Small Business   

This course will teach you everything you need to prosper in the backyard nursery business.

Turn your love of plants into an enjoyable and profitable home business. Learn how to grow and market plants on a small scale without major capital investment. In an area as small as 1000 square feet, you can generate thousands of dollars' worth of plant material in a single growing season.

This course is your practical guide to licensing, site preparation, equipment, how and where to find supplies, how to select and produce plants appropriate to your climate zone, how to produce quality material and, most importantly, how to market your product.

Requirements:

Hardware Requirements:

• This course can be taken on either a PC, Mac, or Chromebook.

Software Requirements:

• PC: Windows 8 or later.
• Mac: macOS 10.6 or later.
• Browser: The latest version of Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox are preferred. Microsoft Edge and Safari are also compatible.
• Adobe Acrobat Reader.
• Software must be installed and fully operational before the course begins.

Other:

• Email capabilities and access to a personal email account.

Turn your love of plants into an enjoyable and profitable home business. This course provides information on licensing, site preparation, equipment, how and where to find supplies, how to select and produce plants, how to produce quality material, and how to market your product.

Making the Transition From Gardener to Nurseryman

In the first lesson, you'll meet other gardeners who've successfully made the transition to nurserymen. You may be surprised to discover that, within the small space of a backyard, you can produce significant income by growing plants. You'll also learn what permits and licenses you may need as you get started.

Your Climate Considerations

In this lesson, you'll take a close look at climate zone maps to help you figure out what plants will grow best in your region. Then you'll learn some easy ways to prepare your growing grounds. Finally, the lesson will show you ways to create inexpensive microclimates that will help you start your plants and expand the varieties you can grow.

Necessary Supplies and Where to Find Them

In this lesson, you'll learn what production supplies you'll need and how to find wholesale sources for them. The lesson will discuss cover containers, soil, fertilizer, and labels and then talk about why it's important to keep track of your expenses for tax purposes.

Plant Propagation Methods

Starting new plants is one of the most exciting and rewarding experiences for gardeners and nurseryman alike. The process of starting new plants is called propagation. In this lesson, you'll focus on the three major methods used in nursery production: propagation by seed, cuttings, and division.

Reduce Your Growing Time: Buy Plants From Other Growers

This lesson will teach you one of the most valuable lessons in this business: How to reduce the waiting time involved in growing plant material. You'll learn what types of starter plants are available and how to find wholesale sources. You'll also be given some valuable guidelines to help you decide what to grow. Afterwards, the lesson will talk about how to find additional sources of information and business networking opportunities through nurserymen associations and trade shows.

Growing Annuals (Including Vegetables, Herbs, and Bulbs)

In this lesson, you'll focus on growing annual flowers and bulbs, paying special attention to market timing. You'll learn how to create high-value items such as color bowls and hanging baskets. The lesson will then discuss vegetable starter plants and herbs. Specializing in organic growing will help you tap into a lucrative area of the nursery trade, so the lesson will fill you in on all you need to know about organic growing and certification.

Growing Perennials

In this lesson, you'll focus on one of the hottest topics in gardening: The particular group of non-woody plants that nurseries call "perennials". You'll become familiar not only with the favorites, but with the wide variety of perennials available. The lesson will then go over some detailed information about specific perennials, including how to grow them and how to time them for market.

Growing Shrubs, Roses, and Vines

This lesson covers woody plants—such as shrubs and vines—that form the more permanent plantings in a landscape. You'll pay particular attention to roses because they're among the most beautiful and profitable shrubs. In addition, you'll learn how to grow small fruiting shrubs and vines for specialty markets.

Growing Various Trees in Sizes From #1s to #15s

Trees may be the largest members of the plant kingdom, but they're also among the easiest and most profitable to grow. In this lesson, you'll not only learn how to propagate landscape trees, but how to greatly shorten their growing time by buying bare-root seedlings and finished bare-roots. The lesson will conclude with a discussion on fruiting and flowering trees.

Producing a Quality Plant

Whether you're growing plants for fun or profit, you'll want to produce quality plant material. This lesson will provide guidelines for quality standards. You'll learn about pruning, staking, and training plants into special shapes and forms. It will also talk about methods you can use to ward off diseases and pests.

Wholesale Marketing

If you're like most gardeners, growing plants is the easy part—marketing is the real challenge! This lesson will begin with a discussion on wholesale marketing. You'll learn all you need to know to do business with discount chain stores, local retailers, and landscapers, and then explore consignment selling, contract growing, and business-to-business Internet options.

Retail Marketing

The final lesson covers retail marketing, or taking your product directly to the public. You'll learn how to advertise inexpensively and effectively so you're not just growing plants, you're growing your business! The lesson will explain what you'll need to know to sell your plants from your home or garage sales, certified farmers markets, and flea markets. It will also discuss selling your plants to government or public agencies.

Auction pros teach you how to work from home or earn extra income by buying and selling goods online.

Online auctions match buyers with sellers in a global marketplace for almost any item. If you've ever dreamed of working from home or just earning extra income by buying and selling goods online, this course will guide you every step of the way!

In this course, you will gain all of the knowledge necessary for success in the online marketplace. You'll learn how to create titles that get noticed, how to craft advertising copy that sells items quickly and for top dollar, and how to create and upload photos of the items you are selling. You'll also learn how to safely conduct financial transactions, how to accept credit card payments, and how to pack and ship any item hassle-free. If you're a buyer, you'll learn how to value almost any item up for auction, how to get the best possible price, how to protect yourself against fraud, and how to compete effectively against other bidders.

Requirements:

Hardware Requirements:

• This course can be taken on either a PC, Mac, or Chromebook.

Software Requirements:

• PC: Windows 8 or later.
• Mac: macOS 10.6 or later.
• Browser: The latest version of Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox are preferred. Microsoft Edge and Safari are also compatible.
• Adobe Acrobat Reader.
• Software must be installed and fully operational before the course begins.

Other:

• Email capabilities and access to a personal email account.

Instructional Material Requirements:

The instructional materials required for this course are included in enrollment and will be available online.

Learn from an auction pro how to work from home or earn extra income by buying and selling goods online for top dollar. This course will teach you how to get noticed, value items, sell quickly, protect against fraud, and safely conduct financial transactions.

1. Learning eBay's History and How to Navigate the Site
2. Registration and Searching
3. Auction Pages and the My eBay Section
4. Bidding and Buying After the Auction
5. Your First Sale
6. The World of Digital Photography
7. Basics of Pricing and Shipping
8. Launching Your Auction
9. Post-Sale Management
10. Discussion Boards and Your Profile
11. eBay Stores and Other Sellers' Resources
12. Advanced Selling Topics

What you will learn

• Learn the fundamentals of buying and selling on eBay, and understand its advanced features
• Discover how to buy and sell in an online auction and become confident in your ability to benefit financially
• Learn how to create effective auction descriptions, and properly promote your listings for maximum exposure
• Discover the art of proxy bidding, bid sniping, and other tips for winning an auction at the best possible price

How you will benefit

• Discover the secrets to making money from the comfort of your own home
• Gain confidence in your ability to use online marketplaces and benefit from great deals
• Learn how to connect with others in an online social community

This online course will teach you how to set up a successful professional consulting practice or advisory firm. You will learn best practices for assessing business problems and making actionable recommendations to various clients.

Requirements:

Hardware Requirements:

• This course can be taken on either a PC or Mac.

Software Requirements:

• PC: Windows 8 or later.
• Mac: macOS 10.6 or later.
• Browser: The latest version of Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox are preferred. Microsoft Edge and Safari are also compatible.
• Any word processing application (not included in enrollment).
• QuickTime.
• Adobe Acrobat Reader.
• Software must be installed and fully operational before the course begins.

Other:

• Email capabilities and access to a personal email account.

Instructional Material Requirements:

The instructional materials required for this course are included in enrollment and will be available online.

From small businesses to corporations, any organization can benefit from an expert consultation. Professional consultants analyze situations and make recommendations based on their own expertise. To be a successful consultant, you must be able to understand client challenges, provide credible advice, and manage your practice.

The Professional Consulting Practice course will teach you how to leverage your existing skills to become a consultant. You will learn how to analyze an organization, how to serve a diverse clientele, and how build a credible, solutions-driven consulting practice.

1. What Does a Consultant Do?
2. Benefits and Challenges of Consulting
3. Consulting Skills
4. Building Credibility
5. Your Area of Expertise
6. Analyzing Client Needs
7. Individuals, Organizations, Communities
8. Working with Clients
9. Delivering and Measuring Results
10. Running a Consulting Business

What you will learn

• How to build credibility in your area of expertise
• How to work with your clients and understand their needs
• How to deliver results and measure them

How you will benefit

• Gain the confidence to build your own consultancy
• Manage your productivity to create a successful consulting business
• Use brand strategies to market your consulting practice

Jamie Calbeto

Jamie Calbeto is an educator specializing in business, information technology, and logistics. He was both faculty at RMIT University Vietnam for more than a decade, teaching supply chain management and coordinating in the School of Business. Calbeto holds a Bachelor of Economics from University of Central Florida, a Master of Science in Industrial Technology from East Carolina University, and a Graduate Certificate in Tertiary Teaching and Learning.

Learn how to start your own arts and crafts business from a professional artist.

If you have an art or a craft and you dream about starting your own home-based or small business, this is the course for you! You will learn to start your own arts and crafts business from a professional artist. You will learn to create your own unique business identity, and discover what makes marketing in the arts and crafts business different from marketing in most other enterprises and find a sales approach the fits your personality.

You will learn how to find and get into the best craft shows, as well as design booths that really draw customers in. You will discover how to price your work effectively so you can set yourself up for success whether you are selling through craft shows, in galleries, online, or even in your own retail store.

Requirements:

Hardware Requirements:

• This course can be taken on either a PC, Mac, or Chromebook.

Software Requirements:

• PC: Windows 8 or later.
• Mac: macOS 10.6 or later.
• Browser: The latest version of Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox are preferred. Microsoft Edge and Safari are also compatible.
• Adobe Acrobat Reader.
• Software must be installed and fully operational before the course begins.

Other:

• Email capabilities and access to a personal email account.

Instructional Material Requirements:

The instructional materials required for this course are included in enrollment and will be available online.

Learn how to start your own arts and crafts business from a professional artist. This course helps you discover how to create a business identity, get into the best craft shows, design booths that draw customers, and price your work effectively.

Where to Start: Niches and Trends

You can't look into the future. Or can you? In this first lesson, you'll explore how to find your own niche within your chosen craft. Then, you'll learn about resources for spotting future trends and making your business a success!

Establishing Your Business Identity

You've heard the expression "It's all in a name." But how do you determine which business name tells the public what you're all about? In this lesson, you'll get some foolproof guidelines for choosing the name that's right for your business. You'll also learn how to secure your name and design a logo your customers will remember you by.

Choosing the Right Location for You

Claiming your own work space is thrilling and scary at the same time. In this lesson, you'll explore your options, from the home studio to the retail space. Most important of all, you'll learn the secret to choosing the right one for you.

Designing Your Work Space and Buying in Bulk

In this lesson, you'll learn how to design your new work space for increased productivity and safety. The lesson will talk about setting up workstations, choosing work surfaces, lighting, organizing and storing craft supplies, and going green. Then, you'll learn how to buy your supplies in bulk to maximize your profit.

Marketing in the Arts

What makes marketing in the arts and crafts business different from marketing in most other enterprises? You'll know the secret when you finish this lesson. You'll also know how to create a marketing strategy to get the word out about your new business. How will you put this plan into action? With tried-and-true marketing tools you'll learn here too!

Protecting Your Work

Figuring out how to price your work can feel like a mystery that might even stump Sherlock Holmes! If you aim too high, your products won't sell, and if you aim too low, you'll be out of business before you know it. In this lesson, you'll discover a formula for arriving at the best price while leaving yourself enough wiggle room to be flexible. You'll also learn how to protect your work through copyrights and through insuring your business against loss or damage.

But I Hate Sales!

Thinking of you-the-salesperson can sometimes make you-the-artist feel like you've been dropped into the Twilight Zone! But everyone has an inner salesperson. In this lesson, you'll find out how to see sales in a new light—one that meshes with your personality and creative integrity.

Wholesale, Consignment, and Galleries

How do you get your craft products into the marketplace? In this lesson, you'll explore how to get your crafts into retail stores at wholesale prices, place your products on consignment, and approach galleries and develop long-term relationships with them.

Online Selling, Craft Parties, and Your Own Retail Store

Retail is competitive, and you have to know your stuff to succeed. Whether it's the ins-and-outs of how to sell retail through craft parties, or some of the principles of setting up your own retail store, it's in this lesson! You'll also learn how and where to sell retail to a worldwide market on the Internet.

Craft Shows: Part 1

There are thousands of craft shows every year, so how can you find the best (most lucrative) craft shows to be in? In this lesson, you'll learn what the insiders know: how to find the best shows and what you'll need to get into them. You'll also see how to plan the details of travel and lodging and get an idea of what to bring along to ensure a smooth craft show experience.

Craft Shows: Part 2

Once you're in a craft show, you'll need to pull those craft lovers out of the aisles and into your booth! In this lesson, you'll discover how to design booths and displays that draw people in and how to keep them there with compelling demonstrations, solid craft fair sales, and smart marketing techniques.

Teaching Your Craft

Teaching can be fulfilling both financially and emotionally, and it can also be a great marketing tool for the rest of your business! In this lesson, you'll learn how to find teaching opportunities, design your curriculum, and price and promote your class. By the end of this lesson, the final one, you'll have everything you need to approach your local craft supply store, art school, or continuing education department with a professional proposal for your class.

What you will learn

• Learn to design a workspace for increased productivity and safety
• Learn what it takes to market your art or craft
• Create a strategy using tried-and-true marketing tools
• Learn how to get your craft products into the marketplace
• Discover what insiders know about the best show and what you need to get into them
• Learn ways to draw people into your booth and keep them there
• Discover how to find teaching opportunities to share your craft with others as well as help you out financially

How you will benefit

• Turn your hobby craft into a profitable business
• Find the best craft shows and what it takes to get in them
• Design and create a craft booth that will draw people in

Learn how to grow delicious, nutritious fruit and vegetables in your own backyard.

Grow delicious, nutritious fruit and vegetables in your own backyard! In this course, you'll learn how to give your garden a healthy start and keep it growing strong all season.

You'll begin by figuring out which type of garden is right for you. You'll explore climate considerations, learn how to read a zone hardiness map, and find out how to spot a micro-climate in your yard. You'll discover how to properly prepare a garden bed so your crops have the best opportunity to thrive. You'll even learn to understand fertilizers and make compost! Whether you want to provide your family with nutritious food, save money, get some exercise, or just be more self-sufficient, this course will give you the skills and knowledge you need to be on your way to a successful harvest.

Requirements:

Hardware Requirements:

• This course can be taken on either a PC, Mac, or Chromebook.

Software Requirements:

• PC: Windows 8 or later.
• Mac: macOS 10.6 or later.
• Browser: The latest version of Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox are preferred. Microsoft Edge and Safari are also compatible.
• Adobe Acrobat Reader.
• Software must be installed and fully operational before the course begins.

Other:

• Email capabilities and access to a personal email account.

Instructional Material Requirements:

The instructional materials required for this course are included in enrollment and will be available online.

Learn how to grow delicious, nutritious fruit and vegetables in your own backyard.

1. Why Grow Your Own Garden?
2. What Should You Grow in Your Garden?
3. Preparing Your Garden
4. Your Garden Soil
5. Leafy Greens
6. Root Vegetables
7. Vine and Bush Vegetables
8. Fruits and Berries
9. Herbs
10. Irrigation and Your Garden
11. Collecting Seeds and Preserving Your Harvest
12. End-of-Season Cleanup

Discover how to harness the power of the Internet to build and sustain a profitable business. You will also learn the step-by-step process of creating a product, building a website, engaging a customer base, and finding new leads online.

Today, the Internet has changed everything. It is now entirely possible to create, launch, and build a profitable business from the convenience of your home with little to no upfront investment. This engaging course will give you a solid foundation for building and growing a successful digital business.

You will learn a step-by-step approach that is easy to follow—from building a simplified strategy to branding your business. In addition, you will grasp how to create a product and build and launch your website. You will also discover ways to engage prospective customers and implement a process to drive fresh leads to your business. So, whether you are looking to generate a nice side income or even replace your current income and ditch your full-time job, this course is for you.

Requirements:

Hardware Requirements:

• This course can be taken on either a PC, Mac, or Chromebook.

Software Requirements:

• PC: Windows 8 or later.
• Mac: macOS 10.6 or later.
• Browser: The latest version of Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox are preferred. Microsoft Edge and Safari are also compatible.
• Adobe Acrobat Reader.
• Software must be installed and fully operational before the course begins.

Other:

• Email capabilities and access to a personal email account.

Instructional Material Requirements:

The instructional materials required for this course are included in enrollment and will be available online.

The Internet has changed the way people communicate and how businesses operate. It's also made it easier to fulfill your dreams of creating and building a business from the convenience of your own home. In the Starting Your Own Online Business course, you will learn how to develop a digital or traditional product or service and build a website to sell and deliver that product online. This course outlines a step-by-step approach that's easy to follow—from building a simplified strategy to branding your business. From start to finish, you will gain an understanding of what it takes to create, build, and maintain a profitable online business!

1. Build a Foundation for Your Online Business
2. Create a Digital-Ready Business Brand
3. Build and Optimize a Product
4. Develop and Launch an Engaging Website
5. Set up Your Online Selling Process
6. Install a Digital Communication Network
7. Your Email Management System
8. Socialize Your Online Business
9. Build Multiple Online Lead Streams
10. Using Video to Grow Your Online Business
11. Create an Online Partnership Program
12. Implement an Online Support Center

What you will learn

• Build a business brand that is ready to be launched online
• Create products and services that you can sell as part of your online business
• Create and launch a business website
• Set up an email management system, write engaging content, and deliver emails in a timely manner
• Generate leads to keep your business growing
• Implement an online support center for your business

How you will benefit

• Discover the techniques, tools, and strategies necessary to create a successful online business
• Create a healthy and vibrant online business by generating leads to continually grow your business
• Be able to supply your online customers with online support to increase customer satisfaction and minimize refunds

Stop dreaming and learn how to start your own successful small business.

Learn how to take your dream of starting a business and put it into action. In this class, you will learn everything you need to know about starting a business. You will begin by discovering the tricks to picking the right opportunity for you. Next, you will learn how to develop proven marketing techniques to easily build sales. Since every business needs money, this course discusses traditional and nontraditional financing options. Finally, you will learn easy-to-implement employee management procedures and how to write business policies that help you build your business.

You, as a business owner, need to manage all your limited resources. One resource that often gets overlooked is your time. In the final lesson, you will learn time management techniques especially for entrepreneurs. While taking this course, you will discover the secrets that separate the successful entrepreneurs from the struggling ones.

Requirements:

Hardware Requirements:

• This course can be taken on either a PC, Mac, or Chromebook.

Software Requirements:

• PC: Windows 8 or later.
• Mac: macOS 10.6 or later.
• Browser: The latest version of Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox are preferred. Microsoft Edge and Safari are also compatible.
• Adobe Acrobat Reader.
• Software must be installed and fully operational before the course begins.

Other:

• Email capabilities and access to a personal email account.

Stop dreaming and learn how to start your own successful small business.

Starting Your Dream

If you have dreamed about starting a small business but didn't know where to start, you have come to the right place. In this first lesson, you will learn why you should start a business, why now might be the perfect time to do it, and what separates successful business owners from those who remain dreamers.

Find Your Perfect Business Opportunity

Today, you will find out about the three different ways to start a business. You will explore the advantages and disadvantages of buying a franchise, buying a business, and starting a business from scratch.

Creating a Truly Unique Business

No matter what business option you're leaning toward, you must find and exploit your unique selling proposition (USP). Your USP is the reason a customer would do business with you instead of someone else. In this lesson, you will develop your USP. Then you will discover the single most valuable asset in your business and how it can create all the wealth you will ever want.

Developing Your Business Plan

Alan Lakein, a leading expert on time management, says, "Failing to plan is planning to fail." In this lesson, you will learn all the advantages of having a written business plan. You will see how it helps you take advantage of more opportunities and keeps you focused on achieving your goals. If you need to find financing for your business, having a business plan becomes twice as important.

How to Legally Set Up Your Company

Once you have chosen the business opportunity you're going to pursue, you will need to legally set up your company. To do that, you will have to choose whether to be an S-corporation, a corporation, or a limited liability company. Each of these structures has advantages and disadvantages. In this lesson, you will find out how to decide which one would work best for you.

Power Marketing for Business Owners

Unless you have your own vault of money for marketing, you will need to know the best way to spend limited resources to create the most sales. As a future business owner, you need to understand the importance of direct-response marketing along with tracking and testing. You will learn about those things in this lesson as you discover how to expand marketing efforts that work and cut or improve those that are ineffective.

Advertising and Publicity to Skyrocket Your Business

This lesson continues the discussion on marketing and explores the pros and cons of two main forms of it: advertising and publicity. You learn about at free publicity, because it's one of the most cost-effective ways to market your business.

The Report Card for Your Business

No one can run a business effectively without proper accounting and financial statements. But few business owners take the time to understand the basics of bookkeeping. In this lesson, you will walk hand-in-hand with an actual business owner as she sets up her accounting records. By the end of this lesson, you will know the basics of accounting and be able to analyze and develop your own financial statements.

Finding Money for Your Business

Most new business owners need to find money to start their business. In this lesson, you will find out the most common, traditional ways to fund a business and a few nontraditional ways as well. Whichever method you choose, your desire to get your company going is what will make the difference. Many people give up too soon or don't use the feedback from a funding source to improve their plan. You don't have to be one of them.

Hiring, Motivating, and Parting With Employees

Employees can make or break a business. Just think about businesses you wouldn't use again because of the service the employees provided. Bad employees can cost a company thousands of dollars, and you, as an owner, won't have the luxury of hiring and training employees on an ongoing basis. Hiring, training, motivating, and parting with employees are all complex processes. In this lesson, you will learn tips that make them easier.

Business Policies

Having effective business policies in place helps your business run efficiently. It also gives your employees a framework for knowing what's expected of them. By the end of this lesson, you will be able to develop your own business policies, including sexual harassment and ethics policies.

Managing You

To ensure success, business owners need to be able to use limited resources efficiently. In this final lesson, you will learn how best to manage your time, relationships, and personal financial position. You will leave this course knowing you have done all the preliminary groundwork to get your business off to a good start.