New Online Class Takes a Different Approach for Small Business Entrepreneurship

Those who know me well, know that I've met up with few traditional business text books that I thought were very helpful at all to those wishing to start or better run a small business. Most are over-sized and over-priced and many times written by professors who have never had to make payroll or otherwise run a small business in rural main street America.

I think I've found an exception. In this book, "Entrepreneurship: A Small Business Approach" the authors offer an approach for small businesses typical of our area. They argue that although the government considers small business to be those with 500 or fewer employees, the issues for businesses with 50 or fewer employees are quite different and should be approached in a much different manner.

I've used the book to re-craft existing "Small Business Management" course and changed the name to that of this textbook; "Entrepreneurship: A Small Business Approach". The book's focus is on building a new business, but I believe existing business owners will benefit by looking at themselves as if they were starting their business up all over again. Both aspiring entrepreneurs and existing business owners will benefit by enrolling in this class. Although its set up as a 3-hr on-line class, local and area students may participate in an optional weekly discussion group.

This is the description I wanted to use for the class, but the ICC Academic Council thought it wasn't "academic" enough, but I still like it. The core of this description came from the book with a couple of my own touches added.

Success or failure as an entrepreneur is not a mystery. It is, however, a potent mix of passion, hard work, thoughtful planning, skilled decision-making, and a little bit of luck. Understanding this formula, and ultimately succeeding in small business, is the key learning outcome for Entrepreneurship: A Small Business Approach. The target audience is as varied as the small business model itself. This course strives to make the core concepts of business as applicable to existing business owners as well as aspiring entrepreneurs.

Here are the chapter topics from this book. If you'd like to see the syllabus, email me at jcorrell@indycc.edu and I'll send it to you.

1. Introduction to Small Business

2. Individuals and Small Business Start-Ups

3. Business Idea Generation and Initial Evaluation

4. External Analysis

5. Business Mission and Strategy

6. Analyzing Cash flow and Other Financial Information

7. Establishing the Legal Foundation

8. Establishing Operations

9. Financing and Accounting

10. Human Resource Management

11. Marketing

12. Financial Analysis

13. Exit/Harvest/Turnaround

14. Franchising and Purchasing an Existing Business