There are a lot of acronyms and “initialisms” tossed around in any industry, and retail – whether it’s from a brick-and-mortar storefront or an ecommerce business – is no different! So here’s a quick list of acronyms and their definitions:
UPC : Universal Product Code. This is the “bar code” you see on almost every retail product. It is unique to each item and is scanned at checkout to access the product price.
ISBN: International Standard Book Number. This is something you will see just under every UPC for any book, and is also unique to each item. Even a single book title offered in both paperback and hardbound editions will have two different ISBNs.
PN or SKU: Part Number and Stock Keeping Unit, respectively. These may be one and the same for a given item. Or the PN may refer to the original manufacturer’s part number, while the SKU may be the number given the item by the wholesaler or retailer.
MRP: Manufacturer’s Recommended Price. This is the price at which the manufacturer assumes you, as the business owner, will sell the item.
With Top Dawg Pet Supplies, your online pet store could be open for business in as few as 5 days! But you won’t have to worry about any of the warehousing, shipping or handling. So most of these codes and acronyms won’t be of concern. The only thing you’ll want to keep an eye on is which SKUs are delivering the biggest profits!

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We talked a little bit about Cost of Sale in a previous blog post. But what exactly is considered a Cost of Sale? Well, aside from marketing and advertising costs, which should be analyzed separately under CPA or Cost per Acquisition, your Cost of Sale is anything you pay for in order to make a sale. For an ecommerce business, your Cost of Sale might include shipping (if you pay for the shipping instead of passing it on to the customer), the wholesale cost (YOUR cost) of the product, any overhead (such as warehousing and handling costs) and any commission you might pay to a referral source. The goal of every business owner is to achieve the lowest possible Cost of Sale, by keeping all these related costs as low as possible.
With Top Dawg Pet Supplies’ PetStoreComplete program, you eliminate two of the most expensive elements of Cost of Sale: warehousing and commissions. And you could have your own online pet store in a matter of days.

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In the context of marketing, CPA stands for Cost per Acquisition. It’s a number that all small businesses should be evaluating to determine how much they should realistically expect to pay for a typical new customer. So if you find that over the course of your first quarter as a new business owner you spend $300 on marketing, and you get 10 new customers as a result, your CPA is $30. So you want a CPA that’s as low as possible.
Next you want to compare your CPA with your average sale. If your CPA is less than your average sale, the math is easy. But let’s say your average sale is only $20. In this case, your CPA is MORE than your average sale, so you need that customer to make at least 2 purchases to break even.
Now you take a look at the average lifetime revenue generated by a given customer. If your average customer makes 10 purchases over a year at $20 each, your average CPA of $30 yields a net customer value of $170.
Finally, you subtract your Cost of Sale from that net customer value, and you get your net profit. So if your Cost of Sale is 50%, it costs you $100 to sell $200. Take that $100 away from the $170, and you have net profit of $70.
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Loosely defined, franchising is the practice of paying a company to leverage their already successful business model, including their brand name and operating principles. Many fast food chains – such as McDonald’s – operate on the franchise model, with individual outlets being owned and operated by independent franchisees as well as many stores being corporate-managed.
The Top Dawg Pet Supplies model varies from a formal franchise in that you, as the small business owner, get to create your own brand and are free to market your business however you like. All Top Dawg does is take care of the infrastructure, so you don’t have to reinvent the wheel!
Are you interested in being your own boss? Top Dawg Pet Supplies can get your own online home based business off the ground in days!

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Created in 1976, SBA is the US Small Business Administration works to protect, strengthen and represent the interests of small businesses all across America. The US has long recognized that small businesses, home businesses and even online based businesses are a powerful engine of opportunity and economic growth. That’s where SBA enters the equation, offering a variety of programs and support services to help new business owners navigate the issues they face before and after embarking on a new venture. Programs include financial assistance, disaster assistance, small business communities, initiatives, counseling, training and advocacy. Check it out at www.sba.gov.

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SMB stands for Small-to-Medium-Business, but the designation will differ depending on who’s using it. In some contexts, a small business is anything up to 10 employees and $100,000 in annual sales. SOHO stands for Small-or-Home-Office, and may in some cases be referred to as a “micro” business. However you refer to it, almost all businesses start small. But with time and hard work, the sky’s the limit!
Interested in self-employment? Find out about the home based business opportunities from Top Dawg Pet Supplies and you could have a fully-functioning online business in a matter of days!

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B2B is a shortcut for saying “business to business,” and B2C refers to “business to consumer.” These are two basic classifications for businesses. If you have a business that sells only to other businesses, you are a B2B, and you operate in the B2B environment. A B2B may be a wholesaler or middleman, where its customers resell its goods or services. Or it may be simply a professional service provider that works directly with other businesses. If you sell primarily to consumers or the general public you are a B2C. So a grocery store is a classic B2C, and an auto parts wholesaler is a clear B2B.
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POP is an initialism for Point of Purchase. In a retail environment, it refers to all the different products displayed right near the cash register. A smart retailer will stock a variety of interesting impulse items and add-ons that a customer might decide to buy while they’re waiting in line to make their final purchase. In an ecommerce situation, you have similar opportunities, but you need to think about how much you want to automate, versus how much you’ll manually do. So for example, you might want to run a different promotion each month, with a special offer on a small accessory or supplemental item. Or you might want to send a personal email to each customer with a thank you and a special discount on a product related to their purchase.
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FOB is a term used in context with freight and shipping. Pronounced as “Eff-Oh-Bee”, the abbreviation stands for Freight On Board. A contract for the purchase of goods will generally specify which party – the buyer or the seller – is responsible for loading and transportation costs, and at which point the ownership and responsibility for the goods is transferred from the shipper to the buyer.
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Web 2.0 is purely a descriptive, subjective term, used to indicate a “user-friendly” web-based, interactive website or application. Some examples are Facebook, Twitter and Google. So Web 2.0 isn’t a thing or even a standard. It’s simply a way of classifying user-centered technologies and tools.
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