Essential Skills to get from online business courses
by Startacus Admin
One of the great conveniences of being an entrepreneur in the 21st century is that much of the skill and knowledge needed to create and lead a successful business can be easily gained through the wonders of the internet!
In days gone by, you would need to spend a substantial amount of time attending costly business courses in order to develop your entrepreneurial toolkit. But now, all of the guidance and instruction you need is available right at your fingertips.
One of the best and most convenient ways to endow yourself with these skills, is through online video courses. These are pre recorded video lessons and tutorials, delivered by experts, who talk you through not only their experiences, but how you can apply these skills to grow and develop your own business.
Of course, not all business skills can be learned in this way (after all experience is the best education of all!) but there are certain essential aspectsof running a business which are perfect for this kind of delivery.
Here are 5 entrepreneurial skills which you can significantly improve through online business courses.
How to Get Sponsorship
Many startups now find that seeking out sponsorship can be a good way to access extra funds without having part with a major equity stake in their business. But it is a process which can be daunting for even the most seasoned of entrepreneurs, and so an online business course can be an excellent way to explore some of the options that are open to you, and share in the experience of someone who has successfully raised funds this way before.
For example in our own online course, international award winning sponsorship agency Slingshot talk us through how to get sponsorship and form marketing partnerships as well as share insight on what brands are looking for and how you can develop your own proposition. They also demonstrate how to write a sponsorship proposal and how to navigate the sponsorship sales process effectively.
How to pitch your startup
This is one of the skills that is most overlooked by entrepreneurs, which is surprising because it is quite possibly one of the most important there is. Many believe that unless they will be seeking investment in the immediate future, they do not need to know how to pitch their business, but this is a complete fallacy.
An entrepreneur who does not know how to pitch their business is like a car salesman who knows nothing about cars. How can you possibly expect anyone that you encounter to appreciate the impressiveness of your product, service, or business, if you don’t know how to persuasively describe it?
Our online course on how to pitch your startup is delivered by an experienced entrepreneur who has honed the process of pitching a startup down to a fine art. Paul Grant will talk you through his step-by-step method for creating a compelling pitch incorporating documents, video footage, and face to face meetings.
How to do cheap PR
Few would disagree that good PR is one of the most pressing issues for anyone who is starting a new business; indeed it can form the very bedrock of your new enterprise!
However, we have all been conditioned to think that good PR comes with a big price tag, but this is simply not the case. If there is anything that we have learned over the years of running Startacus it's that PR skills are open to pretty much anyone, given enough practice, and a well experienced guiding hand.
Every entrepreneur should develop skills in this area, not only because of the huge financial savings it can deliver but because having a firm grip in this area of your business, aids your understanding of your market, and gives you a more comprehensive control over the trajectory that your business will take.
This is where online business courses can come in very handy indeed, giving you the benefit of other people's firsthand experience can deliver invaluable skills, tips, and tricks to have you navigating the waters of PR like a pro in no time.
How to create a successful blog 
Everyone thinks that they can blog. I mean it’s just sitting in front of a screen and tying for a while right? Wrong!
As countless foolhardy entrepreneurs have found, developing a successful; business blog is nowhere near as straightforward as it first appears. It is not simply a case of ‘build it and they will come’, there are so many skills involved with not only creating, but also promoting your blog which can only be learned through experience, or revealed to you by someone who has already learned the lessons.
But with this topic, we come to a little snag in the road. There are countless written resources offering information and support on this matter, all pedalling a different theory or method. Sometimes you just need to hear from someone who has gained solid and irrefutable knowledge simply through having built and managed their own successful blog. In this case online business courses can provide the perfect resource, allowing you to grow and develop your blog at your own pace, under the guidance of someone who is truly expert in the field.
We have such a course, delivered by author and award-winning blogger Emily Benet that you might like to try!
Why not take a look at our full range of affordable online business courses?
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Published on: 24th November 2015
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