Free MBA! 7 Free Online Business Classes for Entrepreneurs
April 23, 2010 by
Matthew
Filed under
Entrepreneurship
Ok, you might not really get an MBA-level education for free, but if there’s something about business that you really need to learn, chances are you’ll find a free course online to help you gain the knowledge you’re looking for. Check out the list below to begin your business education tuition-free!
How to Write A Business Plan Offered by the SBA, this free course gives you an overview of business plan basics. After a short registration, the course is presented as a slideshow, with audio instruction. It’s about 45 minutes long, and the course is self guided, so you can start and stop as you wish. At the end of the course, you can even print a certificate of completion.
The E Factor - E-Marketing & Social Networking This is a fantastic presentation for beginners in online marketing, sponsored by the Maine Small Business Development Centers. It’s a video, with slides to accompany and supplement the presenter’s information. The course is delivered by Rich Brooks, founder and president of Flyte New Media, and it covers the basics of marketing online, from e-commerce to SEO, in addition to newsletters, blogs, and social media. It’s a great course if you’re getting started in online marketing, and even veterans will pick up a tip or two - or at least be reminded of some important points.
Managing the Digital Enterprise Michael Rappa, founder of the Institute for Advanced Analytics, and professor of Computer Science at North Carolina State University, is the creator and presenter of this course, designed to help the online entrepreneur in areas ranging from design to online ethics, and everything in between. The course consists of 15 modules plus case studies, and you can jump to whichever module you want at any time. If you choose “podcasts” from the “Jump to” dropdown menu, you can listen to each module or download the MP3. If you’d rather read than listen, just choose whichever module you want from the dropdown. Either way, there’s some valuable information in the course, and there’s no registration required for this one.
Strategic Planning and Execution Presented by SmallBizU, this course is a comprehensive lesson on strategic planning. It covers topics such as defining a purpose, mission, and vision, devising strategies, setting goals, and more. The course is a combination of audio and 184 slides, divided into 10 topics. The audio for each slide only lasts about 15 seconds, so you should be able to get through the whole thing in an hour or less, but you can go at your own pace and advance the slides faster or slower as you wish.
Home Based Businesses If you have or are thinking of starting a home based business, take a look at this course. MyOwnBusiness.org offers the course, detailing all the ins and outs, and dos and don’ts of starting and running a home based business. The course is mostly text, with some video accompaniments to add to the learning. Topics include: benefits of a home based business, different approaches to home based business, picking the right business, common pitfalls, and a lot more. At the end of the course, you even get a business plan template specifically for the home based entrepreneur. Not bad for free!
Improve Your Personal Networking Skills You probably know that networking is an important part of business, but you might not know how to go about it. This course is presented by HP, and you’ll have to register, but once you do, you’ll have access to all their free online courses, many of which are worth taking a look at. The networking course covers why it’s important for your business that you network, and how to do it effectively. You can view the lessons (about ½ page each) one at a time, view them all at once, or download a PDF version and save it to your computer. There is no audio or video for this course, but some of the HP courses do offer that.
Schedule C: First Time Filers No one likes to think about taxes (except maybe accountants), but they’re a fact of life for entrepreneurs, and definitely something you want to get right. So who better to get information from than the good old IRS? They’ve put together this 35 minute video course specifically for new business owners who are filing a Schedule C for the first time. If you’ve just started your business, this is the free course for you. Watch it and make sure you’re doing things Uncle Sam’s way.
The courses above are just a sample of what’s available out there, so get started on your free education today. Most of the sites listed have many other free courses available. Check them out, bookmark your favorites, and set aside some time regularly for learning. Before you know it, you’ll be an educated entrepreneur - without spending a dime!
good. I will look into the home based business course. As i am a freelancer doing full time work from home.
This is great, thanks! Forwarded to my fiancé.
Oh and I wish I had seen that “Schedule C for First Time Filers” course a couple months ago!! That form was HORRENDOUS!
Thanks again!
Jenn
Wow! This is a nice offer! I’ll definitely have to check some of this out.
I am currently pursuing my MBA part time from a well known college in my country. If I had seen this list a few months ago I never would have joined after the experience I’ve had in the college. Will refer this to other friends
Thanks for sharing i will try some of them now.
A friend of mine recently went to pursue his MBA at a very expensive university. We studied hotel management together and he took up a job in Marketing for a couple of years at a leading hotel but has now left that to pursue his MBA. It’s such a gamble, whether he’ll even make up the money he spent on the fees by getting a better job later on.
Till then,
Jean
I actually did the “how to write a business plan” by the SBA and it is a good guide.
Hi guys,
I absolutely love to hear that I can learn to be an entrepreneur for FREE!!! Thanks for sharing.
Kind regards,
Sam
X
i want read some mba books and i wonder if there are any sites on the internet which can provide me with free business books. thanks for your help.
@handmade - Hello again! Check out this site. These are PDFs and e-books, so not sure if it’s what you had in mind, but there’s some valuable free content there. Also, a lot of people don’t know about Google Books, which provides online views of many books. Some are just partial books, and some are full versions.
Hope that helps some.
John
I was recently involved in a debate as to whether or not entrepreneurs can benefits from going back to school to get their MBAs. To be straightforward, I support and value education. More education is better then less education. As far as an MBA specifically, entrepreneurs can take advantage of the intangibles such as meeting new people and growing their network, and taking advantage of services available to students.
The E-marketing course looks good. Going to jog through it to see if they have anything I missed. Thanks!
Bryan
Great resources! If I had more time I would start going through all of these courses right away. When you are running your own side business it can be tough to set aside time for further education. I know it’s not something I should be neglecting though.
Great post! Some of these places I have heard of and others I have not. I am definitely going to have to check those out. Thanks!
Thanks for sharing, the e-marketing course looks good
This is a great compilation of sites. I have actually used a couple that you listed but the most interesting one I saw on the list was the E Factor that Maine Small Business Development Center put out, what a good resource.
Pretty kewl being an MBA myself, I would suggest that if you inherent smartness you can surely go for the free online course.
I have done BBA before 3 years ago and I was very much interested into MBA but due to poor financial condition i can not able to take admission into MBA. At that i was not able to afford the fees after one the situation has been changed, i have grown my self as a Team leader and reach up to the level where i am taking interviews of MBA for the organization i am working in right now. So, the conclusion is if got this type of material at that time it was best for me.
To be straightforward, I support and value education. More education is better then less education.