What matters is changing! The job market used to value university degrees above all else. Once you graduated you were in line for a position that had a clear career trajectory leading to promotion and retirement. This model is no longer the settled objective it used to be; institutions are beginning to realize the face and to catch up. Even if you don’t intend to run your own business when you graduate companies and organisations will expect a level of practical skills as well as qualifications which is one reason universities have begun to facilitate courses through online platforms.
And the chances are that in your working life you will spend some time as a freelancer. Perhaps between jobs or shortly after graduating. For others, entrepreneurial life is the first choice for many meaning that learning the fundamentals of the industry are vital and courses teaching them highly prized. Luckily, accessing these courses has never been easier or more cost-effective. Trusted online platforms such as Coursera and CyberSecurity.degree work with established leading universities and institutions to bring you the best in online skills education.
Whether you want to update your skills or learn something new for your future business, the courses below will give you the foundational platform you will need.
Essentials of Entrepreneurship
Coursera is an online learning platform that offers courses and specialisations in a wide range of subjects including: engineering, data science, machine learning, mathematics, business, computer science, digital marketing, humanities, medicine, biology, social sciences, and more. Courses are affordable and flexible; they can be an excellent supplement to a degree or a chance to build skills in a new area. It is one of the more respected online learning platforms.
The Essentials Of Entrepreneurship course offered by University Of California and facilitated by Coursera, teaches some of the basic components of entrepreneurship. It covers essential skills and tools for startup entrepreneurs such as marketing strategy, human resources, and accounting. This is an interactive course consisting of four to eight hours of video and reading lessons, along with occasional quizzes. Learning and deadlines are completely flexible.
This course is designed for anyone wishing to succeed in an entrepreneurial environment, or learn more about what to expect before embarking on an entrepreneurial venture. It can also be useful for those wishing to further their careers within an already established organization. Key components of the course include: how creativity, opportunity, and readability are evaluated, business strategies for new businesses, the importance of a business plan, and how to achieve success as a new business.
Former students of this course reported that the material was not as intimidating as first feared and that financial insights were easy to comprehend even for those not skilled with numbers. It is an essential foundation for those looking to be successful in the world of the startup business.
IT Security Degree
Cyber-security.degree is a platform that specializes in courses relating to cyber security. They facilitate a range of courses from accredited universities and colleges across the country to provide a solid grounding in IT security. You can attain an associates degree, bachelor’s degree, masters degree, PhD, or certificate in IT security. This subject is vitally important to startup businesses and an essential component of every business with a digital platform.
So why is IT security important? Also called Info Sec in the industry, an IT security degree goes into the ways in which business data can be kept safe. This data may include essential assets such as financial reports, customer information, and other sensitive industry-specific data that must be protected from hackers and fraudsters, as well as technological glitches. In many cases this security is provided by a range of industry models tools that course teaches students how to use.
Info Sec is a growing sector in the digital world which is needed by a variety of businesses, both startup and well-established. With the emergence of cloud based storage more companies are keeping their data online. Information is often the most vital asset a company possesses and if it is stored in the cloud, it is potentially vulnerable to cyber-attacks. These cyber attacks have become more sophisticated in recent years and the need to guard against them is crucial.
An info sec degree will offer you many opportunities in the startup sector and beyond. The number of jobs in this sector is set to rise with companies needing Computer Network Architects, Data Administrators, Information Security Analysts, And Network And Computer Systems Administrators, all of which you can qualify for with an IT Security Degree.
Introduction to Corporate Finance
Financing your startup operation, obtaining funding, and keeping a tight control over the company budget are all vital factors in running a successful business. This might seem obvious but there are a lot of common pitfalls in this area. It’s vital to maintain a realistic valuation of your company so that investors know the risk, or not of investing. It’s also important that you invest in the right components to begin with so that you don’t waste valuable funds on unnecessary outlays.
The Introduction To Corporate Finance course is taught through Coursera by the University Of Pennsylvania and is a must take for entrepreneurs old and new. The course offers an overview of the fundamentals of financing that can be utilized for startup businesses, personal finances, corporate decision making, and financial intermediation. Key concepts and applications include: time value of money, risk-return tradeoff, cost of capital, interest rates, retirement savings, mortgage financing, auto leasing, capital budgeting, asset valuation, discounted cash flow (DCF) analysis, net present value, internal rate of return, hurdle rate, payback period.
The course syllabus covers the topics of: the time value of money, interest rates, discounted cash-flow analysis, and return on investment. You will learn fundamental concepts relating to the monetary value of time and feel comfortable with discounting and compounding arbitrary cash flows to make better financial decisions. You will learn how to value claims and decide on the timing of cash flows. This leads to better decisions regarding retirement savings, home financing and refinancing, auto leases, and other scenarios.
Financing For Startup Businesses
On the subject of financing, this course also offered on Coursera by Duke University is a valuable foundation stone for your startup enterprise. Valuing your business and acquiring funding with a solid well thought-out business plan can be the difference between success and failure when starting up. Give yourself the best chance by acquiring the necessary knowledge first and avoid wasting time and money on the learning curve.
Financing For Startup Businesses will show you how to develop a financing strategy using capitalisation tables, or ‘cap tables,’ for short. This method allows you to explore various financial strategies for your businesses and analyse the effectiveness of each in relation to your individual enterprise. This proven method is guaranteed to assist you and save you time and money. It will also optimize your business from the beginning, reduce inefficiencies, along with wasted time and money. Furthermore, you will learn about digital innovations that allow for new modes of financing startup ventures such as crowdfunding, and alternative credit scoring mechanisms based on web-based data.
The course is at the edge of financial innovation for startups and concludes with a module that outlines the ways the financial technology industry is overtaking the conventional credit-scoring industries using digital footprints. These new technology platforms offer fresh opportunities for startup funding. Those who took the course found it insightful, as it opens their eyes to the funding opportunities available and the mechanics of the funding processes. It has received mostly five star reviews from former students.
Introduction to Marketing
There are two broad sides to starting your own business. One side is setting up the finances, funding, product, or service you want to provide; the other hand is marketing that product or service to the right audience. Without an effective marketing strategy, your business is likely to fail just as it would without a useful business model. In the course Introduction To Marketing you will learn the fundamental strategies of developing and implementing an effective marketing campaign.
The course is offered by the University Of Pennsylvania again through the Coursera platform, it is coordinated and instructed by teachers from Pennsylvania’s Business school which is consistently ranked among the best marketing institutions in the world. The course dives into the fundamental principles of branding, customer centricity, and go-to-market strategies. You will learn how to develop and grow an online brand by paying attention to details and how to stand-out in the noise of the digital world. It is a four week course, consisting of lecture videos, quizzes, and discussions.
Students who took part in the course mainly rated it with five stars. They reported that there were many components of the marketing process to learn that they hadn’t considered before. The concepts and strategies learned in the course were easy to implement and improved pricing and position of their company in the digital sphere. It was excellent for those with little or no experience, they said.
