Starting a business
Starting a Small Business course
Start your own small business and know what you need to do to make sure that your business is a success with our Starting a Small Business course.
Start a business at home
Not just a course. Unlike other small business courses!
Start by learning the fundamentals; then develop your business ideas with guidance from a business expert to refine and improve how you move forward.
Many businesses do fail; but you can easily reduce your risks – under the guidance of a professional business expert, plan and initiate the development of your own business.
This course is unique in that it not only teaches you about business; but it gives you an opportunity to formulate a business plan, and improve it through well structured mentor support, where you can interact with and get feedback from an experienced and well qualified member of our staff.
Trusted by industry leaders
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Sale ending soon – Not applicable with other discounts
- Non-accredited online course
- Duration 100 hours approx.
- No due dates – After hours support
- Pay it in 4 interest-free instalments
Small businesses succeed if you do it right
Anyone starting a business for the first time will probably experience a whole range of emotions, from excitement to apprehension. The anticipation of success is commonly high; but the reality of running a small business can also take you to emotional lows, if you don’t fully plan and prepare before launching.
Doing this course can raise your awareness of many things:
- Make better decisions about what sort of business to develop, how to best develop it.
- Identify risks so you can avoid problems before they overtake you
- Recognise your assets and liabilities and utilize your resources to best effect
Small owner operated businesses are critical to economic development
Small businesses are the main source of most innovation and invention.
An invention is the development of something new. Innovation occurs when something already established is improved upon. Many successful businesses are built on these two forces, especially on innovation. Research and development (R&D), however, can be rather costly. Small business faced with having to undertake R&D often finds difficulty is obtaining adequate finance. Traditional sources of finance, especially banks, perceive this type of finance request as high risk. One possible source of finance for R&D is venture capital. Venture capital is money that is invested in small and sometimes struggling businesses that have the potential to become very successful. The investors take an equity position in the business (own part of it) and provide supplementary finance. When venture capital is used in the initial feasibility stage, that is, when determining whether a potential idea can lead to a profitable product and business, it is referred to as seed capital.
Tips for success in small business
All small business owners start off optimistically, believing that their business venture will lead to financial success and security. Many may have read some multitude of books available about being successful in small business. These books usually highlight five common ‘keys’ to small business success.
1. Entrepreneurial abilities. The people in small business are crucial to the success of the enterprise. Attitudes and personalities of owners will vary enormously. Some will have drive and enthusiasm, many will have set targets and some will take big risks. Some will thrive on the challenge of a potential failure, enjoying the process of solving problems. The majority will be highly motivated and optimistic.
2. Access to information. As a bare minimum the small business operator must have information regarding profitability, the quality of products and services and the performance of employees. Accurate and up to date information will allow the small business owner to make the best decisions.
3. Flexibility. The small size of the business allows the owner to adapt quickly to changes in the external environment. Because there are fewer levels of management, decisions can be made quickly. In addition, the close contact between owners and customers allows the establishment of personal relationships, helping owners to respond quickly to their customer’s changing tastes and preferences.
4. Focus on market niche. Small businesses can concentrate their efforts on a few key customers or a specific segment of the market. This provides the opportunity for the small business to become more specialised and able to deliver a high level of service.
5. Reputation. Because the small business is servicing a narrow market niche, it can develop enviable reputations for quality and service.
These five ‘keys’ above have been identified as major success factors.