Start a Business: A Practical Guide to Entrepreneurial Success
Turn your innovative business ideas into real-world ventures with essential entrepreneurial skills and strategies.
Duration
6 weeksWeekly study
3 hours100% online
How it works
Start a Business: A Practical Guide to Entrepreneurial Success
Adopt an entrepreneurial mindset to action your next business plan
Transform your innovative idea into a fully functioning business venture with the Communication University of China’s how-to guide for budding entrepreneurs.
In just six weeks, you’ll gain all the essential strategies and tools you need to craft a detailed and actionable business proposal that sets you up for success.
Build a strategic business model to outpace the market
With an initial overview of business models and how to utilise them effectively to spot new growth opportunities, you’ll map out the essential elements, from value proposition to target customers, of your business on a business model canvas.
Win over customers with essential marketing strategies
You’ll make informed business decisions while mitigating risk with market research tools, environmental analysis, and innovative marketing strategies that leverage the marketing mix’s 4Ps.
Hone your team management and financial skills
You’ll learn which leadership skills are essential for startup founders or managers and how to assemble balanced, well-resourced teams.
Plus, you’ll develop entrepreneurial financing strategies that attract investors, secure funding, and build cash flow at various stages of your startup’s lifecycle.
Craft a strategic, investor-ready business plan that stands out
Next, you’ll create a polished, strategic business plan that communicates your vision, goals, and value to potential investors. You’ll be guided through each section of the business plan and learn the common pitfalls to avoid when blueprinting your ventures.
Master entrepreneurship management to navigate the startup journey
Finally, you’ll wrap up this course by exploring key principles of entrepreneurship management and gaining risk management strategies for steering your business towards sustained growth.
Syllabus
Week 1
Business Models and Business Model Innovation
Welcome to the Entrepreneurship Course!
Learning Objectives and How to Get the Most Out of This Course.
Business Models
Business Models are the foundation of entrepreneurship, shaping the structure and revenue streams of a startup. Understanding common business models helps quickly identify the most suitable approach for your venture.
Business Model Canvas
The Business Model Canvas is a strategic tool that helps companies outline how they create, deliver, and capture value.
Business Model Innovation
Business model innovation is a key driver for a company's long-term success. It involves rethinking and redesigning the core aspects of how a business creates, delivers, and captures value.
Discussion
Discussion of Business Models
Week 2
Entrepreneurial Marketing
Entrepreneurial Environment Analysis
Entrepreneurial opportunities arise from changes in the macroenvironment, such as political and legal systems, economytechnology, and social culture and micro environment, such ascustomers, competitors, suppliers, etc.
Entrepreneurial Project Market Research
By using scientific research techniques, entrepreneurs can gain valuable insights into market needs and trends, providing reliable data to guide business decisions.
Marketing Strategies for Startups
This section introduces the 4Ps of the marketing mix—product, price, place, and promotion—emphasizing how they help entrepreneurs develop effective marketing strategies.
Discussion
Discussion of Entrepreneurial Marketing
Week 3
Entrepreneurs and Entrepreneurs Team
Entrepreneurs
This section explores the key traits of successful entrepreneurs and the pathways for their development, and clarifies the distinction between entrepreneurs and professional managers.
Entrepreneurial Teams
This section focuses on the standards for building entrepreneurial teams, highlighting the essential hardware (skills and resources) and software (culture and vision) required for success.
Entrepreneurial Team Management
This section explores the growth stages of an entrepreneurial team and how to use both material and intangible incentives to boost team cohesion and effectiveness.
Discussion
Discussion of Entrepreneurs and Entrepreneurs Team
Week 4
Entrepreneurial Financing
Entrepreneurial Financing
Entrepreneurial financing focuses on the key concepts and strategies for securing funds throughout various stages of a startup’s lifecycle, helping entrepreneurs access the resources needed to grow and sustain their ventures.
Entrepreneurial Financing Channels
Entrepreneurial financing involves exploring various funding channels, including both interpersonal networks and institutional capital, to support business growth and development.
Entrepreneurial Financing Process
Entrepreneurial financing channels and strategies are introduced, highlighting effective approaches to securing and managing funds at different stages of a startup’s lifecycle.
Discussion
Discussion of Entrepreneurial Financing
Week 5
Business Plan
Evaluation of a Business Plan
The preparation of a business plan is a crucial step in presenting a startup project. This section will help you understand the core framework of a business plan and the key points for writing its essential modules.
Common Mistakes About a Business Plan
When writing a business plan, there are common pitfalls and mistakes.This section will help you establish proper guidelines for drafting a business plan and ensure clear and effective presentation of your entrepreneurial project.
How to Attract Potential Investors
Reevaluating your business plan from an investor's perspective helps you better assess and improve it. This section provides common investor criteria to help you refine and enhance your plan effectively.
Discussion
Discussion of Business Plan
Week 6
Entrepreneurship Management
Risk Management
The entrepreneurial journey is full of various risks. This section will introduce common risks in the entrepreneurial process and corresponding strategies to help startups mitigate those risks.
Growth of Startups
Startups have distinct lifecycles, and managing each phase and transitions is a key challenge. This section covers the characteristics of each stage and strategies to support business growth.
Management of Startups
Startups must undergo various management transitions to achieve growth at different business stages. This section systematically introduces the necessary transitions and offers corresponding strategies.
Discussion
Discussion of Entrepreneurship Management
When would you like to start?
Start straight away and join a global classroom of learners. If the course hasn’t started yet you’ll see the future date listed below.
Available now
Learning on this course
On every step of the course you can meet other learners, share your ideas and join in with active discussions in the comments.
What will you achieve?
By the end of the course, you‘ll be able to...
- This online course provides key concepts and practical guides for core modules of entrepreneurship, offering comprehensive and effective guidance for launching your entrepreneurial journey.
Who is the course for?
This course is designed for anyone wanting to explore entrepreneurship beyond theory. No matter what stage of the process you’re at – from student to professional – you’ll be equipped with the entrepreneurial skills and confidence to launch and grow your future ventures.
Who will you learn with?
Professor in School of Economics and Management, Communication University of China. A Certified Public Accountant in China. She teaches Financial Management, etc.
Professor in School of Economics and Management, Communication University of China. He teaches courses such as Strategic Management and Marketing Management, etc.
Associate professor in School of Economics and Management, Communication University of China. He teaches courses such as Entrepreneurship, Human Resource Management, etc.
Associate professor in School of Economics and Management, Communication University of China. She teaches Career Planning for College Students, Database Technology, etc.
Who developed the course?
Communication University of China
The Communication University of China (CUC) is one of the China’s key universities included in 211 Project and “985 Project Innovation Platform” under the Double First-Class Initiative, which is directly administered by the Ministry of Education. CUC was the first communication university founded in 1954 . In August 2004, it was renamed from Beijing Broadcasting Institute to Communication University of China.
Ways to learn | Buy this course | Subscribe & save | Start learning today |
|---|---|---|---|
| Choose the best way to learn for you! | $109/one-off payment | $244.99 for a whole year Automatically renews | Free |
| Fulfill your current learning need | Develop skills to further your career | Try this course - with limits | |
| Access to this course | tick | tick | Limited to 6 weeks |
| Access to 1,000+ courses | cross | tick | cross |
| Learn at your own pace | tick | tick | cross |
| Discuss your learning in comments | tick | tick | tick |
| Certificate when you're eligible | Printed and digital | Digital only | cross |
Cancel for free anytime |
Ways to learn
Choose the best way to learn for you!
Subscribe & save
$244.99 for a whole year
Automatically renews
Develop skills to further your career
- Access to this course
- Access to 1,000+ courses
- Learn at your own pace
- Discuss your learning in comments
- Digital certificate when you're eligible
Cancel for free anytime
Buy this course
$109/one-off payment
Fulfill your current learning need
- Access to this course
- Learn at your own pace
- Discuss your learning in comments
- Printed and digital certificate when you’re eligible
Start learning today
Free
Try this course - with limits
- Limited to 6 weeks
Find out more about certificates, Unlimited or buying a course (Upgrades) Sale price available until 2 June 2025 at 23:59 (UTC). T&Cs apply. | |||
Find out more about certificates, Unlimited or buying a course (Upgrades)
Sale price available until 2 June 2025 at 23:59 (UTC). T&Cs apply.
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