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North Carolina’s electric cooperatives are in partnership with SmallBizU, an online academy created especially for small businesses and entrepreneurs.
For more information about the organization, see the frequently asked questions below.
What is SmallBizU?
SmallBizU is the first online academy created especially for small businesses and entrepreneurs. As the largest collection of entrepreneurial training resources available on the web, this online academy seeks to instill a formal business intelligence—the capacity to solve problems, meet challenges, and create valued products.
What can be found inside?
SmallBizU teaches the “3Ms”—Money, Marketing, and Management—through a no-frills, utilitarian curriculum that provides small businesses with real world tools and information. Within SmallBizU there are over 4,000 animated slides presented across 24 core classes. Each course is delivered via the Internet full of animated slides accompanied by voice-over narration, PowerPoint presentations, worksheets, toolsets, and access to a comprehensive knowledgebase.
What can it do?
Most people that start a business are technicians by trade. They know a skill or craft and seek to build a business around it. As technicians, they have worked in their business, but not on it. Fortunately, the critical skills of entrepreneurship can be taught. SmallBizU provides the necessary skills an entrepreneur needs on a “just-in- time” basis to allow them to work on their business rather than just in it.
What kinds of courses are available?
SmallBizU offers courses in the areas of Money, Management, and Marketing. These courses vary from beginner level classes such as “Marketing 101” and “Finding Money” to more advanced courses such as “Market Insight and Research and Strategic Planning and Execution.”
SmallBizU offers courses in the area of Money such as “Creating a Loan Package,” “Finding and Attracting Investors,” and “Accounting 101.” Management courses include “Crafting A Business Plan,” “Choosing a Legal Structure,” and “Buying A Business.” Marketing courses include “Positioning, Pricing and Strategy Tactics,” and “Understanding Intellectual Property.”
What is the typical course format?
From its inception, the curriculum of SmallBizU was developed using a branded and unified approach applied across the design of every course. Each course moves across a continuum of ten sections. The sections move from a general description of a functional skill, to the recognized theory, to the application of the practice to a small business. A typical course ranges anywhere from 170 to 200 slides and is presented over a three to four hour period.
Does SmallBizU duplicate any services already offered?
No. SmallBizU is not meant to replace any current educational programs or support organizations that already provide such entrepreneurial training. Instead, its purpose is to improvethe effectiveness of what is already being offered. Its turn-key, comprehensive curriculum provides a jump-start for the design of new courses and workshops, and it also provides the perfect online complement to existing training courses such as FastTrac or NxLevel business planning curriculums.
How can I learn more about SmallBizU?
To learn more, visit SmallBizU. For customer service, please contact SmallBizU Monday through Friday between the hours of 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. EST at: 1-800-282-7232 or e-mail: service@smallbizu.org
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