Guides
How businesses make money
Businesses taken apart in plain English: where the money comes from, where it goes, and what's left, with every number cited.
Small businesses
The kinds of business you could start, from government data and public reports. Each leads into a free lesson in Industries.
How apps make money
Apps and games: the app store's cut, paying for downloads, and keeping players coming back.
How auto repair shops make money
Auto repair: selling technicians' hours and the parts they fit, one car at a time.
How bookkeepers and tax preparers make money
Bookkeeping and tax prep: keeping other businesses' books for a monthly fee, and the rush of tax season.
How coffee shops make money
Why a cup costs what it does, and why rent and slow afternoons matter so much.
How consultants make money
Consulting and agencies: when people's time is the product.
How contractors make money
Construction and trades: bids, materials, and waiting to get paid.
How financial advisors make money
A financial advisor: paid by a percent of clients' money, a flat fee or commissions, and what happens when markets fall.
How gyms make money
Memberships: getting paid before you deliver, and keeping members from quitting.
How hair salons make money
Regulars, booking every chair, and renting a chair vs. owning the shop.
How insurance agents make money
An insurance agency: commissions on every policy and every renewal, and a book of clients that's worth something.
How IT services firms make money
IT services: looking after other companies' computers for a monthly fee, and answering when they break.
How landlords make money
Real estate rentals: buying a home or a few units and renting them out, month after month.
How online stores make money
Retail and online stores: inventory, shipping, and paying for ads to find customers.
How restaurants make money
How a restaurant really runs: thin margins, Friday rushes, suppliers and permits.
How small manufacturers make money
Making things: machines, materials, and why making more can make each one cheaper.
How software companies make money
Software: big costs up front, then each new customer costs little.
Big companies
Famous businesses, mostly from their own annual reports. Each leads into a lesson in Big companies for members, whose first ticket anyone can try.
How airlines make money
Huge fixed costs and prices that change by the day. Why every empty seat hurts.
How Amazon makes money
An online store, a delivery network and a cloud computing business under one roof.
How banks make money
How lending other people's money turns into a business.
How Costco makes money
A warehouse store with low prices and thin markups. So where does the profit come from?
How Google makes money
Search is free to use. So who pays? Advertisers.
How insurance companies make money
A business where risk is the product.
How McDonald's makes money
Burgers, yes. But most of its restaurants are run by franchise owners, who pay it rent and fees.
How Netflix makes money
Subscriptions, and paying for shows long before anyone watches them.
How Starbucks makes money
Coffee on a lot of corners, and customers who put money on the app before they buy.
How Uber makes money
A marketplace: it doesn't own the cars. It connects riders and drivers and takes a fee.