Entrepreneurship   

Learn how to create your very own blog and podcast using the tools that you already have available on your computer.

Blogging and Podcasting for Beginners will teach you how to plan and create your very own blog and podcast. Through hands-on exercises, you will discover the benefits of using free web tools like Blogger, WordPress, Audacity, and YouTube. You will find that creating a blog and podcast is much easier than you ever imagined.

First, you will learn how to develop a plan for the content, setup, maintenance, and how to use free blogging software like Blogger and WordPress to put that plan into action. After that, learn how to record a professional-sounding audio podcast with a very simple recording tool you already have. You will edit the file with another free software program, add music to it, and then post it online for others to enjoy. Finally, you will find out how to record a video podcast. You will edit it, add special effects, drop in a podcasting-safe music file, and then publish it online.

Requirements:

Hardware Requirements:

• This course can be taken on either a PC or Mac.
• Mac users should expect to make adjustments based on their operating system differences especially during the podcast portion of the course. In addition, Mac users will download different versions of audio editing software and video editing software that will differ from the directions presented in the course.

Software Requirements:

• PC: Windows 8 or later.
• Mac: macOS 10.6 or later.
• Browser: The latest version of Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox are preferred. Microsoft Edge and Safari are also compatible.
• You should expect to download free online programs including an audio editing program during the class in order to create a blog and podcast.
• Adobe Acrobat Reader.
• Software must be installed and fully operational before the course begins.

Other:

• Email capabilities and access to a personal email account.

Instructional Material Requirements:

The instructional materials required for this course are included in enrollment and will be available online.

Blogging and Podcasting are great ways to express yourself, but maybe you're not sure how to start. This course will teach you how to successfully plan and create your very own blog and podcast using hands-on exercises and free web tools.

Introduction

Welcome to the beginning of your blogging adventure! By course completion, you will know how to blog, produce your own audio and video podcasts, and how to market and promote your blog. In this first lesson, you will get acquainted with blogging terms, the parts of a blog, and the important differences between a blog and a website.

Blogging

It makes sense to give something a try before doing it yourself, right? This lesson will teach you how to participate in the blogosphere by commenting on a blog of your choosing. This lesson walks you through a series of questions to help you develop a sustainable plan for your blog's content, setup, and long-term maintenance.

Hosting and Software

This lesson explores your options for blogging software and hosting. You will learn about free online blog software options and work with two free blogging services, Blogger and WordPress. By the end of this lesson, your blog will be ready to go.

Appearance

Why settle for a cookie-cutter blog when you can create a custom blog look? In this lesson, you will pick the perfect image for your background and spice up your blog's header on your Blogger and WordPress blogs.

Privacy

In this lesson, you will get to decide who can read your blog. You will learn how to set your blog's privacy levels and comment field, in case you want to limit who can read or comment on your blog. Finally, this lesson teaches you how to add a few gadgets that help readers easily navigate your blog.

Styling

This lesson covers changing the font, color, and size of your text, and adding lists and links to enhance content and interactivity. You will also practice working with formatting tools to make your first post look great online.

Photos

You've mastered the process of formatting the text of your blog post, so now it's time to add some photos. After learning how to locate and incorporate appropriate images into your draft, create labels to categorize the content of your post. Next, learn the seven steps of promoting your blog, including how to utilize Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest as promotion tools.

Podcasts

It's time to explore the podcast. You will learn the podcasting terms needed to feel comfortable with this technology. This lesson introduces the PREP method of podcasting: planning your own podcast using an effective formula for developing content, setup, and maintenance.

Your First Audio Podcast

This lesson explores the minimum equipment needed to record your first audio podcast—as well as other equipment you may find of interest if you become a serious podcaster. And, after that, you will continue to follow the PREP method of podcasting by recording your first podcast using Audacity, a free audio recording program.

Editing and Publishing Audio Podcasts

This lesson focuses on the last two steps of the PREP method of podcasting: editing and publishing. You will learn how to cut out dead air and an unexpected sneeze, adjust the volume, and add effects so the sound fades in and out. Then, it will be time to publish your work.

Video Podcasts

Now that you know how to prepare, record, edit, and publish an audio podcast, doing the same for a video podcast is going to be a lot easier. In this lesson, you will learn the equipment you can use for video podcasting.

Editing Video Podcasts

It's time to fine-tune your video podcasting skills as well as your video podcast. In this final lesson, you will learn how to add transitions and video effects to your video file, trim unwanted portions out, and make audio enhancements.

What you will learn

• Develop a plan for the content, setup, and long-term maintenance of a blog
• Learn to use free blogging software like Blogger and WordPress to put that plan into action
• Learn how to record a professional-sounding audio podcast, edit the file with a free software program, add music to it, and then post it online for others to enjoy
• Find out how to successfully produce a video podcast with minimal equipment

How you will benefit

• Learn everything you need to create a professional-level blog or podcast
• Gain new career opportunities and/or a fun new hobby
• Gain a new skill set that you can put to use on personal, business, educational, or even political projects

Richard Mansfield is a best-selling author and widely recognized expert on computer programming. He holds a master's degree in English from the University of California, Santa Barbara. He has written numerous articles and columns on computer topics, and was the editor of Compute! Magazine. In addition, he has authored or co-authored 44 books, including the best sellers Machine Language for Beginners (Compute!) and The Visual Guide to Visual Basic (Ventana). His more recent titles include Creating Web Pages for Dummies (co-authored, Wiley), XML for Dummies: All-in-One Desktop Reference (co-authored, Wiley), Mastering VBA for Office 2019 (Sybex), and Programming: A Beginner's Guide (McGraw-Hill). Richard's books have sold more than 600,000 copies worldwide and have been translated into 12 languages.

Learn how to create your very own blog and podcast using the tools that you already have available on your computer.

Blogging and Podcasting for Beginners will teach you how to plan and create your very own blog and podcast. Through hands-on exercises, you will discover the benefits of using free web tools like Blogger, WordPress, Audacity, and YouTube. You will find that creating a blog and podcast is much easier than you ever imagined.

First, you will learn how to develop a plan for the content, setup, maintenance, and how to use free blogging software like Blogger and WordPress to put that plan into action. After that, learn how to record a professional-sounding audio podcast with a very simple recording tool you already have. You will edit the file with another free software program, add music to it, and then post it online for others to enjoy. Finally, you will find out how to record a video podcast. You will edit it, add special effects, drop in a podcasting-safe music file, and then publish it online.

Requirements:

Hardware Requirements:

• This course can be taken on either a PC or Mac.
• Mac users should expect to make adjustments based on their operating system differences especially during the podcast portion of the course. In addition, Mac users will download different versions of audio editing software and video editing software that will differ from the directions presented in the course.

Software Requirements:

• PC: Windows 8 or later.
• Mac: macOS 10.6 or later.
• Browser: The latest version of Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox are preferred. Microsoft Edge and Safari are also compatible.
• You should expect to download free online programs including an audio editing program during the class in order to create a blog and podcast.
• Adobe Acrobat Reader.
• Software must be installed and fully operational before the course begins.

Other:

• Email capabilities and access to a personal email account.

Instructional Material Requirements:

The instructional materials required for this course are included in enrollment and will be available online.

Blogging and Podcasting are great ways to express yourself, but maybe you're not sure how to start. This course will teach you how to successfully plan and create your very own blog and podcast using hands-on exercises and free web tools.

Introduction

Welcome to the beginning of your blogging adventure! By course completion, you will know how to blog, produce your own audio and video podcasts, and how to market and promote your blog. In this first lesson, you will get acquainted with blogging terms, the parts of a blog, and the important differences between a blog and a website.

Blogging

It makes sense to give something a try before doing it yourself, right? This lesson will teach you how to participate in the blogosphere by commenting on a blog of your choosing. This lesson walks you through a series of questions to help you develop a sustainable plan for your blog's content, setup, and long-term maintenance.

Hosting and Software

This lesson explores your options for blogging software and hosting. You will learn about free online blog software options and work with two free blogging services, Blogger and WordPress. By the end of this lesson, your blog will be ready to go.

Appearance

Why settle for a cookie-cutter blog when you can create a custom blog look? In this lesson, you will pick the perfect image for your background and spice up your blog's header on your Blogger and WordPress blogs.

Privacy

In this lesson, you will get to decide who can read your blog. You will learn how to set your blog's privacy levels and comment field, in case you want to limit who can read or comment on your blog. Finally, this lesson teaches you how to add a few gadgets that help readers easily navigate your blog.

Styling

This lesson covers changing the font, color, and size of your text, and adding lists and links to enhance content and interactivity. You will also practice working with formatting tools to make your first post look great online.

Photos

You've mastered the process of formatting the text of your blog post, so now it's time to add some photos. After learning how to locate and incorporate appropriate images into your draft, create labels to categorize the content of your post. Next, learn the seven steps of promoting your blog, including how to utilize Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest as promotion tools.

Podcasts

It's time to explore the podcast. You will learn the podcasting terms needed to feel comfortable with this technology. This lesson introduces the PREP method of podcasting: planning your own podcast using an effective formula for developing content, setup, and maintenance.

Your First Audio Podcast

This lesson explores the minimum equipment needed to record your first audio podcast—as well as other equipment you may find of interest if you become a serious podcaster. And, after that, you will continue to follow the PREP method of podcasting by recording your first podcast using Audacity, a free audio recording program.

Editing and Publishing Audio Podcasts

This lesson focuses on the last two steps of the PREP method of podcasting: editing and publishing. You will learn how to cut out dead air and an unexpected sneeze, adjust the volume, and add effects so the sound fades in and out. Then, it will be time to publish your work.

Video Podcasts

Now that you know how to prepare, record, edit, and publish an audio podcast, doing the same for a video podcast is going to be a lot easier. In this lesson, you will learn the equipment you can use for video podcasting.

Editing Video Podcasts

It's time to fine-tune your video podcasting skills as well as your video podcast. In this final lesson, you will learn how to add transitions and video effects to your video file, trim unwanted portions out, and make audio enhancements.

What you will learn

• Develop a plan for the content, setup, and long-term maintenance of a blog
• Learn to use free blogging software like Blogger and WordPress to put that plan into action
• Learn how to record a professional-sounding audio podcast, edit the file with a free software program, add music to it, and then post it online for others to enjoy
• Find out how to successfully produce a video podcast with minimal equipment

How you will benefit

• Learn everything you need to create a professional-level blog or podcast
• Gain new career opportunities and/or a fun new hobby
• Gain a new skill set that you can put to use on personal, business, educational, or even political projects

Richard Mansfield is a best-selling author and widely recognized expert on computer programming. He holds a master's degree in English from the University of California, Santa Barbara. He has written numerous articles and columns on computer topics, and was the editor of Compute! Magazine. In addition, he has authored or co-authored 44 books, including the best sellers Machine Language for Beginners (Compute!) and The Visual Guide to Visual Basic (Ventana). His more recent titles include Creating Web Pages for Dummies (co-authored, Wiley), XML for Dummies: All-in-One Desktop Reference (co-authored, Wiley), Mastering VBA for Office 2019 (Sybex), and Programming: A Beginner's Guide (McGraw-Hill). Richard's books have sold more than 600,000 copies worldwide and have been translated into 12 languages.

Learn how to create your very own blog and podcast using the tools that you already have available on your computer.

Blogging and Podcasting for Beginners will teach you how to plan and create you very own blog and podcast. Through hands-on exercises, you will discover the benefits of using free web tools like Blogger, WordPress, Audacity, and YouTube. You will find that creating a blog and podcast is much easier than you ever imagined.

First, you will learn how to develop a plan for the content, setup, maintenance, and how to use free blogging software like Blogger and WordPress to put that plan into action. After that, learn how to record a professional-sounding audio podcast with a very simple recording tool you already have. You will edit the file with another free software program, add music to it, and then post it online for others to enjoy. Finally, you will find out how to record a video podcast. You will edit it, add special effects, drop in a podcasting-safe music file, and then publish it online.

Requirements:

Hardware Requirements:

• This course can be taken on either a PC or Mac.
• Mac users should expect to make adjustments based on their operating system differences especially during the podcast portion of the course. In addition, Mac users will download different versions of audio editing software and video editing software that will differ from the directions presented in the course.

Software Requirements:

• PC: Windows 8 or later.
• Mac: macOS 10.6 or later.
• Browser: The latest version of Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox are preferred. Microsoft Edge and Safari are also compatible.
• You should expect to download free online programs including an audio editing program during the class in order to create a blog and podcast.
• Adobe Acrobat Reader.
• Software must be installed and fully operational before the course begins.

Other:

• Email capabilities and access to a personal email account.

Learn how to create your very own blog and podcast using the tools that you already have available on your computer.

Learn How to Blog, Produce Audio and Video Podcasts

Welcome to the beginning of your blogging adventure! By course completion, you will know how to blog, produce your own audio and video podcasts, and how to market and promote your blog. In this first lesson, you will get acquainted with blogging terms, the parts of a blog, and the important differences between a blog and a website.

Blog Content, Setup, and Long-term Maintenance

It makes sense to give something a try before doing it yourself, right? This lesson will teach you how to participate in the blogosphere by commenting on a blog of your choosing. This lesson walks you through a series of questions to help you develop a sustainable plan for your blog's content, setup, and long-term maintenance.

Blogging Software and Hosting

This lesson explores your options for blogging software and hosting. You will learn about free online blog software options and work with two free blogging services, Blogger and WordPress. By the end of this lesson, your blog will be ready to go.

Create Custom Blogs

Why settle for a cookie-cutter blog when you can create a custom blog look? In this lesson, you will pick the perfect image for your background and spice up your blog's header on your Blogger and WordPress blogs.

Learn How to Set up Blog Privacy Levels and Comment Fields

In this lesson, you will get to decide who can read your blog. You will learn how to set your blog's privacy levels and comment field, in case you want to limit who can read or comment on your blog. Finally, this lesson teaches you how to add a few gadgets that help readers easily navigate your blog.

Formatting Tools

This lesson covers changing the font, color, and size of your text, and adding lists and links to enhance content and interactivity. You will also practice working with formatting tools to make your first post look great online.

Adding Photos to Your Blog

You've mastered the process of formatting the text of your blog post, so now it's time to add some photos. After learning how to locate and incorporate appropriate images into your draft, create labels to categorize the content of your post. Next, learn the seven steps of promoting your blog, including how to utilize Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest as promotion tools.

Learn the PREP Method of Podcasting

It's time to explore the podcast. You will learn the podcasting terms needed to feel comfortable with this technology. This lesson introduces the PREP method of podcasting: planning your own podcast using our effective formula for developing content, setup, and maintenance.

Learn How to Record Your First Podcast

In this lesson explores the minimum equipment needed to record your first audio podcast—as well as other equipment you may find of interest if you become a serious podcaster. And, after that, you will continue to follow the PREP method of podcasting by recording your first podcast using Audacity, a free audio recording program.

Editing and Publishing

This lesson focuses on the last two steps of the PREP method of podcasting: editing and publishing. You will learn how to cut out dead air and an unexpected sneeze, adjust the volume, and add effects so the sound fades in and out. Then, it will be time to publish your work.

Video Podcasting

Now that you know how to prepare, record, edit, and publish an audio podcast, doing the same for a video podcast is going to be a lot easier. In this lesson, you will learn the equipment you can use for video podcasting.

Learn How to Add Transitions and Video Effects

It's time to fine-tune your video podcasting skills as well as your video podcast. In this final lesson, you will learn how to add transitions and video effects to your video file, trim unwanted portions out, and make audio enhancements.

Self-Study

Learn how to create your very own blog and podcast using the tools that you already have available on your computer.

Blogging and Podcasting for Beginners will teach you how to plan and create you very own blog and podcast. Through hands-on exercises, you will discover the benefits of using free web tools like Blogger, WordPress, Audacity, and YouTube. You will find that creating a blog and podcast is much easier than you ever imagined.

First, you will learn how to develop a plan for the content, setup, maintenance, and how to use free blogging software like Blogger and WordPress to put that plan into action. After that, learn how to record a professional-sounding audio podcast with a very simple recording tool you already have. You will edit the file with another free software program, add music to it, and then post it online for others to enjoy. Finally, you will find out how to record a video podcast. You will edit it, add special effects, drop in a podcasting-safe music file, and then publish it online.

Requirements:

Hardware Requirements:

• This course can be taken on either a PC or Mac.
• Mac users should expect to make adjustments based on their operating system differences especially during the podcast portion of the course. In addition, Mac users will download different versions of audio editing software and video editing software that will differ from the directions presented in the course.

Software Requirements:

• PC: Windows 8 or later.
• Mac: macOS 10.6 or later.
• Browser: The latest version of Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox are preferred. Microsoft Edge and Safari are also compatible.
• You should expect to download free online programs including an audio editing program during the class in order to create a blog and podcast.
• Adobe Acrobat Reader.
• Software must be installed and fully operational before the course begins.

Other:

• Email capabilities and access to a personal email account.

Learn how to create your very own blog and podcast using the tools that you already have available on your computer.

Learn How to Blog, Produce Audio and Video Podcasts

Welcome to the beginning of your blogging adventure! By course completion, you will know how to blog, produce your own audio and video podcasts, and how to market and promote your blog. In this first lesson, you will get acquainted with blogging terms, the parts of a blog, and the important differences between a blog and a website.

Blog Content, Setup, and Long-term Maintenance

It makes sense to give something a try before doing it yourself, right? This lesson will teach you how to participate in the blogosphere by commenting on a blog of your choosing. This lesson walks you through a series of questions to help you develop a sustainable plan for your blog's content, setup, and long-term maintenance.

Blogging Software and Hosting

This lesson explores your options for blogging software and hosting. You will learn about free online blog software options and work with two free blogging services, Blogger and WordPress. By the end of this lesson, your blog will be ready to go.

Create Custom Blogs

Why settle for a cookie-cutter blog when you can create a custom blog look? In this lesson, you will pick the perfect image for your background and spice up your blog's header on your Blogger and WordPress blogs.

Learn How to Set up Blog Privacy Levels and Comment Fields

In this lesson, you will get to decide who can read your blog. You will learn how to set your blog's privacy levels and comment field, in case you want to limit who can read or comment on your blog. Finally, this lesson teaches you how to add a few gadgets that help readers easily navigate your blog.

Formatting Tools

This lesson covers changing the font, color, and size of your text, and adding lists and links to enhance content and interactivity. You will also practice working with formatting tools to make your first post look great online.

Adding Photos to Your Blog

You've mastered the process of formatting the text of your blog post, so now it's time to add some photos. After learning how to locate and incorporate appropriate images into your draft, create labels to categorize the content of your post. Next, learn the seven steps of promoting your blog, including how to utilize Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest as promotion tools.

Learn the PREP Method of Podcasting

It's time to explore the podcast. You will learn the podcasting terms needed to feel comfortable with this technology. This lesson introduces the PREP method of podcasting: planning your own podcast using our effective formula for developing content, setup, and maintenance.

Learn How to Record Your First Podcast

In this lesson explores the minimum equipment needed to record your first audio podcast—as well as other equipment you may find of interest if you become a serious podcaster. And, after that, you will continue to follow the PREP method of podcasting by recording your first podcast using Audacity, a free audio recording program.

Editing and Publishing

This lesson focuses on the last two steps of the PREP method of podcasting: editing and publishing. You will learn how to cut out dead air and an unexpected sneeze, adjust the volume, and add effects so the sound fades in and out. Then, it will be time to publish your work.

Video Podcasting

Now that you know how to prepare, record, edit, and publish an audio podcast, doing the same for a video podcast is going to be a lot easier. In this lesson, you will learn the equipment you can use for video podcasting.

Learn How to Add Transitions and Video Effects

It's time to fine-tune your video podcasting skills as well as your video podcast. In this final lesson, you will learn how to add transitions and video effects to your video file, trim unwanted portions out, and make audio enhancements.

Self-Study

Write great marketing copy to improve your company's image and your chances of getting hired or promoted.

Are you a writer working in the business world? Or a marketing professional responsible for obtaining great marketing copy? Maybe you're just interested in a writing or marketing career. Whatever your background, this fun, introductory course will teach you to write or identify copy that achieves business and marketing goals. Improve your work, your knowledge, your company's image, and your chances of getting hired, promoted or applauded!

Using clear explanations, real-life examples, and an animated style, the course solidifies the relationship between business, marketing principles, and written communications. You will learn how business and marketing objectives affect writing choices. You'll get practical writing instruction in grammar, clarity, structure and more. You'll understand issues unique to this discipline, such as buzzwords, working with a team, and marketing ethics. This course will help you understand the power of writing and use it to present a solid, cohesive message to your target audience.

Requirements:

Hardware Requirements:

• This course can be taken on either a PC or Mac.

Software Requirements:

• PC: Windows 8 or later.
• Mac: macOS 10.6 or later.
• Browser: The latest version of Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox are preferred. Microsoft Edge and Safari are also compatible.
• Adobe Acrobat Reader.
• Software must be installed and fully operational before the course begins.

Other:

• Email capabilities and access to a personal email account.

Instructional Material Requirements:

The instructional materials required for this course are included in enrollment and will be available online.

Expand your writing skills and learn to create copy that achieves business and marketing goals. This course will help you use the power of writing to present a solid, cohesive message to your target audience and improve your chances of getting hired or promoted.

The Role of Business and Marketing Writing

The first lesson starts off with a discussion about the purpose of marketing and the goals of writing, and then talks about the unique roles, responsibilities, and challenges of business and marketing writing. You'll learn exactly what business and marketing writers do as you begin exploring this exciting field.

The Ins and Outs of Image

Before you can write or recognize successful copy, you'll need to understand your corporate identity: who the company is and what the company offers. In this lesson, you'll delve into all the aspects of corporate image that writers and marketing professionals need to ponder before producing effective projects.

Writing Approaches and Strategies

Now that you understand image, what can you do with it? In this lesson, you'll analyze business and marketing goals—and the needs of your audience—to figure out the appropriate writing style for any project.

Media

It's a creative field, but certain projects require certain conventions. In this lesson, you'll see how a particular medium or project type can guide your writing style and approach, helping you save time and stay on target.

Putting It All Together: Writing Project

This lesson will gather up the information you explored in the previous four lessons and put it all together. It will illustrate how to apply everything you've learned so far as you develop an original writing project from start to finish.

Complete and Incomplete Sentences

Do you need to write in complete sentences? What is a complete sentence, anyway? This lesson will give you a brief refresher on sentence construction and then go over some guidelines for using fragments in business writing. You'll also learn to recognize and fix one of the most common errors in modern writing: the comma splice.

Word Choices

You can't write without words! In this lesson, you'll learn to make accurate word choices. The lesson will discuss the level of vocabulary appropriate for business writing and show you how to choose words that reinforce a project's theme. It'll also clarify some tricky word pairs and discuss word-choice problems whose usage can undermine the professionalism of your writing.

Internal Communication

In this lesson, you'll take a critical look at the inside of a company. First, you'll see how to develop "marketing" projects for audiences within a company. Then you'll explore the roles of the various specialists who contribute to a single marketing piece—bosses, clients, editors, junior writers, artists, and designers. You'll learn how to work with all of them to create smoother relationships and better projects.

Banishing the Bureaucracy

For even the most experienced writers, bureaucratic influences can creep in to reduce creativity and impede communication. In this lesson, you'll take a look at buzzwords and jargon, and then explore some ways to achieve maximum power and effectiveness by keeping your writing clear, concise, and active.

Editing, Proofreading and Evaluating

In this lesson, you'll explore the final steps. You'll learn to enhance and refine business and marketing projects during the editing and proofreading processes. You'll also learn to evaluate finished pieces and even test their effectiveness in the real world!

Putting It All Together: Editing Project

In this lesson, you'll once again be putting it all together, but this time as an editor. You'll apply everything you've learned so far in the course, editing a project from beginning to end.

Marketing Ethics

Marketing involves images, and it's easy to lose sight of the truth. In the final lesson of the course, you'll go over some important considerations that marketing professionals need to think about.

What you will learn

• Learn how to communicate marketing and business goals in your writing
• Discover the best way to align written communication with a corporate identity
• Examine methods for writing with purpose and developing a cohesive message for a target audience
• Learn how grammatical and stylistic choices can augment business and marketing strategies

How you will benefit

• Learn to communicate effectively and express your values to a target audience
• Gain confidence in your ability to reach and affect people with your writing
• Open the door to new career opportunities as you gain invaluable skills in the fundamentals of business and marketing communication

Lisa Adams is a web development expert specializing in marketing, user experience, and e-commerce. In addition to building and maintaining hundreds of websites, Lisa has helped a wide variety of clients and students to create their own sites and modify existing ones to make them more attractive and user-friendly.

Write great marketing copy to improve your company's image and your chances of getting hired or promoted.

Are you a writer working in the business world? Or a marketing professional responsible for obtaining great marketing copy? Maybe you're just interested in a writing or marketing career. Whatever your background, this fun, introductory course will teach you to write or identify copy that achieves business and marketing goals. Improve your work, your knowledge, your company's image, and your chances of getting hired, promoted or applauded!

Using clear explanations, real-life examples, and an animated style, the course solidifies the relationship between business, marketing principles, and written communications. You will learn how business and marketing objectives affect writing choices. You'll get practical writing instruction in grammar, clarity, structure and more. You'll understand issues unique to this discipline, such as buzzwords, working with a team, and marketing ethics. This course will help you understand the power of writing and use it to present a solid, cohesive message to your target audience.

Requirements:

Hardware Requirements:

• This course can be taken on either a PC or Mac.

Software Requirements:

• PC: Windows 8 or later.
• Mac: macOS 10.6 or later.
• Browser: The latest version of Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox are preferred. Microsoft Edge and Safari are also compatible.
• Adobe Acrobat Reader.
• Software must be installed and fully operational before the course begins.

Other:

• Email capabilities and access to a personal email account.

Instructional Material Requirements:

The instructional materials required for this course are included in enrollment and will be available online.

Expand your writing skills and learn to create copy that achieves business and marketing goals. This course will help you use the power of writing to present a solid, cohesive message to your target audience and improve your chances of getting hired or promoted.

The Role of Business and Marketing Writing

The first lesson starts off with a discussion about the purpose of marketing and the goals of writing, and then talks about the unique roles, responsibilities, and challenges of business and marketing writing. You'll learn exactly what business and marketing writers do as you begin exploring this exciting field.

The Ins and Outs of Image

Before you can write or recognize successful copy, you'll need to understand your corporate identity: who the company is and what the company offers. In this lesson, you'll delve into all the aspects of corporate image that writers and marketing professionals need to ponder before producing effective projects.

Writing Approaches and Strategies

Now that you understand image, what can you do with it? In this lesson, you'll analyze business and marketing goals—and the needs of your audience—to figure out the appropriate writing style for any project.

Media

It's a creative field, but certain projects require certain conventions. In this lesson, you'll see how a particular medium or project type can guide your writing style and approach, helping you save time and stay on target.

Putting It All Together: Writing Project

This lesson will gather up the information you explored in the previous four lessons and put it all together. It will illustrate how to apply everything you've learned so far as you develop an original writing project from start to finish.

Complete and Incomplete Sentences

Do you need to write in complete sentences? What is a complete sentence, anyway? This lesson will give you a brief refresher on sentence construction and then go over some guidelines for using fragments in business writing. You'll also learn to recognize and fix one of the most common errors in modern writing: the comma splice.

Word Choices

You can't write without words! In this lesson, you'll learn to make accurate word choices. The lesson will discuss the level of vocabulary appropriate for business writing and show you how to choose words that reinforce a project's theme. It'll also clarify some tricky word pairs and discuss word-choice problems whose usage can undermine the professionalism of your writing.

Internal Communication

In this lesson, you'll take a critical look at the inside of a company. First, you'll see how to develop "marketing" projects for audiences within a company. Then you'll explore the roles of the various specialists who contribute to a single marketing piece—bosses, clients, editors, junior writers, artists, and designers. You'll learn how to work with all of them to create smoother relationships and better projects.

Banishing the Bureaucracy

For even the most experienced writers, bureaucratic influences can creep in to reduce creativity and impede communication. In this lesson, you'll take a look at buzzwords and jargon, and then explore some ways to achieve maximum power and effectiveness by keeping your writing clear, concise, and active.

Editing, Proofreading and Evaluating

In this lesson, you'll explore the final steps. You'll learn to enhance and refine business and marketing projects during the editing and proofreading processes. You'll also learn to evaluate finished pieces and even test their effectiveness in the real world!

Putting It All Together: Editing Project

In this lesson, you'll once again be putting it all together, but this time as an editor. You'll apply everything you've learned so far in the course, editing a project from beginning to end.

Marketing Ethics

Marketing involves images, and it's easy to lose sight of the truth. In the final lesson of the course, you'll go over some important considerations that marketing professionals need to think about.

What you will learn

• Learn how to communicate marketing and business goals in your writing
• Discover the best way to align written communication with a corporate identity
• Examine methods for writing with purpose and developing a cohesive message for a target audience
• Learn how grammatical and stylistic choices can augment business and marketing strategies

How you will benefit

• Learn to communicate effectively and express your values to a target audience
• Gain confidence in your ability to reach and affect people with your writing
• Open the door to new career opportunities as you gain invaluable skills in the fundamentals of business and marketing communication

Lisa Adams is a web development expert specializing in marketing, user experience, and e-commerce. In addition to building and maintaining hundreds of websites, Lisa has helped a wide variety of clients and students to create their own sites and modify existing ones to make them more attractive and user-friendly.

This course will introduce different strategies employed during the budgeting process, the techniques and tools commonly used to make budgeting forecasts, the components of a basic operating budget, and how businesses make certain decisions that may impact their budgeted amounts.

If the idea of creating a budget for your business, department, or project seems overwhelming, this course will alleviate all of those fears. Taught in an approachable and relatable format, this course walks you through the budgeting process so you can go from numbers averse to budgeting super-hero. The downloadable templates included in the course allow you to easily and quickly take what you learn and apply it to your job. The storytelling used throughout the course makes the topic more approachable and engaging so you can obtain the soft skills that will help you be successful implementing and tracking a budget in the real world. Finally, the course challenge is something that will pique your curiosity at the beginning of the course and provide motivation to complete the course and continue learning the material.

A company's budgeting process involves a lot more than just rows and columns of numbers on a spreadsheet. The reality is that budgeting is a sometimes organic and sometimes organized process. Most often, it's an equal mix of both in an attempt to add some level of certainty to an uncertain future. These processes are what we are going to explore in this course. You will be introduced to different strategies employed during the budgeting process, the techniques and tools that are commonly used to make budgeting forecasts, the components of a basic operating budget, and how businesses make certain decisions that may impact their budgeted amounts.

Requirements:

Hardware Requirements:

• This course can be taken on either a PC or Mac.

Software Requirements:

• PC: Windows 8 or later.
• Mac: macOS 10.6 or later.
• Browser: The latest version of Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox is preferred. Microsoft Edge and Safari are also compatible.
• Adobe Acrobat Reader.
• Software must be installed and fully operational before the course begins.

Other:

• Email capabilities and access to a personal email account.

Instructional Material Requirements:

The instructional materials required for this course are included in enrollment and will be available online.

In this comprehensive, beginner-friendly course, you will learn the elementary skills needed to be successful in the budgeting process and work gradually work your way up to creating a budget. You will also discover how to best evaluate the results of your budget and make decisions to help your business maximize its profits.

Predicting the Future

In our first lesson, you'll explore how budgeting at its core is a process of looking forward. It's about making informed predictions about the future. Next, you'll see how a company's vision can lead to setting goals for the company. These visions are often aspirational and state the path for where the company plans to go in the future. Then, we'll also start the conversation about the human side of budgeting.

Budget Strategies

In this lesson, you'll begin to look at various budgeting strategies, including strategic, capital, and operations budgeting techniques. The lesson will include some real-life examples of planning activities, and to further bring these concepts to life, you'll work with a fictional company, Curly's Pool Service and Supplies, by helping Curly formulate some plans and budgets!

It's All About Sales!

This lesson will focus all on sales, specifically the role that sales play in the budgeting process. We'll examine the best practices for compiling a sales forecast and how to increase the chances that the sales forecast will actually mimic real life. We'll also discover how to create an inventory that needs a budget to determine just how much inventory to purchase based on a sales forecast. Finally, we'll discuss how to formulate a labor requirements budget to accurately project just how much labor you may need to employ to meet the needs of the company, again based on the sales forecast.

Cost Behavior – Part 1

In this lesson, we are going to detour a bit from the actual preparation of a budget and dive into how certain types of costs behave. Understanding how costs increase or decrease relative to an activity is an essential part of learning how to accurately budget for costs in a business. So, in the upcoming chapters, you're going to discover how to distinguish between variable, fixed, and mixed costs. We will use these cost types to calculate the contribution margin for the business. Then, we will show you how to use contribution margin to make certain predictions and decisions in a business. Most notably, you'll see how to use contribution margin to calculate the all-important break-even point and margin of safety for a business.

Cost Behavior – Part 2

This lesson will be a continuation of the discussion about cost behavior. In the lesson, you'll explore how to evaluate a company's sales mix and how to calculate operating leverage using tools given throughout the course. Operating leverage is just another key component of cost analysis that will allow you to, once again, easily make projections about the future. We'll end the lesson with a discussion about how companies set prices for the products and services they offer. You can probably guess that this process is a bit more involved than just selecting a price out of thin air. It's actually an essential part of a company's overall budgeting process and should not be taken lightly.

Expense and Manufacturing Production Budgets

In this lesson, we'll examine the steps needed to build both a direct materials budget and a direct labor budget. We'll also examine how a manufacturing company budgets for manufacturing overhead. All of these components are key to developing an overall production budget for a business that manufactures a product. Finally, we will end this lesson by describing the components of a production budget.

Cash Is King!

In this lesson, we'll discuss how to prepare a complete cash budget for a business. You'll get the chance to take an even closer look at how a company might forecast cash collections from credit sales and cash payments on credit purchases for big-ticket items like inventory or other expensive capital projects. We'll even take a look at how some companies mitigate the risk of running out of cash by utilizing lines of credit and other sources of cash instead of just relying on cash generated from sales.

Capital Budgeting

In this lesson, you'll learn some of the basic methodologies that can be applied in many different capital budgeting scenarios. The lesson will begin with an explanation of a technique that does not include an evaluation of how time impacts the valuation of money. Then, you'll learn how the passage of time and its impact on the value of a dollar is incorporated into capital budgeting decisions. Since capital projects often span years, or even decades in some cases, the time value of money is key to improving accuracy in budgeting for capital projects. The lesson will finish up with a thorough review of, perhaps, the most common technique that is used in capital budgeting decisions: net present value.

Business Decision-Making – Part 1

In this lesson and the one that follows, we're going to explore how businesses use budgeted data in combination with a formalized decision-making process to improve their chances of making better decisions. For a business, a better decision is one that maximizes profit and aligns with the company's goals and values. We'll start with an examination of what types of budgeted information are relevant to making a decision and what types of information you can ignore. You'll see the differences between quantitative and qualitative information and how each can be used to improve decision-making. Then we'll finish up with an example including some specific steps you can use as a model for making better decisions.

Business Decision-Making – Part 2

In this lesson, you'll continue to practice with these same techniques by applying them to a few other common business decisions. You'll start by examining how a business uses budgeted information to make the choice to replace an existing asset with a new asset, such as replacing an old piece of manufacturing equipment with a brand-new one. Next, you'll explore how a business might use budgeted information when deciding whether to eliminate a product or service that it offers. We'll finish up the lesson by examining one of the most critical business decisions you'll ever need to make: how to allocate your most scarce resource to maximize profit in your business.

Bringing It All Together

In this lesson and the one that follows, we will focus on how best to evaluate the financial stability and performance of the business using budgeted information. We'll start by taking a close look at using the components of a company's operating budget to compile the pro forma balance sheet. Next, we'll examine the steps needed to prepare the pro forma income statement, again by using the information found in many of the other operating budget components. To finish up the lesson, we'll dive into some straightforward techniques that are useful to evaluate the balances found on the pro forma balance sheet and income statements.

Evaluation, Control, and Methods

In our last lesson, we'll spend more time on the budget evaluation process by examining how companies use variance analysis to evaluate differences between actual results and the budget. To keep things manageable, we'll stick to the basics here so that you're equipped with some tools to take with you when applying these techniques in a real company. As part of this process, we'll take a look at how budget variances are defined and interpreted. Then, we'll discuss some techniques like flexible budgeting to evaluate and isolate certain budget fluctuations in a way that provides clarity to a business owner or manager. We'll finish up the lesson with a brief discussion of the budgetary control process and the soft skills needed for this process.

What you will learn

• Learn about planning strategies and how they are used to keep a budget aligned with its vision
• Obtain knowledge of cost behavior and how forecasts are used to ensure accuracy in future planning and budgeting
• Develop various approaches to plan for general and administrative expenses
• Gain tools and techniques used for a formal decision-making process
• Master how best to evaluate the financial stability and performance of a business using budgeted information

How you will benefit

• Learning how businesses think about budgeting will help you to make informed predictions about the future with strategic planning
• Become more valuable to your employer or business by accurately budgeting costs
• Make better business decisions with the knowledge about how businesses use budgeted data in combination with a formalized decision-making process
• Increase success in your career with the skills, techniques, and tool kit provided by this course

Scott Paxton is a Certified Public Accountant and holds master's degrees in business administration and accounting. His background includes experience as a public accountant, a manager in the banking industry, an entrepreneur and a college business instructor. Paxton has also spent much of his career helping small business owners successfully optimize their business operations, budgets and strategic plans.

This course will introduce different strategies employed during the budgeting process, the techniques and tools commonly used to make budgeting forecasts, the components of a basic operating budget, and how businesses make certain decisions that may impact their budgeted amounts.

If the idea of creating a budget for your business, department, or project seems overwhelming, this course will alleviate all of those fears. Taught in an approachable and relatable format, this course walks you through the budgeting process so you can go from numbers averse to budgeting super-hero. The downloadable templates included in the course allow you to easily and quickly take what you learn and apply it to your job. The storytelling used throughout the course makes the topic more approachable and engaging so you can obtain the soft skills that will help you be successful implementing and tracking a budget in the real world. Finally, the course challenge is something that will pique your curiosity at the beginning of the course and provide motivation to complete the course and continue learning the material.

A company's budgeting process involves a lot more than just rows and columns of numbers on a spreadsheet. The reality is that budgeting is a sometimes organic and sometimes organized process. Most often, it's an equal mix of both in an attempt to add some level of certainty to an uncertain future. These processes are what we are going to explore in this course. You will be introduced to different strategies employed during the budgeting process, the techniques and tools that are commonly used to make budgeting forecasts, the components of a basic operating budget, and how businesses make certain decisions that may impact their budgeted amounts.

Requirements:

Hardware Requirements:

• This course can be taken on either a PC or Mac.

Software Requirements:

• PC: Windows 8 or later.
• Mac: macOS 10.6 or later.
• Browser: The latest version of Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox is preferred. Microsoft Edge and Safari are also compatible.
• Adobe Acrobat Reader.
• Software must be installed and fully operational before the course begins.

Other:

• Email capabilities and access to a personal email account.

Instructional Material Requirements:

The instructional materials required for this course are included in enrollment and will be available online.

In this comprehensive, beginner-friendly course, you will learn the elementary skills needed to be successful in the budgeting process and work gradually work your way up to creating a budget. You will also discover how to best evaluate the results of your budget and make decisions to help your business maximize its profits.

Predicting the Future

In our first lesson, you'll explore how budgeting at its core is a process of looking forward. It's about making informed predictions about the future. Next, you'll see how a company's vision can lead to setting goals for the company. These visions are often aspirational and state the path for where the company plans to go in the future. Then, we'll also start the conversation about the human side of budgeting.

Budget Strategies

In this lesson, you'll begin to look at various budgeting strategies, including strategic, capital, and operations budgeting techniques. The lesson will include some real-life examples of planning activities, and to further bring these concepts to life, you'll work with a fictional company, Curly's Pool Service and Supplies, by helping Curly formulate some plans and budgets!

It's All About Sales!

This lesson will focus all on sales, specifically the role that sales play in the budgeting process. We'll examine the best practices for compiling a sales forecast and how to increase the chances that the sales forecast will actually mimic real life. We'll also discover how to create an inventory that needs a budget to determine just how much inventory to purchase based on a sales forecast. Finally, we'll discuss how to formulate a labor requirements budget to accurately project just how much labor you may need to employ to meet the needs of the company, again based on the sales forecast.

Cost Behavior – Part 1

In this lesson, we are going to detour a bit from the actual preparation of a budget and dive into how certain types of costs behave. Understanding how costs increase or decrease relative to an activity is an essential part of learning how to accurately budget for costs in a business. So, in the upcoming chapters, you're going to discover how to distinguish between variable, fixed, and mixed costs. We will use these cost types to calculate the contribution margin for the business. Then, we will show you how to use contribution margin to make certain predictions and decisions in a business. Most notably, you'll see how to use contribution margin to calculate the all-important break-even point and margin of safety for a business.

Cost Behavior – Part 2

This lesson will be a continuation of the discussion about cost behavior. In the lesson, you'll explore how to evaluate a company's sales mix and how to calculate operating leverage using tools given throughout the course. Operating leverage is just another key component of cost analysis that will allow you to, once again, easily make projections about the future. We'll end the lesson with a discussion about how companies set prices for the products and services they offer. You can probably guess that this process is a bit more involved than just selecting a price out of thin air. It's actually an essential part of a company's overall budgeting process and should not be taken lightly.

Expense and Manufacturing Production Budgets

In this lesson, we'll examine the steps needed to build both a direct materials budget and a direct labor budget. We'll also examine how a manufacturing company budgets for manufacturing overhead. All of these components are key to developing an overall production budget for a business that manufactures a product. Finally, we will end this lesson by describing the components of a production budget.

Cash Is King!

In this lesson, we'll discuss how to prepare a complete cash budget for a business. You'll get the chance to take an even closer look at how a company might forecast cash collections from credit sales and cash payments on credit purchases for big-ticket items like inventory or other expensive capital projects. We'll even take a look at how some companies mitigate the risk of running out of cash by utilizing lines of credit and other sources of cash instead of just relying on cash generated from sales.

Capital Budgeting

In this lesson, you'll learn some of the basic methodologies that can be applied in many different capital budgeting scenarios. The lesson will begin with an explanation of a technique that does not include an evaluation of how time impacts the valuation of money. Then, you'll learn how the passage of time and its impact on the value of a dollar is incorporated into capital budgeting decisions. Since capital projects often span years, or even decades in some cases, the time value of money is key to improving accuracy in budgeting for capital projects. The lesson will finish up with a thorough review of, perhaps, the most common technique that is used in capital budgeting decisions: net present value.

Business Decision-Making – Part 1

In this lesson and the one that follows, we're going to explore how businesses use budgeted data in combination with a formalized decision-making process to improve their chances of making better decisions. For a business, a better decision is one that maximizes profit and aligns with the company's goals and values. We'll start with an examination of what types of budgeted information are relevant to making a decision and what types of information you can ignore. You'll see the differences between quantitative and qualitative information and how each can be used to improve decision-making. Then we'll finish up with an example including some specific steps you can use as a model for making better decisions.

Business Decision-Making – Part 2

In this lesson, you'll continue to practice with these same techniques by applying them to a few other common business decisions. You'll start by examining how a business uses budgeted information to make the choice to replace an existing asset with a new asset, such as replacing an old piece of manufacturing equipment with a brand-new one. Next, you'll explore how a business might use budgeted information when deciding whether to eliminate a product or service that it offers. We'll finish up the lesson by examining one of the most critical business decisions you'll ever need to make: how to allocate your most scarce resource to maximize profit in your business.

Bringing It All Together

In this lesson and the one that follows, we will focus on how best to evaluate the financial stability and performance of the business using budgeted information. We'll start by taking a close look at using the components of a company's operating budget to compile the pro forma balance sheet. Next, we'll examine the steps needed to prepare the pro forma income statement, again by using the information found in many of the other operating budget components. To finish up the lesson, we'll dive into some straightforward techniques that are useful to evaluate the balances found on the pro forma balance sheet and income statements.

Evaluation, Control, and Methods

In our last lesson, we'll spend more time on the budget evaluation process by examining how companies use variance analysis to evaluate differences between actual results and the budget. To keep things manageable, we'll stick to the basics here so that you're equipped with some tools to take with you when applying these techniques in a real company. As part of this process, we'll take a look at how budget variances are defined and interpreted. Then, we'll discuss some techniques like flexible budgeting to evaluate and isolate certain budget fluctuations in a way that provides clarity to a business owner or manager. We'll finish up the lesson with a brief discussion of the budgetary control process and the soft skills needed for this process.

What you will learn

• Learn about planning strategies and how they are used to keep a budget aligned with its vision
• Obtain knowledge of cost behavior and how forecasts are used to ensure accuracy in future planning and budgeting
• Develop various approaches to plan for general and administrative expenses
• Gain tools and techniques used for a formal decision-making process
• Master how best to evaluate the financial stability and performance of a business using budgeted information

How you will benefit

• Learning how businesses think about budgeting will help you to make informed predictions about the future with strategic planning
• Become more valuable to your employer or business by accurately budgeting costs
• Make better business decisions with the knowledge about how businesses use budgeted data in combination with a formalized decision-making process
• Increase success in your career with the skills, techniques, and tool kit provided by this course

Scott Paxton is a Certified Public Accountant and holds master's degrees in business administration and accounting. His background includes experience as a public accountant, a manager in the banking industry, an entrepreneur and a college business instructor. Paxton has also spent much of his career helping small business owners successfully optimize their business operations, budgets and strategic plans.

This course will introduce different strategies employed during the budgeting process, the techniques and tools commonly used to make budgeting forecasts, the components of a basic operating budget, and how businesses make certain decisions that may impact their budgeted amounts.

If the idea of creating a budget for your business, department, or project seems overwhelming, this course will alleviate all of those fears. Taught in an approachable and relatable format, this course walks you through the budgeting process so you can go from numbers averse to budgeting super-hero. The downloadable templates included in the course allow you to easily and quickly take what you learn and apply it to your job. The storytelling used throughout the course makes the topic more approachable and engaging so you can obtain the soft skills that will help you be successful implementing and tracking a budget in the real world. And finally, the course challenge is something that will pique your curiosity at the beginning of the course and provide motivation to complete the course and continue learning the material.

A company's budgeting process involves a lot more than just rows and columns of numbers on a spreadsheet. The reality is that budgeting is a sometimes organic and sometimes organized process. Most often, it's an equal mix of both in an attempt to add some level of certainty to an uncertain future. These processes are what we are going to explore in this course. You will be introduced to different strategies employed during the budgeting process, the techniques and tools that are commonly used to make budgeting forecasts, the components of a basic operating budget, and how businesses make certain decisions that may impact their budgeted amounts.

Requirements:

Hardware Requirements:

• This course can be taken on either a PC or Mac.

Software Requirements:

• PC: Windows 8 or later.
• Mac: macOS 10.6 or later.
• Browser: The latest version of Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox is preferred. Microsoft Edge and Safari are also compatible.
• Adobe Acrobat Reader.
• Software must be installed and fully operational before the course begins.

Other:

• Email capabilities and access to a personal email account.

Instructional Material Requirements:

The instructional materials required for this course are included in enrollment and will be available online.

In this comprehensive, beginner-friendly course, you will learn the elementary skills needed to be successful in the budgeting process and work gradually work your way up to creating a budget. You will also discover how to best evaluate the results of your budget and make decisions to help your business maximize its profits.

Predicting the Future

In this lesson, you'll explore how budgeting at its core is a process of looking forward. It's about making informed predictions about the future. Next, you'll see how a company's vision can lead to setting goals for the company. These visions are often aspirational and state the path for where the company plans to go in the future. Then, we'll also start the conversation about the human side of budgeting.

Budget Strategies

In this lesson, you'll begin to look at various budgeting strategies, including strategic, capital, and operations budgeting techniques. This lesson will include some real-life examples of planning activities, but to further bring these concepts to life, we'll also highlight a fictional company, Curly's Pool Service and Supplies. You'll finish the lesson by helping Curly formulate some plans and budgets!

It's All About Sales!

This lesson will focus all on sales, specifically the role that sales play in the budgeting process. We'll examine the best practices for compiling a sales forecast and how to increase the chances that the sales forecast will actually mimic real life. We'll also discover how to create an inventory needs budget to determine just how much inventory to purchase based on a sales forecast. Finally, we'll discuss how to formulate a labor requirements budget to accurately project just how much labor you may need to employ to meet the needs of the company, again based on the sales forecast.

Cost Behavior – Part 1

In this lesson, you are going to detour a bit from the actual preparation of a budget and dive into how certain types of costs behave. Understanding how costs increase or decrease relative to an activity is an essential part of learning how to accurately budget for costs in a business. So, in the upcoming chapters, you're going to discover how to distinguish between variable, fixed, and mixed costs. We will use these cost types to calculate the contribution margin for the business. Then, we will show you how to use contribution margin to make certain predictions and decisions in a business. Most notably, you'll see how to use contribution margin to calculate the all-important break-even point and margin of safety for a business.

Cost Behavior – Part 2

This lesson will be a continuation of our discussion about cost behavior. In this lesson, you're going to explore how to evaluate a company's sales mix and how to calculate operating leverage using tools given throughout the course. Operating leverage is just another key component of cost analysis that will allow you to, once again, easily make projections about the future. We'll end the lesson with a discussion about how companies set prices for the products and services they offer. You can probably guess that this process is a bit more involved than just selecting a price out of thin air. It's actually an essential part of a company's overall budgeting process and should not be taken lightly.

Expense and Manufacturing Production Budgets

In this lesson, we'll examine the steps needed to build both a direct materials budget and a direct labor budget. We'll also examine how a manufacturing company budgets for manufacturing overhead. All of these components are key to developing an overall production budget for a business that manufactures a product. Finally, we will end this lesson by describing the components of a production budget.

Cash Is King!

In this lesson, you'll learn how to prepare a complete cash budget for a business. You'll get the chance to take an even closer look at how a company might forecast cash collections from credit sales and cash payments on credit purchases for big-ticket items like inventory or other expensive capital projects. We'll even take a look at how some companies mitigate the risk of running out of cash by utilizing lines of credit and other sources of cash instead of just relying on cash generated from sales.

Capital Budgeting

In this lesson, you'll learn some of the basic methodologies that can be applied in many different capital budgeting scenarios. We'll begin with an explanation of a technique that does not include an evaluation of how time impacts the valuation of money. Then, you'll learn how the passage of time and its impact on the value of a dollar is incorporated into capital budgeting decisions. Since capital projects often span years, or even decades in some cases, the time value of money is key to improving accuracy in budgeting for capital projects. The lesson will finish up with a thorough review of, perhaps, the most common technique that is used in capital budgeting decisions: net present value.

Business Decision-Making – Part 1

In this lesson and the one that follows, we're going to explore how businesses use budgeted data in combination with a formalized decision-making process to improve their chances of making better decisions. For a business, a better decision is one that maximizes profit and aligns with the company's goals and values. We'll start with an examination of what types of budgeted information are relevant to making a decision and what types of information you can ignore. You'll see the differences between quantitative and qualitative information and how each can be used to improve decision-making. Then we'll finish up with an example including some specific steps you can use as a model for making better decisions.

Business Decision-Making – Part 2

In this lesson, you'll continue to practice with these same techniques by applying them to a few other common business decisions. You'll start by examining how a business uses budgeted information to make the choice to replace an existing asset with a new asset, such as replacing an old piece of manufacturing equipment with a brand-new one. Next, you'll explore how a business might use budgeted information when deciding whether to eliminate a product or service that it offers. We'll finish up the lesson by examining one of the most critical business decisions you'll ever need to make: how to allocate your most scarce resource to maximize profit in your business.

Bringing It All Together

In this lesson and the one that follows, we will focus on how best to evaluate the financial stability and performance of the business using budgeted information. We'll start by taking a close look at using the components of a company's operating budget to compile the pro forma balance sheet. Next, we'll examine the steps needed to prepare the pro forma income statement, again by using the information found in many of the other operating budget components. To finish up the lesson, we'll dive into some straightforward techniques that are useful to evaluate the balances found on the pro forma balance sheet and income statements.

Evaluation, Control, and Methods

In this lesson, you'll spend more time on the budget evaluation process by examining how companies use variance analysis to evaluate differences between actual results and the budget. To keep things manageable, we'll stick to the basics here so that you're equipped with some tools to take with you when applying these techniques in a real company. As part of this process, we'll take a look at how budget variances are defined and interpreted. Then, we'll discuss some techniques like flexible budgeting to evaluate and isolate certain budget fluctuations in a way that provides clarity to a business owner or manager. We'll finish up the lesson with a brief discussion of the budgetary control process and the soft skills needed for this process.

Self-Study

This course will introduce different strategies employed during the budgeting process, the techniques and tools commonly used to make budgeting forecasts, the components of a basic operating budget, and how businesses make certain decisions that may impact their budgeted amounts.

If the idea of creating a budget for your business, department, or project seems overwhelming, this course will alleviate all of those fears. Taught in an approachable and relatable format, this course walks you through the budgeting process so you can go from numbers averse to budgeting super-hero. The downloadable templates included in the course allow you to easily and quickly take what you learn and apply it to your job. The storytelling used throughout the course makes the topic more approachable and engaging so you can obtain the soft skills that will help you be successful implementing and tracking a budget in the real world. And finally, the course challenge is something that will pique your curiosity at the beginning of the course and provide motivation to complete the course and continue learning the material.

A company's budgeting process involves a lot more than just rows and columns of numbers on a spreadsheet. The reality is that budgeting is a sometimes organic and sometimes organized process. Most often, it's an equal mix of both in an attempt to add some level of certainty to an uncertain future. These processes are what we are going to explore in this course. You will be introduced to different strategies employed during the budgeting process, the techniques and tools that are commonly used to make budgeting forecasts, the components of a basic operating budget, and how businesses make certain decisions that may impact their budgeted amounts.

Requirements:

Hardware Requirements:

• This course can be taken on either a PC or Mac.

Software Requirements:

• PC: Windows 8 or later.
• Mac: macOS 10.6 or later.
• Browser: The latest version of Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox is preferred. Microsoft Edge and Safari are also compatible.
• Adobe Acrobat Reader.
• Software must be installed and fully operational before the course begins.

Other:

• Email capabilities and access to a personal email account.

Instructional Material Requirements:

The instructional materials required for this course are included in enrollment and will be available online.

In this comprehensive, beginner-friendly course, you will learn the elementary skills needed to be successful in the budgeting process and work gradually work your way up to creating a budget. You will also discover how to best evaluate the results of your budget and make decisions to help your business maximize its profits.

Predicting the Future

In this lesson, you'll explore how budgeting at its core is a process of looking forward. It's about making informed predictions about the future. Next, you'll see how a company's vision can lead to setting goals for the company. These visions are often aspirational and state the path for where the company plans to go in the future. Then, we'll also start the conversation about the human side of budgeting.

Budget Strategies

In this lesson, you'll begin to look at various budgeting strategies, including strategic, capital, and operations budgeting techniques. This lesson will include some real-life examples of planning activities, but to further bring these concepts to life, we'll also highlight a fictional company, Curly's Pool Service and Supplies. You'll finish the lesson by helping Curly formulate some plans and budgets!

It's All About Sales!

This lesson will focus all on sales, specifically the role that sales play in the budgeting process. We'll examine the best practices for compiling a sales forecast and how to increase the chances that the sales forecast will actually mimic real life. We'll also discover how to create an inventory needs budget to determine just how much inventory to purchase based on a sales forecast. Finally, we'll discuss how to formulate a labor requirements budget to accurately project just how much labor you may need to employ to meet the needs of the company, again based on the sales forecast.

Cost Behavior – Part 1

In this lesson, you are going to detour a bit from the actual preparation of a budget and dive into how certain types of costs behave. Understanding how costs increase or decrease relative to an activity is an essential part of learning how to accurately budget for costs in a business. So, in the upcoming chapters, you're going to discover how to distinguish between variable, fixed, and mixed costs. We will use these cost types to calculate the contribution margin for the business. Then, we will show you how to use contribution margin to make certain predictions and decisions in a business. Most notably, you'll see how to use contribution margin to calculate the all-important break-even point and margin of safety for a business.

Cost Behavior – Part 2

This lesson will be a continuation of our discussion about cost behavior. In this lesson, you're going to explore how to evaluate a company's sales mix and how to calculate operating leverage using tools given throughout the course. Operating leverage is just another key component of cost analysis that will allow you to, once again, easily make projections about the future. We'll end the lesson with a discussion about how companies set prices for the products and services they offer. You can probably guess that this process is a bit more involved than just selecting a price out of thin air. It's actually an essential part of a company's overall budgeting process and should not be taken lightly.

Expense and Manufacturing Production Budgets

In this lesson, we'll examine the steps needed to build both a direct materials budget and a direct labor budget. We'll also examine how a manufacturing company budgets for manufacturing overhead. All of these components are key to developing an overall production budget for a business that manufactures a product. Finally, we will end this lesson by describing the components of a production budget.

Cash Is King!

In this lesson, you'll learn how to prepare a complete cash budget for a business. You'll get the chance to take an even closer look at how a company might forecast cash collections from credit sales and cash payments on credit purchases for big-ticket items like inventory or other expensive capital projects. We'll even take a look at how some companies mitigate the risk of running out of cash by utilizing lines of credit and other sources of cash instead of just relying on cash generated from sales.

Capital Budgeting

In this lesson, you'll learn some of the basic methodologies that can be applied in many different capital budgeting scenarios. We'll begin with an explanation of a technique that does not include an evaluation of how time impacts the valuation of money. Then, you'll learn how the passage of time and its impact on the value of a dollar is incorporated into capital budgeting decisions. Since capital projects often span years, or even decades in some cases, the time value of money is key to improving accuracy in budgeting for capital projects. The lesson will finish up with a thorough review of, perhaps, the most common technique that is used in capital budgeting decisions: net present value.

Business Decision-Making – Part 1

In this lesson and the one that follows, we're going to explore how businesses use budgeted data in combination with a formalized decision-making process to improve their chances of making better decisions. For a business, a better decision is one that maximizes profit and aligns with the company's goals and values. We'll start with an examination of what types of budgeted information are relevant to making a decision and what types of information you can ignore. You'll see the differences between quantitative and qualitative information and how each can be used to improve decision-making. Then we'll finish up with an example including some specific steps you can use as a model for making better decisions.

Business Decision-Making – Part 2

In this lesson, you'll continue to practice with these same techniques by applying them to a few other common business decisions. You'll start by examining how a business uses budgeted information to make the choice to replace an existing asset with a new asset, such as replacing an old piece of manufacturing equipment with a brand-new one. Next, you'll explore how a business might use budgeted information when deciding whether to eliminate a product or service that it offers. We'll finish up the lesson by examining one of the most critical business decisions you'll ever need to make: how to allocate your most scarce resource to maximize profit in your business.

Bringing It All Together

In this lesson and the one that follows, we will focus on how best to evaluate the financial stability and performance of the business using budgeted information. We'll start by taking a close look at using the components of a company's operating budget to compile the pro forma balance sheet. Next, we'll examine the steps needed to prepare the pro forma income statement, again by using the information found in many of the other operating budget components. To finish up the lesson, we'll dive into some straightforward techniques that are useful to evaluate the balances found on the pro forma balance sheet and income statements.

Evaluation, Control, and Methods

In this lesson, you'll spend more time on the budget evaluation process by examining how companies use variance analysis to evaluate differences between actual results and the budget. To keep things manageable, we'll stick to the basics here so that you're equipped with some tools to take with you when applying these techniques in a real company. As part of this process, we'll take a look at how budget variances are defined and interpreted. Then, we'll discuss some techniques like flexible budgeting to evaluate and isolate certain budget fluctuations in a way that provides clarity to a business owner or manager. We'll finish up the lesson with a brief discussion of the budgetary control process and the soft skills needed for this process.

Self-Study

Gain key skills needed to navigate business entity formation in a corporate environment.

This course will teach you how to form, maintain and dissolve various business entities. You will have the chance to prepare various documents related to entity formation and maintenance. You will also learn many of the subtle differences between the various types of entities, which is ideal for paralegals working in the corporate law field.

Requirements:

Hardware Requirements:

• This course can be taken on either a PC or Mac.

Software Requirements:

• PC: Windows 8 or later.
• Mac: macOS 10.6 or later.
• Browser: The latest version of Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox are preferred. Microsoft Edge and Safari are also compatible.
• Adobe Acrobat Reader.
• Software must be installed and fully operational before the course begins.

Other:

• Email capabilities and access to a personal email account.

Instructional Material Requirements:

The instructional materials required for this course are included in enrollment and will be available online.

Gain key skills needed to navigate business entity formation in a corporate environment.

1. Choice of entity
   1. Sole proprietorship
   2. Partnership
   3. Corporation
   4. Limited Liability Company
2. Sole proprietorship is an entity that is owned by one person
   1. Requires no formal filing with the State
   2. Administrative requirements when starting a sole proprietorship
   3. Advantages and disadvantages to operating as a sole proprietorship
3. A partnership requires two or individuals operating the partnership
   1. General partnership
   2. Limited partnership
   3. Important to have a partnership agreement
   4. Tax issues associated with partnerships
4. A corporation comes into existence through the filing of Articles of Incorporation
   1. Prepare and file Articles of Incorporation
   2. Prepare Bylaws
   3. Prepare organizational minutes for the first meeting
5. Limited Liability Company is a type of entity that is a cross between a corporation and a partnership

What you will learn

• Various types of business entities
• Benefits and requirements to form various types of business entities
• Tax issues related various types of business entities

How you will benefit

• You will build an understanding on how various entities are formed
• Gain applicable knowledge needed to start a business entity

Self-Study

Gain key skills needed to navigate business entity formation in a corporate environment.

This course will teach you how to form, maintain and dissolve various business entities. You will have the chance to prepare various documents related to entity formation and maintenance. You will also learn many of the subtle differences between the various types of entities, which is ideal for paralegals working in the corporate law field.

Requirements:

Hardware Requirements:

• This course can be taken on either a PC or Mac.

Software Requirements:

• PC: Windows 8 or later.
• Mac: macOS 10.6 or later.
• Browser: The latest version of Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox are preferred. Microsoft Edge and Safari are also compatible.
• Adobe Acrobat Reader.
• Software must be installed and fully operational before the course begins.

Other:

• Email capabilities and access to a personal email account.

Instructional Material Requirements:

The instructional materials required for this course are included in enrollment and will be available online.

Gain key skills needed to navigate business entity formation in a corporate environment.

1. Choice of entity
   1. Sole proprietorship
   2. Partnership
   3. Corporation
   4. Limited Liability Company
2. Sole proprietorship is an entity that is owned by one person
   1. Requires no formal filing with the State
   2. Administrative requirements when starting a sole proprietorship
   3. Advantages and disadvantages to operating as a sole proprietorship
3. A partnership requires two or individuals operating the partnership
   1. General partnership
   2. Limited partnership
   3. Important to have a partnership agreement
   4. Tax issues associated with partnerships
4. A corporation comes into existence through the filing of Articles of Incorporation
   1. Prepare and file Articles of Incorporation
   2. Prepare Bylaws
   3. Prepare organizational minutes for the first meeting
5. Limited Liability Company is a type of entity that is a cross between a corporation and a partnership

What you will learn

• Various types of business entities
• Benefits and requirements to form various types of business entities
• Tax issues related various types of business entities

How you will benefit

• You will build an understanding on how various entities are formed
• Gain applicable knowledge needed to start a business entity

Self-Study

Learn all about contract law, including considerations related to the creation and enforcement of contracts.

The course will teach you how to work with contract law as a paralegal. Key topics include contract case law examples, uniform commercial code and more.

Requirements:

Hardware Requirements:

• This course can be taken on either a PC or Mac.

Software Requirements:

• PC: Windows 8 or later.
• Mac: macOS 10.6 or later.
• Browser: The latest version of Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox are preferred. Microsoft Edge and Safari are also compatible.
• Adobe Acrobat Reader.
• Software must be installed and fully operational before the course begins.

Other:

• Email capabilities and access to a personal email account.

Instructional Material Requirements:

The instructional materials required for this course are included in enrollment and will be available online.

Learn all about contract law, including considerations related to the creation and enforcement of contracts.

1. Case Law and FIRAC
2. Contracts
   1. Offers
   2. Intent
   3. Uniform Commercial Code
3. Contract Acceptance
   1. Express Contracts and Implied Contracts
   2. Performance
   3. Fact Patterns
   4. The Mailbox Rule
4. Consideration
   1. Legal Benefit and Legal Detriment
   2. Promissory Estoppel
5. Enforcement
6. Contractual Capacity
7. Defenses
8. Third-Party Beneficiaries
   1. Breach

What you will learn

• Fundamental elements of a contract: offer, acceptance and consideration.
• Contractual relationships, defenses to a contract and the main legal rules of law school cases.

How you will benefit

• Gain a clear understanding of contract law prior to starting law school.

Self-Study

Learn all about contract law, including considerations related to the creation and enforcement of contracts.

The course will teach you how to work with contract law as a paralegal. Key topics include contract case law examples, uniform commercial code and more.

Requirements:

Hardware Requirements:

• This course can be taken on either a PC or Mac.

Software Requirements:

• PC: Windows 8 or later.
• Mac: macOS 10.6 or later.
• Browser: The latest version of Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox are preferred. Microsoft Edge and Safari are also compatible.
• Adobe Acrobat Reader.
• Software must be installed and fully operational before the course begins.

Other:

• Email capabilities and access to a personal email account.

Instructional Material Requirements:

The instructional materials required for this course are included in enrollment and will be available online.

Learn all about contract law, including considerations related to the creation and enforcement of contracts.

1. Case Law and FIRAC
2. Contracts
   1. Offers
   2. Intent
   3. Uniform Commercial Code
3. Contract Acceptance
   1. Express Contracts and Implied Contracts
   2. Performance
   3. Fact Patterns
   4. The Mailbox Rule
4. Consideration
   1. Legal Benefit and Legal Detriment
   2. Promissory Estoppel
5. Enforcement
6. Contractual Capacity
7. Defenses
8. Third-Party Beneficiaries
   1. Breach

What you will learn

• Fundamental elements of a contract: offer, acceptance and consideration.
• Contractual relationships, defenses to a contract and the main legal rules of law school cases.

How you will benefit

• Gain a clear understanding of contract law prior to starting law school.

Self-Study

Learn the secret to converting a potential customer into a long-term asset. Find out how to lay the groundwork for repeat business and your future success.

The goal of Effective Selling is not to teach you how to make a sale today, but to help you discover how you can easily convert a potential customer into a long term asset. Effective Selling will help you lay the groundwork for repeat business and your future success.

In sales, there are no quick fixes. However, with the knowledge, planning skills, communication techniques, and the understanding of human nature that you will gain from this course, your sales will grow as if by magic.

Requirements:

Hardware Requirements:

• This course can be taken on either a PC or Mac.

Software Requirements:

• PC: Windows 8 or later.
• Mac: macOS 10.6 or later.
• Browser: The latest version of Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox are preferred. Microsoft Edge and Safari are also compatible.
• Adobe Acrobat Reader.
• Software must be installed and fully operational before the course begins.

Other:

• Email capabilities and access to a personal email account.

Instructional Material Requirements:

The instructional materials required for this course are included in enrollment and will be available online.

Discover how you can easily convert a potential customer into a long-term asset. This course will help you lay the groundwork for repeat business and your future success with knowledge, planning skills, communication techniques, and the understanding of human nature.

Laying the Groundwork

This first lesson lays the groundwork for successful sales. You'll review some basic sales terminology and learn about how it relates to your profession. You'll also learn about appropriateness and how it can be a powerful tool for your success. This lesson will start the new salesperson off with the right tools to succeed.

Itineraries, Sales Call Reports, and the Customer Database

This lesson will talk about itineraries, sales call reports, and the customer database. Nothing is more important in sales than tracking your progress, your customers, and your prospects. Preparation and record keeping will keep you one step ahead of the competition. You'll also learn how to schedule follow-up calls to avoid letting potential sales pass you by.

Selling Yourself, Your Company, and Your Product

To be successful in sales, you must learn to sell three things: Yourself, your company, and your product. In this lesson, you'll learn the importance of these things and how to make them work in your favor. And no matter how good you are in sales, you will eventually experience a sales slump. You'll learn the simple steps to work through this slump and come through it in a stronger position.

Communication Skills

If you can't communicate, you can¹t sell. That's why communication is the focus of this lesson. You will learn how to effectively communicate with your customers and prospects in order to minimize problems and maximize customer loyalty. Just as important is your communication with your own company. Stop problems before they start, and your sales will increase dramatically.

Developing Effective Sales Presentations

The previous lessons laid out a strong foundation for your sales efforts. In this lesson, you'll learn how to develop your sales presentation. A good sales presentation can mean the difference between making the sale and going home empty-handed. Learn how to guide the prospect to placing the order by using these proven techniques.

Recognizing Personality Types

You'll encounter seven different types of personalities during your sales career, and you'll meet them all in this lesson. Who are they? How can you identify them? How can you relate to them? Most important, how can you sell to them? This lesson will talk about how to identify which personality type you're dealing with so you can develop a unique selling strategy for each of them.

Presentations for Different Personality Types

Knowing how to create an effective presentation, and how to identify the different personality types is essential knowledge. In this lesson, you'll learn how to apply the knowledge you gained in the previous two lessons. You'll also learn how to modify your presentation to meet the expectations of each of the personality types-a recipe for success!

Closing the Sale

The ultimate goal of the salesperson is to make or close the sale. There are six basic ways to close a sale, and this lesson will discuss them all. More importantly, you'll learn how to put each method to use for the greatest effect.

Converting Customer Complaints to Delight

When is an unhappy customer a great sales opportunity? All salespeople will have to deal with customer complaints at one time or another, but few know how to turn a complaint into a powerful sales tool. By properly handling these complaints as they arise, you can turn a customer complaint into customer delight.

Effective Negotiation

Can you negotiate a contract that pleases your customer and increases your total sales and profit? Of course! In this lesson, you'll learn the techniques of successful negotiation. There really is a win/win solution, and you'll learn how to find it in this lesson.

Dealing With Your Competition

It may seem that your competitors are always bigger, faster, cheaper, or smarter than you are. But the fact is, they aren't. This lesson will discuss ways you can find out what your competition is up to and how to use this knowledge to your advantage.

Difficult Situations

The final lesson will delve into some big questions that salespeople must ask themselves. How do you deal with customers that won't return your calls? How important are ethics in the world of sales? How do you deal with the seemingly constant rejection? All those questions will be answered in this lesson.

What you will learn

• Learn how to schedule follow-up calls to avoid letting potential sales pass you by
• Learn the simple steps to work through a slump and come through it in a stronger position
• Learn how to effectively communicate with your customers and prospects in order to minimize problems and maximize customer loyalty
• Understand how to develop your sales presentation and tailor it to various personality types
• Learn the techniques of successful negotiation

How you will benefit

• Discover how to convert potential customers into long-term assets
• Understand how to gain repeat business as a foundation for your sales success
• Open the door to new opportunities with skills that can transfer to any organization

Steve Payseur began his career in sales in 1979, and his sales have increased an average of 22% a year for more than 20 years. As a Sales Manager, he set up a training program for his sales force, and he has conducted training programs for several Fortune 500 companies. Mr. Payseur is the author of "Selling Effective Techniques for Getting and Keeping Customers," a book based on his years of experience and extensive research. A recognized authority in the field of sales, he has been interviewed on several occasions for national sales magazines. Mr. Payseur has written and published two top-selling books, has two more books in the development stage, and has won several literary competitions. His online courses and classroom seminars have been characterized as open, honest, lively, fun, and informative.

Learn the secret to converting a potential customer into a long-term asset. Find out how to lay the groundwork for repeat business and your future success.

The goal of Effective Selling is not to teach you how to make a sale today, but to help you discover how you can easily convert a potential customer into a long term asset. Effective Selling will help you lay the groundwork for repeat business and your future success.

In sales, there are no quick fixes. However, with the knowledge, planning skills, communication techniques, and the understanding of human nature that you will gain from this course, your sales will grow as if by magic.

Requirements:

Hardware Requirements:

• This course can be taken on either a PC or Mac.

Software Requirements:

• PC: Windows 8 or later.
• Mac: macOS 10.6 or later.
• Browser: The latest version of Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox are preferred. Microsoft Edge and Safari are also compatible.
• Adobe Acrobat Reader.
• Software must be installed and fully operational before the course begins.

Other:

• Email capabilities and access to a personal email account.

Instructional Material Requirements:

The instructional materials required for this course are included in enrollment and will be available online.

Discover how you can easily convert a potential customer into a long-term asset. This course will help you lay the groundwork for repeat business and your future success with knowledge, planning skills, communication techniques, and the understanding of human nature.

Laying the Groundwork

This first lesson lays the groundwork for successful sales. You'll review some basic sales terminology and learn about how it relates to your profession. You'll also learn about appropriateness and how it can be a powerful tool for your success. This lesson will start the new salesperson off with the right tools to succeed.

Itineraries, Sales Call Reports, and the Customer Database

This lesson will talk about itineraries, sales call reports, and the customer database. Nothing is more important in sales than tracking your progress, your customers, and your prospects. Preparation and record keeping will keep you one step ahead of the competition. You'll also learn how to schedule follow-up calls to avoid letting potential sales pass you by.

Selling Yourself, Your Company, and Your Product

To be successful in sales, you must learn to sell three things: Yourself, your company, and your product. In this lesson, you'll learn the importance of these things and how to make them work in your favor. And no matter how good you are in sales, you will eventually experience a sales slump. You'll learn the simple steps to work through this slump and come through it in a stronger position.

Communication Skills

If you can't communicate, you can¹t sell. That's why communication is the focus of this lesson. You will learn how to effectively communicate with your customers and prospects in order to minimize problems and maximize customer loyalty. Just as important is your communication with your own company. Stop problems before they start, and your sales will increase dramatically.

Developing Effective Sales Presentations

The previous lessons laid out a strong foundation for your sales efforts. In this lesson, you'll learn how to develop your sales presentation. A good sales presentation can mean the difference between making the sale and going home empty-handed. Learn how to guide the prospect to placing the order by using these proven techniques.

Recognizing Personality Types

You'll encounter seven different types of personalities during your sales career, and you'll meet them all in this lesson. Who are they? How can you identify them? How can you relate to them? Most important, how can you sell to them? This lesson will talk about how to identify which personality type you're dealing with so you can develop a unique selling strategy for each of them.

Presentations for Different Personality Types

Knowing how to create an effective presentation, and how to identify the different personality types is essential knowledge. In this lesson, you'll learn how to apply the knowledge you gained in the previous two lessons. You'll also learn how to modify your presentation to meet the expectations of each of the personality types-a recipe for success!

Closing the Sale

The ultimate goal of the salesperson is to make or close the sale. There are six basic ways to close a sale, and this lesson will discuss them all. More importantly, you'll learn how to put each method to use for the greatest effect.

Converting Customer Complaints to Delight

When is an unhappy customer a great sales opportunity? All salespeople will have to deal with customer complaints at one time or another, but few know how to turn a complaint into a powerful sales tool. By properly handling these complaints as they arise, you can turn a customer complaint into customer delight.

Effective Negotiation

Can you negotiate a contract that pleases your customer and increases your total sales and profit? Of course! In this lesson, you'll learn the techniques of successful negotiation. There really is a win/win solution, and you'll learn how to find it in this lesson.

Dealing With Your Competition

It may seem that your competitors are always bigger, faster, cheaper, or smarter than you are. But the fact is, they aren't. This lesson will discuss ways you can find out what your competition is up to and how to use this knowledge to your advantage.

Difficult Situations

The final lesson will delve into some big questions that salespeople must ask themselves. How do you deal with customers that won't return your calls? How important are ethics in the world of sales? How do you deal with the seemingly constant rejection? All those questions will be answered in this lesson.

What you will learn

• Learn how to schedule follow-up calls to avoid letting potential sales pass you by
• Learn the simple steps to work through a slump and come through it in a stronger position
• Learn how to effectively communicate with your customers and prospects in order to minimize problems and maximize customer loyalty
• Understand how to develop your sales presentation and tailor it to various personality types
• Learn the techniques of successful negotiation

How you will benefit

• Discover how to convert potential customers into long-term assets
• Understand how to gain repeat business as a foundation for your sales success
• Open the door to new opportunities with skills that can transfer to any organization

Steve Payseur began his career in sales in 1979, and his sales have increased an average of 22% a year for more than 20 years. As a Sales Manager, he set up a training program for his sales force, and he has conducted training programs for several Fortune 500 companies. Mr. Payseur is the author of "Selling Effective Techniques for Getting and Keeping Customers," a book based on his years of experience and extensive research. A recognized authority in the field of sales, he has been interviewed on several occasions for national sales magazines. Mr. Payseur has written and published two top-selling books, has two more books in the development stage, and has won several literary competitions. His online courses and classroom seminars have been characterized as open, honest, lively, fun, and informative.

Learn the basics of employment law so you can legally hire, evaluate, and manage employees.

Learn the basics of employment law so you can legally hire, evaluate and manage employees as a manager, supervisor, small business owner, human resource specialist, or corporate executive. This course will explain the difference between an employee and independent contractor: the basic types of employee benefits; effective hiring; evaluation, and termination procedures; methods to resolve employment disputes in and out of court; discrimination and union laws; and workplace safety rules.

You will gain an inside view of the law with court examples, real situations, and prevention strategies that prepare you to effectively resolve workplace issues. You will learn effective communication techniques, negotiation strategies, and what to expect if you do go to court. This course is a must for anyone who is (or aspires to be) a supervisor, manager, or human resources professional.

Requirements:

Hardware Requirements:

• This course can be taken on either a PC or Mac.

Software Requirements:

• PC: Windows 8 or later.
• Mac: macOS 10.6 or later.
• Browser: The latest version of Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox are preferred. Microsoft Edge and Safari are also compatible.
• Adobe Acrobat Reader.
• Software must be installed and fully operational before the course begins.

Other:

• Email capabilities and access to a personal email account.
• This course is based on U.S. Employment Laws and is not suitable for other areas.

Instructional Material Requirements:

The instructional materials required for this course are included in enrollment and will be available online.

Learn the basics of employment law so you can legally hire, evaluate and manage employees. This course is a must for anyone who is (or aspires to be) a supervisor, manager, or human resources professional.

Employee or Independent Contractor?

Are all workers employees? In this lesson, you'll learn to recognize the difference between an employee and an independent contractor. This will enable you to properly classify workers so you can withhold taxes and provide benefits for true employees. You'll take a look at a real court case to see how courts decide if someone is properly classified.

Employment Benefits

Do you wish you could retire to the beach with solid employment benefits, such as health insurance, retirement, sick leave, and vacation leave in place? In this lesson, you'll look at the legal requirements relating to employment benefits. You may be surprised to learn what the law does and doesn't require! The lesson will also talk about the reasons companies provide benefits for their employees.

Hiring Practices

Do you ever find yourself stuck with employees who aren't producing? This lesson will focus on ways to screen applicants for employment to keep poor employees out and find a good match between the job and skill level of an applicant. As the saying goes, it's better to have strong hiring practices than to deal with a problem employee later on.

Evaluating Employees

Ever wonder what to do with your employees and how to keep them effectively producing? This lesson will focus on evaluation, discipline, and termination processes. You'll learn how to tackle these tough issues without violating any laws in the process.

Employment Disputes

If you ever have to deal with upset people at work (employee outbursts, customer complaints, or vendor concerns) then this lesson is for you! This lesson will show you some dispute resolution tools that will help you turn conflicts into win-win situations.

Employment Disputes in Court

Do you ever wonder what happens behind courthouse doors? This lesson will talk about the litigation process from start to finish so that you'll know what to expect if you someday find yourself in court. It will also go over legal jargon—words like depositions and interrogatories—so that you really understand the words lawyers commonly use.

Discrimination and Title VII

While discrimination should be a thing of the past, prejudice still pops up in the workplace. This lesson will talk about how to comply with Title VII law, which prohibits discrimination at work. The examples and strategies discussed here will make this law easy to understand.

More Discrimination Laws

Has anyone ever requested a special accommodation from you? This lesson will explore what the laws are about this issue. You'll find out what your duty is regarding accommodation and learn to analyze your workplace to determine whether it's compliant.

Labor Unions

Suppose there's labor talk whispered in the halls of your workplace. What do you do? This lesson will discuss the legal rights of unions to organize. You'll also consider unfair labor practices that both unions and management need to watch out for.

Labor Negotiations

Collective bargaining, grievance and appeal, strikes—what do these things have in common? They're all processes that can occur in a union environment. This lesson will talk about how to prepare for and handle union bargaining and appeals.

Workplace Safety

What are your obligations when it comes to keeping employees safe on the job? This lesson will focus on employee safety and reporting. You'll get Internet resources where you can look up specifics about your particular work environment.

Legal Compliance

Legal compliance requires an entire corporate strategy. The final lesson will focus on tools, tactics, and resources you can use to create an environment of compliance in your workplace.

What you will learn

• Learn the difference between an employee and an independent contractor and properly classify workers so you can withhold taxes and provide benefits for true employees
• Learn to screen applicants effectively
• Discover dispute resolution tools to handle disputes in the workplace
• Learn about the litigation process and laws that affect your workplace, such as discrimination laws and special accommodation laws
• Explore unfair labor practices that both unions and management need to watch out for
• Learn what your obligations are to keep your employees safe and discover Internet resources where you can look up specifics about your particular work environment
• Discover tools, tactics, and resources to create an environment of compliance in your workplace

How you will benefit

• Know how to effectively screen applicants and develop strong hiring practices
• Be ready to resolve any type of conflict and turn it into a win-win situation
• Be familiar with laws that govern a safe, fair, and compliant workplace for your employees

Ann Nevers holds a law degree and a master's in health law. She works in dispute resolution for business, employment, and health care and regularly teaches courses in these areas. She has published numerous academic articles, edited legal manuals, and written chapters on employment, dispute resolution, and health care topics.

Learn the basics of employment law so you can legally hire, evaluate, and manage employees.

Learn the basics of employment law so you can legally hire, evaluate and manage employees as a manager, supervisor, small business owner, human resource specialist, or corporate executive. This course will explain the difference between an employee and independent contractor: the basic types of employee benefits; effective hiring; evaluation, and termination procedures; methods to resolve employment disputes in and out of court; discrimination and union laws; and workplace safety rules.

You will gain an inside view of the law with court examples, real situations, and prevention strategies that prepare you to effectively resolve workplace issues. You will learn effective communication techniques, negotiation strategies, and what to expect if you do go to court. This course is a must for anyone who is (or aspires to be) a supervisor, manager, or human resources professional.

Requirements:

Hardware Requirements:

• This course can be taken on either a PC or Mac.

Software Requirements:

• PC: Windows 8 or later.
• Mac: macOS 10.6 or later.
• Browser: The latest version of Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox are preferred. Microsoft Edge and Safari are also compatible.
• Adobe Acrobat Reader.
• Software must be installed and fully operational before the course begins.

Other:

• Email capabilities and access to a personal email account.
• This course is based on U.S. Employment Laws and is not suitable for other areas.

Instructional Material Requirements:

The instructional materials required for this course are included in enrollment and will be available online.

Learn the basics of employment law so you can legally hire, evaluate and manage employees. This course is a must for anyone who is (or aspires to be) a supervisor, manager, or human resources professional.

Employee or Independent Contractor?

Are all workers employees? In this lesson, you'll learn to recognize the difference between an employee and an independent contractor. This will enable you to properly classify workers so you can withhold taxes and provide benefits for true employees. You'll take a look at a real court case to see how courts decide if someone is properly classified.

Employment Benefits

Do you wish you could retire to the beach with solid employment benefits, such as health insurance, retirement, sick leave, and vacation leave in place? In this lesson, you'll look at the legal requirements relating to employment benefits. You may be surprised to learn what the law does and doesn't require! The lesson will also talk about the reasons companies provide benefits for their employees.

Hiring Practices

Do you ever find yourself stuck with employees who aren't producing? This lesson will focus on ways to screen applicants for employment to keep poor employees out and find a good match between the job and skill level of an applicant. As the saying goes, it's better to have strong hiring practices than to deal with a problem employee later on.

Evaluating Employees

Ever wonder what to do with your employees and how to keep them effectively producing? This lesson will focus on evaluation, discipline, and termination processes. You'll learn how to tackle these tough issues without violating any laws in the process.

Employment Disputes

If you ever have to deal with upset people at work (employee outbursts, customer complaints, or vendor concerns) then this lesson is for you! This lesson will show you some dispute resolution tools that will help you turn conflicts into win-win situations.

Employment Disputes in Court

Do you ever wonder what happens behind courthouse doors? This lesson will talk about the litigation process from start to finish so that you'll know what to expect if you someday find yourself in court. It will also go over legal jargon—words like depositions and interrogatories—so that you really understand the words lawyers commonly use.

Discrimination and Title VII

While discrimination should be a thing of the past, prejudice still pops up in the workplace. This lesson will talk about how to comply with Title VII law, which prohibits discrimination at work. The examples and strategies discussed here will make this law easy to understand.

More Discrimination Laws

Has anyone ever requested a special accommodation from you? This lesson will explore what the laws are about this issue. You'll find out what your duty is regarding accommodation and learn to analyze your workplace to determine whether it's compliant.

Labor Unions

Suppose there's labor talk whispered in the halls of your workplace. What do you do? This lesson will discuss the legal rights of unions to organize. You'll also consider unfair labor practices that both unions and management need to watch out for.

Labor Negotiations

Collective bargaining, grievance and appeal, strikes—what do these things have in common? They're all processes that can occur in a union environment. This lesson will talk about how to prepare for and handle union bargaining and appeals.

Workplace Safety

What are your obligations when it comes to keeping employees safe on the job? This lesson will focus on employee safety and reporting. You'll get Internet resources where you can look up specifics about your particular work environment.

Legal Compliance

Legal compliance requires an entire corporate strategy. The final lesson will focus on tools, tactics, and resources you can use to create an environment of compliance in your workplace.

What you will learn

• Learn the difference between an employee and an independent contractor and properly classify workers so you can withhold taxes and provide benefits for true employees
• Learn to screen applicants effectively
• Discover dispute resolution tools to handle disputes in the workplace
• Learn about the litigation process and laws that affect your workplace, such as discrimination laws and special accommodation laws
• Explore unfair labor practices that both unions and management need to watch out for
• Learn what your obligations are to keep your employees safe and discover Internet resources where you can look up specifics about your particular work environment
• Discover tools, tactics, and resources to create an environment of compliance in your workplace

How you will benefit

• Know how to effectively screen applicants and develop strong hiring practices
• Be ready to resolve any type of conflict and turn it into a win-win situation
• Be familiar with laws that govern a safe, fair, and compliant workplace for your employees

Ann Nevers holds a law degree and a master's in health law. She works in dispute resolution for business, employment, and health care and regularly teaches courses in these areas. She has published numerous academic articles, edited legal manuals, and written chapters on employment, dispute resolution, and health care topics.

Learn the basics of employment law so you can legally hire, evaluate, and manage employees.

Learn the basics of employment law so you can legally hire, evaluate and manage employees as a manager, supervisor, small business owner, human resource specialist, or corporate executive. This course will explain the difference between an employee and independent contractor: the basic types of employee benefits; effective hiring; evaluation, and termination procedures; methods to resolve employment disputes in and out of court; discrimination and union laws; and workplace safety rules.

You will gain an inside view of the law with court examples, real situations, and prevention strategies that prepare you to effectively resolve workplace issues. You will learn effective communication techniques, negotiation strategies, and what to expect if you do go to court. This course is a must for anyone who is (or aspires to be) a supervisor, manager, or human resources professional.

Requirements:

Hardware Requirements:

• This course can be taken on either a PC or Mac.

Software Requirements:

• PC: Windows 8 or later.
• Mac: macOS 10.6 or later.
• Browser: The latest version of Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox are preferred. Microsoft Edge and Safari are also compatible.
• Adobe Acrobat Reader.
• Software must be installed and fully operational before the course begins.

Other:

• Email capabilities and access to a personal email account.
• This course is based on U.S. Employment Laws and is not suitable for other areas.

Instructional Material Requirements:

The instructional materials required for this course are included in enrollment and will be available online.

Learn the basics of employment law so you can legally hire, evaluate, and manage employees.

1. Employee or Independent Contractor?
2. Employment Benefits
3. Hiring Practices
4. Evaluating Employees
5. Employment Disputes
6. Employment Disputes in Court
7. Discrimination and Title VII
8. More Discrimination Laws
9. Labor Unions
10. Labor Negotiations
11. Workplace Safety
12. Legal Compliance

Self-Study

Learn the basics of employment law so you can legally hire, evaluate, and manage employees.

Learn the basics of employment law so you can legally hire, evaluate and manage employees as a manager, supervisor, small business owner, human resource specialist, or corporate executive. This course will explain the difference between an employee and independent contractor: the basic types of employee benefits; effective hiring; evaluation, and termination procedures; methods to resolve employment disputes in and out of court; discrimination and union laws; and workplace safety rules.

You will gain an inside view of the law with court examples, real situations, and prevention strategies that prepare you to effectively resolve workplace issues. You will learn effective communication techniques, negotiation strategies, and what to expect if you do go to court. This course is a must for anyone who is (or aspires to be) a supervisor, manager, or human resources professional.

Requirements:

Hardware Requirements:

• This course can be taken on either a PC or Mac.

Software Requirements:

• PC: Windows 8 or later.
• Mac: macOS 10.6 or later.
• Browser: The latest version of Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox are preferred. Microsoft Edge and Safari are also compatible.
• Adobe Acrobat Reader.
• Software must be installed and fully operational before the course begins.

Other:

• Email capabilities and access to a personal email account.
• This course is based on U.S. Employment Laws and is not suitable for other areas.

Instructional Material Requirements:

The instructional materials required for this course are included in enrollment and will be available online.

Learn the basics of employment law so you can legally hire, evaluate, and manage employees.

1. Employee or Independent Contractor?
2. Employment Benefits
3. Hiring Practices
4. Evaluating Employees
5. Employment Disputes
6. Employment Disputes in Court
7. Discrimination and Title VII
8. More Discrimination Laws
9. Labor Unions
10. Labor Negotiations
11. Workplace Safety
12. Legal Compliance

Self-Study

In this course, you will develop your graphic design skills by learning how to use Photoshop, the gold standard in photo editing and design software. This program will help you create work that stands apart from the competition, enables you to brand yourself, and positions you for a rewarding career in the ever-expanding world of graphic design.

Requirements:

Hardware Requirements:

• This course can be taken on either a PC or Mac. A Chromebook is not compatible.

Software Requirements:

• PC: Windows 10 or later.
• Mac: macOS 10.14 or later.
• Browser: The latest version of Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox are preferred. Microsoft Edge and Safari are also compatible.
• Microsoft Word or an equivalent word-processing program.
• Photoshop CC (Creative Cloud) (not included in enrollment).
• Adobe Acrobat Reader.
• Software must be installed and fully operational before the course begins.

Other:

• Email capabilities and access to a personal email account.

Instructional Material Requirements:

The instructional materials required for this course are included in enrollment. The following textbooks will be shipped to you approximately 7-10 business days after enrollment:

• The Elements of Graphic Design
• Exploring Typography

This course will provide you with robust instructions on how to use Adobe Photoshop as a tool to create engaging and effective visuals. Using principles, theories, and time-tested practices of graphic design, you will discover strategies for producing images that convey desired messages, styles, and tones.

You will practice with real-world examples, challenges, and thought-provoking assignments and learn how to determine a client's needs, create work to meet those needs, and assemble your work in an online portfolio to enter the industry. The course's combination of creative, technical, and soft skills will offer you a well-rounded and challenging learning experience.

1. Jumping into Photoshop
2. Understanding Graphic Design Fundamentals
3. Basic Photo Editing
4. Selections, Painting, and Using Brushes
5. Typography
6. Layers
7. Tourism Project
8. Masking and Advanced Compositing
9. Using Your Skills Professionally
10. Building a Portfolio
11. Final Exam

What you will learn

• Master the fundamentals of Adobe Photoshop
• Demonstrate knowledge of basic design and typography principles
• Define common graphic design terms
• Use the design process to work effectively with clients
• Develop a personal brand and incorporate social media
• Produce a portfolio using a variety of graphic design techniques

How you will benefit

• Prepare yourself for an entry-level career in graphic design
• Create a comprehensive electronic portfolio that can be shown to potential employers or clients
• Master an understanding of the tools and communication habits used by successful graphic designers
• Learn how to create visuals that are not only aesthetically pleasing, but convey a strong message

Laurie Ulrich has been writing about and teaching people to use Microsoft Office for more than 20 years—including personally training thousands of students, writing hundreds of training manuals, and authoring and co-authoring more than 30 books on subjects including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Access. Her books include 2000-page epics that document every button, bell, and whistle, as well as friendlier introductory and troubleshooting books for new users. Her most recent publication on Microsoft Access is Access 2016 for Dummies. In addition to writing and teaching, Laurie runs her own firm, Limehat & Company, providing training, marketing, graphic design, and web development services to clients throughout the world, with a focus on helping growing companies and non-profit organizations build their brand through effective promotions, outreach, and education.

In this course, you will develop your graphic design skills by learning how to use Photoshop, the gold standard in photo editing and design software. This program will help you create work that stands apart from the competition, enables you to brand yourself, and positions you for a rewarding career in the ever-expanding world of graphic design.

Requirements:

Hardware Requirements:

• This course can be taken on either a PC or Mac. A Chromebook is not compatible.

Software Requirements:

• PC: Windows 10 or later.
• Mac: macOS 10.14 or later.
• Browser: The latest version of Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox are preferred. Microsoft Edge and Safari are also compatible.
• Microsoft Word or an equivalent word-processing program.
• Photoshop CC (Creative Cloud) (not included in enrollment).
• Adobe Acrobat Reader.
• Software must be installed and fully operational before the course begins.

Other:

• Email capabilities and access to a personal email account.

Instructional Material Requirements:

The instructional materials required for this course are included in enrollment. The following textbooks will be shipped to you approximately 7-10 business days after enrollment:

• The Elements of Graphic Design
• Exploring Typography

This course will provide you with robust instructions on how to use Adobe Photoshop as a tool to create engaging and effective visuals. Using principles, theories, and time-tested practices of graphic design, you will discover strategies for producing images that convey desired messages, styles, and tones.

You will practice with real-world examples, challenges, and thought-provoking assignments and learn how to determine a client's needs, create work to meet those needs, and assemble your work in an online portfolio to enter the industry. The course's combination of creative, technical, and soft skills will offer you a well-rounded and challenging learning experience.

1. Jumping into Photoshop
2. Understanding Graphic Design Fundamentals
3. Basic Photo Editing
4. Selections, Painting, and Using Brushes
5. Typography
6. Layers
7. Tourism Project
8. Masking and Advanced Compositing
9. Using Your Skills Professionally
10. Building a Portfolio
11. Final Exam

What you will learn

• Master the fundamentals of Adobe Photoshop
• Demonstrate knowledge of basic design and typography principles
• Define common graphic design terms
• Use the design process to work effectively with clients
• Develop a personal brand and incorporate social media
• Produce a portfolio using a variety of graphic design techniques

How you will benefit

• Prepare yourself for an entry-level career in graphic design
• Create a comprehensive electronic portfolio that can be shown to potential employers or clients
• Master an understanding of the tools and communication habits used by successful graphic designers
• Learn how to create visuals that are not only aesthetically pleasing, but convey a strong message

Laurie Ulrich has been writing about and teaching people to use Microsoft Office for more than 20 years—including personally training thousands of students, writing hundreds of training manuals, and authoring and co-authoring more than 30 books on subjects including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Access. Her books include 2000-page epics that document every button, bell, and whistle, as well as friendlier introductory and troubleshooting books for new users. Her most recent publication on Microsoft Access is Access 2016 for Dummies. In addition to writing and teaching, Laurie runs her own firm, Limehat & Company, providing training, marketing, graphic design, and web development services to clients throughout the world, with a focus on helping growing companies and non-profit organizations build their brand through effective promotions, outreach, and education.

In this course, you will develop your graphic design skills by learning how to use Photoshop, the gold standard in photo editing and design software. This program will help you create work that stands apart from the competition, enables you to brand yourself, and positions you for a rewarding career in the ever-expanding world of graphic design.

Requirements:

Hardware Requirements:

• This course can be taken on either a PC or Mac. A Chromebook is not compatible.

Software Requirements:

• PC: Windows 10 or later.
• Mac: macOS 10.14 or later.
• Browser: The latest version of Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox are preferred. Microsoft Edge and Safari are also compatible.
• Microsoft Word or an equivalent word-processing program.
• Adobe Acrobat Reader.
• Software must be installed and fully operational before the course begins.

Other:

• Email capabilities and access to a personal email account.

Instructional Material Requirements:

The instructional materials required for this course are included in enrollment. The following textbooks will be shipped to you approximately 7-10 business days after enrollment:

• The Elements of Graphic Design, by Alex W. White
• Exploring Typography
• Your enrollment in this course also includes a 12-month subscription to Adobe Creative Cloud Photography plan. You will learn how to activate this subscription during the course.

This course will provide you with robust instructions on how to use Adobe Photoshop as a tool to create engaging and effective visuals. Using principles, theories, and time-tested practices of graphic design, you will discover strategies for producing images that convey desired messages, styles, and tones.

You will practice with real-world examples, challenges, and thought-provoking assignments and learn how to determine a client's needs, create work to meet those needs, and assemble your work in an online portfolio to enter the industry. The course's combination of creative, technical, and soft skills will offer you a well-rounded and challenging learning experience.

1. Jumping into Photoshop
2. Understanding Graphic Design Fundamentals
3. Basic Photo Editing
4. Selections, Painting, and Using Brushes
5. Typography
6. Layers
7. Tourism Project
8. Masking and Advanced Compositing
9. Using Your Skills Professionally
10. Building a Portfolio
11. Final Exam

What you will learn

• Learn Master the fundamentals of graphic design concepts and terminology Adobe Photoshop
• Use any tool in the Photoshop workspace efficiently Demonstrate knowledge of basic design and typography principles
• Take a look at the history of Define common graphic design and advertising to understand how it affects design today terms
• Master how Use the design process to correctly package a project for printing and production work effectively with clients
• Develop a personal brand and incorporate social media
• Produce a portfolio using a variety of graphic design techniques

How you will benefit

• Create an extensive digital portfolio that can be used to show potential employers and clients
• Master the features of Photoshop suite needed to create results-driven professional work
• Prepare yourself for a career as a graphic designer, art director, video game designer, web developer, photo editor, and more
• Develop your own design style that will distinguish you from competitors

Laurie Ulrich has been writing about and teaching people to use Microsoft Office for more than 20 years—including personally training thousands of students, writing hundreds of training manuals, and authoring and co-authoring more than 30 books on subjects including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Access. Her books include 2000-page epics that document every button, bell, and whistle, as well as friendlier introductory and troubleshooting books for new users. Her most recent publication on Microsoft Access is Access 2016 for Dummies. In addition to writing and teaching, Laurie runs her own firm, Limehat & Company, providing training, marketing, graphic design, and web development services to clients throughout the world, with a focus on helping growing companies and non-profit organizations build their brand through effective promotions, outreach, and education.

In this course, you will develop your graphic design skills by learning how to use Photoshop, the gold standard in photo editing and design software. This program will help you create work that stands apart from the competition, enables you to brand yourself, and positions you for a rewarding career in the ever-expanding world of graphic design.

Requirements:

Hardware Requirements:

• This course can be taken on either a PC or Mac. A Chromebook is not compatible.

Software Requirements:

• PC: Windows 10 or later.
• Mac: macOS 10.14 or later.
• Browser: The latest version of Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox are preferred. Microsoft Edge and Safari are also compatible.
• Microsoft Word or an equivalent word-processing program.
• Adobe Acrobat Reader.
• Software must be installed and fully operational before the course begins.

Other:

• Email capabilities and access to a personal email account.

Instructional Material Requirements:

The instructional materials required for this course are included in enrollment. The following textbooks will be shipped to you approximately 7-10 business days after enrollment:

• The Elements of Graphic Design, by Alex W. White
• Exploring Typography
• Your enrollment in this course also includes a 12-month subscription to Adobe Creative Cloud Photography plan. You will learn how to activate this subscription during the course.

This course will provide you with robust instructions on how to use Adobe Photoshop as a tool to create engaging and effective visuals. Using principles, theories, and time-tested practices of graphic design, you will discover strategies for producing images that convey desired messages, styles, and tones.

You will practice with real-world examples, challenges, and thought-provoking assignments and learn how to determine a client's needs, create work to meet those needs, and assemble your work in an online portfolio to enter the industry. The course's combination of creative, technical, and soft skills will offer you a well-rounded and challenging learning experience.

1. Jumping into Photoshop
2. Understanding Graphic Design Fundamentals
3. Basic Photo Editing
4. Selections, Painting, and Using Brushes
5. Typography
6. Layers
7. Tourism Project
8. Masking and Advanced Compositing
9. Using Your Skills Professionally
10. Building a Portfolio
11. Final Exam

What you will learn

• Learn Master the fundamentals of graphic design concepts and terminology Adobe Photoshop
• Use any tool in the Photoshop workspace efficiently Demonstrate knowledge of basic design and typography principles
• Take a look at the history of Define common graphic design and advertising to understand how it affects design today terms
• Master how Use the design process to correctly package a project for printing and production work effectively with clients
• Develop a personal brand and incorporate social media
• Produce a portfolio using a variety of graphic design techniques

How you will benefit

• Create an extensive digital portfolio that can be used to show potential employers and clients
• Master the features of Photoshop suite needed to create results-driven professional work
• Prepare yourself for a career as a graphic designer, art director, video game designer, web developer, photo editor, and more
• Develop your own design style that will distinguish you from competitors

Laurie Ulrich has been writing about and teaching people to use Microsoft Office for more than 20 years—including personally training thousands of students, writing hundreds of training manuals, and authoring and co-authoring more than 30 books on subjects including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Access. Her books include 2000-page epics that document every button, bell, and whistle, as well as friendlier introductory and troubleshooting books for new users. Her most recent publication on Microsoft Access is Access 2016 for Dummies. In addition to writing and teaching, Laurie runs her own firm, Limehat & Company, providing training, marketing, graphic design, and web development services to clients throughout the world, with a focus on helping growing companies and non-profit organizations build their brand through effective promotions, outreach, and education.

This course will teach you everything you need to prosper in the backyard nursery business.

Turn your love of plants into an enjoyable and profitable home business. Learn how to grow and market plants on a small scale without major capital investment. In an area as small as 1000 sq. ft., you can generate thousands of dollars' worth of plant material in a single growing season.

This course is your practical guide to licensing, site preparation, equipment, how and where to find supplies, how to select and produce plants appropriate to your climate zone, how to produce quality material and, most importantly, how to market your product.

Requirements:

Hardware Requirements:

• This course can be taken on either a PC or Mac.

Software Requirements:

• PC: Windows 8 or later.
• Mac: macOS 10.6 or later.
• Browser: The latest version of Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox are preferred. Microsoft Edge and Safari are also compatible.
• Adobe Acrobat Reader.
• Software must be installed and fully operational before the course begins.

Other:

• Email capabilities and access to a personal email account.

Instructional Material Requirements:

The instructional materials required for this course are included in enrollment and will be available online.

Turn your love of plants into an enjoyable and profitable home business. This course provides information on licensing, site preparation, equipment, how and where to find supplies, how to select and produce plants, how to produce quality material, and how to market your product.

Making the Transition From Gardener to Nurseryman

In the first lesson, you'll meet other gardeners who've successfully made the transition to nurserymen. You may be surprised to discover that, within the small space of a backyard, you can produce significant income by growing plants. You'll also learn what permits and licenses you may need as you get started.

Your Climate Considerations

In this lesson, you'll take a close look at climate zone maps to help you figure out what plants will grow best in your region. Then you'll learn some easy ways to prepare your growing grounds. Finally, the lesson will show you ways to create inexpensive microclimates that will help you start your plants and expand the varieties you can grow.

Necessary Supplies and Where to Find Them

In this lesson, you'll learn what production supplies you'll need and how to find wholesale sources for them. The lesson will discuss cover containers, soil, fertilizer, and labels and then talk about why it's important to keep track of your expenses for tax purposes.

Plant Propagation Methods

Starting new plants is one of the most exciting and rewarding experiences for gardeners and nurseryman alike. The process of starting new plants is called propagation. In this lesson, you'll focus on the three major methods used in nursery production: propagation by seed, cuttings, and division.

Reduce Your Growing Time: Buy Plants From Other Growers

This lesson will teach you one of the most valuable lessons in this business: How to reduce the waiting time involved in growing plant material. You'll learn what types of starter plants are available and how to find wholesale sources. You'll also be given some valuable guidelines to help you decide what to grow. Afterwards, the lesson will talk about how to find additional sources of information and business networking opportunities through nurserymen associations and trade shows.

Growing Annuals (Including Vegetables, Herbs, and Bulbs)

In this lesson, you'll focus on growing annual flowers and bulbs, paying special attention to market timing. You'll learn how to create high-value items such as color bowls and hanging baskets. The lesson will then discuss vegetable starter plants and herbs. Specializing in organic growing will help you tap into a lucrative area of the nursery trade, so the lesson will fill you in on all you need to know about organic growing and certification.

Growing Perennials

In this lesson, you'll focus on one of the hottest topics in gardening: The particular group of non-woody plants that nurseries call "perennials". You'll become familiar not only with the favorites, but with the wide variety of perennials available. The lesson will then go over some detailed information about specific perennials, including how to grow them and how to time them for market.

Growing Shrubs, Roses, and Vines

This lesson covers woody plants—such as shrubs and vines—that form the more permanent plantings in a landscape. You'll pay particular attention to roses because they're among the most beautiful and profitable shrubs. In addition, you'll learn how to grow small fruiting shrubs and vines for specialty markets.

Growing Various Trees in Sizes From #1s to #15s

Trees may be the largest members of the plant kingdom, but they're also among the easiest and most profitable to grow. In this lesson, you'll not only learn how to propagate landscape trees, but how to greatly shorten their growing time by buying bare-root seedlings and finished bare-roots. The lesson will conclude with a discussion on fruiting and flowering trees.

Producing a Quality Plant

Whether you're growing plants for fun or profit, you'll want to produce quality plant material. This lesson will provide guidelines for quality standards. You'll learn about pruning, staking, and training plants into special shapes and forms. It will also talk about methods you can use to ward off diseases and pests.

Wholesale Marketing

If you're like most gardeners, growing plants is the easy part—marketing is the real challenge! This lesson will begin with a discussion on wholesale marketing. You'll learn all you need to know to do business with discount chain stores, local retailers, and landscapers, and then explore consignment selling, contract growing, and business-to-business Internet options.

Retail Marketing

The final lesson covers retail marketing, or taking your product directly to the public. You'll learn how to advertise inexpensively and effectively so you're not just growing plants, you're growing your business! The lesson will explain what you'll need to know to sell your plants from your home or garage sales, certified farmers markets, and flea markets. It will also discuss selling your plants to government or public agencies.

What you will learn

• Learn how to make the transition from gardener to nurseryman
• Understand climate zones and how to set up suitable growing grounds
• Learn the three major propagation methods used in nursery production
• Examine starter plants and obtain guidelines on what you should grow
• Learn about annuals, bulbs, vegetables and herbs and discusses organic production
• Understand how to grow and market perennials, shrubs, roses, vines and small fruits
• Learn the methods for producing and maintaining quality plant material
• Gain strategies for succeeding in the wholesale market and directly to the public

How you will benefit

• Turn your love of plants into a profitable home-based business
• Learn how to begin your nursery business with only a small capital investment
• Gain additional gardening skills that will benefit you both personally and professionally

Michael and Linda Harlan have been involved in the nursery industry since 1968. In 1985, they began a backyard nursery on a half-acre that grew into a successful 12-year business venture. The Harlans then shared their experience by publishing a self-help book entitled Growing Profits: How to Start and Operate a Backyard Nursery. Michael has been teaching a course on this subject matter through the extension services of local community colleges for the past four years.

This course will teach you everything you need to prosper in the backyard nursery business.

Turn your love of plants into an enjoyable and profitable home business. Learn how to grow and market plants on a small scale without major capital investment. In an area as small as 1000 sq. ft., you can generate thousands of dollars' worth of plant material in a single growing season.

This course is your practical guide to licensing, site preparation, equipment, how and where to find supplies, how to select and produce plants appropriate to your climate zone, how to produce quality material and, most importantly, how to market your product.

Requirements:

Hardware Requirements:

• This course can be taken on either a PC or Mac.

Software Requirements:

• PC: Windows 8 or later.
• Mac: macOS 10.6 or later.
• Browser: The latest version of Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox are preferred. Microsoft Edge and Safari are also compatible.
• Adobe Acrobat Reader.
• Software must be installed and fully operational before the course begins.

Other:

• Email capabilities and access to a personal email account.

Instructional Material Requirements:

The instructional materials required for this course are included in enrollment and will be available online.

Turn your love of plants into an enjoyable and profitable home business. This course provides information on licensing, site preparation, equipment, how and where to find supplies, how to select and produce plants, how to produce quality material, and how to market your product.

Making the Transition From Gardener to Nurseryman

In the first lesson, you'll meet other gardeners who've successfully made the transition to nurserymen. You may be surprised to discover that, within the small space of a backyard, you can produce significant income by growing plants. You'll also learn what permits and licenses you may need as you get started.

Your Climate Considerations

In this lesson, you'll take a close look at climate zone maps to help you figure out what plants will grow best in your region. Then you'll learn some easy ways to prepare your growing grounds. Finally, the lesson will show you ways to create inexpensive microclimates that will help you start your plants and expand the varieties you can grow.

Necessary Supplies and Where to Find Them

In this lesson, you'll learn what production supplies you'll need and how to find wholesale sources for them. The lesson will discuss cover containers, soil, fertilizer, and labels and then talk about why it's important to keep track of your expenses for tax purposes.

Plant Propagation Methods

Starting new plants is one of the most exciting and rewarding experiences for gardeners and nurseryman alike. The process of starting new plants is called propagation. In this lesson, you'll focus on the three major methods used in nursery production: propagation by seed, cuttings, and division.

Reduce Your Growing Time: Buy Plants From Other Growers

This lesson will teach you one of the most valuable lessons in this business: How to reduce the waiting time involved in growing plant material. You'll learn what types of starter plants are available and how to find wholesale sources. You'll also be given some valuable guidelines to help you decide what to grow. Afterwards, the lesson will talk about how to find additional sources of information and business networking opportunities through nurserymen associations and trade shows.

Growing Annuals (Including Vegetables, Herbs, and Bulbs)

In this lesson, you'll focus on growing annual flowers and bulbs, paying special attention to market timing. You'll learn how to create high-value items such as color bowls and hanging baskets. The lesson will then discuss vegetable starter plants and herbs. Specializing in organic growing will help you tap into a lucrative area of the nursery trade, so the lesson will fill you in on all you need to know about organic growing and certification.

Growing Perennials

In this lesson, you'll focus on one of the hottest topics in gardening: The particular group of non-woody plants that nurseries call "perennials". You'll become familiar not only with the favorites, but with the wide variety of perennials available. The lesson will then go over some detailed information about specific perennials, including how to grow them and how to time them for market.

Growing Shrubs, Roses, and Vines

This lesson covers woody plants—such as shrubs and vines—that form the more permanent plantings in a landscape. You'll pay particular attention to roses because they're among the most beautiful and profitable shrubs. In addition, you'll learn how to grow small fruiting shrubs and vines for specialty markets.

Growing Various Trees in Sizes From #1s to #15s

Trees may be the largest members of the plant kingdom, but they're also among the easiest and most profitable to grow. In this lesson, you'll not only learn how to propagate landscape trees, but how to greatly shorten their growing time by buying bare-root seedlings and finished bare-roots. The lesson will conclude with a discussion on fruiting and flowering trees.

Producing a Quality Plant

Whether you're growing plants for fun or profit, you'll want to produce quality plant material. This lesson will provide guidelines for quality standards. You'll learn about pruning, staking, and training plants into special shapes and forms. It will also talk about methods you can use to ward off diseases and pests.

Wholesale Marketing

If you're like most gardeners, growing plants is the easy part—marketing is the real challenge! This lesson will begin with a discussion on wholesale marketing. You'll learn all you need to know to do business with discount chain stores, local retailers, and landscapers, and then explore consignment selling, contract growing, and business-to-business Internet options.

Retail Marketing

The final lesson covers retail marketing, or taking your product directly to the public. You'll learn how to advertise inexpensively and effectively so you're not just growing plants, you're growing your business! The lesson will explain what you'll need to know to sell your plants from your home or garage sales, certified farmers markets, and flea markets. It will also discuss selling your plants to government or public agencies.

What you will learn

• Learn how to make the transition from gardener to nurseryman
• Understand climate zones and how to set up suitable growing grounds
• Learn the three major propagation methods used in nursery production
• Examine starter plants and obtain guidelines on what you should grow
• Learn about annuals, bulbs, vegetables and herbs and discusses organic production
• Understand how to grow and market perennials, shrubs, roses, vines and small fruits
• Learn the methods for producing and maintaining quality plant material
• Gain strategies for succeeding in the wholesale market and directly to the public

How you will benefit

• Turn your love of plants into a profitable home-based business
• Learn how to begin your nursery business with only a small capital investment
• Gain additional gardening skills that will benefit you both personally and professionally

Michael and Linda Harlan have been involved in the nursery industry since 1968. In 1985, they began a backyard nursery on a half-acre that grew into a successful 12-year business venture. The Harlans then shared their experience by publishing a self-help book entitled Growing Profits: How to Start and Operate a Backyard Nursery. Michael has been teaching a course on this subject matter through the extension services of local community colleges for the past four years.

You really can make money with your writing. Whether you want to create your own business, add to your income, supplement your retirement, or boost what you're earning as a writer, you'll find the how-to's here.

You really can make money with your writing. Whether you want to create your own business, add to your income, supplement your retirement, or boost what you're earning as a writer, you'll find the how-to's here. You'll learn secrets, methods, and tips to help you generate income with your writing. This class includes all the practical information that so rarely gets taught in writing classes.

In most courses and social groups it's taboo to discuss money, but not here. This course embraces it! Making money is the focus of the lessons. You'll explore a dozen genres that can help you establish a sometime, part-time, or full-time career as a writer. Along the way, you'll learn methods to work faster, suffer less rejection, and bring home more bacon. Fulfilling (and lucrative) writing work is waiting for you!

Requirements:

Hardware Requirements:

• This course can be taken on either a PC or Mac.

Software Requirements:

• PC: Windows 8 or later.
• Mac: macOS 10.6 or later.
• Browser: The latest version of Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox are preferred. Microsoft Edge and Safari are also compatible.
• Adobe Acrobat Reader.
• Software must be installed and fully operational before the course begins.

Other:

• Email capabilities and access to a personal email account.

Instructional Material Requirements:

The instructional materials required for this course are included in enrollment and will be available online.

Learn the secrets, methods, and tips to help you generate money with your writing. Whether you want to create your own business, add to your income, supplement your retirement, or boost what you're earning as a writer, this class includes practical information that rarely gets taught in writing classes.

Getting in Gear to Write

Where do great ideas come from? How do best-selling authors get to be that way? What makes writing so very scary, intimidating, delicious, and wickedly wonderful? How are words pulled from nothingness and zapped to the screen or printed page? What makes writing nearly addictive to one group of humanity and yet an overwhelming task for others? Are there born writers? Can anyone learn to write? Why do some people get published and others fail? In this lesson, you'll start learning the answers to those questions and begin the journey to becoming a better writer.

The Writing Life

Have you ever heard that to be a writer, you only need a pen and paper? That's true. Yet, too many writers throw in other requirements—from a year of unfettered time, to a trust fund that will keep them in caviar until the royalties come flooding in. This lesson will delve more deeply into the writing life as it exposes some myths about writing.

Self-Editing and Researching

This lesson will discuss self-editing and researching. Self-editing and researching are both skills you'll want to learn so that you can sell your work. It's highly unlikely that you'll ever sell a first draft, and it's equally as unlikely that you'll sell something you didn't research. This lesson will teach you some simple tricks to make your work shine!

Writing for Magazines

This lesson could be called Magazine Writing 101. If you've written for magazines before, then this lesson will be a refresher or a nudge. If you haven't written for magazines and would like to, then you'll find out indispensable information that will get you going. With this info, you could find your niche and begin making money as a freelancer, possibly while you're working on your novel.

Writing and Selling Other Short Works

The previous lesson focused on writing nonfiction articles for popular magazines. But you won't find every magazine that uses freelance work in your grocery store or big super bookstore. There are magazines, publications, and periodicals with an otherwise large distribution that never even get to these places. Those magazines are always looking for new short works such as short stories, columns, essays, and poetry. This lesson will talk about how you can sell your short works to magazines and newspapers.

Writing Novels

Some writers just love to write long fiction and have a story that is burning to get out. If you fit into this group, or just wonder how one goes about writing a novel, then this lesson should speak to you. You'll find out why some people need to get that book out and what it takes to do so. By the end of this lesson, you'll have a working knowledge of the genre possibilities and what it takes to write a novel. You'll learn how stories are found, how some famous novelists were discovered, how to stay motivated, and what has stopped a few hopeful writers from writing.

Writing Nonfiction Books

Now it's time to give the nonfiction genres a turn. Adults are infatuated with nonfiction and it sells better than any other type of book. There are scads of different genres in nonfiction books. In this lesson, you'll focus on the types of nonfiction writing and how to get a project started, written, and noticed by publishers and agents. Nonfiction books concern real people, places, events, information, or situations. Whether you're addicted to reading nonfiction, or just want to learn all you can about writing, this lesson will give you valuable information that will help you better understand the world of publishing.

Ghostwriting

What does it mean to be a ghost in the literary world? This lesson will give you the scoop on this lucrative business. If you have a talent for emulating peoples' voices, and if you're fast, efficient, and good with people, this might be the field for you. This lesson will talk about how to advertise and find clients, how to select appropriate clients, and how to maintain a good working relationship so that you can produce the best book possible.

The Roles of Editors and Agents

This lesson will talk about the roles of editors and agents. Specifically, you'll find out what each of their jobs includes and why you need to know this information. If you're currently writing a novel or a nonfiction book, gathering a collection of poetry or short stories, or maybe just dabbling in the idea, you'll want to read this lesson carefully. Find out how agents interact with editors at publishing houses and how you can interact with agents and editors.

Self-Publishing and E-Publishing

Attend any writing conference or sit with a group of published writers, and you're bound to hear words like: self-publishing, POD, copublishing and e-publishing. This lesson will discuss the options that are often called alternative publishing. If you're serious about joining the world as a writer, you should be aware of these options. They're not for everyone, but the information you'll receive will help you make sound career and financial decisions.

The Business Side of Writing

This lesson is all about the legal side of writing. You'll learn about sample agreements and contracts that will help keep you in good stead as you become the writer of your dreams. The lesson will also talk about royalties, advances, and the scoop on that lovely green stuff that pays the bills.

Time Management and Marketing for All Writers

Saturday comes, finally. The house looks like a disaster hit. The kids need shoes, the dog has a vet's appointment, and you swear that the health department might condemn the car. Unlike Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz, you can't seem to click your heels hard enough to make it all disappear. You've got a yearning, a deep burning to write, but the clutter, the mess, the hours spent doing things for others (okay, and procrastination) are eating at your heart. What does all of this have to do with creativity? Check the clock, because it's all about time management, and that's what you'll learn in this vital lesson.

What you will learn

• Find out what it takes to be a paid writer
• Understand what a writer's life is really like, and learn how to deal with rejection
• Learn tips for self-editing and productive researching
• Find out how to submit queries and land feature writing assignments for magazines and e-zines
• Develop a working knowledge of writing novels and nonfiction books, what the publishers are looking for, and how to submit writing
• Understand what it means to be a ghostwriter, how to find clients, and how to develop and maintain a strong working relationship with your clients
• Gain knowledge of the business side of writing as it pertains to advances, royalties, letters of commitment and intent, invoices, and releases

How you will benefit

• Become more efficient in your writing time management and learn how to market your products like a pro
• Understand the ins and outs of writing for money and become more confident in your ability to succeed
• Develop a new career path as you successfully learn to make money from your writing

Eva Shaw, Ph.D. is a full-time working writer. She has authored thousands of articles, essays, and short stories and more than 70 books including "Writing the Nonfiction Book" and "Insider's Guide to San Diego." Her work has been featured in USA Today, San Diego Union Tribune, Publisher's Weekly, and others. She has won several awards, including the Book of the Year Award from the American Journal of Nursing, the Benjamin Franklin Award, and the Woman of Merit Award.

You really can make money with your writing. Whether you want to create your own business, add to your income, supplement your retirement, or boost what you're earning as a writer, you'll find the how-to's here.

You really can make money with your writing. Whether you want to create your own business, add to your income, supplement your retirement, or boost what you're earning as a writer, you'll find the how-to's here. You'll learn secrets, methods, and tips to help you generate income with your writing. This class includes all the practical information that so rarely gets taught in writing classes.

In most courses and social groups it's taboo to discuss money, but not here. This course embraces it! Making money is the focus of the lessons. You'll explore a dozen genres that can help you establish a sometime, part-time, or full-time career as a writer. Along the way, you'll learn methods to work faster, suffer less rejection, and bring home more bacon. Fulfilling (and lucrative) writing work is waiting for you!

Requirements:

Hardware Requirements:

• This course can be taken on either a PC or Mac.

Software Requirements:

• PC: Windows 8 or later.
• Mac: macOS 10.6 or later.
• Browser: The latest version of Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox are preferred. Microsoft Edge and Safari are also compatible.
• Adobe Acrobat Reader.
• Software must be installed and fully operational before the course begins.

Other:

• Email capabilities and access to a personal email account.

Instructional Material Requirements:

The instructional materials required for this course are included in enrollment and will be available online.

Learn the secrets, methods, and tips to help you generate money with your writing. Whether you want to create your own business, add to your income, supplement your retirement, or boost what you're earning as a writer, this class includes practical information that rarely gets taught in writing classes.

Getting in Gear to Write

Where do great ideas come from? How do best-selling authors get to be that way? What makes writing so very scary, intimidating, delicious, and wickedly wonderful? How are words pulled from nothingness and zapped to the screen or printed page? What makes writing nearly addictive to one group of humanity and yet an overwhelming task for others? Are there born writers? Can anyone learn to write? Why do some people get published and others fail? In this lesson, you'll start learning the answers to those questions and begin the journey to becoming a better writer.

The Writing Life

Have you ever heard that to be a writer, you only need a pen and paper? That's true. Yet, too many writers throw in other requirements—from a year of unfettered time, to a trust fund that will keep them in caviar until the royalties come flooding in. This lesson will delve more deeply into the writing life as it exposes some myths about writing.

Self-Editing and Researching

This lesson will discuss self-editing and researching. Self-editing and researching are both skills you'll want to learn so that you can sell your work. It's highly unlikely that you'll ever sell a first draft, and it's equally as unlikely that you'll sell something you didn't research. This lesson will teach you some simple tricks to make your work shine!

Writing for Magazines

This lesson could be called Magazine Writing 101. If you've written for magazines before, then this lesson will be a refresher or a nudge. If you haven't written for magazines and would like to, then you'll find out indispensable information that will get you going. With this info, you could find your niche and begin making money as a freelancer, possibly while you're working on your novel.

Writing and Selling Other Short Works

The previous lesson focused on writing nonfiction articles for popular magazines. But you won't find every magazine that uses freelance work in your grocery store or big super bookstore. There are magazines, publications, and periodicals with an otherwise large distribution that never even get to these places. Those magazines are always looking for new short works such as short stories, columns, essays, and poetry. This lesson will talk about how you can sell your short works to magazines and newspapers.

Writing Novels

Some writers just love to write long fiction and have a story that is burning to get out. If you fit into this group, or just wonder how one goes about writing a novel, then this lesson should speak to you. You'll find out why some people need to get that book out and what it takes to do so. By the end of this lesson, you'll have a working knowledge of the genre possibilities and what it takes to write a novel. You'll learn how stories are found, how some famous novelists were discovered, how to stay motivated, and what has stopped a few hopeful writers from writing.

Writing Nonfiction Books

Now it's time to give the nonfiction genres a turn. Adults are infatuated with nonfiction and it sells better than any other type of book. There are scads of different genres in nonfiction books. In this lesson, you'll focus on the types of nonfiction writing and how to get a project started, written, and noticed by publishers and agents. Nonfiction books concern real people, places, events, information, or situations. Whether you're addicted to reading nonfiction, or just want to learn all you can about writing, this lesson will give you valuable information that will help you better understand the world of publishing.

Ghostwriting

What does it mean to be a ghost in the literary world? This lesson will give you the scoop on this lucrative business. If you have a talent for emulating peoples' voices, and if you're fast, efficient, and good with people, this might be the field for you. This lesson will talk about how to advertise and find clients, how to select appropriate clients, and how to maintain a good working relationship so that you can produce the best book possible.

The Roles of Editors and Agents

This lesson will talk about the roles of editors and agents. Specifically, you'll find out what each of their jobs includes and why you need to know this information. If you're currently writing a novel or a nonfiction book, gathering a collection of poetry or short stories, or maybe just dabbling in the idea, you'll want to read this lesson carefully. Find out how agents interact with editors at publishing houses and how you can interact with agents and editors.

Self-Publishing and E-Publishing

Attend any writing conference or sit with a group of published writers, and you're bound to hear words like: self-publishing, POD, copublishing and e-publishing. This lesson will discuss the options that are often called alternative publishing. If you're serious about joining the world as a writer, you should be aware of these options. They're not for everyone, but the information you'll receive will help you make sound career and financial decisions.

The Business Side of Writing

This lesson is all about the legal side of writing. You'll learn about sample agreements and contracts that will help keep you in good stead as you become the writer of your dreams. The lesson will also talk about royalties, advances, and the scoop on that lovely green stuff that pays the bills.

Time Management and Marketing for All Writers

Saturday comes, finally. The house looks like a disaster hit. The kids need shoes, the dog has a vet's appointment, and you swear that the health department might condemn the car. Unlike Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz, you can't seem to click your heels hard enough to make it all disappear. You've got a yearning, a deep burning to write, but the clutter, the mess, the hours spent doing things for others (okay, and procrastination) are eating at your heart. What does all of this have to do with creativity? Check the clock, because it's all about time management, and that's what you'll learn in this vital lesson.

What you will learn

• Find out what it takes to be a paid writer
• Understand what a writer's life is really like, and learn how to deal with rejection
• Learn tips for self-editing and productive researching
• Find out how to submit queries and land feature writing assignments for magazines and e-zines
• Develop a working knowledge of writing novels and nonfiction books, what the publishers are looking for, and how to submit writing
• Understand what it means to be a ghostwriter, how to find clients, and how to develop and maintain a strong working relationship with your clients
• Gain knowledge of the business side of writing as it pertains to advances, royalties, letters of commitment and intent, invoices, and releases

How you will benefit

• Become more efficient in your writing time management and learn how to market your products like a pro
• Understand the ins and outs of writing for money and become more confident in your ability to succeed
• Develop a new career path as you successfully learn to make money from your writing

Eva Shaw, Ph.D. is a full-time working writer. She has authored thousands of articles, essays, and short stories and more than 70 books including "Writing the Nonfiction Book" and "Insider's Guide to San Diego." Her work has been featured in USA Today, San Diego Union Tribune, Publisher's Weekly, and others. She has won several awards, including the Book of the Year Award from the American Journal of Nursing, the Benjamin Franklin Award, and the Woman of Merit Award.

This course focuses on design for marketing and business—creating logos, advertisements, communications, and more. You'll learn Photoshop, Illustrator, and PowerPoint while gaining fundamental technical and aesthetic skills.

Requirements:

Hardware Requirements:

• This course can be taken on either a PC or Mac.

Software Requirements:

• PC: Windows 8 or later.
• Mac: macOS 10.6 or later.
• Browser: The latest version of Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox are preferred. Microsoft Edge and Safari are also compatible.
• Adobe Photoshop CS5 or CS6 (or Adobe Creative Cloud) (not included in enrollment). Ensure that your system meets the minimum system requirements for Photoshop prior to enrollment.
• Adobe Illustrator CS5 or CS6 (or Adobe Creative Cloud) (not included in enrollment). Ensure that your system meets the minimum system requirements for Illustrator prior to enrollment.
• Microsoft Word is recommended (not included in enrollment).
• Adobe Acrobat Reader.
• Software must be installed and fully operational before the course begins.

Other:

• Email capabilities and access to a personal email account.

Instructional Material Requirements:

The instructional materials required for this course are included in enrollment and will be available online.

Looking to launch your career designing marketing or identity pieces for large companies or small businesses? The Marketing Design Online Training course focuses on helping you develop technical skill and creative artistry using applied marketing principles. You'll complete a variety of projects, including marketing concept development, retouching, compositing, illustration, advertising design, logo design, and corporate branding.

You'll learn in-demand software programs that a marketing designer needs to know: Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator. You will build a skill set in digital image preparation and vector illustration while applying foundation design concepts in color, typography, and identity design. Hands-on projects focus on essential skills and provide you with experience in business-focused design scenarios.

1. Photoshop Basics
2. Color Theory
3. Illustrator Basics
4. Fundamentals of Typography
5. Intro to Marketing
6. Fundamentals of Logo Design
7. Marketing Design
8. Branding and Identity

What you will learn

• Learn how to use Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator
• Understand fundamental concepts of color, typography, and identity design
• Complete hands-on projects to develop your skills as a marketing professional
• Foster graphic design skills that can be applied in a marketing setting

How you will benefit

• Complete a variety of projects that can be used as portfolio pieces to show potential employers and clients
• Learn marketing and graphic design skills that will be useful in any number of jobs
• Master Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator and use the programs for a variety of personal and professional projects
• Set yourself apart from competitors by receiving a certificate upon completion

Jeremy Bratt is a graphic designer, design coordinator, and teacher with thirty years of experience. He has worked recently as a design coordinator for corporate identity, branding, and packaging projects. He managed the re-branding and packaging for French cookware manufacturer Tefal when at Lewis Moberly. At Siegal & Gale, he designed and coordinated a number of corporate identity projects for the Spanish market. Currently, he is a partner at a design and communication consultancy, designing and coordinating all corporate, print, and packaging work.

Bruce Bicknell is an instructor, illustrator, animator, web and graphic designer, and video editor. In his career, he has worked on projects for Adobe Systems, ATI, PhotoShop Elements Techniques, MacTribe, Yellow Machine, and Mac Design, to name a few. Bicknell holds degrees in Computer Animation and Web Development from the International Academy of Design and Technology.

Michael Hamm is a freelance designer and web developer with over a decade of experience in the creative field. Based in Washington state, Michael provides design solutions for clients across the country through his company ClayEdward Design. Prior to working on his own, Michael worked for JPMorgan Chase in Houston, Texas as an interactive designer. His work has been published in various web design books and magazines and he is a regular contributor to Layers Magazine. In addition, he has served as technical editor on several design books published by Friends of Ed. Michael recently co-authored Introduction to Web Design Using Dreamweaver published by Glencoe/McGraw-Hill. Michael is an Adobe Certified Instructor in Adobe Illustrator and has a Diploma in Graphic Design from the Art Institute of Houston. Michael is the founder, designer, programmer, and writer of PointsandPaths.com, a website that grew from his passion for illustration software and all things vector.

Boris Margolin is a graphic designer with 10 years of experience. He earned a BS in Graphic Design at Mount Ida College and has worked as an in-house designer for several international corporations including CIGNA, MetLife, and Nypro. His work has ranged from advertising to identity design, brand development to web administration. In his spare time, he runs a niche design company catering to unconventional companies and emerging markets.

This course focuses on design for marketing and business—creating logos, advertisements, communications, and more. You'll learn Photoshop, Illustrator, and PowerPoint while gaining fundamental technical and aesthetic skills.

Requirements:

Hardware Requirements:

• This course can be taken on either a PC or Mac.

Software Requirements:

• PC: Windows 8 or later.
• Mac: macOS 10.6 or later.
• Browser: The latest version of Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox are preferred. Microsoft Edge and Safari are also compatible.
• Adobe Photoshop CS5 or CS6 (or Adobe Creative Cloud) (not included in enrollment). Ensure that your system meets the minimum system requirements for Photoshop prior to enrollment.
• Adobe Illustrator CS5 or CS6 (or Adobe Creative Cloud) (not included in enrollment). Ensure that your system meets the minimum system requirements for Illustrator prior to enrollment.
• Microsoft Word is recommended (not included in enrollment).
• Adobe Acrobat Reader.
• Software must be installed and fully operational before the course begins.

Other:

• Email capabilities and access to a personal email account.

Instructional Material Requirements:

The instructional materials required for this course are included in enrollment and will be available online.

Looking to launch your career designing marketing or identity pieces for large companies or small businesses? The Marketing Design Online Training course focuses on helping you develop technical skill and creative artistry using applied marketing principles. You'll complete a variety of projects, including marketing concept development, retouching, compositing, illustration, advertising design, logo design, and corporate branding.

You'll learn in-demand software programs that a marketing designer needs to know: Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator. You will build a skill set in digital image preparation and vector illustration while applying foundation design concepts in color, typography, and identity design. Hands-on projects focus on essential skills and provide you with experience in business-focused design scenarios.

1. Photoshop Basics
2. Color Theory
3. Illustrator Basics
4. Fundamentals of Typography
5. Intro to Marketing
6. Fundamentals of Logo Design
7. Marketing Design
8. Branding and Identity

What you will learn

• Learn how to use Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator
• Understand fundamental concepts of color, typography, and identity design
• Complete hands-on projects to develop your skills as a marketing professional
• Foster graphic design skills that can be applied in a marketing setting

How you will benefit

• Complete a variety of projects that can be used as portfolio pieces to show potential employers and clients
• Learn marketing and graphic design skills that will be useful in any number of jobs
• Master Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator and use the programs for a variety of personal and professional projects
• Set yourself apart from competitors by receiving a certificate upon completion

Jeremy Bratt is a graphic designer, design coordinator, and teacher with thirty years of experience. He has worked recently as a design coordinator for corporate identity, branding, and packaging projects. He managed the re-branding and packaging for French cookware manufacturer Tefal when at Lewis Moberly. At Siegal & Gale, he designed and coordinated a number of corporate identity projects for the Spanish market. Currently, he is a partner at a design and communication consultancy, designing and coordinating all corporate, print, and packaging work.

Bruce Bicknell is an instructor, illustrator, animator, web and graphic designer, and video editor. In his career, he has worked on projects for Adobe Systems, ATI, PhotoShop Elements Techniques, MacTribe, Yellow Machine, and Mac Design, to name a few. Bicknell holds degrees in Computer Animation and Web Development from the International Academy of Design and Technology.

Michael Hamm is a freelance designer and web developer with over a decade of experience in the creative field. Based in Washington state, Michael provides design solutions for clients across the country through his company ClayEdward Design. Prior to working on his own, Michael worked for JPMorgan Chase in Houston, Texas as an interactive designer. His work has been published in various web design books and magazines and he is a regular contributor to Layers Magazine. In addition, he has served as technical editor on several design books published by Friends of Ed. Michael recently co-authored Introduction to Web Design Using Dreamweaver published by Glencoe/McGraw-Hill. Michael is an Adobe Certified Instructor in Adobe Illustrator and has a Diploma in Graphic Design from the Art Institute of Houston. Michael is the founder, designer, programmer, and writer of PointsandPaths.com, a website that grew from his passion for illustration software and all things vector.

Boris Margolin is a graphic designer with 10 years of experience. He earned a BS in Graphic Design at Mount Ida College and has worked as an in-house designer for several international corporations including CIGNA, MetLife, and Nypro. His work has ranged from advertising to identity design, brand development to web administration. In his spare time, he runs a niche design company catering to unconventional companies and emerging markets.

Develop an Internet marketing plan for your business that incorporates SEO, advertising, email, social media, and more.

Find out how to market your business on the Internet, even if you have little or no money to spend! In this practical, hands-on course, you'll discover proven methods that will help you establish an Internet presence and build an online brand identity. You'll learn how search engine optimization (SEO) works and how to track your site's performance using web analytics. You will discover how to use online advertising, email marketing, and social media (including blogs) to drive business to your website. Finally, you'll learn how to keep your visitors coming back again and again!

Throughout the course, you'll learn to think strategically about marketing your website, products, and services using Internet technologies. You will also explore how to use an Internet marketing checklist and other tools and materials to develop a sound online business strategy. Before you know it, you'll have the skills and knowledge you need to develop a winning Internet marketing plan for your own business.

Requirements:

Hardware Requirements:

• This course can be taken on either a PC or Mac.

Software Requirements:

• PC: Windows 8 or later.
• Mac: macOS 10.6 or later.
• Browser: The latest version of Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox are preferred. Microsoft Edge and Safari are also compatible.
• Adobe Acrobat Reader.
• Software must be installed and fully operational before the course begins.

Other:

• Email capabilities and access to a personal email account.

Instructional Material Requirements:

The instructional materials required for this course are included in enrollment and will be available online.

In this hands-on course, you'll discover proven methods for establishing an Internet presence and building a brand identity. You'll learn to incorporate SEO, advertising, email, social media, and more to develop an effective Internet marketing plan for your business even with little money to spend.

Businesses on the Web

With billions of pages already on the web and more posted online every day, getting your website noticed isn't easy. When students ask what they can do to increase traffic to their sites, they're encouraged to learn all they can about Internet marketing. In this lesson, you'll receive a brief introduction to the Internet, learn the difference between e-commerce and e-business, and explore different types of business sites on the web.

Web Presence

The terms "website" and "web presence" can be used interchangeably, but there's a subtle difference. In this lesson, you'll learn how to establish a web presence. In order to do that, you'll need to understand your goals and your customers' needs and interests, accurately identify your target audience, and establish a market position that makes you stand out from the crowd. You'll go over how to do all of that in this lesson.

Domain Names and Search Engines

In this lesson, you'll discover the importance of selecting the right domain name for your site. You'll also find out how search engines work and how to use that knowledge to drive visitors to your website.

Website Optimization

High-quality content will keep visitors at your site longer and encourage them to return more often. In this lesson, you'll learn the importance of helpful, informative, educational, entertaining, or useful content. You'll also discover how search engines use the following factors to determine ranking in response to a query—text viewable on the screen, code not viewable on the screen, and external factors.

The Internet's Impact on the Marketing Mix (4 P's)

In this lesson, you'll discover the elements that make up "The Marketing Mix"—the four Ps. You'll learn how the elements of product, price, place, and promotion relate to each other and to your target audience.

Web Analytics

In this lesson, you'll learn how to develop a message that will cause the members of your target audience to take the action you want. You'll also become acquainted with online strategies you can use to advertise your website, products, and services.

Online Advertising

In this lesson, you'll learn how to develop ads that inspire your target audience to take the action you want. You'll then learn how to advertise your website using search engine (PPC) advertising, banner advertising, and more.

Email Marketing

In spite of the growing number of junk mail filling people's inboxes, email is a thriving medium, so it's important to understand how you can use email marketing to keep current customers and acquire new ones. In this lesson, you'll examine ways that you can use email to promote your business.

Creating Site Stickiness Through Content

If you want visitors to spend more than 30 seconds on your website, you'll need to make it interesting, entertaining, and informative. The factor that causes visitors to spend more time at your site is called "stickiness." In this lesson, you'll learn about the advantages of building a sticky site and how to use content to make your website sticky.

Creating Site Stickiness Through Community

In the previous lesson, you learned to build site stickiness through the use of content. In this lesson, you'll learn to build site stickiness through community. You'll also become acquainted with synchronous and asynchronous tools you can use to develop a community experience for your visitors.

Creating Site Stickiness Through Commerce

The last element you can use to build site stickiness is commerce—in this case, e-commerce. You'll learn how to use commerce to keep visitors at your site longer and return more often. In this lesson, you'll become acquainted with technology you can use to create an online store, including online catalogs, shopping cart software, and online payment systems.

Completing Your Internet Marketing Plan

In the final lesson, you'll have the opportunity to pull together all of the information you gathered during this course to complete an Internet marketing plan. To help you do this, you'll be given an Internet marketing plan checklist and samples of the following documents: Internet marketing plan outline, a calendar, and a budget spreadsheet. You'll want to use this opportunity to complete an Internet marketing plan that you can use to promote your business.

What you will learn

• Learn the important factors to consider when developing a business website
• Discover how to gain and keep customers through an online presence
• Examine the factors that build recognition and make a compelling brand identity on the Internet
• Learn how to build an online store and exponentially improve the profitability of your business

How you will benefit

• Acquire an online marketing plan for your own business
• Discover the secrets of Internet search queries to direct online traffic to your website
• Grow your business through a strong web presence by learning tips and tricks in this course

Lisa Adams is a web development expert specializing in marketing, user experience, and e-commerce. In addition to building and maintaining hundreds of websites, Lisa has helped a wide variety of clients and students to create their own sites and modify existing ones to make them more attractive and user-friendly.

Develop an Internet marketing plan for your business that incorporates SEO, advertising, email, social media, and more.

Find out how to market your business on the Internet, even if you have little or no money to spend! In this practical, hands-on course, you'll discover proven methods that will help you establish an Internet presence and build an online brand identity. You'll learn how search engine optimization (SEO) works and how to track your site's performance using web analytics. You will discover how to use online advertising, email marketing, and social media (including blogs) to drive business to your website. Finally, you'll learn how to keep your visitors coming back again and again!

Throughout the course, you'll learn to think strategically about marketing your website, products, and services using Internet technologies. You will also explore how to use an Internet marketing checklist and other tools and materials to develop a sound online business strategy. Before you know it, you'll have the skills and knowledge you need to develop a winning Internet marketing plan for your own business.

Requirements:

Hardware Requirements:

• This course can be taken on either a PC or Mac.

Software Requirements:

• PC: Windows 8 or later.
• Mac: macOS 10.6 or later.
• Browser: The latest version of Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox are preferred. Microsoft Edge and Safari are also compatible.
• Adobe Acrobat Reader.
• Software must be installed and fully operational before the course begins.

Other:

• Email capabilities and access to a personal email account.

Instructional Material Requirements:

The instructional materials required for this course are included in enrollment and will be available online.

In this hands-on course, you'll discover proven methods for establishing an Internet presence and building a brand identity. You'll learn to incorporate SEO, advertising, email, social media, and more to develop an effective Internet marketing plan for your business even with little money to spend.

Businesses on the Web

With billions of pages already on the web and more posted online every day, getting your website noticed isn't easy. When students ask what they can do to increase traffic to their sites, they're encouraged to learn all they can about Internet marketing. In this lesson, you'll receive a brief introduction to the Internet, learn the difference between e-commerce and e-business, and explore different types of business sites on the web.

Web Presence

The terms "website" and "web presence" can be used interchangeably, but there's a subtle difference. In this lesson, you'll learn how to establish a web presence. In order to do that, you'll need to understand your goals and your customers' needs and interests, accurately identify your target audience, and establish a market position that makes you stand out from the crowd. You'll go over how to do all of that in this lesson.

Domain Names and Search Engines

In this lesson, you'll discover the importance of selecting the right domain name for your site. You'll also find out how search engines work and how to use that knowledge to drive visitors to your website.

Website Optimization

High-quality content will keep visitors at your site longer and encourage them to return more often. In this lesson, you'll learn the importance of helpful, informative, educational, entertaining, or useful content. You'll also discover how search engines use the following factors to determine ranking in response to a query—text viewable on the screen, code not viewable on the screen, and external factors.

The Internet's Impact on the Marketing Mix (4 P's)

In this lesson, you'll discover the elements that make up "The Marketing Mix"—the four Ps. You'll learn how the elements of product, price, place, and promotion relate to each other and to your target audience.

Web Analytics

In this lesson, you'll learn how to develop a message that will cause the members of your target audience to take the action you want. You'll also become acquainted with online strategies you can use to advertise your website, products, and services.

Online Advertising

In this lesson, you'll learn how to develop ads that inspire your target audience to take the action you want. You'll then learn how to advertise your website using search engine (PPC) advertising, banner advertising, and more.

Email Marketing

In spite of the growing number of junk mail filling people's inboxes, email is a thriving medium, so it's important to understand how you can use email marketing to keep current customers and acquire new ones. In this lesson, you'll examine ways that you can use email to promote your business.

Creating Site Stickiness Through Content

If you want visitors to spend more than 30 seconds on your website, you'll need to make it interesting, entertaining, and informative. The factor that causes visitors to spend more time at your site is called "stickiness." In this lesson, you'll learn about the advantages of building a sticky site and how to use content to make your website sticky.

Creating Site Stickiness Through Community

In the previous lesson, you learned to build site stickiness through the use of content. In this lesson, you'll learn to build site stickiness through community. You'll also become acquainted with synchronous and asynchronous tools you can use to develop a community experience for your visitors.

Creating Site Stickiness Through Commerce

The last element you can use to build site stickiness is commerce—in this case, e-commerce. You'll learn how to use commerce to keep visitors at your site longer and return more often. In this lesson, you'll become acquainted with technology you can use to create an online store, including online catalogs, shopping cart software, and online payment systems.

Completing Your Internet Marketing Plan

In the final lesson, you'll have the opportunity to pull together all of the information you gathered during this course to complete an Internet marketing plan. To help you do this, you'll be given an Internet marketing plan checklist and samples of the following documents: Internet marketing plan outline, a calendar, and a budget spreadsheet. You'll want to use this opportunity to complete an Internet marketing plan that you can use to promote your business.

What you will learn

• Learn the important factors to consider when developing a business website
• Discover how to gain and keep customers through an online presence
• Examine the factors that build recognition and make a compelling brand identity on the Internet
• Learn how to build an online store and exponentially improve the profitability of your business

How you will benefit

• Acquire an online marketing plan for your own business
• Discover the secrets of Internet search queries to direct online traffic to your website
• Grow your business through a strong web presence by learning tips and tricks in this course

Lisa Adams is a web development expert specializing in marketing, user experience, and e-commerce. In addition to building and maintaining hundreds of websites, Lisa has helped a wide variety of clients and students to create their own sites and modify existing ones to make them more attractive and user-friendly.

Acquire practical experience in strategic planning, management, and finance without enrolling in an MBA program.

Are you interested in acquiring practical business experience in strategic planning, management, and finance without enrolling in an MBA program? This course is for you!

You'll understand the significance of strategic planning and discover how external and internal environmental factors affect an organization. You'll learn about organizational structures, performance measurements, financial investment models, budgeting, ethics, workplace politics, and more! This course will provide you with in-depth knowledge of the business environment.

Requirements:

Hardware Requirements:

• This course can be taken on either a PC or Mac.

Software Requirements:

• PC: Windows 8 or later.
• Mac: macOS 10.6 or later.
• Browser: The latest version of Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox are preferred. Microsoft Edge and Safari are also compatible.
• Adobe Acrobat Reader.
• Software must be installed and fully operational before the course begins.

Other:

• Email capabilities and access to a personal email account.

Instructional Material Requirements:

The instructional materials required for this course are included in enrollment and will be available online.

Acquire practical experience in strategic planning, management, and finance without enrolling in an MBA program. This course will provide in-depth knowledge of the business environment, including ethics, organizational structures, performance measures, financial investment models, budgeting, and more.

The Basics of Strategic Planning

In the first lesson, you'll learn the ins and outs of strategic planning. You'll find out why you need to define your business in terms of the customer and why you must have the right ingredients in place to meet customer demands. The lesson will discuss how environmental factors, such as technology and economics, shape your company. You'll also see how the internal environment determines how well your organization responds to opportunities and threats.

Strategic Plan Implementation

Memorize the phrase, "Plan your work and work your plan" because it has great applicability to strategic planning. You'll begin this lesson by learning about the elements you must use to effectively implement your strategic plan. You'll study vision statements, move on to purpose and mission statements, and discuss goals, objectives, strategies, policies, and procedures. Next, you'll focus on company culture and find out why planning is beneficial. Finally, you'll look at the major strategic choices that you can choose from, ranging from core business focus to insolvency.

Organizational Concepts

Organizing is a critical topic that many companies struggle with. Once you have a good idea of how to develop and implement a strategic plan, you need to take the next step. This lesson will discuss how to organize resources so employees can perform job duties and relate to one another in the most effective way possible. You'll learn the purpose of organization and present several coordinating principles, including authority, power, and span of control. You'll also spend time exploring the staffing function and evaluate the elements—recruitment, selection, appraisal, and development—and study six different forms of organizational charts.

Motivation, Leadership, and Control

This lesson will discuss three key management principles: motivation, leadership, and control. Motivation and leadership, as compared to control, represent a more subtle side of business. While control focuses on concrete things such as analysis and procedures, motivation and leadership rely on less tangible factors. You'll begin the lesson by defining motivation, exploring four theories of motivation, and then moving into leadership. You'll learn about the types of leadership and see how delegation and empowerment differs. You'll finish up by investigating control and learning how to effectively use three different control processes.

Overview of Accounting

This lesson and the next four to follow will help you increase your mastery of financial fundamentals. It's important that you increase your readiness to use financial information to identify and understand problems and opportunities, and also make decisions. The lesson will discuss the elements of the general ledger, explore a few key accounting terms, contrast accounting and bookkeeping, and investigate the different types of accounting. You'll learn about vital accounting concepts, such as the accounting equation, debits and credits, and the cost principle.

Statements and Cash Flow

Now that you have the basics of accounting safely under your belt, it's time to start looking at how to apply financial information. You'll start off by reviewing two financial statements that you find at nearly every organization—the balance sheet and the income statement. Without these two documents, it's impossible to determine how a firm is performing. After you learn about the balance sheet and the income statement, you'll also learn how to account for inventories and understand about the significance of cash flow. The lesson will explain why sound cash management helps any company stay on the right path.

Cost Concepts

Cost is the price you pay to acquire, maintain, produce, or use materials or services. Since most firms account for their operations at cost, it's essential that you understand how costs are determined and used. This lesson will discuss the nature of discretionary, relevant, sunk, and variable costs, and many more. You'll also discover how managerial accounting differs from financial accounting.

Financial Planning and Investing

The largest investment that many businesses make is in their land and buildings. Firms also make smaller, more frequent investment decisions for items such as equipment and fixture purchase and replacement. In this lesson, you'll learn about the different types of investment decision-making models, including average rate of return (ARR), payback period, discounted cash flow (DCF), net present value (NPV), and internal rate of return (IRR). You'll also examine the nuts and bolts of financial planning.

Budgeting

In the last lesson about financial matters, you'll wrap things up by examining budgeting. In order to be successful and make meaningful decisions about the future, you must look ahead. One way to do this is by preparing budgets. Accounting, as a major organizational function, supports a number of different types of budgets. You'll learn how to use the major budgets, including the department administration budget (also known as an expense budget), the production materials budget, the maintenance, repair and operating (MRO) budget, the capital budget, and zero-based budgeting.

Performance Measurements

In this lesson, you'll examine performance measurements as a way to keep track of progress. Studies reveal that if you don't measure a process, you can't properly manage it. The lesson will begin with a discussion on how human nature affects performance measurements. You'll learn about the attributes of effective performance measurements and see how traditional and progressive performance measurements differ.

Business Law and Contracts

The topic for this lesson is business law. The objective is to help you develop a good overview of business law and also learn about some important concepts, such as the principal-agency relationship and the basics of contracts. You'll begin by reading about the nature of laws, move on to explore the basics of a legal system, and then learn about the essence of commercial law.

Forms of Organization, Politics, and Ethics

Now that you have a basic understanding of business law, you'll take a look at the four most popular organizational forms: sole proprietorship, general partnership, limited partnership, and corporation. You'll spend some time learning about organizational politics, because wherever people work together, there will be politics. The lesson will go over "good" and "bad" politics and discuss how ethics relates to politics.

What you will learn

• Discover how external and internal environmental factors affect an organization
• Learn about various organizational structures
• Understand how to use leadership, motivation, and control for maximum impact
• Learn how successful organizations use performance measurements to stay on track
• Master the fundamentals of accounting
• Learn the basics of financial planning and budgeting methods
• Gain an understanding of the basic principles of business law
• Learn about ethics and organizational politics

How you will benefit

• Gain practical business experience that will help you in your current role without enrolling in an MBA program
• Use this course to determine if enrolling in an MBA program is the right next step for you
• Open the door to additional opportunities as you come to fully understand the business environment around you

Tony Swaim has helped many clients, colleagues, and students reach their professional and personal goals. He has been an online instructor since 1998 and has taught at colleges and universities across the United States since 1981. His focus areas are project management, Six Sigma, and supply chain management. Tony manages a successful consulting firm, and his industry experience includes 20 years of supply chain management. He earned a Doctorate in Business Administration from Kennesaw State University and holds professional certifications in six disciplines, including the Project Management Professional (PMP)® certification from the Project Management Institute (PMI)® and Certified Six Sigma Black Belt (CSSBB)® from the American Society for Quality (ASQ)®.

Acquire practical experience in strategic planning, management, and finance without enrolling in an MBA program.

Are you interested in acquiring practical business experience in strategic planning, management, and finance without enrolling in an MBA program? This course is for you!

You'll understand the significance of strategic planning and discover how external and internal environmental factors affect an organization. You'll learn about organizational structures, performance measurements, financial investment models, budgeting, ethics, workplace politics, and more! This course will provide you with in-depth knowledge of the business environment.

Requirements:

Hardware Requirements:

• This course can be taken on either a PC or Mac.

Software Requirements:

• PC: Windows 8 or later.
• Mac: macOS 10.6 or later.
• Browser: The latest version of Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox are preferred. Microsoft Edge and Safari are also compatible.
• Adobe Acrobat Reader.
• Software must be installed and fully operational before the course begins.

Other:

• Email capabilities and access to a personal email account.

Instructional Material Requirements:

The instructional materials required for this course are included in enrollment and will be available online.

Acquire practical experience in strategic planning, management, and finance without enrolling in an MBA program. This course will provide in-depth knowledge of the business environment, including ethics, organizational structures, performance measures, financial investment models, budgeting, and more.

The Basics of Strategic Planning

In the first lesson, you'll learn the ins and outs of strategic planning. You'll find out why you need to define your business in terms of the customer and why you must have the right ingredients in place to meet customer demands. The lesson will discuss how environmental factors, such as technology and economics, shape your company. You'll also see how the internal environment determines how well your organization responds to opportunities and threats.

Strategic Plan Implementation

Memorize the phrase, "Plan your work and work your plan" because it has great applicability to strategic planning. You'll begin this lesson by learning about the elements you must use to effectively implement your strategic plan. You'll study vision statements, move on to purpose and mission statements, and discuss goals, objectives, strategies, policies, and procedures. Next, you'll focus on company culture and find out why planning is beneficial. Finally, you'll look at the major strategic choices that you can choose from, ranging from core business focus to insolvency.

Organizational Concepts

Organizing is a critical topic that many companies struggle with. Once you have a good idea of how to develop and implement a strategic plan, you need to take the next step. This lesson will discuss how to organize resources so employees can perform job duties and relate to one another in the most effective way possible. You'll learn the purpose of organization and present several coordinating principles, including authority, power, and span of control. You'll also spend time exploring the staffing function and evaluate the elements—recruitment, selection, appraisal, and development—and study six different forms of organizational charts.

Motivation, Leadership, and Control

This lesson will discuss three key management principles: motivation, leadership, and control. Motivation and leadership, as compared to control, represent a more subtle side of business. While control focuses on concrete things such as analysis and procedures, motivation and leadership rely on less tangible factors. You'll begin the lesson by defining motivation, exploring four theories of motivation, and then moving into leadership. You'll learn about the types of leadership and see how delegation and empowerment differs. You'll finish up by investigating control and learning how to effectively use three different control processes.

Overview of Accounting

This lesson and the next four to follow will help you increase your mastery of financial fundamentals. It's important that you increase your readiness to use financial information to identify and understand problems and opportunities, and also make decisions. The lesson will discuss the elements of the general ledger, explore a few key accounting terms, contrast accounting and bookkeeping, and investigate the different types of accounting. You'll learn about vital accounting concepts, such as the accounting equation, debits and credits, and the cost principle.

Statements and Cash Flow

Now that you have the basics of accounting safely under your belt, it's time to start looking at how to apply financial information. You'll start off by reviewing two financial statements that you find at nearly every organization—the balance sheet and the income statement. Without these two documents, it's impossible to determine how a firm is performing. After you learn about the balance sheet and the income statement, you'll also learn how to account for inventories and understand about the significance of cash flow. The lesson will explain why sound cash management helps any company stay on the right path.

Cost Concepts

Cost is the price you pay to acquire, maintain, produce, or use materials or services. Since most firms account for their operations at cost, it's essential that you understand how costs are determined and used. This lesson will discuss the nature of discretionary, relevant, sunk, and variable costs, and many more. You'll also discover how managerial accounting differs from financial accounting.

Financial Planning and Investing

The largest investment that many businesses make is in their land and buildings. Firms also make smaller, more frequent investment decisions for items such as equipment and fixture purchase and replacement. In this lesson, you'll learn about the different types of investment decision-making models, including average rate of return (ARR), payback period, discounted cash flow (DCF), net present value (NPV), and internal rate of return (IRR). You'll also examine the nuts and bolts of financial planning.

Budgeting

In the last lesson about financial matters, you'll wrap things up by examining budgeting. In order to be successful and make meaningful decisions about the future, you must look ahead. One way to do this is by preparing budgets. Accounting, as a major organizational function, supports a number of different types of budgets. You'll learn how to use the major budgets, including the department administration budget (also known as an expense budget), the production materials budget, the maintenance, repair and operating (MRO) budget, the capital budget, and zero-based budgeting.

Performance Measurements

In this lesson, you'll examine performance measurements as a way to keep track of progress. Studies reveal that if you don't measure a process, you can't properly manage it. The lesson will begin with a discussion on how human nature affects performance measurements. You'll learn about the attributes of effective performance measurements and see how traditional and progressive performance measurements differ.

Business Law and Contracts

The topic for this lesson is business law. The objective is to help you develop a good overview of business law and also learn about some important concepts, such as the principal-agency relationship and the basics of contracts. You'll begin by reading about the nature of laws, move on to explore the basics of a legal system, and then learn about the essence of commercial law.

Forms of Organization, Politics, and Ethics

Now that you have a basic understanding of business law, you'll take a look at the four most popular organizational forms: sole proprietorship, general partnership, limited partnership, and corporation. You'll spend some time learning about organizational politics, because wherever people work together, there will be politics. The lesson will go over "good" and "bad" politics and discuss how ethics relates to politics.

What you will learn

• Discover how external and internal environmental factors affect an organization
• Learn about various organizational structures
• Understand how to use leadership, motivation, and control for maximum impact
• Learn how successful organizations use performance measurements to stay on track
• Master the fundamentals of accounting
• Learn the basics of financial planning and budgeting methods
• Gain an understanding of the basic principles of business law
• Learn about ethics and organizational politics

How you will benefit

• Gain practical business experience that will help you in your current role without enrolling in an MBA program
• Use this course to determine if enrolling in an MBA program is the right next step for you
• Open the door to additional opportunities as you come to fully understand the business environment around you

Tony Swaim has helped many clients, colleagues, and students reach their professional and personal goals. He has been an online instructor since 1998 and has taught at colleges and universities across the United States since 1981. His focus areas are project management, Six Sigma, and supply chain management. Tony manages a successful consulting firm, and his industry experience includes 20 years of supply chain management. He earned a Doctorate in Business Administration from Kennesaw State University and holds professional certifications in six disciplines, including the Project Management Professional (PMP)® certification from the Project Management Institute (PMI)® and Certified Six Sigma Black Belt (CSSBB)® from the American Society for Quality (ASQ)®.

Discover small business marketing strategies that can help you attract attention, woo your target audience, grow your customer base, and expand your profits—all for little or no money.

When it comes to marketing for small businesses, money isn't everything! In this course, you'll learn how to use the same marketing tricks the big companies employ—without making a big dent in your wallet.

The small business marketing strategies you'll learn will fit into any budget—and some are even free! With the help of videos, spreadsheets, and hands-on activities, you'll build your skills in each lesson. You'll master cost-effective strategies, including strategic partnerships, local marketing, search engine optimization, social networking, email marketing, lead generation, and niche marketing. Along the way, you'll see many real-world examples from other small businesses much like yours.

Whether you're new to advertising or looking for a refresher, this course will make you a marketing pro. By the time you're done, you'll have a personalized plan of action for increasing your sales—all on a shoestring budget.

Requirements:

Hardware Requirements:

• This course can be taken on either a PC or Mac.

Software Requirements:

• PC: Windows 8 or later.
• Mac: macOS 10.6 or later.
• Browser: The latest version of Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox are preferred. Microsoft Edge and Safari are also compatible.
• Adobe Acrobat Reader.
• Software must be installed and fully operational before the course begins.

Other:

• Email capabilities and access to a personal email account.

Instructional Material Requirements:

The instructional materials required for this course are included in enrollment and will be available online.

Discover how to use the same marketing tricks the big companies employ and create a personalized plan without clearing out your bank account. This course will help you master cost effective marketing strategies the provide results with hands-on activities and real-world examples.

Creating a Marketing Strategy

If you own a small business and need to stretch your marketing dollars, you've come to the right place! In this lesson, you'll discover that you can promote your business effectively for just pennies—or sometimes even for free. The secret: a systematic marketing plan that targets your audience at every stage of the purchasing cycle.

Getting Customers to Notice You

The first step in successful marketing is getting people to notice you—and in this lesson, you'll look at three ways to achieve that goal. You'll start by learning how to create a great first impression, both in person and through your brand. Next, you'll find out how to position yourself as an expert in your field. Finally, the lesson will talk about using the media to promote your business.

Leveraging Others

Want to stretch your marketing dollars to the max? Then put the power of partnerships to work for you. In this lesson, you'll discover how to combine forces with other individuals or businesses to create exciting and effective marketing opportunities. In addition, you'll learn about enlisting other people in your place-based marketing and word-of-mouth campaigns.

Creating a Website Designed to Sell

These days, a website is an essential marketing tool for any business. Here's the good news: You can create an attractive, professional-looking website quickly and easily, for only a few dollars. You'll find out how in this lesson—and you'll also learn the ins and outs of obtaining a domain name, getting a matching email address, laying out your website, and finding a hosting provider if you need one.

Driving People to Your Website

After you create your website, it's time for the next step: drawing traffic to it. In this lesson, you'll explore how to do this through on-page and off-page search engine optimization (SEO). In addition, you'll look at pay-per-click ads, banner ads, classified ads, videos, and a host of other low-cost or free ways to draw attention online.

Finding Leads and Encouraging Sales

Successful business owners master the art of finding and cultivating leads, and that's what this lesson will talk about. You'll investigate everything from old-fashioned fishbowls to Facebook Business pages and Twitter, and then learn about the pros and cons of email and direct mail marketing. Whether you're a traditionalist or a techie, you'll find an approach that's just right for you.

Encouraging Repeat Business and Referrals

Congratulations: You've scored a sale! Now, how can you keep your new customer coming back for more? This lesson will talk about inexpensive or free ways to generate repeat sales. In addition, you'll look at a variety of techniques for encouraging referrals. Finally, the lesson will talk about capturing your customer information in a database.

Understanding Projections and Timing

Some marketing efforts bring crowds of customers to your door. Others are a complete flop, wasting your time and money. How can you choose wisely? By doing some upfront analysis—and that's what this lesson will talk about. Once you complete this lesson, you'll be equipped with all the tools you need to choose marketing tactics that have a high potential for success. In addition, you'll learn why integrated marketing gives you the best results and find out how to schedule a full year of marketing activities easily and efficiently.

Targeting Your Marketing

Sure, you want everyone to buy your product—but when you're marketing, it pays to be exclusive. In this lesson, you'll find out why niche marketing can bring in more customers than mass marketing (and create a more loyal customer base as well). After that, you'll learn how to use geographics, demographics, firmographics, psychographics, and behavioral data to create a marketing message that resonates with your target market.

Creating Your Key Selling Messages

This lesson will talk about key selling messages—those alluring words that overcome potential buyers' objections and make them want to make a purchase immediately. You'll learn how to identify the unique features of your business, how to create a competitive positioning statement, and—most important of all—how to identify the emotional benefits that motivate your buyers. By the time you're done, you'll be able to distill your new knowledge into a short, powerful message that will turn skeptical people into eager customers.

Setting Your Goals and Finalizing Your Marketing Plan

In this lesson, it all comes together! First, you'll create the two final elements of your marketing plan: your business goals and your marketing goals. You'll discover how to create goals that are clear-cut, realistic, and measurable, so you'll be motivated to meet (or even exceed) the targets you set. After that, you'll roll all of your information into a single document that will be your blueprint for marketing success. With this marketing plan in hand, you'll be ready to take your prospective buyers by storm.

Tracking Your Results

This final lesson talks about tracking—the secret to continually improving your marketing tactics and increasing your profits. You'll learn how to create a baseline and compile reports that can highlight your marketing successes and point to areas where you can improve. In addition, you'll discover different ways to track your campaigns—including the campaigns you might think are "untrackable."

What you will learn

• Learn to build your own customized marketing plan step-by-step
• Discover how to attract your target audiences, entice customers to buy your product or service, and keep buyers coming back for more
• Find out how to generate the referrals that are crucial to your company's success
• Get tips on evaluating your tactics, tracking your results, and fine-tuning your approach

How you will benefit

• Master cost-effective strategies that will allow you to market like a company with a much bigger budget
• Create a personalized marketing plan designed to increase sales
• Learn to generate more revenue with less money

Glynns Thomas has more than 20 years of advertising and marketing experience. She was a Vice President of Internet Marketing at Wells Fargo Bank and has worked for several well-known advertising agencies. Today, Thomas is an independent marketing consultant and a volunteer with SCORE: Counselors to America's Small Business, providing marketing advice to small businesses.

Discover small business marketing strategies that can help you attract attention, woo your target audience, grow your customer base, and expand your profits—all for little or no money.

When it comes to marketing for small businesses, money isn't everything! In this course, you'll learn how to use the same marketing tricks the big companies employ—without making a big dent in your wallet.

The small business marketing strategies you'll learn will fit into any budget—and some are even free! With the help of videos, spreadsheets, and hands-on activities, you'll build your skills in each lesson. You'll master cost-effective strategies, including strategic partnerships, local marketing, search engine optimization, social networking, email marketing, lead generation, and niche marketing. Along the way, you'll see many real-world examples from other small businesses much like yours.

Whether you're new to advertising or looking for a refresher, this course will make you a marketing pro. By the time you're done, you'll have a personalized plan of action for increasing your sales—all on a shoestring budget.

Requirements:

Hardware Requirements:

• This course can be taken on either a PC or Mac.

Software Requirements:

• PC: Windows 8 or later.
• Mac: macOS 10.6 or later.
• Browser: The latest version of Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox are preferred. Microsoft Edge and Safari are also compatible.
• Adobe Acrobat Reader.
• Software must be installed and fully operational before the course begins.

Other:

• Email capabilities and access to a personal email account.

Instructional Material Requirements:

The instructional materials required for this course are included in enrollment and will be available online.

Discover how to use the same marketing tricks the big companies employ and create a personalized plan without clearing out your bank account. This course will help you master cost effective marketing strategies the provide results with hands-on activities and real-world examples.

Creating a Marketing Strategy

If you own a small business and need to stretch your marketing dollars, you've come to the right place! In this lesson, you'll discover that you can promote your business effectively for just pennies—or sometimes even for free. The secret: a systematic marketing plan that targets your audience at every stage of the purchasing cycle.

Getting Customers to Notice You

The first step in successful marketing is getting people to notice you—and in this lesson, you'll look at three ways to achieve that goal. You'll start by learning how to create a great first impression, both in person and through your brand. Next, you'll find out how to position yourself as an expert in your field. Finally, the lesson will talk about using the media to promote your business.

Leveraging Others

Want to stretch your marketing dollars to the max? Then put the power of partnerships to work for you. In this lesson, you'll discover how to combine forces with other individuals or businesses to create exciting and effective marketing opportunities. In addition, you'll learn about enlisting other people in your place-based marketing and word-of-mouth campaigns.

Creating a Website Designed to Sell

These days, a website is an essential marketing tool for any business. Here's the good news: You can create an attractive, professional-looking website quickly and easily, for only a few dollars. You'll find out how in this lesson—and you'll also learn the ins and outs of obtaining a domain name, getting a matching email address, laying out your website, and finding a hosting provider if you need one.

Driving People to Your Website

After you create your website, it's time for the next step: drawing traffic to it. In this lesson, you'll explore how to do this through on-page and off-page search engine optimization (SEO). In addition, you'll look at pay-per-click ads, banner ads, classified ads, videos, and a host of other low-cost or free ways to draw attention online.

Finding Leads and Encouraging Sales

Successful business owners master the art of finding and cultivating leads, and that's what this lesson will talk about. You'll investigate everything from old-fashioned fishbowls to Facebook Business pages and Twitter, and then learn about the pros and cons of email and direct mail marketing. Whether you're a traditionalist or a techie, you'll find an approach that's just right for you.

Encouraging Repeat Business and Referrals

Congratulations: You've scored a sale! Now, how can you keep your new customer coming back for more? This lesson will talk about inexpensive or free ways to generate repeat sales. In addition, you'll look at a variety of techniques for encouraging referrals. Finally, the lesson will talk about capturing your customer information in a database.

Understanding Projections and Timing

Some marketing efforts bring crowds of customers to your door. Others are a complete flop, wasting your time and money. How can you choose wisely? By doing some upfront analysis—and that's what this lesson will talk about. Once you complete this lesson, you'll be equipped with all the tools you need to choose marketing tactics that have a high potential for success. In addition, you'll learn why integrated marketing gives you the best results and find out how to schedule a full year of marketing activities easily and efficiently.

Targeting Your Marketing

Sure, you want everyone to buy your product—but when you're marketing, it pays to be exclusive. In this lesson, you'll find out why niche marketing can bring in more customers than mass marketing (and create a more loyal customer base as well). After that, you'll learn how to use geographics, demographics, firmographics, psychographics, and behavioral data to create a marketing message that resonates with your target market.

Creating Your Key Selling Messages

This lesson will talk about key selling messages—those alluring words that overcome potential buyers' objections and make them want to make a purchase immediately. You'll learn how to identify the unique features of your business, how to create a competitive positioning statement, and—most important of all—how to identify the emotional benefits that motivate your buyers. By the time you're done, you'll be able to distill your new knowledge into a short, powerful message that will turn skeptical people into eager customers.

Setting Your Goals and Finalizing Your Marketing Plan

In this lesson, it all comes together! First, you'll create the two final elements of your marketing plan: your business goals and your marketing goals. You'll discover how to create goals that are clear-cut, realistic, and measurable, so you'll be motivated to meet (or even exceed) the targets you set. After that, you'll roll all of your information into a single document that will be your blueprint for marketing success. With this marketing plan in hand, you'll be ready to take your prospective buyers by storm.

Tracking Your Results

This final lesson talks about tracking—the secret to continually improving your marketing tactics and increasing your profits. You'll learn how to create a baseline and compile reports that can highlight your marketing successes and point to areas where you can improve. In addition, you'll discover different ways to track your campaigns—including the campaigns you might think are "untrackable."

What you will learn

• Learn to build your own customized marketing plan step-by-step
• Discover how to attract your target audiences, entice customers to buy your product or service, and keep buyers coming back for more
• Find out how to generate the referrals that are crucial to your company's success
• Get tips on evaluating your tactics, tracking your results, and fine-tuning your approach

How you will benefit

• Master cost-effective strategies that will allow you to market like a company with a much bigger budget
• Create a personalized marketing plan designed to increase sales
• Learn to generate more revenue with less money

Glynns Thomas has more than 20 years of advertising and marketing experience. She was a Vice President of Internet Marketing at Wells Fargo Bank and has worked for several well-known advertising agencies. Today, Thomas is an independent marketing consultant and a volunteer with SCORE: Counselors to America's Small Business, providing marketing advice to small businesses.

Discover how to translate your love of animals into a fun and profitable career.

If you're an animal lover, find out how you can start your own pet sitting business to translate your passion into a profitable career! In this course, you will master the essentials of running a cat and dog sitting business. You'll begin with pet care, including nutrition, exercise, first aid, and the identification of common diseases. You will learn the basics of first aid and find out how to administer pills, liquid medications, and injections to an uncooperative cat or dog. You will discover how to handle home visits and impress your potential clients. You'll also explore sticky situations that can arise, such as lost pets, pets that die unexpectedly, and pets that need immediate veterinary care.

In addition, you will delve into finances and explore start-up costs, accounting, fee setting, business plans, and low-cost marketing. You will discover how to obtain required insurance, hire employees as your business expands, and entice financial institutions to loan you money. Then, you will look at opportunities for expanding your pet sitting services. Is a dog-walking service right for you? Can you train puppies? Do you want to look after other animals, including horses? By the end of this course, you will have all the knowledge you need to become a professional pet sitter. In addition, you will discover how your pet sitting business can grow to continually challenge and satisfy you.

Requirements:

Hardware Requirements:

• This course can be taken on either a PC or Mac.

Software Requirements:

• PC: Windows 8 or later.
• Mac: macOS 10.6 or later.
• Browser: The latest version of Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox are preferred. Microsoft Edge and Safari are also compatible.
• Adobe Acrobat Reader.
• Software must be installed and fully operational before the course begins.

Other:

• Email capabilities and access to a personal email account.

Instructional Material Requirements:

The instructional materials required for this course are included in enrollment and will be available online.

Discover how you can turn your love of animals into a profitable pet-sitting career. This course covers everything you need to know about caring for pets from nutrition, exercise and first aid and everything that goes into starting a successful business.

Welcome to the World of Pet Sitting

Are you a bona fide animal fan? Do you love nothing more than a long walk with a furry friend? If so, then a career in pet sitting may be just right for you. In this first lesson, you'll discover what pet sitters do, what the many benefits are, and how to determine if there's a strong market for this business in your area. The good news is, you don't need lots of money to get started—your love for animals, your strong sense of responsibility, and the knowledge and skills you'll learn in this course will take you far!

Caring for Dogs

In this lesson, you'll find out how to care for dogs. You'll see that feeding is more than just putting food in a bowl as you discover how to determine food and water quantities for the dogs you care for. You'll also learn about some of the ways to help Spot get the exercise he needs without overdoing. You'll examine a dog's vital signs and learn how to accurately assess the overall health of your canine clients. Finally, you'll consider two emergency situations that can mean the difference between life and death for a dog and outline what to do if they arise.

Caring for Cats

In this lesson, you'll gain an understanding of all the ways that cats are not just little dogs. You'll see that feline nutritional requirements are unique, and you'll explore the latest guidelines for ensuring that cats get the nutrition they need. From hair balls and abscesses to more serious conditions, such as thromboembolism and urinary blockages, you'll examine the particular health concerns you'll need to be aware of as you care for cats. You'll learn how to identify these diseases as well as others and evaluate a cat's vital signs so that you can be alert to emergency situations.

Canine and Feline Behavior

Can you tell a timid dog that's smiling from an aggressive one that's baring his teeth? What would cause a cat to use your sofa for a litter box? In this lesson, you'll gain insights into how dogs and cats think. You'll gather quick tips on how to protect yourself when working with aggressive cats and dogs and also learn strategies for dealing with common feline and canine behavioral issues you'll encounter as you care for them.

Pet First Aid and Emergencies

In this lesson, you'll learn how to recognize and deal with emergencies that can arise in your role as a pet sitter. You'll find out what to do if one of the pets in your care is bleeding, has an allergic reaction, or experiences shock. You'll find out what to do with conditions such as vomiting and diarrhea, foreign bodies, and eye problems, and what to do during the birthing process. You'll then learn about poisoning and examine common toxins that pets may encounter. Finally, you'll learn what to include in a first aid kit and how to respond to emergencies.

The First Meeting, Finances, and Organizing Yourself

Have you ever gone into an interview totally unprepared for what happened? Did you make a poor impression? This will never happen to you in pet sitting! In this lesson, you'll find out how to make the best impression to a new client—what to say and how to act. You'll also consider how to assess the impression prospective clients are making on you—and how to refuse a client. Next, you'll gain an appreciation of how much you can earn and how many calls you can do in a day. Lastly, you'll look at how to get organized so that you can get the most out of your new business.

Servicing Clients and Home Visits

In this lesson, you get right into the thick of your new career by finding out what to do during the home visit. You'll learn about what kind of information to get from your clients in advance and how to assess their needs based on the kind of services they request. Next, you'll explore all the elements of a home visit, from managing keys and alarm systems to feeding, exercise, and everything you need to do to keep the pets healthy and happy. Finally, you'll get a first look at some of the little extra things you can do to offer the kind of service that keeps your clients coming back for more.

Sticky Situations and Medicating Pets

What happens when a pet you're caring for gets lost? What if the animal needs expensive veterinary care? Will you be stuck with the bill? In this lesson, you'll learn to cope with some of those sticky situations that pet sitters occasionally run into on the job. This includes losing a pet, the sudden death of a pet, as well as handling medical emergencies. You'll also learn how to handle some literally sticky situations—such as how to administer injections, eye and ear drops, and other kinds of medication.

How to Market Your Pet Sitting Business

There are countless ways to get clients to call you and book your services. In this lesson, you'll discover the different tools and techniques you can use to build your clientele. You'll start with basic marketing materials and see how to exude a professional image through business cards and brochures. Then, you'll delve into advertising and consider whether paid advertisements are worth the money. The lesson will also discuss how to use things like press releases and social media to get free publicity and whether joining professional organizations can boost your business. Finally, you'll explore ways to establish and deepen your relationship with clients once you've caught their attention—from how to handle that first phone call to special things you can do to keep clients happy and loyal.

How to Set up a Business

At this point, you've developed the skills and knowledge to be a successful pet sitter. But how do you set up shop? In this lesson, you'll see how to establish your business, including both your actual office and the legal structures you have to have in place to keep your venture stable. You'll learn about the licenses you'll need and get a good sense of why contracts with customers are so important. You'll appreciate the different types of insurance, both for the business and you personally. Finally, you'll learn the ins and outs of employees—when to hire them and what they cost.

Accounting, Money Management, and the Business Plan

Time to hit the books—the financial books, that is. In this lesson, you'll delve into the world of accounting so that you can see where your business is heading financially. You'll find out how to determine start-up costs as well as the ongoing costs of running a pet sitting business. You'll also come face to face with the necessity of getting your bills paid, and get some suggestions to ensure your clients pay in a timely fashion. Finally, you'll explore the importance of writing a business plan to set a road map for success and help you convince lenders that your new business is a solid investment.

Expanding the Business for Fun and Profit

You'll discover that pet sitting doesn't have to be just feeding and watering the cat or dog. As a pet sitter, you are perfectly positioned to add other services. This can include grooming the animals, cutting their nails, and brushing their teeth. There are also services like dog walking, training, puppy care, pet taxi, home sitting, and even poop scooping. You'll then take a look at other kinds of animals, each of which requires their own expertise.

What you will learn

• Learn what pet sitters do
• Gain an understanding of how dogs and cats are different and require different care
• Learn about feeding, watering, and exercising pets
• Discover different emergency situations you may encounter and how to handle them
• Learn what to do when a cat or dog becomes aggressive and some strategies for dealing with behavioral issues
• Learn how to make a good impression when talking to prospective clients
• Learn the types of questions to ask and the information you need from your clients when making your initial home visit
• Learn what to do when a pet gets lost or needs expensive veterinary care
• Discover tools and techniques for building your clientele
• Learn what you will need to establish your business, including licenses, contracts, and insurance
• Learn to create a business plan to determine start-up costs as well as the ongoing costs of running a pet business
• Discover other services you can offer such as grooming, nail clipping, dog walking, puppy training, etc.

How you will benefit

• If you are an animal lover, turn your passion into a profitable career
• Master the essentials of running a cat and dog sitting business
• Discover how a pet sitting business can grow to continually challenge and satisfy you

Jeff Grognet has been a companion animal veterinarian for 25 years. He was a pioneer in the field of veterinary assistant teaching, developing his first course more than 18 years ago. Due to the success of his veterinary receptionist/assistant courses, he expanded his teaching into other high-demand areas including pet first aid and alternative medical therapies for companion animals. He practices at a veterinary hospital and contributes regularly to several magazines.

Discover how to translate your love of animals into a fun and profitable career.

If you're an animal lover, find out how you can start your own pet sitting business to translate your passion into a profitable career! In this course, you will master the essentials of running a cat and dog sitting business. You'll begin with pet care, including nutrition, exercise, first aid, and the identification of common diseases. You will learn the basics of first aid and find out how to administer pills, liquid medications, and injections to an uncooperative cat or dog. You will discover how to handle home visits and impress your potential clients. You'll also explore sticky situations that can arise, such as lost pets, pets that die unexpectedly, and pets that need immediate veterinary care.

In addition, you will delve into finances and explore start-up costs, accounting, fee setting, business plans, and low-cost marketing. You will discover how to obtain required insurance, hire employees as your business expands, and entice financial institutions to loan you money. Then, you will look at opportunities for expanding your pet sitting services. Is a dog-walking service right for you? Can you train puppies? Do you want to look after other animals, including horses? By the end of this course, you will have all the knowledge you need to become a professional pet sitter. In addition, you will discover how your pet sitting business can grow to continually challenge and satisfy you.

Requirements:

Hardware Requirements:

• This course can be taken on either a PC or Mac.

Software Requirements:

• PC: Windows 8 or later.
• Mac: macOS 10.6 or later.
• Browser: The latest version of Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox are preferred. Microsoft Edge and Safari are also compatible.
• Adobe Acrobat Reader.
• Software must be installed and fully operational before the course begins.

Other:

• Email capabilities and access to a personal email account.

Instructional Material Requirements:

The instructional materials required for this course are included in enrollment and will be available online.

Discover how you can turn your love of animals into a profitable pet-sitting career. This course covers everything you need to know about caring for pets from nutrition, exercise and first aid and everything that goes into starting a successful business.

Welcome to the World of Pet Sitting

Are you a bona fide animal fan? Do you love nothing more than a long walk with a furry friend? If so, then a career in pet sitting may be just right for you. In this first lesson, you'll discover what pet sitters do, what the many benefits are, and how to determine if there's a strong market for this business in your area. The good news is, you don't need lots of money to get started—your love for animals, your strong sense of responsibility, and the knowledge and skills you'll learn in this course will take you far!

Caring for Dogs

In this lesson, you'll find out how to care for dogs. You'll see that feeding is more than just putting food in a bowl as you discover how to determine food and water quantities for the dogs you care for. You'll also learn about some of the ways to help Spot get the exercise he needs without overdoing. You'll examine a dog's vital signs and learn how to accurately assess the overall health of your canine clients. Finally, you'll consider two emergency situations that can mean the difference between life and death for a dog and outline what to do if they arise.

Caring for Cats

In this lesson, you'll gain an understanding of all the ways that cats are not just little dogs. You'll see that feline nutritional requirements are unique, and you'll explore the latest guidelines for ensuring that cats get the nutrition they need. From hair balls and abscesses to more serious conditions, such as thromboembolism and urinary blockages, you'll examine the particular health concerns you'll need to be aware of as you care for cats. You'll learn how to identify these diseases as well as others and evaluate a cat's vital signs so that you can be alert to emergency situations.

Canine and Feline Behavior

Can you tell a timid dog that's smiling from an aggressive one that's baring his teeth? What would cause a cat to use your sofa for a litter box? In this lesson, you'll gain insights into how dogs and cats think. You'll gather quick tips on how to protect yourself when working with aggressive cats and dogs and also learn strategies for dealing with common feline and canine behavioral issues you'll encounter as you care for them.

Pet First Aid and Emergencies

In this lesson, you'll learn how to recognize and deal with emergencies that can arise in your role as a pet sitter. You'll find out what to do if one of the pets in your care is bleeding, has an allergic reaction, or experiences shock. You'll find out what to do with conditions such as vomiting and diarrhea, foreign bodies, and eye problems, and what to do during the birthing process. You'll then learn about poisoning and examine common toxins that pets may encounter. Finally, you'll learn what to include in a first aid kit and how to respond to emergencies.

The First Meeting, Finances, and Organizing Yourself

Have you ever gone into an interview totally unprepared for what happened? Did you make a poor impression? This will never happen to you in pet sitting! In this lesson, you'll find out how to make the best impression to a new client—what to say and how to act. You'll also consider how to assess the impression prospective clients are making on you—and how to refuse a client. Next, you'll gain an appreciation of how much you can earn and how many calls you can do in a day. Lastly, you'll look at how to get organized so that you can get the most out of your new business.

Servicing Clients and Home Visits

In this lesson, you get right into the thick of your new career by finding out what to do during the home visit. You'll learn about what kind of information to get from your clients in advance and how to assess their needs based on the kind of services they request. Next, you'll explore all the elements of a home visit, from managing keys and alarm systems to feeding, exercise, and everything you need to do to keep the pets healthy and happy. Finally, you'll get a first look at some of the little extra things you can do to offer the kind of service that keeps your clients coming back for more.

Sticky Situations and Medicating Pets

What happens when a pet you're caring for gets lost? What if the animal needs expensive veterinary care? Will you be stuck with the bill? In this lesson, you'll learn to cope with some of those sticky situations that pet sitters occasionally run into on the job. This includes losing a pet, the sudden death of a pet, as well as handling medical emergencies. You'll also learn how to handle some literally sticky situations—such as how to administer injections, eye and ear drops, and other kinds of medication.

How to Market Your Pet Sitting Business

There are countless ways to get clients to call you and book your services. In this lesson, you'll discover the different tools and techniques you can use to build your clientele. You'll start with basic marketing materials and see how to exude a professional image through business cards and brochures. Then, you'll delve into advertising and consider whether paid advertisements are worth the money. The lesson will also discuss how to use things like press releases and social media to get free publicity and whether joining professional organizations can boost your business. Finally, you'll explore ways to establish and deepen your relationship with clients once you've caught their attention—from how to handle that first phone call to special things you can do to keep clients happy and loyal.

How to Set up a Business

At this point, you've developed the skills and knowledge to be a successful pet sitter. But how do you set up shop? In this lesson, you'll see how to establish your business, including both your actual office and the legal structures you have to have in place to keep your venture stable. You'll learn about the licenses you'll need and get a good sense of why contracts with customers are so important. You'll appreciate the different types of insurance, both for the business and you personally. Finally, you'll learn the ins and outs of employees—when to hire them and what they cost.

Accounting, Money Management, and the Business Plan

Time to hit the books—the financial books, that is. In this lesson, you'll delve into the world of accounting so that you can see where your business is heading financially. You'll find out how to determine start-up costs as well as the ongoing costs of running a pet sitting business. You'll also come face to face with the necessity of getting your bills paid, and get some suggestions to ensure your clients pay in a timely fashion. Finally, you'll explore the importance of writing a business plan to set a road map for success and help you convince lenders that your new business is a solid investment.

Expanding the Business for Fun and Profit

You'll discover that pet sitting doesn't have to be just feeding and watering the cat or dog. As a pet sitter, you are perfectly positioned to add other services. This can include grooming the animals, cutting their nails, and brushing their teeth. There are also services like dog walking, training, puppy care, pet taxi, home sitting, and even poop scooping. You'll then take a look at other kinds of animals, each of which requires their own expertise.

What you will learn

• Learn what pet sitters do
• Gain an understanding of how dogs and cats are different and require different care
• Learn about feeding, watering, and exercising pets
• Discover different emergency situations you may encounter and how to handle them
• Learn what to do when a cat or dog becomes aggressive and some strategies for dealing with behavioral issues
• Learn how to make a good impression when talking to prospective clients
• Learn the types of questions to ask and the information you need from your clients when making your initial home visit
• Learn what to do when a pet gets lost or needs expensive veterinary care
• Discover tools and techniques for building your clientele
• Learn what you will need to establish your business, including licenses, contracts, and insurance
• Learn to create a business plan to determine start-up costs as well as the ongoing costs of running a pet business
• Discover other services you can offer such as grooming, nail clipping, dog walking, puppy training, etc.

How you will benefit

• If you are an animal lover, turn your passion into a profitable career
• Master the essentials of running a cat and dog sitting business
• Discover how a pet sitting business can grow to continually challenge and satisfy you

Jeff Grognet has been a companion animal veterinarian for 25 years. He was a pioneer in the field of veterinary assistant teaching, developing his first course more than 18 years ago. Due to the success of his veterinary receptionist/assistant courses, he expanded his teaching into other high-demand areas including pet first aid and alternative medical therapies for companion animals. He practices at a veterinary hospital and contributes regularly to several magazines.

This course will teach you how to develop the motivation, discipline, and creativity to quit your job and be your own boss.

Starting a home-based business is the hottest trend in today's challenging business environment! Learn how to be your own boss and eliminate the stress of having a job. The benefits of working from home are endless!

Earn what you deserve, be independent, have tax deductions, do away with traffic, office politics and more! Learn how to develop the entrepreneurial qualities - motivation, discipline, creativity - that you will need to succeed! This class is a great way to start your own business or enhance the one you already have.

Requirements:

Hardware Requirements:

• This course can be taken on either a PC or Mac.

Software Requirements:

• PC: Windows 8 or later.
• Mac: macOS 10.6 or later.
• Browser: The latest version of Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox are preferred. Microsoft Edge and Safari are also compatible.
• Adobe Acrobat Reader.
• Software must be installed and fully operational before the course begins.

Other:

• Email capabilities and access to a personal email account.

Instructional Material Requirements:

The instructional materials required for this course are included in enrollment and will be available online.

This course will teach you how to develop the motivation, discipline, and creativity to quit your job and be your own boss.

Introduction to Home-Based Businesses

This lesson will introduce you to the variety of reasons why most people want to operate their own home-based business. You'll take an honest look at the benefits as well as the challenges of working at home. Then, you'll see what it takes to be an entrepreneur—and if this lifestyle will work for you.

Selecting a Business

What kind of home-based business should I start? Have you asked yourself this question? Hopefully so, because this is one of the most important issues you need to consider. By thoughtfully exploring your options, you'll spare yourself costly mistakes that come with sinking your time, money, and energy into the wrong business. In this lesson, you'll focus on your talents and abilities so that your home-based business will be a great fit!

Names, Logos, and Legal Protections

Having the right name and look for your home-based business is essential. In this lesson, you'll find out how to create the image that will draw customers to you and bring them back time and again. You'll get creative with names and logos, and then you'll learn how to protect your work with fictitious name statements, trademarks, copyrights, and patents.

Zoning, Licenses, Permits, and Insurance

Did you know that not all businesses are allowed to operate from a private residence? It's vital that you are familiar with the rules and regulations for the area you live in—before you start! For that reason, you'll explore zoning laws, licenses, permits, and insurance issues in this lesson.

The Business Plan

If you want your business to succeed, then you'll need to write an effective business plan. Your home-based venture is like a road trip; to get where you want to go, you need a map that shows you where you're starting from, where your destination is, and which route you want to take. In this lesson, you will learn how to put together a step-by-step action plan. This requires thorough research into each area of your business, so plan to roll up your sleeves and get to work!

Creating a Marketing Plan

To make your business thrive, you need to market it like a professional. So in this lesson, you'll learn how to create a marketing plan. Simply providing terrific products and services is not enough—you need to know who make up your marketplace, what your objectives are, and what your competition is up to. Remember, a home-based business doesn't have a convenient storefront. You've got to be creative about letting people know what you do.

Sales Techniques

In this lesson, you'll learn a lot about the fine art of selling your product or service. It's so important to be real, to listen, and to know how to bargain and close the sale. Sound scary? Many people get cold feet when it comes to sales. Don't worry though, because this lesson will give you the key to effective selling: Developing relationships based on trust and credibility.

Banking, Record Keeping, and Taxes

Are you just dying to learn about banking, record keeping, and taxes, right? No? Well, they're not the most exciting topics, admittedly, but they are crucial to your business. In this lesson, you'll learn about expenses and deductions, maintaining the appropriate records for all your revenue, categorizing your expenses, and keeping track of sales tax. Grab a cup of coffee, and keep your eyes open for this lesson!

Setting Up Your Home Office

Do you know how to set up your office for maximum efficiency? If not, then you've come to the right place. Conducting your business from the kitchen table is really not the ideal situation. So join me and see how to find just the right area in your home that will allow you to work in a sane and productive fashion. Learn how to set boundaries for your office, figure out what size office and setup you need, and make sure your office is ergonomically and aesthetically pleasing. Taking the time to set up your home office today is an investment in your future.

Organize Your Business for Success

In this lesson, you'll delve into getting organized. To some people, the word organize sounds constricting and limiting—everything has a place and must be in it at all times. It's time to toss that idea right out the window! The goal in organizing your business is to give yourself freedom. Whether you're dealing with paperwork or time management, your system of organization should not restrict or confine you in any way. Come and see how organizing will work for you and never against you.

Your Professional Image

One thing entrepreneurs often overlook is their professional image—how their business looks to the outside world. When your 5-year-old answers the phone and starts playing guessing games with potential customers, or when your computer equipment is still running Windows XP, you've got an image problem! The impression you make through your image can bring customers to you or drive them to your competition. So, in this lesson, you'll look at what not to do and what to do regarding your personal appearance, attitude, and printed materials.

Balancing Business and Family

In all your hard work of building a business, you don't want to forget the most important people: not your customers, but your family. You'll need to clarify expectations, reach compromises that work for everybody, and especially set boundaries. In this last lesson, you'll learn how to protect your work and your relationships and have fun with both. It's all a matter of balance.

What you will learn

• Learn how to protect your work with statements, trademarks, copyrights, and patents
• Understand zoning laws, licenses, permits, and insurance issues
• Learn how to put together business and marketing plans
• Gain key effective selling techniques
• Learn about banking, record keeping, and taxes
• Understand how your professional image can affect your business

How you will benefit

• Gain confidence in your ability to run a home-based business
• Learn how to be your own boss and eliminate the stress of having a job
• Understand how to protect your work and your family relationships to succeed with both

Helene K. Liatsos is business advisor and QuickBooks Certified Advisor with more than 25 years of experience. She consults for a range of companies, from travel agencies to startups. Her company Home Office Management Experts was awarded the 2004 Home-Based Business of the Year by the U.S. Small Business Administration. Helene holds a Bachelor of Arts from Fairleigh Dickinson University.

This course will teach you how to develop the motivation, discipline, and creativity to quit your job and be your own boss.

Starting a home-based business is the hottest trend in today's challenging business environment! Learn how to be your own boss and eliminate the stress of having a job. The benefits of working from home are endless!

Earn what you deserve, be independent, have tax deductions, do away with traffic, office politics and more! Learn how to develop the entrepreneurial qualities - motivation, discipline, creativity - that you will need to succeed! This class is a great way to start your own business or enhance the one you already have.

Requirements:

Hardware Requirements:

• This course can be taken on either a PC or Mac.

Software Requirements:

• PC: Windows 8 or later.
• Mac: macOS 10.6 or later.
• Browser: The latest version of Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox are preferred. Microsoft Edge and Safari are also compatible.
• Adobe Acrobat Reader.
• Software must be installed and fully operational before the course begins.

Other:

• Email capabilities and access to a personal email account.

Instructional Material Requirements:

The instructional materials required for this course are included in enrollment and will be available online.

This course will teach you how to develop the motivation, discipline, and creativity to quit your job and be your own boss.

Introduction to Home-Based Businesses

This lesson will introduce you to the variety of reasons why most people want to operate their own home-based business. You'll take an honest look at the benefits as well as the challenges of working at home. Then, you'll see what it takes to be an entrepreneur—and if this lifestyle will work for you.

Selecting a Business

What kind of home-based business should I start? Have you asked yourself this question? Hopefully so, because this is one of the most important issues you need to consider. By thoughtfully exploring your options, you'll spare yourself costly mistakes that come with sinking your time, money, and energy into the wrong business. In this lesson, you'll focus on your talents and abilities so that your home-based business will be a great fit!

Names, Logos, and Legal Protections

Having the right name and look for your home-based business is essential. In this lesson, you'll find out how to create the image that will draw customers to you and bring them back time and again. You'll get creative with names and logos, and then you'll learn how to protect your work with fictitious name statements, trademarks, copyrights, and patents.

Zoning, Licenses, Permits, and Insurance

Did you know that not all businesses are allowed to operate from a private residence? It's vital that you are familiar with the rules and regulations for the area you live in—before you start! For that reason, you'll explore zoning laws, licenses, permits, and insurance issues in this lesson.

The Business Plan

If you want your business to succeed, then you'll need to write an effective business plan. Your home-based venture is like a road trip; to get where you want to go, you need a map that shows you where you're starting from, where your destination is, and which route you want to take. In this lesson, you will learn how to put together a step-by-step action plan. This requires thorough research into each area of your business, so plan to roll up your sleeves and get to work!

Creating a Marketing Plan

To make your business thrive, you need to market it like a professional. So in this lesson, you'll learn how to create a marketing plan. Simply providing terrific products and services is not enough—you need to know who make up your marketplace, what your objectives are, and what your competition is up to. Remember, a home-based business doesn't have a convenient storefront. You've got to be creative about letting people know what you do.

Sales Techniques

In this lesson, you'll learn a lot about the fine art of selling your product or service. It's so important to be real, to listen, and to know how to bargain and close the sale. Sound scary? Many people get cold feet when it comes to sales. Don't worry though, because this lesson will give you the key to effective selling: Developing relationships based on trust and credibility.

Banking, Record Keeping, and Taxes

Are you just dying to learn about banking, record keeping, and taxes, right? No? Well, they're not the most exciting topics, admittedly, but they are crucial to your business. In this lesson, you'll learn about expenses and deductions, maintaining the appropriate records for all your revenue, categorizing your expenses, and keeping track of sales tax. Grab a cup of coffee, and keep your eyes open for this lesson!

Setting Up Your Home Office

Do you know how to set up your office for maximum efficiency? If not, then you've come to the right place. Conducting your business from the kitchen table is really not the ideal situation. So join me and see how to find just the right area in your home that will allow you to work in a sane and productive fashion. Learn how to set boundaries for your office, figure out what size office and setup you need, and make sure your office is ergonomically and aesthetically pleasing. Taking the time to set up your home office today is an investment in your future.

Organize Your Business for Success

In this lesson, you'll delve into getting organized. To some people, the word organize sounds constricting and limiting—everything has a place and must be in it at all times. It's time to toss that idea right out the window! The goal in organizing your business is to give yourself freedom. Whether you're dealing with paperwork or time management, your system of organization should not restrict or confine you in any way. Come and see how organizing will work for you and never against you.

Your Professional Image

One thing entrepreneurs often overlook is their professional image—how their business looks to the outside world. When your 5-year-old answers the phone and starts playing guessing games with potential customers, or when your computer equipment is still running Windows XP, you've got an image problem! The impression you make through your image can bring customers to you or drive them to your competition. So, in this lesson, you'll look at what not to do and what to do regarding your personal appearance, attitude, and printed materials.

Balancing Business and Family

In all your hard work of building a business, you don't want to forget the most important people: not your customers, but your family. You'll need to clarify expectations, reach compromises that work for everybody, and especially set boundaries. In this last lesson, you'll learn how to protect your work and your relationships and have fun with both. It's all a matter of balance.

What you will learn

• Learn how to protect your work with statements, trademarks, copyrights, and patents
• Understand zoning laws, licenses, permits, and insurance issues
• Learn how to put together business and marketing plans
• Gain key effective selling techniques
• Learn about banking, record keeping, and taxes
• Understand how your professional image can affect your business

How you will benefit

• Gain confidence in your ability to run a home-based business
• Learn how to be your own boss and eliminate the stress of having a job
• Understand how to protect your work and your family relationships to succeed with both

Helene K. Liatsos is business advisor and QuickBooks Certified Advisor with more than 25 years of experience. She consults for a range of companies, from travel agencies to startups. Her company Home Office Management Experts was awarded the 2004 Home-Based Business of the Year by the U.S. Small Business Administration. Helene holds a Bachelor of Arts from Fairleigh Dickinson University.

Express your creativity in a fun and profitable way, by starting a home-based business as a gift basket designer.

Take your first step toward a career as a gift basket designer! This course will tell you everything you need to know about starting a gift basket business and running it successfully.

You will learn how to make gift baskets that stand out from everyone else's. You'll also discover how to set up your own design studio and where to find foods, products, and supplies to make your baskets. In addition, you'll explore the requirements and guidelines for running a home-based business. Maximize your profits by pricing your gift baskets correctly and investigate cost-effective ways to ship and deliver the gorgeous gift baskets you create. Along the way, you'll find out the sales secrets that most long-time designers won't reveal. By the end of this course, you'll be ready to start your own business as a gift basket designer and have the confidence you need to excel in this fun and profitable career!

Requirements:

Hardware Requirements:

• This course can be taken on either a PC or Mac.

Software Requirements:

• PC: Windows 8 or later.
• Mac: macOS 10.6 or later.
• Browser: The latest version of Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox are preferred. Microsoft Edge and Safari are also compatible.
• Adobe Acrobat Reader.
• Software must be installed and fully operational before the course begins.

Other:

• Email capabilities and access to a personal email account.

Instructional Material Requirements:

The instructional materials required for this course are included in enrollment and will be available online.

Express your creativity in a fun and profitable way by starting a business as a gift basket designer. This course will provide you with skills such as setting up a design studio, finding products, and exploring requirements for running a home-based business.

Getting Started

You've made a great decision to start a gift basket business! Create a firm foundation for your soon-to-be successful enterprise with the help of this lesson. You'll learn what to expect from this course, and you'll meet a new designer, just like you, and discover how she plans her daily schedule. The lesson will cover what it takes to be successful, too, and you'll also find out how much money you'll need to start your business. You'll follow a ten-step tutorial using items around your home to make your first gift basket. By the end of this lesson, you'll be ready to set up your business!

Making Gift Baskets

Ready to start designing? This lesson will masterfully explain how to create a professionally styled gift basket, just like the pros make. You'll learn about the essential materials you'll need, and you'll follow photographs showing each design step, from basket bottom to bow. You'll learn how efficient use of your basket-making time ensures that you make as much money as possible. Finally, the lesson will go over design and product changes that make each gift basket stand out.

Products and Supplies

It's time to go shopping! To create beautiful baskets, you'll need basket-making supplies, as well as products like snacks and gifts to put inside your designs. But how do you decide what and how much to buy? This lesson is full of smart shopping tips that will help you save money and make the right decisions about what to purchase and where. You'll also learn about registering your business so that companies selling merchandise can identify you as a bona fide retailer—which means you'll be able to shop and save!

Your Workspace

Will you set up shop in a garage, basement, or spare room? This lesson explains the advantages of a home-based workspace and provides tips to set it up. You'll also learn about the downsides of working at home and explore other options so that you can determine what will work best for your business. You'll review an equipment list to ensure you have everything you need and then learn the secrets of creatively organizing your office and design area.

Your Customers

Without sales, you won't have a business, so it's time to meet your customers. You'll review the top ten reasons why individuals buy gift baskets, look at five steps that convince corporations to become customers, and identify professional business owners you know right now who may become your top buyers. You'll come away with a basket full of ideas on how to approach businesses and organizations in your hometown and learn how to make sales without being pushy.

The Competition

Baskets full of goodies are a popular gift choice, so you expect a little competition, right? The good news is that your competitor list may be smaller than you imagine. In this lesson, you'll discover how to separate the real competition from every business in your area that sells gift baskets. You'll discover which people are not your competitors, and some of them will surprise you. Then, you'll take a look at your actual competitors and assess their strengths and weaknesses. You'll learn how you can use this information to build your own business. Believe it or not, your competitors may lead you to your next customer!

About Pricing

Grab your calculator, because this lesson is all about money! Success depends on knowing what to charge for each gift basket design, and you're going to learn the formulas to keep you profitable. You'll be introduced to three distinct methods to calculate your prices and then see a sample chart that will help you easily apply that method to all your future designs. You'll also go over the costs that go into each price calculation—it's much more than adding up the snacks and gifts you're putting into the basket. Knowing how much you spend is just as important as how much you charge, so you'll see a quick and easy way to keep track of your expenses. Finally, you'll learn how to increase each sale with a little-known technique that gets customers to say "yes."

Marketing 101

Opportunities to let customers know about your gift baskets are all around you. Which will you choose? This lesson will first cover the difference between marketing and advertising. Next, you'll look at marketing techniques, from printing business cards to creating an online marketing campaign. You can spend a lot of money to promote your business, but the good news is that you don't have to. You'll learn to create a marketing plan and advertising strategy that work for you and your budget.

Getting Paid

At the end of the day, you're in business to make money. This lesson unveils how to get paid. You'll discover the methods to collect payments by cash, check, and credit cards, plus how to process payments online. The lesson will also talk about the importance of creating a business account and how critical—but easy—it is to establish systems to handle different types of payment.

Delivery Options

Getting your completed gift baskets from point A to point B requires planning and additional supplies. Delivering each gift basket on your own may be an option for local orders, but as you get busy, you'll need other ways to get your designs to customers. You'll discover which delivery systems you can use to ship baskets across the country and around the world. You'll find out which equipment and supplies are required for proper packaging and review a tutorial in packing a ship-shape basket.

Your Website

This lesson reveals the steps to creating a website for your business. Understanding what you want to accomplish on the web is key, along with choosing a company to keep your site up and running 24 hours a day. You'll unlock tricks to creating a site that's attractive and user friendly—even if you don't know a thing about web design. You'll also learn the secrets of search engines to make your site easy to find. Best of all, you'll find out who's visiting your site, which of your designs are most popular, and ways to increase online sales.

How to Keep Growing

Now you know all the basics to start and support a gift basket business. What's next? This lesson reveals the tactics that top designers worldwide have mastered to keep their businesses going and growing. You'll learn how to recognize growth potential and begin to plan for new opportunities, looking ahead six months to ten years. Whatever your ultimate vision is for your business's future, this lesson will show you how to make it a reality.

What you will learn

• Learn everything you need to know about starting a gift basket business
• Understand how to price your gift baskets and develop cost-effective ways to ship and deliver
• Explore the requirements and guidelines for running a home-based business.
• Learn how to make gift baskets that stand out from the competition and market your products effectively

How you will benefit

• Discover the sales secrets that most long-time designers won't reveal
• Gain the confidence you need to excel in a fun and profitable career
• Reach your creative potential and learn how to set up your own design studio

Shirley George Frazier is an entrepreneur, best-selling author, and popular speaker at trade shows and small business events. Her business advice has been featured on CNBC, Food Network, and LiveWell Network; and her tips have been published in CNN Money, Entrepreneur, and Costco Connection. Shirley's passion for education inspires creative people to achieve their goals.

Express your creativity in a fun and profitable way, by starting a home-based business as a gift basket designer.

Take your first step toward a career as a gift basket designer! This course will tell you everything you need to know about starting a gift basket business and running it successfully.

You will learn how to make gift baskets that stand out from everyone else's. You'll also discover how to set up your own design studio and where to find foods, products, and supplies to make your baskets. In addition, you'll explore the requirements and guidelines for running a home-based business. Maximize your profits by pricing your gift baskets correctly and investigate cost-effective ways to ship and deliver the gorgeous gift baskets you create. Along the way, you'll find out the sales secrets that most long-time designers won't reveal. By the end of this course, you'll be ready to start your own business as a gift basket designer and have the confidence you need to excel in this fun and profitable career!

Requirements:

Hardware Requirements:

• This course can be taken on either a PC or Mac.

Software Requirements:

• PC: Windows 8 or later.
• Mac: macOS 10.6 or later.
• Browser: The latest version of Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox are preferred. Microsoft Edge and Safari are also compatible.
• Adobe Acrobat Reader.
• Software must be installed and fully operational before the course begins.

Other:

• Email capabilities and access to a personal email account.

Instructional Material Requirements:

The instructional materials required for this course are included in enrollment and will be available online.

Express your creativity in a fun and profitable way by starting a business as a gift basket designer. This course will provide you with skills such as setting up a design studio, finding products, and exploring requirements for running a home-based business.

Getting Started

You've made a great decision to start a gift basket business! Create a firm foundation for your soon-to-be successful enterprise with the help of this lesson. You'll learn what to expect from this course, and you'll meet a new designer, just like you, and discover how she plans her daily schedule. The lesson will cover what it takes to be successful, too, and you'll also find out how much money you'll need to start your business. You'll follow a ten-step tutorial using items around your home to make your first gift basket. By the end of this lesson, you'll be ready to set up your business!

Making Gift Baskets

Ready to start designing? This lesson will masterfully explain how to create a professionally styled gift basket, just like the pros make. You'll learn about the essential materials you'll need, and you'll follow photographs showing each design step, from basket bottom to bow. You'll learn how efficient use of your basket-making time ensures that you make as much money as possible. Finally, the lesson will go over design and product changes that make each gift basket stand out.

Products and Supplies

It's time to go shopping! To create beautiful baskets, you'll need basket-making supplies, as well as products like snacks and gifts to put inside your designs. But how do you decide what and how much to buy? This lesson is full of smart shopping tips that will help you save money and make the right decisions about what to purchase and where. You'll also learn about registering your business so that companies selling merchandise can identify you as a bona fide retailer—which means you'll be able to shop and save!

Your Workspace

Will you set up shop in a garage, basement, or spare room? This lesson explains the advantages of a home-based workspace and provides tips to set it up. You'll also learn about the downsides of working at home and explore other options so that you can determine what will work best for your business. You'll review an equipment list to ensure you have everything you need and then learn the secrets of creatively organizing your office and design area.

Your Customers

Without sales, you won't have a business, so it's time to meet your customers. You'll review the top ten reasons why individuals buy gift baskets, look at five steps that convince corporations to become customers, and identify professional business owners you know right now who may become your top buyers. You'll come away with a basket full of ideas on how to approach businesses and organizations in your hometown and learn how to make sales without being pushy.

The Competition

Baskets full of goodies are a popular gift choice, so you expect a little competition, right? The good news is that your competitor list may be smaller than you imagine. In this lesson, you'll discover how to separate the real competition from every business in your area that sells gift baskets. You'll discover which people are not your competitors, and some of them will surprise you. Then, you'll take a look at your actual competitors and assess their strengths and weaknesses. You'll learn how you can use this information to build your own business. Believe it or not, your competitors may lead you to your next customer!

About Pricing

Grab your calculator, because this lesson is all about money! Success depends on knowing what to charge for each gift basket design, and you're going to learn the formulas to keep you profitable. You'll be introduced to three distinct methods to calculate your prices and then see a sample chart that will help you easily apply that method to all your future designs. You'll also go over the costs that go into each price calculation—it's much more than adding up the snacks and gifts you're putting into the basket. Knowing how much you spend is just as important as how much you charge, so you'll see a quick and easy way to keep track of your expenses. Finally, you'll learn how to increase each sale with a little-known technique that gets customers to say "yes."

Marketing 101

Opportunities to let customers know about your gift baskets are all around you. Which will you choose? This lesson will first cover the difference between marketing and advertising. Next, you'll look at marketing techniques, from printing business cards to creating an online marketing campaign. You can spend a lot of money to promote your business, but the good news is that you don't have to. You'll learn to create a marketing plan and advertising strategy that work for you and your budget.

Getting Paid

At the end of the day, you're in business to make money. This lesson unveils how to get paid. You'll discover the methods to collect payments by cash, check, and credit cards, plus how to process payments online. The lesson will also talk about the importance of creating a business account and how critical—but easy—it is to establish systems to handle different types of payment.

Delivery Options

Getting your completed gift baskets from point A to point B requires planning and additional supplies. Delivering each gift basket on your own may be an option for local orders, but as you get busy, you'll need other ways to get your designs to customers. You'll discover which delivery systems you can use to ship baskets across the country and around the world. You'll find out which equipment and supplies are required for proper packaging and review a tutorial in packing a ship-shape basket.

Your Website

This lesson reveals the steps to creating a website for your business. Understanding what you want to accomplish on the web is key, along with choosing a company to keep your site up and running 24 hours a day. You'll unlock tricks to creating a site that's attractive and user friendly—even if you don't know a thing about web design. You'll also learn the secrets of search engines to make your site easy to find. Best of all, you'll find out who's visiting your site, which of your designs are most popular, and ways to increase online sales.

How to Keep Growing

Now you know all the basics to start and support a gift basket business. What's next? This lesson reveals the tactics that top designers worldwide have mastered to keep their businesses going and growing. You'll learn how to recognize growth potential and begin to plan for new opportunities, looking ahead six months to ten years. Whatever your ultimate vision is for your business's future, this lesson will show you how to make it a reality.

What you will learn

• Learn everything you need to know about starting a gift basket business
• Understand how to price your gift baskets and develop cost-effective ways to ship and deliver
• Explore the requirements and guidelines for running a home-based business.
• Learn how to make gift baskets that stand out from the competition and market your products effectively

How you will benefit

• Discover the sales secrets that most long-time designers won't reveal
• Gain the confidence you need to excel in a fun and profitable career
• Reach your creative potential and learn how to set up your own design studio

Shirley George Frazier is an entrepreneur, best-selling author, and popular speaker at trade shows and small business events. Her business advice has been featured on CNBC, Food Network, and LiveWell Network; and her tips have been published in CNN Money, Entrepreneur, and Costco Connection. Shirley's passion for education inspires creative people to achieve their goals.

Discover how to harness the power of the Internet to build and sustain a profitable business. You will also learn the step-by-step process of creating a product, building a website, engaging a customer base, and finding new leads online.

Today, the Internet has changed everything. It is now entirely possible to create, launch, and build a profitable business from the convenience of your home with little to no upfront investment. This course will give you a solid foundation for building and growing a successful digital business.

You will be given a step-by-step approach that is easy to follow—from building a simplified strategy to branding your business. You will learn to create a product and how to build and launch your own website. You will learn to engage prospective customers, and implement a process that will drive fresh leads to your business. You simply need to know what to do and how to do it. So whether you are looking to generate a nice side income or even to replace your current income and ditch your full-time job, this course is for you.

Requirements:

Hardware Requirements:

• This course can be taken on either a PC or Mac.

Software Requirements:

• PC: Windows 8 or later.
• Mac: macOS 10.6 or later.
• Browser: The latest version of Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox are preferred. Microsoft Edge and Safari are also compatible.
• Adobe Acrobat Reader.
• Software must be installed and fully operational before the course begins.

Other:

• Email capabilities and access to a personal email account.

Instructional Material Requirements:

The instructional materials required for this course are included in enrollment and will be available online.

The Internet has changed the way people communicate and how businesses operate. It's also made it easier to fulfill your dreams of creating and building a business from the convenience of your own home. In the Starting Your Own Online Business course, you will learn how to develop a digital or traditional product or service and build a website to sell and deliver that product online. This course outlines a step-by-step approach that's easy to follow—from building a simplified strategy to branding your business. From start to finish, you will gain an understanding of what it takes to create, build, and maintain a profitable online business!

Build a Foundation for Your Online Business

In this lesson, we will build the foundation you need to start and grow a successful online business. You will understand what an online business is, the key components that make it work, and the steps for building your own. You will also learn about the three most popular online business models. Finally, you will be introduced to the concept of a Visual Business Strategy (VBS) diagram, which you will use to summarize your Internet business plan.

Create a Digital-Ready Business Brand

Learn how to build a business brand that's ready to be launched online. First, you will discover some secrets about developing an influential and recognizable name for your business. Next, you will learn how you can quickly and easily stake a claim to that business name throughout the Internet. After that, we'll examine ways to get a logo to support your business branding. And finally, you will gain an understanding of the importance of keywords and learn how to craft an effective keyword strategy for your business.

Build and Optimize a Product

See how to create products and services that you can sell as part of your online business. First, we'll explore the various types of products and services and how to build them. Next, you will consider what makes a "good" product and zero in on the right product for you. Finally, we'll look at how to tackle building your product, from creating your product development plan to leveraging your past efforts to develop your product more quickly and efficiently.

Develop and Launch an Engaging Website

Tackle the task of creating and launching a business website. You will understand what type of website you should build and learn how to align it with your business strategy. Then you will see how to develop an outline for your website, wireframe individual pages, and create or find the content you will need to make your web pages come alive. After that, we'll explore ways to build and launch your website without having to know anything about website design or coding. Finally, you will learn what it means to "host" your website.

Set up Your Online Selling Process

Gain an understanding of the basics of selling products on the Internet and learn how to design and document a sales process that aligns with your business strategy. Next, you will learn how to implement your newly created sales process by selecting the right mix of third-party tools and accounts that work with your website to conduct business transactions online. And finally, we'll examine how you can monitor, track, and measure the effectiveness of your sales process and use that information to increase your sales over time.

Install a Digital Communication Network

Learn what a digital communication network is and why you need to develop one for your business. Next, you will gain an understanding of the different types of digital communication methods and how you can use each to engage and develop relationships with your followers. Finally, we'll examine some advanced strategies that you can use to optimize and automate your communication with your prospects and customers consistently.

Your Email Management System

First, learn about the importance of utilizing an email management system to communicate with your prospects and customers. Next, we'll examine how you can set up your system, write engaging content, and deliver emails in a timely and automated manner. Finally, we'll explore some advanced email marketing strategies that you can use to help grow your email list and increase engagement.

Socialize Your Online Business

Build a foundation for using social media to grow your business. You will understand the definition of social media and explore critical principles to make sure that you're using social media in the right way. Next, you will learn about a process you can follow to consistently and effectively engage with prospects and customers. Finally, you will learn about different ways to generate and publish content quickly and easily.

Build Multiple Online Lead Streams

Examine the importance of generating leads to maintain a healthy and vibrant online business. First, we'll explore the concept of a lead generation process and review the types that exist. Next, we will work together to outline a lead generation strategy that is customized for your business. And finally, we'll outline the steps necessary to implement and systematize the lead generation processes you have selected to drive targeted prospects to your website.

Using Video to Grow Your Online Business

Why should you consider using video as one of your main lead generation processes to grow your online business? In this lesson, you will find out why, and we'll walk through the steps you can take to create compelling videos without being a video expert. Next, we'll take a peek at basic and advanced methods to create and distribute videos to gain exposure for your online business. And finally, you will learn how to host, record, and automate the delivery of videos through webinars.

Create an Online Partnership Program

Gain an understanding of how you can build a partnership program to introduce more people to your online business. First, you will learn what a partner program is and how it can help grow your business. Next, you will explore the critical aspects of any partnership program and how to integrate it into your website. Finally, we'll examine some crucial strategies for introducing your partnership program to prospects as well as new and future customers to generate an ongoing stream of fresh leads.

Implement an Online Support Center

See how to implement an online support center for your business. First, you will learn about what types of expectations online customers have for customer service and support and examine the essential pieces of any online support center. Next, we'll explore both basic and advanced ways that you can provide customer service support over the Internet and investigate various support solutions that you can use. And finally, we'll examine some key strategies for engaging with new and legacy customers to maximize customer satisfaction and minimize refunds.

What you will learn

• Build a business brand that is ready to be launched online
• Create products and services that you can sell as part of your online business
• Create and launch a business website
• Set up an email management system, write engaging content, and deliver emails in a timely manner
• Generate leads to keep your business growing
• Implement an online support center for your business

How you will benefit

• Discover the techniques, tools, and strategies necessary to create a successful online business
• Create a healthy and vibrant online business by generating leads to continually grow your business
• Be able to supply your online customers with online support to increase customer satisfaction and minimize refunds

Brad Semp, Ph.D., is Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at a global corporation, a life-long entrepreneur, and a former professor of Bachelors and Masters of Science courses in Internet Marketing. Dr. Brad is active on social media platforms to engage with prospects and customers, expand relationships, and to grow businesses. He routinely coaches other entrepreneurs and business owners and consults with Fortune 500 organizations on how to design and implement effective social media systems, strategies, and tactics.

Discover how to harness the power of the Internet to build and sustain a profitable business. You will also learn the step-by-step process of creating a product, building a website, engaging a customer base, and finding new leads online.

Today, the Internet has changed everything. It is now entirely possible to create, launch, and build a profitable business from the convenience of your home with little to no upfront investment. This course will give you a solid foundation for building and growing a successful digital business.

You will be given a step-by-step approach that is easy to follow—from building a simplified strategy to branding your business. You will learn to create a product and how to build and launch your own website. You will learn to engage prospective customers, and implement a process that will drive fresh leads to your business. You simply need to know what to do and how to do it. So whether you are looking to generate a nice side income or even to replace your current income and ditch your full-time job, this course is for you.

Requirements:

Hardware Requirements:

• This course can be taken on either a PC or Mac.

Software Requirements:

• PC: Windows 8 or later.
• Mac: macOS 10.6 or later.
• Browser: The latest version of Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox are preferred. Microsoft Edge and Safari are also compatible.
• Adobe Acrobat Reader.
• Software must be installed and fully operational before the course begins.

Other:

• Email capabilities and access to a personal email account.

Instructional Material Requirements:

The instructional materials required for this course are included in enrollment and will be available online.

The Internet has changed the way people communicate and how businesses operate. It's also made it easier to fulfill your dreams of creating and building a business from the convenience of your own home. In the Starting Your Own Online Business course, you will learn how to develop a digital or traditional product or service and build a website to sell and deliver that product online. This course outlines a step-by-step approach that's easy to follow—from building a simplified strategy to branding your business. From start to finish, you will gain an understanding of what it takes to create, build, and maintain a profitable online business!

Build a Foundation for Your Online Business

In this lesson, we will build the foundation you need to start and grow a successful online business. You will understand what an online business is, the key components that make it work, and the steps for building your own. You will also learn about the three most popular online business models. Finally, you will be introduced to the concept of a Visual Business Strategy (VBS) diagram, which you will use to summarize your Internet business plan.

Create a Digital-Ready Business Brand

Learn how to build a business brand that's ready to be launched online. First, you will discover some secrets about developing an influential and recognizable name for your business. Next, you will learn how you can quickly and easily stake a claim to that business name throughout the Internet. After that, we'll examine ways to get a logo to support your business branding. And finally, you will gain an understanding of the importance of keywords and learn how to craft an effective keyword strategy for your business.

Build and Optimize a Product

See how to create products and services that you can sell as part of your online business. First, we'll explore the various types of products and services and how to build them. Next, you will consider what makes a "good" product and zero in on the right product for you. Finally, we'll look at how to tackle building your product, from creating your product development plan to leveraging your past efforts to develop your product more quickly and efficiently.

Develop and Launch an Engaging Website

Tackle the task of creating and launching a business website. You will understand what type of website you should build and learn how to align it with your business strategy. Then you will see how to develop an outline for your website, wireframe individual pages, and create or find the content you will need to make your web pages come alive. After that, we'll explore ways to build and launch your website without having to know anything about website design or coding. Finally, you will learn what it means to "host" your website.

Set up Your Online Selling Process

Gain an understanding of the basics of selling products on the Internet and learn how to design and document a sales process that aligns with your business strategy. Next, you will learn how to implement your newly created sales process by selecting the right mix of third-party tools and accounts that work with your website to conduct business transactions online. And finally, we'll examine how you can monitor, track, and measure the effectiveness of your sales process and use that information to increase your sales over time.

Install a Digital Communication Network

Learn what a digital communication network is and why you need to develop one for your business. Next, you will gain an understanding of the different types of digital communication methods and how you can use each to engage and develop relationships with your followers. Finally, we'll examine some advanced strategies that you can use to optimize and automate your communication with your prospects and customers consistently.

Your Email Management System

First, learn about the importance of utilizing an email management system to communicate with your prospects and customers. Next, we'll examine how you can set up your system, write engaging content, and deliver emails in a timely and automated manner. Finally, we'll explore some advanced email marketing strategies that you can use to help grow your email list and increase engagement.

Socialize Your Online Business

Build a foundation for using social media to grow your business. You will understand the definition of social media and explore critical principles to make sure that you're using social media in the right way. Next, you will learn about a process you can follow to consistently and effectively engage with prospects and customers. Finally, you will learn about different ways to generate and publish content quickly and easily.

Build Multiple Online Lead Streams

Examine the importance of generating leads to maintain a healthy and vibrant online business. First, we'll explore the concept of a lead generation process and review the types that exist. Next, we will work together to outline a lead generation strategy that is customized for your business. And finally, we'll outline the steps necessary to implement and systematize the lead generation processes you have selected to drive targeted prospects to your website.

Using Video to Grow Your Online Business

Why should you consider using video as one of your main lead generation processes to grow your online business? In this lesson, you will find out why, and we'll walk through the steps you can take to create compelling videos without being a video expert. Next, we'll take a peek at basic and advanced methods to create and distribute videos to gain exposure for your online business. And finally, you will learn how to host, record, and automate the delivery of videos through webinars.

Create an Online Partnership Program

Gain an understanding of how you can build a partnership program to introduce more people to your online business. First, you will learn what a partner program is and how it can help grow your business. Next, you will explore the critical aspects of any partnership program and how to integrate it into your website. Finally, we'll examine some crucial strategies for introducing your partnership program to prospects as well as new and future customers to generate an ongoing stream of fresh leads.

Implement an Online Support Center

See how to implement an online support center for your business. First, you will learn about what types of expectations online customers have for customer service and support and examine the essential pieces of any online support center. Next, we'll explore both basic and advanced ways that you can provide customer service support over the Internet and investigate various support solutions that you can use. And finally, we'll examine some key strategies for engaging with new and legacy customers to maximize customer satisfaction and minimize refunds.

What you will learn

• Build a business brand that is ready to be launched online
• Create products and services that you can sell as part of your online business
• Create and launch a business website
• Set up an email management system, write engaging content, and deliver emails in a timely manner
• Generate leads to keep your business growing
• Implement an online support center for your business

How you will benefit

• Discover the techniques, tools, and strategies necessary to create a successful online business
• Create a healthy and vibrant online business by generating leads to continually grow your business
• Be able to supply your online customers with online support to increase customer satisfaction and minimize refunds

Brad Semp, Ph.D., is Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at a global corporation, a life-long entrepreneur, and a former professor of Bachelors and Masters of Science courses in Internet Marketing. Dr. Brad is active on social media platforms to engage with prospects and customers, expand relationships, and to grow businesses. He routinely coaches other entrepreneurs and business owners and consults with Fortune 500 organizations on how to design and implement effective social media systems, strategies, and tactics.

Winning RFP Responses was written for businesses of all sizes that have either yet to delve into contract bidding or have bid but were unsuccessful. Individuals new to bid proposal writing and those with some experience will benefit from this training course, which teaches learners how to strategically win business contracts.

Winning RFP Responses was written by an entrepreneur that has owned and operated 15 small businesses over the decades. Bringing additional revenue into your business can increase its sustainability. Have you ever thought about all the other businesses, organizations, and government agencies that likely need your goods or services? Did you know that even the smallest business can submit an award-winning bid and benefit from steady revenues?

RFPs can be daunting when you are faced with page-after-page of legal language, questions, and forms to fill in. This course will guide you through each step of researching, reading, understanding, evaluating, writing, and submitting award-winning bid responses. By the end of the course, you might even find a new career track as an RFP bid specialist. The possibilities for your business and your career are endless.

Requirements:

Hardware Requirements:

• This course can be taken on a PC, Mac, or Chromebook.

Software Requirements:

• PC: Windows 8 or later.
• Mac: macOS 10.6 or later.
• Browser: The latest version of Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox is preferred. Microsoft Edge and Safari are also compatible.
• Adobe Acrobat Reader
• Microsoft Word or equivalent, such as MS Word online.
• Software must be installed and fully operational before the course begins.

Other:

• Email capabilities and access to a personal email account.

Instructional Material Requirements:

The instructional materials required for this course are included in enrollment and will be available online.

If you're an individual or business looking to increase revenue through contract opportunities, then this course is for you. Having the skills to bid on competitive contracts can increase your business's revenues as you carry it through declining economic times. Learn the ins and outs of finding, reading, and determining whether RFPs fit your business's services or goods. Then learn how to write the components of a winning RFP bid response for your business.

Introduction to Request for Proposals (RFPs)

In this lesson, you will be introduced to Requests for Proposals (RFPs). From RFP terminology to understanding the sections of an RFP, your research skills will be honed, and the term RFP will become clearer as you explore the lesson.

Reading and Marking Up RFPs

In this lesson, you will learn how to read and mark up RFPs to determine if a business interested in bidding on the goods or services can meet all of the procurement agency's expectations.

Federal RFPs

In this lesson, you will be introduced to federal RFPs and the government's procurement expectations of bidders.

Evaluating RFP Responses Internally

In this lesson, you will learn how to evaluate RFPs and use internal peer review rubrics to determine who and how each of your team members should be involved in the bid response development.

Creating RFP Boilerplate Language About Your Business

In this lesson, you will learn how to create a basic business history narrative. This boilerplate narrative can be reused in bid responses.

Writing the RFP Statement of Work

In this lesson, you will learn how to write the statement of work so that it is in compliance with the procurement agency's guidelines.

Preparing the RFP Cost Proposal

In this lesson, you will learn how to prepare the bid response's cost proposal.

Preparing RFP Documents, Exhibits, and Other Attachments

In this lesson, you'll learn how to prepare RFP documents, exhibits, and other attachments required in the bid proposal submittal package.

Packaging, Submitting RFP Bids, and Preparing for Future Bids

In this lesson, you'll learn how to put together a highly competitive bid proposal package. You'll also learn about the submittal process and how to prepare for future bidding opportunities.

RFP Evaluating Factors for Contract Awards

In this lesson, you'll learn about the RFP evaluation processes and the factors that are critical components for contract awards.

RFP Bidding Mistakes to Avoid

In this lesson, you'll learn about common RFP bidding mistakes and how to avoid them.

Career Tracks for RFP Writers

In this lesson, you'll learn about the career tracks for RFP writers. Where will your ability to write winning bid responses take you?

What you will learn

• Describe the components of a winning business proposal
• Organize and draft business proposal components to create a winning RFP response
• Evaluate RFP peer responses like procurement agency teams
• Improve RFP responses with award-winning enhancements
• Explain career opportunities for skilled RFP writers

How you will benefit

• Increased ability to research RFPs and determine if they are a go or no-go for bidding
• Improved evaluation skills for evaluating your bid proposal's content before its submission to a procurement agency
• Better understanding of what it takes to submit a successful bid proposal
• Heightened analysis for sizing up your bidding competition and determining if your business should be a sole bidder or a subcontractor for another business with a higher chance of winning a contract award
• Awareness of how to protest a procurement agency's decision to award the contract to another business

Dr. Beverly A. Browning is a grant writing consultant and visionary who uses thought leadership to work with nonprofit organizations struggling with the woes of revenue stream imbalances. She has been researching grant funding, grantmaking trends, and board-related barriers to nonprofit capacity building for over 40 years. Together she and her team have helped her clients win over $750 million in grant awards.

Dr. Browning is the founder and director of the Grant Writing Training Foundation and Bev Browning, LLC. She is the author of 44 grant writing publications, including six editions of Grant Writing for Dummies and the 6th edition of Nonprofit Kit for Dummies (to be published in 2021).

Dr. Browning holds graduate and post-graduate degrees in organizational development, public administration, and business administration. She is also a Certified Strategic Planning Facilitator (CSPF), has a McNellis Compression Planning Institute Facilitation Training distinction, and is an Approved Trainer for the Grant Professionals Association (GPA), the Certified Fund Raising Executive International (CFRE, and the Grant Professionals Certification Institute (GPCI).

Winning RFP Responses was written for businesses of all sizes that have either yet to delve into contract bidding or have bid but were unsuccessful. Individuals new to bid proposal writing and those with some experience will benefit from this training course, which teaches learners how to strategically win business contracts.

Winning RFP Responses was written by an entrepreneur that has owned and operated 15 small businesses over the decades. Bringing additional revenue into your business can increase its sustainability. Have you ever thought about all the other businesses, organizations, and government agencies that likely need your goods or services? Did you know that even the smallest business can submit an award-winning bid and benefit from steady revenues?

RFPs can be daunting when you are faced with page-after-page of legal language, questions, and forms to fill in. This course will guide you through each step of researching, reading, understanding, evaluating, writing, and submitting award-winning bid responses. By the end of the course, you might even find a new career track as an RFP bid specialist. The possibilities for your business and your career are endless.

Requirements:

Hardware Requirements:

• This course can be taken on a PC, Mac, or Chromebook.

Software Requirements:

• PC: Windows 8 or later.
• Mac: macOS 10.6 or later.
• Browser: The latest version of Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox is preferred. Microsoft Edge and Safari are also compatible.
• Adobe Acrobat Reader
• Microsoft Word or equivalent, such as MS Word online.
• Software must be installed and fully operational before the course begins.

Other:

• Email capabilities and access to a personal email account.

Instructional Material Requirements:

The instructional materials required for this course are included in enrollment and will be available online.

If you're an individual or business looking to increase revenue through contract opportunities, then this course is for you. Having the skills to bid on competitive contracts can increase your business's revenues as you carry it through declining economic times. Learn the ins and outs of finding, reading, and determining whether RFPs fit your business's services or goods. Then learn how to write the components of a winning RFP bid response for your business.

Introduction to Request for Proposals (RFPs)

In this lesson, you will be introduced to Requests for Proposals (RFPs). From RFP terminology to understanding the sections of an RFP, your research skills will be honed, and the term RFP will become clearer as you explore the lesson.

Reading and Marking Up RFPs

In this lesson, you will learn how to read and mark up RFPs to determine if a business interested in bidding on the goods or services can meet all of the procurement agency's expectations.

Federal RFPs

In this lesson, you will be introduced to federal RFPs and the government's procurement expectations of bidders.

Evaluating RFP Responses Internally

In this lesson, you will learn how to evaluate RFPs and use internal peer review rubrics to determine who and how each of your team members should be involved in the bid response development.

Creating RFP Boilerplate Language About Your Business

In this lesson, you will learn how to create a basic business history narrative. This boilerplate narrative can be reused in bid responses.

Writing the RFP Statement of Work

In this lesson, you will learn how to write the statement of work so that it is in compliance with the procurement agency's guidelines.

Preparing the RFP Cost Proposal

In this lesson, you will learn how to prepare the bid response's cost proposal.

Preparing RFP Documents, Exhibits, and Other Attachments

In this lesson, you'll learn how to prepare RFP documents, exhibits, and other attachments required in the bid proposal submittal package.

Packaging, Submitting RFP Bids, and Preparing for Future Bids

In this lesson, you'll learn how to put together a highly competitive bid proposal package. You'll also learn about the submittal process and how to prepare for future bidding opportunities.

RFP Evaluating Factors for Contract Awards

In this lesson, you'll learn about the RFP evaluation processes and the factors that are critical components for contract awards.

RFP Bidding Mistakes to Avoid

In this lesson, you'll learn about common RFP bidding mistakes and how to avoid them.

Career Tracks for RFP Writers

In this lesson, you'll learn about the career tracks for RFP writers. Where will your ability to write winning bid responses take you?

What you will learn

• Describe the components of a winning business proposal
• Organize and draft business proposal components to create a winning RFP response
• Evaluate RFP peer responses like procurement agency teams
• Improve RFP responses with award-winning enhancements
• Explain career opportunities for skilled RFP writers

How you will benefit

• Increased ability to research RFPs and determine if they are a go or no-go for bidding
• Improved evaluation skills for evaluating your bid proposal's content before its submission to a procurement agency
• Better understanding of what it takes to submit a successful bid proposal
• Heightened analysis for sizing up your bidding competition and determining if your business should be a sole bidder or a subcontractor for another business with a higher chance of winning a contract award
• Awareness of how to protest a procurement agency's decision to award the contract to another business

Dr. Beverly A. Browning is a grant writing consultant and visionary who uses thought leadership to work with nonprofit organizations struggling with the woes of revenue stream imbalances. She has been researching grant funding, grantmaking trends, and board-related barriers to nonprofit capacity building for over 40 years. Together she and her team have helped her clients win over $750 million in grant awards.

Dr. Browning is the founder and director of the Grant Writing Training Foundation and Bev Browning, LLC. She is the author of 44 grant writing publications, including six editions of Grant Writing for Dummies and the 6th edition of Nonprofit Kit for Dummies (to be published in 2021).

Dr. Browning holds graduate and post-graduate degrees in organizational development, public administration, and business administration. She is also a Certified Strategic Planning Facilitator (CSPF), has a McNellis Compression Planning Institute Facilitation Training distinction, and is an Approved Trainer for the Grant Professionals Association (GPA), the Certified Fund Raising Executive International (CFRE, and the Grant Professionals Certification Institute (GPCI).

Learn how to create your very own blog and podcast using the tools that you already have available on your computer.

Blogging and Podcasting for Beginners will teach you how to plan and create your very own blog and podcast. Through hands-on exercises, you will discover the benefits of using free web tools like Blogger, WordPress, Audacity, and YouTube. You will find that creating a blog and podcast is much easier than you ever imagined.

First, you will learn how to develop a plan for the content, setup, maintenance, and how to use free blogging software like Blogger and WordPress to put that plan into action. After that, learn how to record a professional-sounding audio podcast with a very simple recording tool you already have. You will edit the file with another free software program, add music to it, and then post it online for others to enjoy. Finally, you will find out how to record a video podcast. You will edit it, add special effects, drop in a podcasting-safe music file, and then publish it online.

Requirements:

Hardware Requirements:

• This course can be taken on either a PC or Mac.
• Mac users should expect to make adjustments based on their operating system differences especially during the podcast portion of the course. In addition, Mac users will download different versions of audio editing software and video editing software that will differ from the directions presented in the course.

Software Requirements:

• PC: Windows 8 or later.
• Mac: macOS 10.6 or later.
• Browser: The latest version of Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox are preferred. Microsoft Edge and Safari are also compatible.
• You should expect to download free online programs including an audio editing program during the class in order to create a blog and podcast.
• Adobe Acrobat Reader.
• Software must be installed and fully operational before the course begins.

Other:

• Email capabilities and access to a personal email account.

Instructional Material Requirements:

The instructional materials required for this course are included in enrollment and will be available online.

Blogging and Podcasting are great ways to express yourself, but maybe you're not sure how to start. This course will teach you how to successfully plan and create your very own blog and podcast using hands-on exercises and free web tools.

Introduction

Welcome to the beginning of your blogging adventure! By course completion, you will know how to blog, produce your own audio and video podcasts, and how to market and promote your blog. In this first lesson, you will get acquainted with blogging terms, the parts of a blog, and the important differences between a blog and a website.

Blogging

It makes sense to give something a try before doing it yourself, right? This lesson will teach you how to participate in the blogosphere by commenting on a blog of your choosing. This lesson walks you through a series of questions to help you develop a sustainable plan for your blog's content, setup, and long-term maintenance.

Hosting and Software

This lesson explores your options for blogging software and hosting. You will learn about free online blog software options and work with two free blogging services, Blogger and WordPress. By the end of this lesson, your blog will be ready to go.

Appearance

Why settle for a cookie-cutter blog when you can create a custom blog look? In this lesson, you will pick the perfect image for your background and spice up your blog's header on your Blogger and WordPress blogs.

Privacy

In this lesson, you will get to decide who can read your blog. You will learn how to set your blog's privacy levels and comment field, in case you want to limit who can read or comment on your blog. Finally, this lesson teaches you how to add a few gadgets that help readers easily navigate your blog.

Styling

This lesson covers changing the font, color, and size of your text, and adding lists and links to enhance content and interactivity. You will also practice working with formatting tools to make your first post look great online.

Photos

You've mastered the process of formatting the text of your blog post, so now it's time to add some photos. After learning how to locate and incorporate appropriate images into your draft, create labels to categorize the content of your post. Next, learn the seven steps of promoting your blog, including how to utilize Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest as promotion tools.

Podcasts

It's time to explore the podcast. You will learn the podcasting terms needed to feel comfortable with this technology. This lesson introduces the PREP method of podcasting: planning your own podcast using an effective formula for developing content, setup, and maintenance.

Your First Audio Podcast

This lesson explores the minimum equipment needed to record your first audio podcast—as well as other equipment you may find of interest if you become a serious podcaster. And, after that, you will continue to follow the PREP method of podcasting by recording your first podcast using Audacity, a free audio recording program.

Editing and Publishing Audio Podcasts

This lesson focuses on the last two steps of the PREP method of podcasting: editing and publishing. You will learn how to cut out dead air and an unexpected sneeze, adjust the volume, and add effects so the sound fades in and out. Then, it will be time to publish your work.

Video Podcasts

Now that you know how to prepare, record, edit, and publish an audio podcast, doing the same for a video podcast is going to be a lot easier. In this lesson, you will learn the equipment you can use for video podcasting.

Editing Video Podcasts

It's time to fine-tune your video podcasting skills as well as your video podcast. In this final lesson, you will learn how to add transitions and video effects to your video file, trim unwanted portions out, and make audio enhancements.

What you will learn

• Develop a plan for the content, setup, and long-term maintenance of a blog
• Learn to use free blogging software like Blogger and WordPress to put that plan into action
• Learn how to record a professional-sounding audio podcast, edit the file with a free software program, add music to it, and then post it online for others to enjoy
• Find out how to successfully produce a video podcast with minimal equipment

How you will benefit

• Learn everything you need to create a professional-level blog or podcast
• Gain new career opportunities and/or a fun new hobby
• Gain a new skill set that you can put to use on personal, business, educational, or even political projects

Richard Mansfield is a best-selling author and widely recognized expert on computer programming. He holds a master's degree in English from the University of California, Santa Barbara. He has written numerous articles and columns on computer topics, and was the editor of Compute! Magazine. In addition, he has authored or co-authored 44 books, including the best sellers Machine Language for Beginners (Compute!) and The Visual Guide to Visual Basic (Ventana). His more recent titles include Creating Web Pages for Dummies (co-authored, Wiley), XML for Dummies: All-in-One Desktop Reference (co-authored, Wiley), Mastering VBA for Office 2019 (Sybex), and Programming: A Beginner's Guide (McGraw-Hill). Richard's books have sold more than 600,000 copies worldwide and have been translated into 12 languages.

Learn how to create your very own blog and podcast using the tools that you already have available on your computer.

Blogging and Podcasting for Beginners will teach you how to plan and create your very own blog and podcast. Through hands-on exercises, you will discover the benefits of using free web tools like Blogger, WordPress, Audacity, and YouTube. You will find that creating a blog and podcast is much easier than you ever imagined.

First, you will learn how to develop a plan for the content, setup, maintenance, and how to use free blogging software like Blogger and WordPress to put that plan into action. After that, learn how to record a professional-sounding audio podcast with a very simple recording tool you already have. You will edit the file with another free software program, add music to it, and then post it online for others to enjoy. Finally, you will find out how to record a video podcast. You will edit it, add special effects, drop in a podcasting-safe music file, and then publish it online.

Requirements:

Hardware Requirements:

• This course can be taken on either a PC or Mac.
• Mac users should expect to make adjustments based on their operating system differences especially during the podcast portion of the course. In addition, Mac users will download different versions of audio editing software and video editing software that will differ from the directions presented in the course.

Software Requirements:

• PC: Windows 8 or later.
• Mac: macOS 10.6 or later.
• Browser: The latest version of Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox are preferred. Microsoft Edge and Safari are also compatible.
• You should expect to download free online programs including an audio editing program during the class in order to create a blog and podcast.
• Adobe Acrobat Reader.
• Software must be installed and fully operational before the course begins.

Other:

• Email capabilities and access to a personal email account.

Instructional Material Requirements:

The instructional materials required for this course are included in enrollment and will be available online.

Blogging and Podcasting are great ways to express yourself, but maybe you're not sure how to start. This course will teach you how to successfully plan and create your very own blog and podcast using hands-on exercises and free web tools.

Introduction

Welcome to the beginning of your blogging adventure! By course completion, you will know how to blog, produce your own audio and video podcasts, and how to market and promote your blog. In this first lesson, you will get acquainted with blogging terms, the parts of a blog, and the important differences between a blog and a website.

Blogging

It makes sense to give something a try before doing it yourself, right? This lesson will teach you how to participate in the blogosphere by commenting on a blog of your choosing. This lesson walks you through a series of questions to help you develop a sustainable plan for your blog's content, setup, and long-term maintenance.

Hosting and Software

This lesson explores your options for blogging software and hosting. You will learn about free online blog software options and work with two free blogging services, Blogger and WordPress. By the end of this lesson, your blog will be ready to go.

Appearance

Why settle for a cookie-cutter blog when you can create a custom blog look? In this lesson, you will pick the perfect image for your background and spice up your blog's header on your Blogger and WordPress blogs.

Privacy

In this lesson, you will get to decide who can read your blog. You will learn how to set your blog's privacy levels and comment field, in case you want to limit who can read or comment on your blog. Finally, this lesson teaches you how to add a few gadgets that help readers easily navigate your blog.

Styling

This lesson covers changing the font, color, and size of your text, and adding lists and links to enhance content and interactivity. You will also practice working with formatting tools to make your first post look great online.

Photos

You've mastered the process of formatting the text of your blog post, so now it's time to add some photos. After learning how to locate and incorporate appropriate images into your draft, create labels to categorize the content of your post. Next, learn the seven steps of promoting your blog, including how to utilize Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest as promotion tools.

Podcasts

It's time to explore the podcast. You will learn the podcasting terms needed to feel comfortable with this technology. This lesson introduces the PREP method of podcasting: planning your own podcast using an effective formula for developing content, setup, and maintenance.

Your First Audio Podcast

This lesson explores the minimum equipment needed to record your first audio podcast—as well as other equipment you may find of interest if you become a serious podcaster. And, after that, you will continue to follow the PREP method of podcasting by recording your first podcast using Audacity, a free audio recording program.

Editing and Publishing Audio Podcasts

This lesson focuses on the last two steps of the PREP method of podcasting: editing and publishing. You will learn how to cut out dead air and an unexpected sneeze, adjust the volume, and add effects so the sound fades in and out. Then, it will be time to publish your work.

Video Podcasts

Now that you know how to prepare, record, edit, and publish an audio podcast, doing the same for a video podcast is going to be a lot easier. In this lesson, you will learn the equipment you can use for video podcasting.

Editing Video Podcasts

It's time to fine-tune your video podcasting skills as well as your video podcast. In this final lesson, you will learn how to add transitions and video effects to your video file, trim unwanted portions out, and make audio enhancements.

What you will learn

• Develop a plan for the content, setup, and long-term maintenance of a blog
• Learn to use free blogging software like Blogger and WordPress to put that plan into action
• Learn how to record a professional-sounding audio podcast, edit the file with a free software program, add music to it, and then post it online for others to enjoy
• Find out how to successfully produce a video podcast with minimal equipment

How you will benefit

• Learn everything you need to create a professional-level blog or podcast
• Gain new career opportunities and/or a fun new hobby
• Gain a new skill set that you can put to use on personal, business, educational, or even political projects

Richard Mansfield is a best-selling author and widely recognized expert on computer programming. He holds a master's degree in English from the University of California, Santa Barbara. He has written numerous articles and columns on computer topics, and was the editor of Compute! Magazine. In addition, he has authored or co-authored 44 books, including the best sellers Machine Language for Beginners (Compute!) and The Visual Guide to Visual Basic (Ventana). His more recent titles include Creating Web Pages for Dummies (co-authored, Wiley), XML for Dummies: All-in-One Desktop Reference (co-authored, Wiley), Mastering VBA for Office 2019 (Sybex), and Programming: A Beginner's Guide (McGraw-Hill). Richard's books have sold more than 600,000 copies worldwide and have been translated into 12 languages.

Write great marketing copy to improve your company's image and your chances of getting hired or promoted.

Are you a writer working in the business world? Or a marketing professional responsible for obtaining great marketing copy? Maybe you're just interested in a writing or marketing career. Whatever your background, this fun, introductory course will teach you to write or identify copy that achieves business and marketing goals. Improve your work, your knowledge, your company's image, and your chances of getting hired, promoted or applauded!

Using clear explanations, real-life examples, and an animated style, the course solidifies the relationship between business, marketing principles, and written communications. You will learn how business and marketing objectives affect writing choices. You'll get practical writing instruction in grammar, clarity, structure and more. You'll understand issues unique to this discipline, such as buzzwords, working with a team, and marketing ethics. This course will help you understand the power of writing and use it to present a solid, cohesive message to your target audience.

Requirements:

Hardware Requirements:

• This course can be taken on either a PC or Mac.

Software Requirements:

• PC: Windows 8 or later.
• Mac: macOS 10.6 or later.
• Browser: The latest version of Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox are preferred. Microsoft Edge and Safari are also compatible.
• Adobe Acrobat Reader.
• Software must be installed and fully operational before the course begins.

Other:

• Email capabilities and access to a personal email account.

Instructional Material Requirements:

The instructional materials required for this course are included in enrollment and will be available online.

Expand your writing skills and learn to create copy that achieves business and marketing goals. This course will help you use the power of writing to present a solid, cohesive message to your target audience and improve your chances of getting hired or promoted.

The Role of Business and Marketing Writing

The first lesson starts off with a discussion about the purpose of marketing and the goals of writing, and then talks about the unique roles, responsibilities, and challenges of business and marketing writing. You'll learn exactly what business and marketing writers do as you begin exploring this exciting field.

The Ins and Outs of Image

Before you can write or recognize successful copy, you'll need to understand your corporate identity: who the company is and what the company offers. In this lesson, you'll delve into all the aspects of corporate image that writers and marketing professionals need to ponder before producing effective projects.

Writing Approaches and Strategies

Now that you understand image, what can you do with it? In this lesson, you'll analyze business and marketing goals—and the needs of your audience—to figure out the appropriate writing style for any project.

Media

It's a creative field, but certain projects require certain conventions. In this lesson, you'll see how a particular medium or project type can guide your writing style and approach, helping you save time and stay on target.

Putting It All Together: Writing Project

This lesson will gather up the information you explored in the previous four lessons and put it all together. It will illustrate how to apply everything you've learned so far as you develop an original writing project from start to finish.

Complete and Incomplete Sentences

Do you need to write in complete sentences? What is a complete sentence, anyway? This lesson will give you a brief refresher on sentence construction and then go over some guidelines for using fragments in business writing. You'll also learn to recognize and fix one of the most common errors in modern writing: the comma splice.

Word Choices

You can't write without words! In this lesson, you'll learn to make accurate word choices. The lesson will discuss the level of vocabulary appropriate for business writing and show you how to choose words that reinforce a project's theme. It'll also clarify some tricky word pairs and discuss word-choice problems whose usage can undermine the professionalism of your writing.

Internal Communication

In this lesson, you'll take a critical look at the inside of a company. First, you'll see how to develop "marketing" projects for audiences within a company. Then you'll explore the roles of the various specialists who contribute to a single marketing piece—bosses, clients, editors, junior writers, artists, and designers. You'll learn how to work with all of them to create smoother relationships and better projects.

Banishing the Bureaucracy

For even the most experienced writers, bureaucratic influences can creep in to reduce creativity and impede communication. In this lesson, you'll take a look at buzzwords and jargon, and then explore some ways to achieve maximum power and effectiveness by keeping your writing clear, concise, and active.

Editing, Proofreading and Evaluating

In this lesson, you'll explore the final steps. You'll learn to enhance and refine business and marketing projects during the editing and proofreading processes. You'll also learn to evaluate finished pieces and even test their effectiveness in the real world!

Putting It All Together: Editing Project

In this lesson, you'll once again be putting it all together, but this time as an editor. You'll apply everything you've learned so far in the course, editing a project from beginning to end.

Marketing Ethics

Marketing involves images, and it's easy to lose sight of the truth. In the final lesson of the course, you'll go over some important considerations that marketing professionals need to think about.

What you will learn

• Learn how to communicate marketing and business goals in your writing
• Discover the best way to align written communication with a corporate identity
• Examine methods for writing with purpose and developing a cohesive message for a target audience
• Learn how grammatical and stylistic choices can augment business and marketing strategies

How you will benefit

• Learn to communicate effectively and express your values to a target audience
• Gain confidence in your ability to reach and affect people with your writing
• Open the door to new career opportunities as you gain invaluable skills in the fundamentals of business and marketing communication

Lisa Adams is a web development expert specializing in marketing, user experience, and e-commerce. In addition to building and maintaining hundreds of websites, Lisa has helped a wide variety of clients and students to create their own sites and modify existing ones to make them more attractive and user-friendly.

Write great marketing copy to improve your company's image and your chances of getting hired or promoted.

Are you a writer working in the business world? Or a marketing professional responsible for obtaining great marketing copy? Maybe you're just interested in a writing or marketing career. Whatever your background, this fun, introductory course will teach you to write or identify copy that achieves business and marketing goals. Improve your work, your knowledge, your company's image, and your chances of getting hired, promoted or applauded!

Using clear explanations, real-life examples, and an animated style, the course solidifies the relationship between business, marketing principles, and written communications. You will learn how business and marketing objectives affect writing choices. You'll get practical writing instruction in grammar, clarity, structure and more. You'll understand issues unique to this discipline, such as buzzwords, working with a team, and marketing ethics. This course will help you understand the power of writing and use it to present a solid, cohesive message to your target audience.

Requirements:

Hardware Requirements:

• This course can be taken on either a PC or Mac.

Software Requirements:

• PC: Windows 8 or later.
• Mac: macOS 10.6 or later.
• Browser: The latest version of Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox are preferred. Microsoft Edge and Safari are also compatible.
• Adobe Acrobat Reader.
• Software must be installed and fully operational before the course begins.

Other:

• Email capabilities and access to a personal email account.

Instructional Material Requirements:

The instructional materials required for this course are included in enrollment and will be available online.

Expand your writing skills and learn to create copy that achieves business and marketing goals. This course will help you use the power of writing to present a solid, cohesive message to your target audience and improve your chances of getting hired or promoted.

The Role of Business and Marketing Writing

The first lesson starts off with a discussion about the purpose of marketing and the goals of writing, and then talks about the unique roles, responsibilities, and challenges of business and marketing writing. You'll learn exactly what business and marketing writers do as you begin exploring this exciting field.

The Ins and Outs of Image

Before you can write or recognize successful copy, you'll need to understand your corporate identity: who the company is and what the company offers. In this lesson, you'll delve into all the aspects of corporate image that writers and marketing professionals need to ponder before producing effective projects.

Writing Approaches and Strategies

Now that you understand image, what can you do with it? In this lesson, you'll analyze business and marketing goals—and the needs of your audience—to figure out the appropriate writing style for any project.

Media

It's a creative field, but certain projects require certain conventions. In this lesson, you'll see how a particular medium or project type can guide your writing style and approach, helping you save time and stay on target.

Putting It All Together: Writing Project

This lesson will gather up the information you explored in the previous four lessons and put it all together. It will illustrate how to apply everything you've learned so far as you develop an original writing project from start to finish.

Complete and Incomplete Sentences

Do you need to write in complete sentences? What is a complete sentence, anyway? This lesson will give you a brief refresher on sentence construction and then go over some guidelines for using fragments in business writing. You'll also learn to recognize and fix one of the most common errors in modern writing: the comma splice.

Word Choices

You can't write without words! In this lesson, you'll learn to make accurate word choices. The lesson will discuss the level of vocabulary appropriate for business writing and show you how to choose words that reinforce a project's theme. It'll also clarify some tricky word pairs and discuss word-choice problems whose usage can undermine the professionalism of your writing.

Internal Communication

In this lesson, you'll take a critical look at the inside of a company. First, you'll see how to develop "marketing" projects for audiences within a company. Then you'll explore the roles of the various specialists who contribute to a single marketing piece—bosses, clients, editors, junior writers, artists, and designers. You'll learn how to work with all of them to create smoother relationships and better projects.

Banishing the Bureaucracy

For even the most experienced writers, bureaucratic influences can creep in to reduce creativity and impede communication. In this lesson, you'll take a look at buzzwords and jargon, and then explore some ways to achieve maximum power and effectiveness by keeping your writing clear, concise, and active.

Editing, Proofreading and Evaluating

In this lesson, you'll explore the final steps. You'll learn to enhance and refine business and marketing projects during the editing and proofreading processes. You'll also learn to evaluate finished pieces and even test their effectiveness in the real world!

Putting It All Together: Editing Project

In this lesson, you'll once again be putting it all together, but this time as an editor. You'll apply everything you've learned so far in the course, editing a project from beginning to end.

Marketing Ethics

Marketing involves images, and it's easy to lose sight of the truth. In the final lesson of the course, you'll go over some important considerations that marketing professionals need to think about.

What you will learn

• Learn how to communicate marketing and business goals in your writing
• Discover the best way to align written communication with a corporate identity
• Examine methods for writing with purpose and developing a cohesive message for a target audience
• Learn how grammatical and stylistic choices can augment business and marketing strategies

How you will benefit

• Learn to communicate effectively and express your values to a target audience
• Gain confidence in your ability to reach and affect people with your writing
• Open the door to new career opportunities as you gain invaluable skills in the fundamentals of business and marketing communication

Lisa Adams is a web development expert specializing in marketing, user experience, and e-commerce. In addition to building and maintaining hundreds of websites, Lisa has helped a wide variety of clients and students to create their own sites and modify existing ones to make them more attractive and user-friendly.

This course will introduce different strategies employed during the budgeting process, the techniques and tools commonly used to make budgeting forecasts, the components of a basic operating budget, and how businesses make certain decisions that may impact their budgeted amounts.

If the idea of creating a budget for your business, department, or project seems overwhelming, this course will alleviate all of those fears. Taught in an approachable and relatable format, this course walks you through the budgeting process so you can go from numbers averse to budgeting super-hero. The downloadable templates included in the course allow you to easily and quickly take what you learn and apply it to your job. The storytelling used throughout the course makes the topic more approachable and engaging so you can obtain the soft skills that will help you be successful implementing and tracking a budget in the real world. Finally, the course challenge is something that will pique your curiosity at the beginning of the course and provide motivation to complete the course and continue learning the material.

A company's budgeting process involves a lot more than just rows and columns of numbers on a spreadsheet. The reality is that budgeting is a sometimes organic and sometimes organized process. Most often, it's an equal mix of both in an attempt to add some level of certainty to an uncertain future. These processes are what we are going to explore in this course. You will be introduced to different strategies employed during the budgeting process, the techniques and tools that are commonly used to make budgeting forecasts, the components of a basic operating budget, and how businesses make certain decisions that may impact their budgeted amounts.

Requirements:

Hardware Requirements:

• This course can be taken on either a PC or Mac.

Software Requirements:

• PC: Windows 8 or later.
• Mac: macOS 10.6 or later.
• Browser: The latest version of Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox is preferred. Microsoft Edge and Safari are also compatible.
• Adobe Acrobat Reader.
• Software must be installed and fully operational before the course begins.

Other:

• Email capabilities and access to a personal email account.

Instructional Material Requirements:

The instructional materials required for this course are included in enrollment and will be available online.

In this comprehensive, beginner-friendly course, you will learn the elementary skills needed to be successful in the budgeting process and work gradually work your way up to creating a budget. You will also discover how to best evaluate the results of your budget and make decisions to help your business maximize its profits.

Predicting the Future

In our first lesson, you'll explore how budgeting at its core is a process of looking forward. It's about making informed predictions about the future. Next, you'll see how a company's vision can lead to setting goals for the company. These visions are often aspirational and state the path for where the company plans to go in the future. Then, we'll also start the conversation about the human side of budgeting.

Budget Strategies

In this lesson, you'll begin to look at various budgeting strategies, including strategic, capital, and operations budgeting techniques. The lesson will include some real-life examples of planning activities, and to further bring these concepts to life, you'll work with a fictional company, Curly's Pool Service and Supplies, by helping Curly formulate some plans and budgets!

It's All About Sales!

This lesson will focus all on sales, specifically the role that sales play in the budgeting process. We'll examine the best practices for compiling a sales forecast and how to increase the chances that the sales forecast will actually mimic real life. We'll also discover how to create an inventory that needs a budget to determine just how much inventory to purchase based on a sales forecast. Finally, we'll discuss how to formulate a labor requirements budget to accurately project just how much labor you may need to employ to meet the needs of the company, again based on the sales forecast.

Cost Behavior – Part 1

In this lesson, we are going to detour a bit from the actual preparation of a budget and dive into how certain types of costs behave. Understanding how costs increase or decrease relative to an activity is an essential part of learning how to accurately budget for costs in a business. So, in the upcoming chapters, you're going to discover how to distinguish between variable, fixed, and mixed costs. We will use these cost types to calculate the contribution margin for the business. Then, we will show you how to use contribution margin to make certain predictions and decisions in a business. Most notably, you'll see how to use contribution margin to calculate the all-important break-even point and margin of safety for a business.

Cost Behavior – Part 2

This lesson will be a continuation of the discussion about cost behavior. In the lesson, you'll explore how to evaluate a company's sales mix and how to calculate operating leverage using tools given throughout the course. Operating leverage is just another key component of cost analysis that will allow you to, once again, easily make projections about the future. We'll end the lesson with a discussion about how companies set prices for the products and services they offer. You can probably guess that this process is a bit more involved than just selecting a price out of thin air. It's actually an essential part of a company's overall budgeting process and should not be taken lightly.

Expense and Manufacturing Production Budgets

In this lesson, we'll examine the steps needed to build both a direct materials budget and a direct labor budget. We'll also examine how a manufacturing company budgets for manufacturing overhead. All of these components are key to developing an overall production budget for a business that manufactures a product. Finally, we will end this lesson by describing the components of a production budget.

Cash Is King!

In this lesson, we'll discuss how to prepare a complete cash budget for a business. You'll get the chance to take an even closer look at how a company might forecast cash collections from credit sales and cash payments on credit purchases for big-ticket items like inventory or other expensive capital projects. We'll even take a look at how some companies mitigate the risk of running out of cash by utilizing lines of credit and other sources of cash instead of just relying on cash generated from sales.

Capital Budgeting

In this lesson, you'll learn some of the basic methodologies that can be applied in many different capital budgeting scenarios. The lesson will begin with an explanation of a technique that does not include an evaluation of how time impacts the valuation of money. Then, you'll learn how the passage of time and its impact on the value of a dollar is incorporated into capital budgeting decisions. Since capital projects often span years, or even decades in some cases, the time value of money is key to improving accuracy in budgeting for capital projects. The lesson will finish up with a thorough review of, perhaps, the most common technique that is used in capital budgeting decisions: net present value.

Business Decision-Making – Part 1

In this lesson and the one that follows, we're going to explore how businesses use budgeted data in combination with a formalized decision-making process to improve their chances of making better decisions. For a business, a better decision is one that maximizes profit and aligns with the company's goals and values. We'll start with an examination of what types of budgeted information are relevant to making a decision and what types of information you can ignore. You'll see the differences between quantitative and qualitative information and how each can be used to improve decision-making. Then we'll finish up with an example including some specific steps you can use as a model for making better decisions.

Business Decision-Making – Part 2

In this lesson, you'll continue to practice with these same techniques by applying them to a few other common business decisions. You'll start by examining how a business uses budgeted information to make the choice to replace an existing asset with a new asset, such as replacing an old piece of manufacturing equipment with a brand-new one. Next, you'll explore how a business might use budgeted information when deciding whether to eliminate a product or service that it offers. We'll finish up the lesson by examining one of the most critical business decisions you'll ever need to make: how to allocate your most scarce resource to maximize profit in your business.

Bringing It All Together

In this lesson and the one that follows, we will focus on how best to evaluate the financial stability and performance of the business using budgeted information. We'll start by taking a close look at using the components of a company's operating budget to compile the pro forma balance sheet. Next, we'll examine the steps needed to prepare the pro forma income statement, again by using the information found in many of the other operating budget components. To finish up the lesson, we'll dive into some straightforward techniques that are useful to evaluate the balances found on the pro forma balance sheet and income statements.

Evaluation, Control, and Methods

In our last lesson, we'll spend more time on the budget evaluation process by examining how companies use variance analysis to evaluate differences between actual results and the budget. To keep things manageable, we'll stick to the basics here so that you're equipped with some tools to take with you when applying these techniques in a real company. As part of this process, we'll take a look at how budget variances are defined and interpreted. Then, we'll discuss some techniques like flexible budgeting to evaluate and isolate certain budget fluctuations in a way that provides clarity to a business owner or manager. We'll finish up the lesson with a brief discussion of the budgetary control process and the soft skills needed for this process.

What you will learn

• Learn about planning strategies and how they are used to keep a budget aligned with its vision
• Obtain knowledge of cost behavior and how forecasts are used to ensure accuracy in future planning and budgeting
• Develop various approaches to plan for general and administrative expenses
• Gain tools and techniques used for a formal decision-making process
• Master how best to evaluate the financial stability and performance of a business using budgeted information

How you will benefit

• Learning how businesses think about budgeting will help you to make informed predictions about the future with strategic planning
• Become more valuable to your employer or business by accurately budgeting costs
• Make better business decisions with the knowledge about how businesses use budgeted data in combination with a formalized decision-making process
• Increase success in your career with the skills, techniques, and tool kit provided by this course

Scott Paxton is a Certified Public Accountant and holds master's degrees in business administration and accounting. His background includes experience as a public accountant, a manager in the banking industry, an entrepreneur and a college business instructor. Paxton has also spent much of his career helping small business owners successfully optimize their business operations, budgets and strategic plans.

This course will introduce different strategies employed during the budgeting process, the techniques and tools commonly used to make budgeting forecasts, the components of a basic operating budget, and how businesses make certain decisions that may impact their budgeted amounts.

If the idea of creating a budget for your business, department, or project seems overwhelming, this course will alleviate all of those fears. Taught in an approachable and relatable format, this course walks you through the budgeting process so you can go from numbers averse to budgeting super-hero. The downloadable templates included in the course allow you to easily and quickly take what you learn and apply it to your job. The storytelling used throughout the course makes the topic more approachable and engaging so you can obtain the soft skills that will help you be successful implementing and tracking a budget in the real world. Finally, the course challenge is something that will pique your curiosity at the beginning of the course and provide motivation to complete the course and continue learning the material.

A company's budgeting process involves a lot more than just rows and columns of numbers on a spreadsheet. The reality is that budgeting is a sometimes organic and sometimes organized process. Most often, it's an equal mix of both in an attempt to add some level of certainty to an uncertain future. These processes are what we are going to explore in this course. You will be introduced to different strategies employed during the budgeting process, the techniques and tools that are commonly used to make budgeting forecasts, the components of a basic operating budget, and how businesses make certain decisions that may impact their budgeted amounts.

Requirements:

Hardware Requirements:

• This course can be taken on either a PC or Mac.

Software Requirements:

• PC: Windows 8 or later.
• Mac: macOS 10.6 or later.
• Browser: The latest version of Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox is preferred. Microsoft Edge and Safari are also compatible.
• Adobe Acrobat Reader.
• Software must be installed and fully operational before the course begins.

Other:

• Email capabilities and access to a personal email account.

Instructional Material Requirements:

The instructional materials required for this course are included in enrollment and will be available online.

In this comprehensive, beginner-friendly course, you will learn the elementary skills needed to be successful in the budgeting process and work gradually work your way up to creating a budget. You will also discover how to best evaluate the results of your budget and make decisions to help your business maximize its profits.

Predicting the Future

In our first lesson, you'll explore how budgeting at its core is a process of looking forward. It's about making informed predictions about the future. Next, you'll see how a company's vision can lead to setting goals for the company. These visions are often aspirational and state the path for where the company plans to go in the future. Then, we'll also start the conversation about the human side of budgeting.

Budget Strategies

In this lesson, you'll begin to look at various budgeting strategies, including strategic, capital, and operations budgeting techniques. The lesson will include some real-life examples of planning activities, and to further bring these concepts to life, you'll work with a fictional company, Curly's Pool Service and Supplies, by helping Curly formulate some plans and budgets!

It's All About Sales!

This lesson will focus all on sales, specifically the role that sales play in the budgeting process. We'll examine the best practices for compiling a sales forecast and how to increase the chances that the sales forecast will actually mimic real life. We'll also discover how to create an inventory that needs a budget to determine just how much inventory to purchase based on a sales forecast. Finally, we'll discuss how to formulate a labor requirements budget to accurately project just how much labor you may need to employ to meet the needs of the company, again based on the sales forecast.

Cost Behavior – Part 1

In this lesson, we are going to detour a bit from the actual preparation of a budget and dive into how certain types of costs behave. Understanding how costs increase or decrease relative to an activity is an essential part of learning how to accurately budget for costs in a business. So, in the upcoming chapters, you're going to discover how to distinguish between variable, fixed, and mixed costs. We will use these cost types to calculate the contribution margin for the business. Then, we will show you how to use contribution margin to make certain predictions and decisions in a business. Most notably, you'll see how to use contribution margin to calculate the all-important break-even point and margin of safety for a business.

Cost Behavior – Part 2

This lesson will be a continuation of the discussion about cost behavior. In the lesson, you'll explore how to evaluate a company's sales mix and how to calculate operating leverage using tools given throughout the course. Operating leverage is just another key component of cost analysis that will allow you to, once again, easily make projections about the future. We'll end the lesson with a discussion about how companies set prices for the products and services they offer. You can probably guess that this process is a bit more involved than just selecting a price out of thin air. It's actually an essential part of a company's overall budgeting process and should not be taken lightly.

Expense and Manufacturing Production Budgets

In this lesson, we'll examine the steps needed to build both a direct materials budget and a direct labor budget. We'll also examine how a manufacturing company budgets for manufacturing overhead. All of these components are key to developing an overall production budget for a business that manufactures a product. Finally, we will end this lesson by describing the components of a production budget.

Cash Is King!

In this lesson, we'll discuss how to prepare a complete cash budget for a business. You'll get the chance to take an even closer look at how a company might forecast cash collections from credit sales and cash payments on credit purchases for big-ticket items like inventory or other expensive capital projects. We'll even take a look at how some companies mitigate the risk of running out of cash by utilizing lines of credit and other sources of cash instead of just relying on cash generated from sales.

Capital Budgeting

In this lesson, you'll learn some of the basic methodologies that can be applied in many different capital budgeting scenarios. The lesson will begin with an explanation of a technique that does not include an evaluation of how time impacts the valuation of money. Then, you'll learn how the passage of time and its impact on the value of a dollar is incorporated into capital budgeting decisions. Since capital projects often span years, or even decades in some cases, the time value of money is key to improving accuracy in budgeting for capital projects. The lesson will finish up with a thorough review of, perhaps, the most common technique that is used in capital budgeting decisions: net present value.

Business Decision-Making – Part 1

In this lesson and the one that follows, we're going to explore how businesses use budgeted data in combination with a formalized decision-making process to improve their chances of making better decisions. For a business, a better decision is one that maximizes profit and aligns with the company's goals and values. We'll start with an examination of what types of budgeted information are relevant to making a decision and what types of information you can ignore. You'll see the differences between quantitative and qualitative information and how each can be used to improve decision-making. Then we'll finish up with an example including some specific steps you can use as a model for making better decisions.

Business Decision-Making – Part 2

In this lesson, you'll continue to practice with these same techniques by applying them to a few other common business decisions. You'll start by examining how a business uses budgeted information to make the choice to replace an existing asset with a new asset, such as replacing an old piece of manufacturing equipment with a brand-new one. Next, you'll explore how a business might use budgeted information when deciding whether to eliminate a product or service that it offers. We'll finish up the lesson by examining one of the most critical business decisions you'll ever need to make: how to allocate your most scarce resource to maximize profit in your business.

Bringing It All Together

In this lesson and the one that follows, we will focus on how best to evaluate the financial stability and performance of the business using budgeted information. We'll start by taking a close look at using the components of a company's operating budget to compile the pro forma balance sheet. Next, we'll examine the steps needed to prepare the pro forma income statement, again by using the information found in many of the other operating budget components. To finish up the lesson, we'll dive into some straightforward techniques that are useful to evaluate the balances found on the pro forma balance sheet and income statements.

Evaluation, Control, and Methods

In our last lesson, we'll spend more time on the budget evaluation process by examining how companies use variance analysis to evaluate differences between actual results and the budget. To keep things manageable, we'll stick to the basics here so that you're equipped with some tools to take with you when applying these techniques in a real company. As part of this process, we'll take a look at how budget variances are defined and interpreted. Then, we'll discuss some techniques like flexible budgeting to evaluate and isolate certain budget fluctuations in a way that provides clarity to a business owner or manager. We'll finish up the lesson with a brief discussion of the budgetary control process and the soft skills needed for this process.

What you will learn

• Learn about planning strategies and how they are used to keep a budget aligned with its vision
• Obtain knowledge of cost behavior and how forecasts are used to ensure accuracy in future planning and budgeting
• Develop various approaches to plan for general and administrative expenses
• Gain tools and techniques used for a formal decision-making process
• Master how best to evaluate the financial stability and performance of a business using budgeted information

How you will benefit

• Learning how businesses think about budgeting will help you to make informed predictions about the future with strategic planning
• Become more valuable to your employer or business by accurately budgeting costs
• Make better business decisions with the knowledge about how businesses use budgeted data in combination with a formalized decision-making process
• Increase success in your career with the skills, techniques, and tool kit provided by this course

Scott Paxton is a Certified Public Accountant and holds master's degrees in business administration and accounting. His background includes experience as a public accountant, a manager in the banking industry, an entrepreneur and a college business instructor. Paxton has also spent much of his career helping small business owners successfully optimize their business operations, budgets and strategic plans.

Learn the secret to converting a potential customer into a long-term asset. Find out how to lay the groundwork for repeat business and your future success.

The goal of Effective Selling is not to teach you how to make a sale today, but to help you discover how you can easily convert a potential customer into a long term asset. Effective Selling will help you lay the groundwork for repeat business and your future success.

In sales, there are no quick fixes. However, with the knowledge, planning skills, communication techniques, and the understanding of human nature that you will gain from this course, your sales will grow as if by magic.

Requirements:

Hardware Requirements:

• This course can be taken on either a PC or Mac.

Software Requirements:

• PC: Windows 8 or later.
• Mac: macOS 10.6 or later.
• Browser: The latest version of Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox are preferred. Microsoft Edge and Safari are also compatible.
• Adobe Acrobat Reader.
• Software must be installed and fully operational before the course begins.

Other:

• Email capabilities and access to a personal email account.

Instructional Material Requirements:

The instructional materials required for this course are included in enrollment and will be available online.

Discover how you can easily convert a potential customer into a long-term asset. This course will help you lay the groundwork for repeat business and your future success with knowledge, planning skills, communication techniques, and the understanding of human nature.

Laying the Groundwork

This first lesson lays the groundwork for successful sales. You'll review some basic sales terminology and learn about how it relates to your profession. You'll also learn about appropriateness and how it can be a powerful tool for your success. This lesson will start the new salesperson off with the right tools to succeed.

Itineraries, Sales Call Reports, and the Customer Database

This lesson will talk about itineraries, sales call reports, and the customer database. Nothing is more important in sales than tracking your progress, your customers, and your prospects. Preparation and record keeping will keep you one step ahead of the competition. You'll also learn how to schedule follow-up calls to avoid letting potential sales pass you by.

Selling Yourself, Your Company, and Your Product

To be successful in sales, you must learn to sell three things: Yourself, your company, and your product. In this lesson, you'll learn the importance of these things and how to make them work in your favor. And no matter how good you are in sales, you will eventually experience a sales slump. You'll learn the simple steps to work through this slump and come through it in a stronger position.

Communication Skills

If you can't communicate, you can¹t sell. That's why communication is the focus of this lesson. You will learn how to effectively communicate with your customers and prospects in order to minimize problems and maximize customer loyalty. Just as important is your communication with your own company. Stop problems before they start, and your sales will increase dramatically.

Developing Effective Sales Presentations

The previous lessons laid out a strong foundation for your sales efforts. In this lesson, you'll learn how to develop your sales presentation. A good sales presentation can mean the difference between making the sale and going home empty-handed. Learn how to guide the prospect to placing the order by using these proven techniques.

Recognizing Personality Types

You'll encounter seven different types of personalities during your sales career, and you'll meet them all in this lesson. Who are they? How can you identify them? How can you relate to them? Most important, how can you sell to them? This lesson will talk about how to identify which personality type you're dealing with so you can develop a unique selling strategy for each of them.

Presentations for Different Personality Types

Knowing how to create an effective presentation, and how to identify the different personality types is essential knowledge. In this lesson, you'll learn how to apply the knowledge you gained in the previous two lessons. You'll also learn how to modify your presentation to meet the expectations of each of the personality types-a recipe for success!

Closing the Sale

The ultimate goal of the salesperson is to make or close the sale. There are six basic ways to close a sale, and this lesson will discuss them all. More importantly, you'll learn how to put each method to use for the greatest effect.

Converting Customer Complaints to Delight

When is an unhappy customer a great sales opportunity? All salespeople will have to deal with customer complaints at one time or another, but few know how to turn a complaint into a powerful sales tool. By properly handling these complaints as they arise, you can turn a customer complaint into customer delight.

Effective Negotiation

Can you negotiate a contract that pleases your customer and increases your total sales and profit? Of course! In this lesson, you'll learn the techniques of successful negotiation. There really is a win/win solution, and you'll learn how to find it in this lesson.

Dealing With Your Competition

It may seem that your competitors are always bigger, faster, cheaper, or smarter than you are. But the fact is, they aren't. This lesson will discuss ways you can find out what your competition is up to and how to use this knowledge to your advantage.

Difficult Situations

The final lesson will delve into some big questions that salespeople must ask themselves. How do you deal with customers that won't return your calls? How important are ethics in the world of sales? How do you deal with the seemingly constant rejection? All those questions will be answered in this lesson.

What you will learn

• Learn how to schedule follow-up calls to avoid letting potential sales pass you by
• Learn the simple steps to work through a slump and come through it in a stronger position
• Learn how to effectively communicate with your customers and prospects in order to minimize problems and maximize customer loyalty
• Understand how to develop your sales presentation and tailor it to various personality types
• Learn the techniques of successful negotiation

How you will benefit

• Discover how to convert potential customers into long-term assets
• Understand how to gain repeat business as a foundation for your sales success
• Open the door to new opportunities with skills that can transfer to any organization

Steve Payseur began his career in sales in 1979, and his sales have increased an average of 22% a year for more than 20 years. As a Sales Manager, he set up a training program for his sales force, and he has conducted training programs for several Fortune 500 companies. Mr. Payseur is the author of "Selling Effective Techniques for Getting and Keeping Customers," a book based on his years of experience and extensive research. A recognized authority in the field of sales, he has been interviewed on several occasions for national sales magazines. Mr. Payseur has written and published two top-selling books, has two more books in the development stage, and has won several literary competitions. His online courses and classroom seminars have been characterized as open, honest, lively, fun, and informative.

Learn the secret to converting a potential customer into a long-term asset. Find out how to lay the groundwork for repeat business and your future success.

The goal of Effective Selling is not to teach you how to make a sale today, but to help you discover how you can easily convert a potential customer into a long term asset. Effective Selling will help you lay the groundwork for repeat business and your future success.

In sales, there are no quick fixes. However, with the knowledge, planning skills, communication techniques, and the understanding of human nature that you will gain from this course, your sales will grow as if by magic.

Requirements:

Hardware Requirements:

• This course can be taken on either a PC or Mac.

Software Requirements:

• PC: Windows 8 or later.
• Mac: macOS 10.6 or later.
• Browser: The latest version of Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox are preferred. Microsoft Edge and Safari are also compatible.
• Adobe Acrobat Reader.
• Software must be installed and fully operational before the course begins.

Other:

• Email capabilities and access to a personal email account.

Instructional Material Requirements:

The instructional materials required for this course are included in enrollment and will be available online.

Discover how you can easily convert a potential customer into a long-term asset. This course will help you lay the groundwork for repeat business and your future success with knowledge, planning skills, communication techniques, and the understanding of human nature.

Laying the Groundwork

This first lesson lays the groundwork for successful sales. You'll review some basic sales terminology and learn about how it relates to your profession. You'll also learn about appropriateness and how it can be a powerful tool for your success. This lesson will start the new salesperson off with the right tools to succeed.

Itineraries, Sales Call Reports, and the Customer Database

This lesson will talk about itineraries, sales call reports, and the customer database. Nothing is more important in sales than tracking your progress, your customers, and your prospects. Preparation and record keeping will keep you one step ahead of the competition. You'll also learn how to schedule follow-up calls to avoid letting potential sales pass you by.

Selling Yourself, Your Company, and Your Product

To be successful in sales, you must learn to sell three things: Yourself, your company, and your product. In this lesson, you'll learn the importance of these things and how to make them work in your favor. And no matter how good you are in sales, you will eventually experience a sales slump. You'll learn the simple steps to work through this slump and come through it in a stronger position.

Communication Skills

If you can't communicate, you can¹t sell. That's why communication is the focus of this lesson. You will learn how to effectively communicate with your customers and prospects in order to minimize problems and maximize customer loyalty. Just as important is your communication with your own company. Stop problems before they start, and your sales will increase dramatically.

Developing Effective Sales Presentations

The previous lessons laid out a strong foundation for your sales efforts. In this lesson, you'll learn how to develop your sales presentation. A good sales presentation can mean the difference between making the sale and going home empty-handed. Learn how to guide the prospect to placing the order by using these proven techniques.

Recognizing Personality Types

You'll encounter seven different types of personalities during your sales career, and you'll meet them all in this lesson. Who are they? How can you identify them? How can you relate to them? Most important, how can you sell to them? This lesson will talk about how to identify which personality type you're dealing with so you can develop a unique selling strategy for each of them.

Presentations for Different Personality Types

Knowing how to create an effective presentation, and how to identify the different personality types is essential knowledge. In this lesson, you'll learn how to apply the knowledge you gained in the previous two lessons. You'll also learn how to modify your presentation to meet the expectations of each of the personality types-a recipe for success!

Closing the Sale

The ultimate goal of the salesperson is to make or close the sale. There are six basic ways to close a sale, and this lesson will discuss them all. More importantly, you'll learn how to put each method to use for the greatest effect.

Converting Customer Complaints to Delight

When is an unhappy customer a great sales opportunity? All salespeople will have to deal with customer complaints at one time or another, but few know how to turn a complaint into a powerful sales tool. By properly handling these complaints as they arise, you can turn a customer complaint into customer delight.

Effective Negotiation

Can you negotiate a contract that pleases your customer and increases your total sales and profit? Of course! In this lesson, you'll learn the techniques of successful negotiation. There really is a win/win solution, and you'll learn how to find it in this lesson.

Dealing With Your Competition

It may seem that your competitors are always bigger, faster, cheaper, or smarter than you are. But the fact is, they aren't. This lesson will discuss ways you can find out what your competition is up to and how to use this knowledge to your advantage.

Difficult Situations

The final lesson will delve into some big questions that salespeople must ask themselves. How do you deal with customers that won't return your calls? How important are ethics in the world of sales? How do you deal with the seemingly constant rejection? All those questions will be answered in this lesson.

What you will learn

• Learn how to schedule follow-up calls to avoid letting potential sales pass you by
• Learn the simple steps to work through a slump and come through it in a stronger position
• Learn how to effectively communicate with your customers and prospects in order to minimize problems and maximize customer loyalty
• Understand how to develop your sales presentation and tailor it to various personality types
• Learn the techniques of successful negotiation

How you will benefit

• Discover how to convert potential customers into long-term assets
• Understand how to gain repeat business as a foundation for your sales success
• Open the door to new opportunities with skills that can transfer to any organization

Steve Payseur began his career in sales in 1979, and his sales have increased an average of 22% a year for more than 20 years. As a Sales Manager, he set up a training program for his sales force, and he has conducted training programs for several Fortune 500 companies. Mr. Payseur is the author of "Selling Effective Techniques for Getting and Keeping Customers," a book based on his years of experience and extensive research. A recognized authority in the field of sales, he has been interviewed on several occasions for national sales magazines. Mr. Payseur has written and published two top-selling books, has two more books in the development stage, and has won several literary competitions. His online courses and classroom seminars have been characterized as open, honest, lively, fun, and informative.

Learn the basics of employment law so you can legally hire, evaluate, and manage employees.

Learn the basics of employment law so you can legally hire, evaluate and manage employees as a manager, supervisor, small business owner, human resource specialist, or corporate executive. This course will explain the difference between an employee and independent contractor: the basic types of employee benefits; effective hiring; evaluation, and termination procedures; methods to resolve employment disputes in and out of court; discrimination and union laws; and workplace safety rules.

You will gain an inside view of the law with court examples, real situations, and prevention strategies that prepare you to effectively resolve workplace issues. You will learn effective communication techniques, negotiation strategies, and what to expect if you do go to court. This course is a must for anyone who is (or aspires to be) a supervisor, manager, or human resources professional.

Requirements:

Hardware Requirements:

• This course can be taken on either a PC or Mac.

Software Requirements:

• PC: Windows 8 or later.
• Mac: macOS 10.6 or later.
• Browser: The latest version of Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox are preferred. Microsoft Edge and Safari are also compatible.
• Adobe Acrobat Reader.
• Software must be installed and fully operational before the course begins.

Other:

• Email capabilities and access to a personal email account.
• This course is based on U.S. Employment Laws and is not suitable for other areas.

Instructional Material Requirements:

The instructional materials required for this course are included in enrollment and will be available online.

Learn the basics of employment law so you can legally hire, evaluate and manage employees. This course is a must for anyone who is (or aspires to be) a supervisor, manager, or human resources professional.

Employee or Independent Contractor?

Are all workers employees? In this lesson, you'll learn to recognize the difference between an employee and an independent contractor. This will enable you to properly classify workers so you can withhold taxes and provide benefits for true employees. You'll take a look at a real court case to see how courts decide if someone is properly classified.

Employment Benefits

Do you wish you could retire to the beach with solid employment benefits, such as health insurance, retirement, sick leave, and vacation leave in place? In this lesson, you'll look at the legal requirements relating to employment benefits. You may be surprised to learn what the law does and doesn't require! The lesson will also talk about the reasons companies provide benefits for their employees.

Hiring Practices

Do you ever find yourself stuck with employees who aren't producing? This lesson will focus on ways to screen applicants for employment to keep poor employees out and find a good match between the job and skill level of an applicant. As the saying goes, it's better to have strong hiring practices than to deal with a problem employee later on.

Evaluating Employees

Ever wonder what to do with your employees and how to keep them effectively producing? This lesson will focus on evaluation, discipline, and termination processes. You'll learn how to tackle these tough issues without violating any laws in the process.

Employment Disputes

If you ever have to deal with upset people at work (employee outbursts, customer complaints, or vendor concerns) then this lesson is for you! This lesson will show you some dispute resolution tools that will help you turn conflicts into win-win situations.

Employment Disputes in Court

Do you ever wonder what happens behind courthouse doors? This lesson will talk about the litigation process from start to finish so that you'll know what to expect if you someday find yourself in court. It will also go over legal jargon—words like depositions and interrogatories—so that you really understand the words lawyers commonly use.

Discrimination and Title VII

While discrimination should be a thing of the past, prejudice still pops up in the workplace. This lesson will talk about how to comply with Title VII law, which prohibits discrimination at work. The examples and strategies discussed here will make this law easy to understand.

More Discrimination Laws

Has anyone ever requested a special accommodation from you? This lesson will explore what the laws are about this issue. You'll find out what your duty is regarding accommodation and learn to analyze your workplace to determine whether it's compliant.

Labor Unions

Suppose there's labor talk whispered in the halls of your workplace. What do you do? This lesson will discuss the legal rights of unions to organize. You'll also consider unfair labor practices that both unions and management need to watch out for.

Labor Negotiations

Collective bargaining, grievance and appeal, strikes—what do these things have in common? They're all processes that can occur in a union environment. This lesson will talk about how to prepare for and handle union bargaining and appeals.

Workplace Safety

What are your obligations when it comes to keeping employees safe on the job? This lesson will focus on employee safety and reporting. You'll get Internet resources where you can look up specifics about your particular work environment.

Legal Compliance

Legal compliance requires an entire corporate strategy. The final lesson will focus on tools, tactics, and resources you can use to create an environment of compliance in your workplace.

What you will learn

• Learn the difference between an employee and an independent contractor and properly classify workers so you can withhold taxes and provide benefits for true employees
• Learn to screen applicants effectively
• Discover dispute resolution tools to handle disputes in the workplace
• Learn about the litigation process and laws that affect your workplace, such as discrimination laws and special accommodation laws
• Explore unfair labor practices that both unions and management need to watch out for
• Learn what your obligations are to keep your employees safe and discover Internet resources where you can look up specifics about your particular work environment
• Discover tools, tactics, and resources to create an environment of compliance in your workplace

How you will benefit

• Know how to effectively screen applicants and develop strong hiring practices
• Be ready to resolve any type of conflict and turn it into a win-win situation
• Be familiar with laws that govern a safe, fair, and compliant workplace for your employees

Ann Nevers holds a law degree and a master's in health law. She works in dispute resolution for business, employment, and health care and regularly teaches courses in these areas. She has published numerous academic articles, edited legal manuals, and written chapters on employment, dispute resolution, and health care topics.

Learn the basics of employment law so you can legally hire, evaluate, and manage employees.

Learn the basics of employment law so you can legally hire, evaluate and manage employees as a manager, supervisor, small business owner, human resource specialist, or corporate executive. This course will explain the difference between an employee and independent contractor: the basic types of employee benefits; effective hiring; evaluation, and termination procedures; methods to resolve employment disputes in and out of court; discrimination and union laws; and workplace safety rules.

You will gain an inside view of the law with court examples, real situations, and prevention strategies that prepare you to effectively resolve workplace issues. You will learn effective communication techniques, negotiation strategies, and what to expect if you do go to court. This course is a must for anyone who is (or aspires to be) a supervisor, manager, or human resources professional.

Requirements:

Hardware Requirements:

• This course can be taken on either a PC or Mac.

Software Requirements:

• PC: Windows 8 or later.
• Mac: macOS 10.6 or later.
• Browser: The latest version of Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox are preferred. Microsoft Edge and Safari are also compatible.
• Adobe Acrobat Reader.
• Software must be installed and fully operational before the course begins.

Other:

• Email capabilities and access to a personal email account.
• This course is based on U.S. Employment Laws and is not suitable for other areas.

Instructional Material Requirements:

The instructional materials required for this course are included in enrollment and will be available online.

Learn the basics of employment law so you can legally hire, evaluate and manage employees. This course is a must for anyone who is (or aspires to be) a supervisor, manager, or human resources professional.

Employee or Independent Contractor?

Are all workers employees? In this lesson, you'll learn to recognize the difference between an employee and an independent contractor. This will enable you to properly classify workers so you can withhold taxes and provide benefits for true employees. You'll take a look at a real court case to see how courts decide if someone is properly classified.

Employment Benefits

Do you wish you could retire to the beach with solid employment benefits, such as health insurance, retirement, sick leave, and vacation leave in place? In this lesson, you'll look at the legal requirements relating to employment benefits. You may be surprised to learn what the law does and doesn't require! The lesson will also talk about the reasons companies provide benefits for their employees.

Hiring Practices

Do you ever find yourself stuck with employees who aren't producing? This lesson will focus on ways to screen applicants for employment to keep poor employees out and find a good match between the job and skill level of an applicant. As the saying goes, it's better to have strong hiring practices than to deal with a problem employee later on.

Evaluating Employees

Ever wonder what to do with your employees and how to keep them effectively producing? This lesson will focus on evaluation, discipline, and termination processes. You'll learn how to tackle these tough issues without violating any laws in the process.

Employment Disputes

If you ever have to deal with upset people at work (employee outbursts, customer complaints, or vendor concerns) then this lesson is for you! This lesson will show you some dispute resolution tools that will help you turn conflicts into win-win situations.

Employment Disputes in Court

Do you ever wonder what happens behind courthouse doors? This lesson will talk about the litigation process from start to finish so that you'll know what to expect if you someday find yourself in court. It will also go over legal jargon—words like depositions and interrogatories—so that you really understand the words lawyers commonly use.

Discrimination and Title VII

While discrimination should be a thing of the past, prejudice still pops up in the workplace. This lesson will talk about how to comply with Title VII law, which prohibits discrimination at work. The examples and strategies discussed here will make this law easy to understand.

More Discrimination Laws

Has anyone ever requested a special accommodation from you? This lesson will explore what the laws are about this issue. You'll find out what your duty is regarding accommodation and learn to analyze your workplace to determine whether it's compliant.

Labor Unions

Suppose there's labor talk whispered in the halls of your workplace. What do you do? This lesson will discuss the legal rights of unions to organize. You'll also consider unfair labor practices that both unions and management need to watch out for.

Labor Negotiations

Collective bargaining, grievance and appeal, strikes—what do these things have in common? They're all processes that can occur in a union environment. This lesson will talk about how to prepare for and handle union bargaining and appeals.

Workplace Safety

What are your obligations when it comes to keeping employees safe on the job? This lesson will focus on employee safety and reporting. You'll get Internet resources where you can look up specifics about your particular work environment.

Legal Compliance

Legal compliance requires an entire corporate strategy. The final lesson will focus on tools, tactics, and resources you can use to create an environment of compliance in your workplace.

What you will learn

• Learn the difference between an employee and an independent contractor and properly classify workers so you can withhold taxes and provide benefits for true employees
• Learn to screen applicants effectively
• Discover dispute resolution tools to handle disputes in the workplace
• Learn about the litigation process and laws that affect your workplace, such as discrimination laws and special accommodation laws
• Explore unfair labor practices that both unions and management need to watch out for
• Learn what your obligations are to keep your employees safe and discover Internet resources where you can look up specifics about your particular work environment
• Discover tools, tactics, and resources to create an environment of compliance in your workplace

How you will benefit

• Know how to effectively screen applicants and develop strong hiring practices
• Be ready to resolve any type of conflict and turn it into a win-win situation
• Be familiar with laws that govern a safe, fair, and compliant workplace for your employees

Ann Nevers holds a law degree and a master's in health law. She works in dispute resolution for business, employment, and health care and regularly teaches courses in these areas. She has published numerous academic articles, edited legal manuals, and written chapters on employment, dispute resolution, and health care topics.