · BEFORE YOU READ

600 pounds and a blender

You're going to read the story of Juno J____, a company started by two sisters in Leeds.

READ FOR

1. What does Juno sell?

2. What was the sisters' biggest mistake, according to Bel?

3. How does the story end - total failure, success, or something in between?

PICTURE

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B · READING

Squeezed: the rise and fall of Juno Juice

"We grew too fast. The juice was never the problem."

When sisters Ana and Bel Costa set up Juno Juice in 2014, their head office was a table in Ana's kitchen and their only branch was a market stall in Leeds. Their first product - a spinach and banana smoothie called Green Monster - was a complete flop. "People tasted it and made a face," Bel remembers. "We nearly closed down in month three."

Then came Sunshine, a mango, carrot and ginger juice that customers queued for. The sisters opened a real shop in 2016, launched an online store, and began to grow at a frightening speed. These were the boom years: by 2019, Juno was a chain of thirty branches, with a factory outside Manchester where forty thousand bottles a day were manufactured, using fruit imported from Spain and Brazil. They exported to France and Ireland. Juno had become the market leader in fresh juice - and the big drinks companies noticed.

In 2020, a global drinks giant offered 40 million pounds to take over Juno. Ana wanted to accept. Bel refused. Instead, the sisters borrowed heavily and kept expanding: new cities, more staff, a bigger factory, and expensive TV ads to market the brand.

Then the recession arrived. A five-pound juice is the first thing people stop buying when money is short. Sales dropped by forty per cent in a year. In 2023, the sisters made two hundred staff redundant and closed twenty-one branches, while smaller rivals went out of business completely. The following year, Juno merged with a competitor - mostly to survive.

Today, Juno is a small business again: six shops, all in Yorkshire. Ana has left; Bel still runs it. "Everyone asks if I regret refusing the 40 million. Of course I do. But we grew too fast - that was the mistake. The juice was never the problem."

C · COMPREHENSION

The Juno timeline. Put the events in the order they happened.

Read again to check. Then: who was right about the 40 million - Ana or Bel?

A. Juno merged with a competitor.

B. The sisters set up the company with 600 pounds.

C. A drinks giant tried to take over Juno.

D. Their first product was a flop.

E. Juno became the market leader.

F. Sales dropped and 200 staff were made redundant.

G. They launched an online store and began expanding fast.

H. Twenty-one branches closed down.

D1 · BUSINESS VERBS

The life of a company. Sort the verbs into the four chapters.

Some verbs fit two chapters - be ready to defend your answer.

become (the market leader) · close down · drop · expand · export · grow · import · launch · manufacture · market · merge · produce · set up · take over

STARTING OUT

MAKING & SELLING

GETTING BIGGER

TROUBLE

D1 · BUSINESS NOUNS

Now match the bold nouns from the article to their meanings.

Then think of a real company: one that expanded fast, one that was taken over, and one that closed down. Tell your partner what happened.

1. a group of shops owned by one company

2. one shop or office belonging to a bigger company

3. the main office, where a company is run from

4. a product that completely fails

5. the company that sells more than any other

6. a period when the economy grows fast

7. a period when the economy shrinks and companies struggle

a) flop

b) boom

c) recession

d) chain

e) branch

f) head office

g) market leader

D2 · DO OR MAKE?

The oldest trap in English. Put the phrases in the correct column.

Then look back at the lead-in - would you change any of your six answers?

business (with) · a deal · a decision · a job · a loss · market research · money · somebody redundant · well / badly

do

make

D3 · IDIOMS WITH BUSINESS

None of your business. Work out what the idioms mean.

1. Right - everyone's here, so let's get down to business.

2. "Why did the shop close?" "They went out of business in the recession."

3. When the giant offered 40 million, the sisters knew they meant business.

4. "How much do you earn?" "That's none of your business!"

5. "Who was that on the phone?" "Mind your own business!"

6. Ana and Bel haven't spoken since the merger - there's unfinished business between them.

7. That's everything on the agenda. Is there any other business?

8. I never invite colleagues on holiday - don't mix business with pleasure.

a) start dealing with what needs to be done

b) closed down because there was no more money or work

c) had serious intentions

d) (informal) it doesn't concern you

e) (informal) don't get involved in my private affairs!

f) important things still to be discussed or dealt with

g) final things discussed at the end of an official meeting

h) try to enjoy yourself while you also need to work

E · WORD PATTERNS

One word, two grammars. Tick the correct sentences, cross the wrong ones.

Business has two meanings, and two different grammars. Which is which?

1. We do a lot of business with China.

2. They did a business together for years.

3. She's going to set up a business.

4. Selling the company was a difficult business.

5. He wants to do business abroad - maybe set up business in Dubai.

E · THE PATTERN

Business, twice over

Two words wearing the same coat.

• business = trade, work -> uncountable: do business (with), never do a business.

• business = a company, shop or factory -> countable: set up / run / take over a business.

CAREFUL

You make money - you don't do or win it. · You make a decision (British English also allows take a decision, but do a decision is always wrong). · A deal is made; a job is done. If in doubt: creating something -> make; performing an activity -> do.

F1 · PRACTICE

Right or wrong? Tick the correct sentences and correct the wrong ones.

1. They did a deal with a German supplier.

2. The company made a big loss in its first year.

3. I'm doing some market research for my new app.

4. She's hoping to make a new business next year.

5. He does his job very well.

6. We made business with firms all over Asia.

7. It was a difficult decision to do.

8. During a boom, many companies close down and living standards drop.

F2 · PRACTICE

Finish the story. Complete with the correct form of a word from today.

Two sentences have more than one possible answer - be ready to justify yours.

1. The company was ______ in 1975 by two university friends.

2. Nokia originally ______ paper, not phones.

3. The airline nearly went ______ during the recession.

4. Right, coffee's finished - let's get ______ to business.

5. Sales ______ sharply last winter, and forty staff were made ______.

6. The two universities have announced plans to ______ next year.

7. Juno's story shows what happens when a company ______ too fast.

8. Disney ______ over Marvel in 2009 - for four billion dollars.

F3 · PRACTICE

60 seconds, three chapters

Cover everything - slides closed, notes away.

• In 60 seconds, write as many of today's verbs as you can under three headings: STARTING & SELLING · GETTING BIGGER · TROUBLE.

• Compare lists with your partner. Who remembered more?

• Anything neither of you got?

PICTURE

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G · SPEAKING

Rise and fall

Invent the ten-year life story of ONE of these companies - the rise, the crisis and the ending. Every group member tells part of the story to the class.

• A. a folding electric bike

• B. a sleep-tracking app

• C. vegan cheese

• D. a chain of cat cafes

• Then talk about real life: a business you've watched succeed or fail - a shop in your town, a brand, a cafe. What happened to it?

YOUR STORY MUST USE

At least eight words or phrases from today - including one do/make phrase and one idiom with business.

TEACHER'S REFERENCE · HIDE OR DELETE BEFORE CLASS

Answer key (1)

A DIAGNOSTIC 1 make · 2 do · 3 make · 4 do · 5 do · 6 make - but don't reveal these until the do or make sort. Collect the answers privately, say nothing, and let them correct themselves later.

B GIST 1 Fresh juice and smoothies. 2 Growing too fast. 3 Something in between - a small business again, still alive, with regrets.

C TIMELINE B -> D -> G -> E -> C -> F -> H -> A.

D1 VERBS Starting out: set up, launch. Making & selling: manufacture, produce, import, export, market. Getting bigger: grow, expand, merge, take over, become the market leader. Trouble: drop, close down. Accept defended alternatives - merge and take over are TROUBLE from the smaller company's point of view, and launch recurs all through a company's life.

D1 NOUNS 1 chain · 2 branch · 3 head office · 4 flop · 5 market leader · 6 boom · 7 recession.

D2 DO / MAKE do: business (with), a job, market research, well/badly. make: a deal, a decision, a loss, money, somebody redundant.

TEACHER'S REFERENCE · HIDE OR DELETE BEFORE CLASS

Answer key (2)

D3 IDIOMS 1 start dealing with what needs to be done · 2 closed down for lack of money or work · 3 had serious intentions · 4 it doesn't concern you · 5 don't get involved in my private affairs · 6 things still to be dealt with · 7 the final item on the agenda · 8 enjoy yourself while also working. Numbers 4 and 5 are informal - fine with friends, risky with your boss.

E WORD PATTERNS 1 correct · 2 wrong (they ran a business / did business together) · 3 correct · 4 correct - countable here, meaning "an event or situation" · 5 the second half is wrong: set up a business.

F1 1 wrong - made a deal · 2 correct · 3 correct · 4 wrong - set up a new business · 5 correct · 6 wrong - did business with · 7 wrong - a decision to make · 8 wrong on meaning, not grammar: that's a recession. In a boom the economy grows and living standards improve.

F2 1 set up · 2 manufactured / produced (both fine) · 3 out of business · 4 down · 5 dropped; redundant · 6 merge · 7 expands / grows (both fine - expand suggests deliberate strategy, grow just means getting bigger) · 8 took.

USAGE WARNINGS Make somebody redundant is the neutral British term - the job disappears, the person hasn't failed (that would be sack or fire). Mind your own business and none of your business are blunt: students should hear the difference between banter and rudeness. Takeover and merger also exist as nouns and will surface once the stories get going.