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Small Business Management course curriculum

Business owners have to be jacks of all trades, handling diverse responsibilities each and every day. Budgeting, hiring, negotiating, marketing, bookkeeping. That’s why our Small Business Management course curriculum is designed to be comprehensive, covering every aspect in detail to ensure real-world relevance.

Curriculum Lessons

Small Business Management Orientation  

In this course, you’ll examine the goals and values of Ashworth College, time management, creating a realistic weekly and monthly study schedule, the nature and purpose of assessments, how to study effectively to prepare for and take an online examination, and developing the skill sets necessary for success in the twenty-first century.

By the end of this course, you’ll be able to do the following:

  • Explain the goals and structure of the Ashworth Small Business Management course.
  • Analyze your business model, focusing on marketing and funding.

Lesson Group 1: Planning for Success  

This course introduces the preparations necessary for small business opportunities, including business planning and market research. You’ll further your study of this phase with learning about strategic, operational, and financial planning elements, all in helping to construct a successful business proposition.

By the end of this course, you’ll be able to do the following:

  • Complete a personal assessment of expectations with starting a small business.
  • Conduct market research relative to consumer interest and product demand.
  • Understand which business model provides opportunity for sustainability and growth.
  • Utilize strategic, operational, and financial planning to create a vision for your small business.

Lesson Group 2: Making Solid Preparations 

This course will investigate sources of funding to support your financial plan. You’ll then examine the process of selecting a business location and amassing inventory. The course will finish by exploring the methodology for hiring employees and how to establish positive relationships.

By the end of this course, you’ll be able to do the following:

  • Compare and select sources of business funding.
  • Examine factors involved in choosing a business location.
  • Establish a process for inventory control.
  • Construct an effective hiring process that values investment and builds relationships.

Lesson Group 3: Reaching Your Customers 

This course will explore how best to use technology to support a small business, including strategies for marketing and advertising online. You’ll then explore business approaches for building a brand and maintaining productivity through sales and service.

By the end of this course, you’ll be able to do the following:

  • Determine the most effective use of technology to fulfill small business needs.
  • Establish brand recognition through advertising and marketing.
  • Detail processes for promoting sales and marketing services.
  • Develop a strategy for marketing and advertising online.

Lesson Group 4: Managing Your Profits 

This course will emphasize the importance of budgeting and bookkeeping when overseeing a small business. You’ll conclude this course with management procedures for tax systems and profit planning.

By the end of this course, you’ll be able to do the following:

  • Analyze how budgeting and bookkeeping work to establish a business’s financial position.
  • Employ business management strategies with tax systems and profit planning.

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Program Description

The Small Business Management certificate program is designed to provide you with a working knowledge of management strategies for small business, including the importance of planning, funding, marketing, hiring, and recordkeeping—all designed to create opportunities for success with physical locations and technological avenues.

Program Objectives

After completing the Small Business Management program, students will be able to:

  1. Describe some of the current opportunities, trends, and challenges related to small business ownership and describe the characteristics of successful entrepreneurs.
  2. Identify the different forms of legal ownership for small businesses and describe the advantages and disadvantages of each from a variety of perspectives - including ownership, taxation, and organization.
  3. Describe how different types of businesses operate within the legal, regulatory, and tax environments in the United States.
  4. Describe the essential components of a profitable business - including strategic and operational planning, tax and estate planning, profit planning, human resource management, physical facility management, inventory management, and management information systems - and create a sample business plan that includes all required components.
  5. Explain why equity and debt financing are required, identify common sources of financing, and describe the roles that equity and debt financing play in the capital structure of a small firm.
  6. Describe issues related to developing, marketing, and distributing products, including finding a niche, managing inventory, working within the product life cycle, developing effective marketing strategies, and identifying appropriate channels of distribution including e-commerce.
  7. Explain how small businesses find and manage human resources including growth planning, employee recruitment strategies, managing to performance standards, and ensuring employee safety.

The business of career growth

Ashworth College's API Program Name Career Diploma program helps you develop the confidence you need to reach for your career goals because we integrate job search prep into your studies. With the online tools at the Ashworth College Central Network, you’ll get step-by-step guidance as you create polished, professional resumes and letters. After you graduate, you’ll keep your Ashworth College Central Network account so you can revisit the tools any time you need to make a good impression on a potential employer. Learn more about it at the Career Services page.

Advance your career in our online API Program Name program. Call 1-800-957-5412