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Status

Open

Estimated Completion Time

18 Weeks

Overview

Starting a business is more than just having a good idea. Successful entrepreneurs know how to use and apply fundamental business concepts to turn their ideas into thriving businesses. Explore topics such as identifying the best business structure, business functions and operations, finance, business laws, regulations, and more! If you have ever dreamed of making a business idea a reality, take the time to establish a solid foundation of business skills to make your business dreams come true!

During this course, you will learn career-related skills and earn a badge for this accomplishment. A badge is a digital certification of your career-related learning that you can share on social media and higher education platforms, or with colleges, potential employers, peers, and colleagues. Select this link to learn more about badges.

Major Topics and Concepts

Unit 1: An Introduction to Entrepreneurship-Past and Present

  1. Define entrepreneurship and identify examples of entrepreneurs.
  2. Identify types of services provided by entrepreneurs and small businesses.
  3. Discuss ways in which entrepreneurship has changed over time.
  4. Recognize innovations that were created by famous entrepreneurs.
  5. Evaluate resources available to assist entrepreneurs.
  6. Explore ways in which entrepreneurs generate business ideas and how they define a prospective business plan.

Unit 2: Using Communication to Create Opportunities

  1. Identify how to find and manage new customer opportunities.
  2. Demonstrate effective communication strategies used in business.
  3. Explain methods used to collaborate with colleagues.
  4. Determine job search skills that prepare an individual for intrapreneurship opportunities.

Unit 3: Navigating the Business World

  1. Discuss the impact of initial decisions on a small business.
  2. Identify the functional areas of a business.
  3. Describe how small businesses participate within the global economy.
  4. Understand the differences between types of industries and products.
  5. Summarize how business decisions are made based on operational processes and procedures.

Unit 4: Small Business and the Law

  1. Compare the advantages and disadvantages of different types of business ownership.
  2. Understand common legal responsibilities of a small business.
  3. Identify requirements, regulations and laws that impact a business.
  4. Define basic legal protections available for a business’s intellectual property.

Unit 5: Economics for Managing the Small Business

  1. Identify key terms used in economics.
  2. Recognize the economic impact of scarcity of resources.
  3. Describe the importance of specialization and voluntary exchange.
  4. Explain how markets, pricing, and competition predict the behavior of the economy.
  5. Distinguish between the different types of economic competition.

Unit 6: Government and the Small Business Relationship

  1. Describe the main roles of government in the business environment.
  2. Recognize government regulations that affect business ownership and operations.
  3. Discuss the role of federal regulatory agencies in business.
  4. Identify federal, state, and local taxes that are the responsibility of entrepreneurs.

Unit 7: Entrepreneurial Finance

  1. Identify funding options for a new business.
  2. Describe the main categories of costs in a business.
  3. Recognize key financial terms used in business.
  4. Summarize commonly used financial statements and their components.
  5. Evaluate key business performance measures based on financial statement analysis.

Unit 8: Ethics and Social Responsibility in Business

  1. Summarize the importance of individual and organizational business ethics.
  2. Recognize ethical issues and solutions in different business situations.
  3. Describe the importance of corporate social responsibility.
  4. Explain how entrepreneurs can establish businesses as a force for social and environmental good.

 

Credits .5

Competencies

  • Entrepreneurship
    Students will demonstrate an understanding of entrepreneurship by explaining characteristics of successful entrepreneurs, describing the impact of entrepreneurs on society, and summarizing resources available to entrepreneurs.
  • Communicating to Connect with Customers
    Students will demonstrate an understanding of communicating to connect with customers by summarizing strategies for finding customers, describing methods for communicating with customers, and explaining collaboration strategies to develop entrepreneurship skills.
  • Navigating the Business World
    Students will demonstrate an understanding of navigating the business world by explaining early business considerations, describing considerations for determining a market, and explaining strategies for making business decisions.
  • Small Business and the Law
    Students will demonstrate an understanding of small business and the law by explaining considerations for determining a business ownership structure, summarizing legal considerations for small businesses, and describing the steps for legally establishing a business.
  • Entrepreneurial Economics
    Students will demonstrate an understanding of entrepreneurial economics by summarizing economic systems, describing considerations for doing business in a market economy, and explaining forms of economic competition.
  • Relationship of Small Business with Government
    Students will demonstrate an understanding of the relationship of small business with the government by explaining the responsibilities of the government in the business environment, describing the influence of federal agencies on the business environment, and summarizing small business tax responsibilities.
  • Entrepreneurial Finance
    Students will demonstrate an understanding of entrepreneurial finance by explaining funding options for start-up costs, describing tools for managing finances, and explaining methods for analyzing a business’s performance.
  • Entrepreneurial Ethics
    Students will demonstrate an understanding of entrepreneurial ethics by explaining strategies for making ethical business decisions, describing ethical business situations, and explaining the social responsibilities of a business.

Pre-Requisites

None
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