Entrepreneurs need to keep on learning new things. Learning equips them with the necessary skills for operating a business and leading an entire workforce. Also, in an age of fast-changing technologies, entrepreneurs need to have a basic understanding of a wide range of topics. Here are five online courses every entrepreneur should consider taking:
1. Startup Funding for Entrepreneurs
Whether you are getting funds from a bank, friends, or investors, funding a startup can be difficult. Most entrepreneurs prefer not to pursue external funding, fearing they might not get an investor interested in financing their businesses.
The truth is startups can woo potential investors if they knew how to do it. This 4-week course helps entrepreneurs learn how to pitch to prospective investors, prep for the pitch, and how to close the funding process.
Most entrepreneurs are oblivious about the process, sometimes losing potential investors because they don’t know how to pitch. The course is an eye-opener for entrepreneurs who think that a funding process begins and ends with an excellent pitch presentation and a captivating business plan. The course instructor, Professor Michael R. Pratt from the University of Maryland, also talks about how to prepare for the process.
Learn About: Entrepreneurship by Eric J Dalius
2. Entrepreneurship: From Idea Generation to Launch
This is an invaluable course for those contemplating taking the plunge and new entrepreneurs too. It provides insight into how to set up a successful pre-launch of your dream business based on the instructor’s experience. Dr. Jeff Cornwall, the instructor, explains how he took a nine-year break from his academic career to become the co-founder of Behavioral Health Systems
3. Make Money and Discover Your Worth
This online business course equips entrepreneurs with skills on how to price their companies and products, promote their brands, and attract high-paying clients. The course instructors, Sue and Tiffany, also discuss how business owners can take advantage of personal hurdles. Students also learn how to develop a positive outlook in the marketplace and identify ways they have driven money away, sometimes unconsciously.
4. Digital Marketing
This form of marketing has become critical to the existence and growth of a brand. While most entrepreneurs have basic marketing knowledge, it is not enough to help a business gain valuable digital presence.
Aric Rindfleisch from the University of Illinois provides a four-week course on the basics of digital marketing. The course instructor also explains essential digital marketing tools that enable customers to become an active part of critical aspects of a business, including pricing and product development.
Encourage your marketing team to take the course too. Secondly, tell them it’s never hectic as they might think. Put it clear to them that one can get help on a day they are busy, and can not attend to classwork by searching for “pay someone to take your online class” on Google. That way, they will be able to keep their classwork on the go always.
5. Personal Branding: How to Reinvent Yourself
The course provides valuable insight into how an entrepreneur can build a personal brand and establish himself as a thought leader. The course instructor, Silviu Marisk, is the founder of several Fortune 500 companies hence well-endowed to provide useful information.
The instructor explains how entrepreneurs can hone their passion points, develop a personal story when talking to an audience, identify and leverage their core strengths. Silviu also provides a behind-the-scenes look of how he built a massive following for the Fortune 500 companies.
Conclusion
Most entrepreneurs learn through experiences, which are often not as pleasant. These five online business courses should equip you with valuable business skills and help you cut down on the learning curve of running a startup.
