Start Your Own Small Business

A new section of each course starts monthly. If enrolling in a series of two or more courses, please be sure to space the start date for each course at least two months apart.

All courses run for six weeks, with a two-week grace period at the end. Two lessons are released each week for the six-week duration of the course. You do not have to be present when lessons are released. You will have access to all lessons until the course ends. However, the interactive discussion area that accompanies each lesson will automatically close two weeks after the lesson is released. As such, we strongly recommend that you complete each lesson within two weeks of its release.

The final exam will be released on the same day as the last lesson. Once the final exam has been released, you will have two weeks to complete all of your course work, including the final exam.

Lesson 1
If you've dreamed about starting a small business but didn't know where to start, you've come to the right place! In this first lesson, you'll learn why you should start a business, why now might be the perfect time to do it, and what separates successful business owners from those who remain dreamers.

Lesson 2
Today, you'll find out about the three different ways to start a business. We'll explore the advantages and disadvantages of buying a franchise, buying a business, and starting a business from scratch.

Lesson 3
No matter what business option you're leaning toward, you must find and exploit your unique selling proposition (USP). Your USP is the reason a customer would do business with you instead of someone else. In this lesson, you'll develop your USP. Then you'll discover the single most valuable asset in your business and how it can create all the wealth you'll ever want.

Lesson 4
Alan Lakein, a leading expert on time management, says, "Failing to plan is planning to fail." Today, you'll learn all the advantages of having a written business plan. You'll see how it helps you take advantage of more opportunities and keeps you focused on achieving your goals. If you need to find financing for your business, having a business plan becomes twice as important.

Lesson 5
Once you've chosen the business opportunity you're going to pursue, you'll need to legally set up your company. To do that, you'll have to choose whether to be an S-corporation, a corporation, or a limited liability company. Each of these structures has advantages and disadvantages. In this lesson, you'll find out how to decide which one would work best for you.

Lesson 6
Unless you have your own vault of money for marketing, you'll need to know the best way to spend limited resources to create the most sales. As a future business owner, you need to understand the importance of direct-response marketing along with tracking and testing. You'll learn about those things today as you discover how to expand marketing efforts that work and cut or improve those that are ineffective.

Lesson 7
In this lesson, we'll continue discussing marketing as we explore the pros and cons of two main forms of it: advertising and publicity. We'll take a detailed look at free publicity because it's one of the most cost-effective ways to market your business.

Lesson 8
No one can run a business effectively without proper accounting and financial statements. But few business owners take the time to understand the basics of bookkeeping. Today, we'll walk hand-in-hand with an actual business owner as she sets up her accounting records. By the end of this lesson, you'll know the basics of accounting and be able to analyze and develop your own financial statements.

Lesson 9
Most new business owners need to find money to start their business. In this lesson, you'll find out the most common, traditional ways to fund a business and a few nontraditional ways as well. Whichever method you choose, your desire to get your company going is what will make the difference. Many people give up too soon or don't use the feedback from a funding source to improve their plan. You don't have to be one of them!

Lesson 10
Employees can make or break a business. Just think about businesses you wouldn't use again because of the service the employees provided. Bad employees can cost a company thousands of dollars, and you, as an owner, won't have the luxury of hiring and training employees on an ongoing basis. Hiring, training, motivating, and parting with employees are all complex processes. Today, you'll learn tips that make them easier.

Lesson 11
Having effective business policies in place helps your business run efficiently. It also gives your employees a framework for knowing what's expected of them. By the end of this lesson, you'll be able to develop your own business policies, including sexual harassment and ethics policies. We'll also discuss creating an employee manual.

Lesson 12
To ensure success, business owners need to be able to use limited resources efficiently. In this final lesson, we'll focus on how best to manage your time, relationships, and personal financial position. You'll leave this course knowing you've done all the preliminary groundwork to get your business off to a good start.