Owning or managing a small business has a lot of benefits. Small business owners may have the freedom to control their schedules, be able to focus on work that they find fulfilling, and find opportunities to positively impact their communities. But in addition to benefits like these, small business management brings with it some unique challenges. Owners of small businesses often play many roles and must have a wide body of knowledge. In a single day, a small business owner may be required to do any number of varied tasks, like approve a project plan budget, train a new employee, and develop a marketing campaign. This certificate will provide students with a fundamental understanding of the most critical areas in small business management.

This course has been evaluated by The American Council on Education's College Credit Recommendation Service (ACE CREDIT®) with a recommendation of 3 credits, lower division, in small business management.

Accounting Fundamentals for Small Businesses

Following basic accounting principles is an essential and necessary part of any business, regardless of size. As a small business owner, it is crucial to recognize the importance of maintaining proper financial records. Accounting records help identify sources of revenue, monitor the progress of business operations, assist in identifying areas that need improvement, and aid in preparing accurate financial statements. This course will introduce you to fundamental accounting concepts and develop your ability to record and analyze business transactions, and prepare the four major financial statements.

Introduction to Small Business Management

Introduction to Small Business Management is designed for prospective and current small business owners, entrepreneurs, and managers who want to understand the basics of running a successful small business. Managing a small business can be quite challenging, and this course provides an overview of small business operations, including business planning, legal issues, financial management, human resources, managing people, marketing, and customer care. Small business owners and managers should be better prepared to effectively deal with common problems and capitalize on market opportunities based on what they've learned.

Small Business Marketing

Small business operators are often faced with the daunting task of advertising and building a brand with a restricted budget. They must also effectively use social media and search engine optimization to differentiate themselves from their competition and attract potential customers. This course is designed for small business owners, entrepreneurs, managers, and other professionals who want to understand the basics of small business marketing. The material explains how to utilize social media marketing, content marketing, and search engine metrics strategically to reach not necessarily a wide audience, but the right audience. After completing this course, small business owners and marketers will be better prepared to promote their services and products in the highly competitive virtual world.

Budgeting and Financial Analysis for Small Businesses

Many small business owners find creating a budget to be an intimidating process. However, creating and maintaining a budget for your business is a crucial component of success. Budgets assist in maintaining control of your business activities, and provide a road map to ensure you are spending money in the right places at the right time. Similarly, tracking performance and analyzing financial data provides insight into what is working, and what isn't, in terms of your business. Knowing how to interpret the information found in your business's financial statements is an important skill to develop. Financial analysis allows you to understand your business's financial position better and can help you make better financial decisions. This course will introduce you to the budgeting process and financial analysis. In module one, you will develop your ability to prepare budgets, generate pro forma financial statements, and analyze budget variances. Module two will focus on analyzing the financial position of your business through financial ratio analysis, benchmarking, and break-even analysis.

Law for Small Businesses

Small business owners and entrepreneurs must have a working knowledge of many different fields, including the law. This course covers the basics of business law as it pertains to small businesses, franchises, and entrepreneurial endeavors. The topics include legal structures for new ventures, contracts, intellectual property rights, real property, employee rights, tax responsibilities, and product warranties and liabilities. While small business owners should be familiar with these issues, there is no substitute for having qualified legal counsel. Therefore, the course also explores the relationship between a small business and its legal representatives, how to find a small business lawyer, and at what stage legal counsel should be sought.

Project Management for Small Businesses

Small business management involves overseeing both small and large projects. Not all projects require extensive planning, but project management techniques can help teams of all sizes meet their goals more efficiently. This course introduces fundamental project management concepts, reviews common project pitfalls, and explains the importance of each of the five stages of the project life cycle: initiating, planning, executing, monitoring/controlling, and closing.

HR Fundamentals for Small Businesses

The people who make up your business are among your most valuable assets. Proper management of those human resources is critical for creating and sustaining a skilled and engaged workforce, developing a positive business culture, and generating a competitive advantage. Human resource personnel are involved in tasks like recruiting, selecting, compensating, training, developing, and disciplining employees. Who carries out these tasks varies depending on a business' size and organization. Large organizations may have a dedicated HR manager or even an entire HR department. In smaller businesses, on the other hand, HR responsibilities may be carried out by the CEO or business owner, delegated to staff, or outsourced.

Regardless of whether they will be responsible for carrying out HR tasks themselves, small business owners should be aware of important human resource issues, options, and controversies. This course reviews key areas in human resource management, like crafting job descriptions, finding the right people for those jobs, fairly compensating employees, and responding to performance issues. We also survey important employment laws and some best practices for creating a workplace that is safe and healthy for employees. Experts provide commentary and share their personal experiences relating to common HR issues.

Leading and Managing Small Businesses

Small business leaders are responsible for inspiring employees to do their part to bring about the organization's goals. Good leaders must have a vision of where the business is going, possess strong communication skills, and be able to bring out the best in the people they lead to make that vision a reality. While the fundamentals of leadership and management are the same in large and small business settings, one or two bad leaders can more quickly have a detrimental impact on a small business.

This course will prepare you to lead and manage employees in your organization, whether you are navigating through periods of change, growth, or stress. You will learn about some of the qualities and values shared by successful leaders, like decisiveness, adaptability, and humility, as well as common managerial challenges and techniques, strategies, and best practices to overcome those obstacles.

Small Business Management Final Exam (ACE CREDIT®)

This is the final exam course for this ACE CREDIT®-bearing bundle. This course is not available for individual sale.

Small Business Management Introduction Course (ACE CREDIT®)

This course introduces the learner to the topics covered in this course bundle, as well as the process for earning ACE CREDIT®.

This course has no prerequisites.

These courses are 100% online and self-paced. Instructors are available to help you through content areas by request.

Exam preparation training and study for this certification is approximately 30 Hours.

• PMI PDUs: 22
• Leadership PDUs: 9.75
• Strategic & Business Management PDUs: 7.25
• Technical PM PDUs: 5
• IACET CEUs: 3 (Contact Hours: 30 hours)
• HRCI Credits: 30 (Type: Specified - Strategic Business: 21, General: 9)
• SHRM PDCs: 30
• ACE Credit: 3 Credits

Learners must achieve an average test score of at least 70% to meet the minimum successful completion requirement and qualify to receive IACET CEUs.

Successful completion for the ACE CREDIT® designation is based on student performance on a final cumulative exam. The final exam is composed of 80 multiple-choice questions. Students will have 2.5 hours to complete the exam. The exam is proctored. For more information, please see the syllabus.

If students do not earn a passing score of 70% on their first attempt, they will have the opportunity to take the exam 2 additional times (3 total attempts). Students must wait 24 hours between exam retakes. A passing score of 70% of above is required to request college credit for this certificate.

• High quality online videos 

• Classroom study materials 

• Chapter tests 

• Study guides

• Exams