My own business
La mia attività
- Discuss plans for starting a business.
- Talk about daily bookkeeping responsibilities.
Explore essential vocabulary for starting and managing a business, including pianificare (to plan), registro contabile (accounting ledger), and contabilità (accounting), with practical dialogues on business planning and daily bookkeeping.
Exercises Share Copied!
These exercises can be done together during conversation lessons or as homework.
Esercizio 1: Conversation exercise
Istruzione:
- Do you run your own business? Do you have a partner? (Do you run your own business? Do you have a partner?)
- Did you ever have an idea for your own business? (Did you ever have an idea for your own business?)
- What doubts did you have? (What doubts did you have?)
Teaching guidelines +/- 10 minutes
Example phrases:
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Non gestisco la mia attività. È troppa responsabilità per me. I don't run my own business. It is too much responsibility for me. |
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Gestisco un negozio di abbigliamento in città. Ho un socio e sta andando alla grande. I run a clothing shop in the city. I have a partner and it is going great. |
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Quando avevo poco più di vent'anni volevo aprire una caffetteria. When I was in my early twenties I wanted to open a coffee shop. |
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Non ho mai avuto un'idea per un mio business. Preferisco lavorare per qualcun altro. I never had an idea for my own business. I prefer to work for someone else. |
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Ho deciso di non avviare un'attività in proprio perché è meno faticoso. I decided against my own business because it is less exhausting. |
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Sto ancora pensando di aprire la mia attività. È meno sicuro però, ed è per questo che non l'ho ancora fatto. It am still thinking about opening my own business. It is less secure though, that is the reason why I haven't done it yet. |
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Exercise 2: Dialogue Cards
Instruction: Select a situation and practice the conversation with your teacher or fellow students.
Exercise 3: Multiple Choice
Instruction: Choose the correct solution
1. Se ______ un'attività, organizzerei bene il mio tempo ogni giorno.
(If ______ a business, I would organize my time well every day.)2. Mi piacerebbe ______ i clienti prima di cominciare.
(I would like to ______ the clients before starting.)3. Se avessi un computer veloce, ______ la contabilità più facilmente.
(If I had a fast computer, I would ______ the accounting more easily.)4. Vorrei ______ come funziona il sistema fiscale italiano.
(I would like to ______ how the Italian tax system works.)Exercise 4: Planning My Business
Instruction:
Verb Tables
Decidere - Decidere
Presente
- io decido
- tu decidi
- lui/lei decide
- noi decidiamo
- voi decidete
- loro decidono
Preparare - Preparare
Presente
- io preparo
- tu prepari
- lui/lei prepara
- noi prepariamo
- voi preparate
- loro preparano
Controllare - Controllare
Presente
- io controllo
- tu controlli
- lui/lei controlla
- noi controlliamo
- voi controllate
- loro controllano
Aiutare - Aiutare
Presente
- io aiuto
- tu aiuti
- lui/lei aiuta
- noi aiutiamo
- voi aiutate
- loro aiutano
Fare - Fare
Presente
- io faccio
- tu fai
- lui/lei fa
- noi facciamo
- voi fate
- loro fanno
Andare - Andare
Presente
- io vado
- tu vai
- lui/lei va
- noi andiamo
- voi andate
- loro vanno
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Welcome to the Lesson on Planning and Managing Your Own Business in Italian
This A2-level lesson is designed to help you develop your Italian language skills around practical topics related to starting and running your own business. It focuses on key vocabulary, common expressions, and sentence structures you would use in everyday business conversations.
Main Topics Covered
- Planning a New Business Activity: Practice discussing your plans for opening a new store or café, including topics such as budgeting, suppliers, location choices, and customer targeting.
- Daily Accounting Records: Learn how to talk about daily bookkeeping tasks like updating sales records, tracking expenses, comparing invoices, and using accounting software.
- Discussing Next Steps for Business Growth: Engage in conversations about expanding your product range, advertising strategies, financial management, and staff training as your business grows.
Useful Words and Expressions
This lesson introduces practical vocabulary and expressions like:
- aprire un negozio (to open a shop)
- piano dettagliato (detailed plan)
- budget e fornitori (budget and suppliers)
- registro delle vendite (sales ledger)
- controllare le spese (to check expenses)
- campagna sui social media (social media campaign)
- gestione attenta (careful management)
Verb Usage Focus
The lesson also focuses on verbs in the present tense that are essential for everyday communication in business contexts. Examples include:
- decidere (to decide) – io decido, tu decidi
- preparare (to prepare) – io preparo, tu prepari
- controllare (to check) – io controllo, tu controlli
- aiutare (to help) – io aiuto, tu aiuti
- fare (to do/make) – io faccio, tu fai
- andare (to go) – io vado, tu vai
Structure and Content Details
The lesson includes dialogues simulating real-life business conversations, helping you practice planning, bookkeeping, and discussing business development. Additionally, exercises include verb conjugation drills and a short story about daily business planning to strengthen comprehension and use of new vocabulary.
Language Notes: English versus Italian
In this lesson, instructional explanations are in English, while the learning language is Italian. Unlike English, Italian often places verbs towards the middle of the sentence and uses conjugations extensively to express tense and subject. For example, the English phrase "I prepare the list" translates to io preparo la lista in Italian, where the verb preparo is conjugated for the subject and tense.
Here are some useful phrases comparing English and Italian:
- to open a business – aprire un'attività
- a detailed plan – un piano dettagliato
- to control/check expenses – controllare le spese
- accounting ledger/record – registro contabile
- to decide – decidere
- to help – aiutare
Understanding these differences and practicing the vocabulary and structures given will help you communicate clearly and confidently in business settings in Italian.
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