We all want to be our own boss, run successful businesses and make money, but the question is, how prepared are we?
We might be prepared with the bigger picture, but do we have the right knowledge and tools to manage the intricate functions of running a business? Simple things like bookkeeping, managing payroll, budgeting, recruitment and marketing could eventually pose as unmanageable activities.
If you’re thinking of starting a business, consider becoming a student of entrepreneurship before you start driving it. There are a host of free and low-cost options for quickly getting up to speed on business basics no matter where you live—from workshops offered through public libraries to online classroom based training over the Web.
There are numerous benefits to start learning the basics: First thing, you get to network with like minded folks who are also trying to learn the ropes. Secondly, you get to know what are the currents trends and tools in the market.
You don’t need to enroll in a four-year college, do an MBA or learn by trial and error. All you need to do is to find some free online tools and resources that can help you get started. Many colleges and universities offer continuing education programs for basic subjects such as human resource, organizational behavior, account & payroll, strategic management, project management etc. We just need to dig out the right resources that will equip us with the necessary knowledge and tools that are required to manage a business.
Here are a few online resources for entrepreneur education:
Udemy – Whether you want to get promoted, break into a new industry, start a company, further a passion, or just accelerate your life, Udemy helps you learn from the amazing instructors in the world, so that you can get there and get there faster.
Coursera – An education company that partners with the top universities and organizations in the world to offer courses online for anyone to take, for free. Their technology enables their partners to teach millions of students rather than hundreds.
Stanford Online – The vision of Stanford Online is to continue Stanford’s leadership in providing high-quality educational experiences to its students and to people around the world by unleashing creativity and innovation in online learning.
Udacity – Their mission is to bring accessible, affordable, engaging, and highly effective higher education to the world. They believe that higher education is a basic human right, and they seek to empower their students to advance their education and careers.
MIT OpenCourseWare – is a web-based publication of virtually all MIT course content. The course ware is open and available to the world and is a permanent MIT activity.