The excitement of Christmas is over, but 2014 isn’t quite over yet. A few days remain until the beginning of the New Year. Traditionally, the New Year is when people like to try turning over a new leaf, usually inspired by the extra pounds piled on over the holiday season. Whether you’re looking to lose some weight or change the course of your life, now is the time to make resolutions for the coming year.
One common life change many people think of undertaking is to become their own bosses and start up their own businesses and companies. This can be an exciting thing, but also intimidating. Empowering, as everything is in your hands, but also vulnerable because if your venture fails it is on your head. If your desire is to take your future into your own hands, here’s a couple of courses you might be interested in:
Entrepreneurship
If you’re starting a business, from a factory down to a little shop or even working from home, you’re an Entrepreneur. Written for those thinking of starting their own businesses, or in the early days of setting it up, ADL’s Entrepreneurship course is an ideal way to get your venture off on the right foot.
Across ten lessons, you’ll get a broad appreciation for the key aspects faced by all start-up companies. You’ll learn the difference between different sorts of Entrepeneurs, important legal concerns like intellectual property concerns and patents and basic business operation.
Sales Skills
Whatever industry you choose to work in, whether your company sells cakes or cars, selling is an essential part of your business. While employees of an established business might be able to justify not having specific sales skills if they work in an unrelated area, in a start-up venture the ability to sell is probably the most vital skill you can have. Whether you’re pitching your idea to the bank for a loan, investors for funding or potential customers, you need to be able to make your plan look credible and clever.
Twelve lessons make up this course on sales skills, covering everything you need to sell your way to success. From presenting your product to communicating its values, making your pitch and overcoming inevitable objections. And because no salesman is immune from failure, you’ll learn key stress managements techniques to help you recover from a set back and get back up, ready to sell again!
E-Commerce
Internet Commerce is now the lifeblood of economies and if your new year's resolution is to start a business of your own, you’ll need to know how to interact with potential customers online. Buyers expect to be able to find you, browse your products and services and make purchases online from their computers, smart phones and tablets wherever they are in the world.
ADL’s e-Commerce course is your introduction to this essential aspect of business in the 21st century. 8 lessons guide the entrepreneur in understanding the scope and breadth e-Commerce offers. Web presence on the Internet is explained in detail as well as appealing to your customers across the world.
Small Business Financial Management
Once you’ve got your customers money, you’ll need to hold on to it. Good business management requires good financial management and as an entrepreneur you’ll need a solid grounding in money management if you want your business to thrive.
Across 12 lessons, the course provides insight into multiple key aspects of running a business and the impact on the financial bottom line. From marketing to sales, elementary book keeping to writing and implementing a business plan, if you want to build a successful business in 2015, a course on Small Business Financial Management is your key to keeping your books in order.
Institute of Certified Bookkeepers Courses
Some of ADL’s most popular courses, our Bookkeeping courses, accredited and written by the Institute of Certified Bookkeepers, are an excellent introduction to this essential of business disciplines.
ADL offers a range of different courses from the ICB covering the different skills required for membership in the ICB as a professional organisation. Whether you want to develop your personal book-keeping skills or want to become a bookkeeper as a new profession, our ICB courses are well worth checking up on.
