Running your own business requires a huge range of skills, lots of which are hard to learn on your own. These free courses can help you gain those skills and improve your business.
We’ve put together a list of the best free online courses that you can sign up for today. They cover everything from finance and law to giving presentations and how to deal with running a family business. So free up some time in your schedule and get ready to set your business on fire!
Developing Effective Presentation Skills
Duration: 2-3 hours / 3 modules
Giving presentations can be the most stressful part of running a business, especially if you’d rather be in the office doing what you do best and the thought of standing in front of a room full of people fills you with dread. This course will help take the guess work and fear out of giving that next big presentation. During the three modules you’ll learn how to be more confident, how to engage and persuade an audience and how to prepare and structure your presentation to make the most impact.
Entrepreneurship 101: Who Is Your Customer?
Duration: 24 hours / 6 lessons
Who is your customer is the most important question any business can answer. Unfortunately it’s also one of the hardest. This course takes you through 6 in-depth case studies from entrepreneurs learning how they went from having an idea to gaining a real understanding of their customers and why they buy their product. Real-life assignments support the course and give you concrete, practical steps to discover and get to know your audience.
Entrepreneurship and Family Business
Duration: 16 hours / 40 lessons
Many small business and start ups are family run operations and that brings with it a particular set of challenges. This course will guide you through the characteristics and psychology of an entrepreneur and put that into the context of a family business. Perfect whether you started a family business, are a successor or work within one. The syllabus covers funding strategies, business plans, management and marketing.
Introduction to Negotiation: A Strategic Playbook for Becoming a Principled and Persuasive Negotiator
Duration: 11 hours / 9 lessons
‘Doing the deal’ in business doesn’t come naturally to us all but this course will change that. You will learn how to approach negotiations with confidence, find ways to resolve conflicts and shape people’s behaviour. The opportunity to practise with other students and get feedback on your approach means you’ll see first hand how it works. You can also choose to study advanced topics like negotiating over email and the role of gender in negotiations.
Growth Strategies For Business
Duration: 3 hours / 5 lessons
Setting up a business is only step one of the journey – you then need to grow that business. This course teaches the strategies, changes, innovations, transformations and mistakes that can help and hinder business growth. You’ll end up with a workable growth plan that is right for your business.
Law and the Entrepreneur
Duration: 42 hours / 6 lessons
As an entrepreneur or owner you need understand how the law affects your business. The law can protect you and your idea and gives you a framework to work within. The course covers information on legal set ups and structures of businesses, names and trademarking, intellectual property, venture capital and more. At the end of the 6 lessons you’ll have practical ways to work with the law for your new venture or existing business.
Business Communication — Fundamentals of Business Writing
Duration: 3 hours / 3 lessons
If you’re looking for ways to save on your marketing budget being able to write business text yourself before giving it to your designers or marketers can save you heaps. But writing effective and engaging information about your business can be hard. Don’t let that put you off. This course will teach you smart ways to write in a clear, concise, personality filled style that talks to and persuades your target audience. Based around writing business letters the lessons from this course can be used to transform the way you write (and talk) about your business.
Notebooks at the ready…
The Awemous Team