To succeed in the overcrowded entrepreneurial ecosystem these days, you need to keep track of the hottest industry trends, learn new skills and expand your knowledge on the matters related to your business. Only this way will you be able to stay relevant and set yourself apart from the sea of similar companies. After all, a 2016 study points out that there are 28.8 million small businesses in the United States alone!
Fortunately, entrepreneurial education has gained momentum over the past few years. The rise of this industry has resulted in a wide range of business and management specializations that are now more available and affordable than ever. Here are five fantastic types of courses every aspiring entrepreneur should consider:
1 | Accounting
Studies show that 82% of businesses fail due to cash flow problems. To prevent this from happening, you need to have a solid financial plan in place. If hiring an accountant not a viable option for you right now, you should consider taking care of your financials on your own until you can hire a professional. Numerous financial planning and accounting courses can teach you the basics of accounting and help you balance your budget and tax payments.
Here is how taking accounting courses might benefit your business:
- They will help you understand your business’ health by assessing its assets, liabilities, and equity.
- You will learn how to choose the best accounting software based on your business’ needs.
- You will learn the basics of bookkeeping, risk-return tradeoff, dividend payout policies, the optimal capital structure, and market efficiency.
- You will learn how to build a brilliant financial plan, which consists of four essential elements- balance sheet, income statement, statement of retained earnings, and cash flow statement.
2 | Digital Marketing
Online marketing has become the nerve center of every successful business, regardless of its size. The same goes for you. To beat your competitors and establish yourself as an authority in your industry, you need to build a bullet-proof digital marketing strategy. However, hiring a digital marketing agency or recruiting an in-house team of marketing specialists might be expensive for cash-strapped young companies. As this is one of the most exciting and fast-paced industries, maybe you would like to try to learn more about it on your own.
By working through digital marketing courses, you’ll learn more about:
- The importance of SEO, social media marketing, content marketing, and paid ads for your digital marketing efforts.
- How to create a digital marketing strategy and create your buyer personas
- How to understand the needs of your potential consumers so that you can offer better customer services, develop products that meet their expectations and engage them with your brand through effective digital marketing campaigns.
3 | Management
“Management is about persuading people to do things they do not want to do, while leadership is about inspiring people to do things they never thought they could,” Steve Jobs once said. This is the holy grail for every successful business owner. In order to succeed, you need to learn how to rally the troops, and this is what management classes will teach you!
After you take management courses, you’ll be able to:
- Improve your hiring processes.
- Communicate with your team members effectively.
- Motivate your team to do their best.
- Build and nurture strong relationships within your team.
- Create a corporate culture based on teamwork, mutual understanding, and tolerance.
- Develop pleasant workplace atmosphere.
- Identify and take care of potential problem areas.
4 | Economics
To stay competitive, you need to always look at the big picture. This is precisely where economics shines. Namely, business owners in all major industries need to know the basics of economics and use this knowledge when making decisions that will influence both the long-term and short-term growth of the company.
Economics courses will give you:
- An invaluable insight into the production, the distribution, and the consumption of goods and services.
- An understanding of the differences between microeconomics and macroeconomics.
- A deeper knowledge of your industry so that you can make data-driven decisions.
- The ability to differentiate yourself from your competitors.
5 | Public Speaking
Now, you may be wondering what this has to do with your business. Even though you’ve never thought of it this way, you are actually a motivational speaker, and your employees and clients are your audience. To motivate them to succeed, you need to communicate with intent and approach them effectively. If you fail at this, people won’t know what their roles and obligations are. Most importantly, they won’t recognize you as their leader. This is exactly what public speaking courses are for.
A good public speaking course will teach you how to:
- Deliver to-the-point information.
- Make solid arguments for what’s really important.
- Articulate your voice and control your body language.
- Overcome any fears or obstacles stopping you from presenting your expertise with authority.
Unit 25 offers public speaking coaching that will help you with all of these skills. To find out more or book a session, email us at [email protected]!
Putting it all together
As a business owner, you are the one your employees will look up to, even if your only employee is you. By showing that you’re willing to continually improve your knowledge in order to achieve better business goals, you will inspire those around you to do the same. After all, by investing in your and your employees’ education, you are actually investing in your startup’s success!
About the Author:
David Webb is a Sydney based business consultant and online marketing analyst. With six years of experience and a degree in online business strategy, he is driven to help the people better understand this new digital age. In free time, David enjoys writing, traveling and occasional night out with his friends
You can find him online at:
[email protected]
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www.bizzmarkblog.com
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