> what I'm describing has nothing to do with fixed or variable costs
I linked to an admittedly terrible Wikipedia article. What you're describing involves leveraging working capital, a form of operational leverage. Every business does this. Restaurants are operationally levered--they serve you food before you pay. In your example, services were rendered in anticipation of payment. None of this is financial leverage.
> offset it, you continue to transact in way more money than you put in
This is netting. The loan is explicit in a way distinct from operating leverage. These differences are meaningful in both how we measure the phenomena as well as the law.
Right but you pay the restaurant the full price of the meal in cash. The amount of cash circulated exactly equals the market price of the services provided. I'm not saying that's financial leverage.
Financial leverage happens if you and the restaurant would begin to clear debts in ways that mean you can enter into business for larger amounts than the cash you can pony up.
I linked to an admittedly terrible Wikipedia article. What you're describing involves leveraging working capital, a form of operational leverage. Every business does this. Restaurants are operationally levered--they serve you food before you pay. In your example, services were rendered in anticipation of payment. None of this is financial leverage.
> offset it, you continue to transact in way more money than you put in
This is netting. The loan is explicit in a way distinct from operating leverage. These differences are meaningful in both how we measure the phenomena as well as the law.