HOME STUDY SMALL BUSINESS COURSE
- Suitable for anyone wanting to start or improve on their own small business.
- An excellent starting point for knowledge on running a small business.
- Study at your own pace at your own place!
- Learn from highly experienced and qualified tutors.
- Start your own business; or advance your career in a small business job.
This is a flexible, relevant course for those wanting to train to move into supervisory or managerial positions.
Accredited through International Accreditation and Recognition Council
Course Structure
CORE STUDIES - four units of compulsory subjects for all students. ie. Office Practices, Management, Business Operations and Marketing Foundations.
STREAM STUDIES -three units in the specialisation ie. Bookkeeping I, Entrepeneurship and Advertising & Promotions.
INDUSTRY PROJECT -"Work experience or a workplace project" of 200 hrs (see below). The project specifically aims to provide the student with the opportunity to apply and integrate skills and knowledge developed through various areas of formal study.
CORE UNITS
Office Practices
Develops basic office skills covering use of equipment, communication systems (telephone, fax, etc) and office procedures such as filing, security, workplace organisations, etc. The course consists in eight lessons where these subjects are developed.
- The Modern Office
- Communication Systems
- Interpersonal Communications
- Phone Skills
- Writing Letters and Other Documents
- Computer Applications
- Office Organisation and Procedures
- Health and Safety in the Office
Business Operations
- The aim of this course is to provide you with the building blocks for a successful career in business planning and operations. Covering topics such as business law, the money market, taxation, business plan writing and mistakes to avoid, it is a solid foundation, developed by highly qualified and experienced professionals.
Develops knowledge of basic business operations and procedures (eg. types of businesses, financial management, business analysis, staffing, productivity, etc) and the skills to develop a 12 month business plan.
There are 6 lessons as follows:
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- Introduction
- Business law
- types of businesses
- starting a business
- Finance
- Liquidity
- The money market
- terminology
- insurance
- Financial Records
- Simple Bookkeeping procedures
- cash flow
- Financial Management
- Taxation
- costing
- budgeting
- investing
- Business Planning Developing a 12 month business plan.
- Mistakes to avoid
- Reasons for business failures
- profitability
- improving productivity
Management
- Make sure your management style is grounded in the 'tried and true'. This course outlines management theories and procedures, problem solving and decision making tactics, staff management, supervision, recruitment and workplace health and safety.
Developed by professionals with a substantial amount of industry experience, it is the perfect foundation for a successful career.
There are 6 lessons as follows:
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- Introduction & Organizational Structures
- Management Theories & Procedures
- Problem Solving & Decision Making
- Management Styles & External Influences
- Employing People & Interview Skills
- Staff Management
Marketing Foundations
- Develops a broad understanding of marketing and specific skills in writing advertisements, undertaking market research, developing an appropriate marketing plan and selling. The course consists in ten lessons, as follows:
- Marketing and the Business What is marketing, and its significance, Considering alternative approaches to business & marketing, Alternative enterprises (eg. goods or services based, sole proprietor or partnership etc).
- Scope of Marketing Understanding basic economics (eg. supply & demand); the difference between the potential market, available market, target market, and penetrated market for a product/service of your choice; Different advertising approaches, Controlling Growth, Improving Results in Business, etc
- Target Marketing Understanding the market place; Stages that sellers move through in their approach to a market, What is targeting, Advantages of target marketing as compared to mass marketing and product-differentiated marketing
- The Marketing Mix and Managing the Marketing Effort Product, price, place, and promotion; Affects and interactions between marketing and other operations of a business.
- Product Presentation and Packaging Importance of product knowledge, Core, tangible and augmented products; Differences in packaging & presentation for different products.
- Promotion Communication skills, Merchandising, Shop Floor Layout, Displaying Products, Signs, Understanding Selling and Increasing Sales, Sales Methods, Publicity Marketing,
Structuring an Advertisement or Promotion, Advertising budgets, etc - Product Pricing and Distribution Pricing, Profitability Ratios, Increasing Turnover, etc
- Customer Service Methods of assessing customer satisfaction; Significance of Customer Service; Different types of customers in the market place, and how best to approach each; Difference between selling, publicising, marketing and advertising, etc
- Market Research The research process, What to research, Surveys, Developing and conducting a market research program, where to find useful statistics,
- Organisations - Structures and Roles Business law; Financial Management, Business Structures, Business terminology, etc.
STREAM STUDIES: SMALL BUSINESS
1. BOOKKEEPING I
The course consists of thirteen lessons, as follows:
1. Introduction
2 Balance Sheet
3. Analysing and Designing Accounting Systems
3. The Double Entry Recording Process
4. Cash Receipts and Cash Payments Journal
5. Credit Fees and Purchases Journal
6. The General Journal
7. Closing the Ledger
8. Profit and Loss Statement
9. Depreciation on Non-current Assets
10. Profit Determination and Balance Day Adjustments
11. Cash Control: Bank Reconciliation and Petty Cash
12. Cash Control: Budgeting
2. ENTREPRENEURSHIP
There are 10 lessons in this module as follows:
1. Scope & Nature of Entrepreneurship
2. Is Entrepreneurship Right for You?
3. Assessing opportunities
4. The Role of Market Research
5. Intellectual Property
6. Legal & Ethical Concerns
7. Operating a Business
8. The Business and Financial Plan
9. Marketing
10. Launching a Venture
3. ADVERTISING & PROMOTIONS
The course contains ten lessons, outlined below:
1. Analysing the Market
2. Target Marketing
3. Display and Display Techniques
4. Advertising and Promotions Strategy
5. New Product Development
6. Sales Techniques – General
7. Writing Advertisement
8. Electronic Marketing -Telephone & Email
9. Direct Mailing
10. Exhibitions & Shows
WORK PLACE PROJECTS
This is the final requirement that you must satisfy before receiving your award. There are four options available to you to satisfy this requirement:
Alternative 1.
If you work in the industry that you have been studying; you may submit a reference from your employer, in an effort to satisfy this industry (ie. workplace project) requirement; on the basis of RPL (ie. recognition for prior learning), achieved through your current and past work experience.
The reference must indicate that you have skills and an awareness of your industry, which is sufficient for you to work in a position of responsibility.
Alternative 2.
A one module credit (100 hrs) can be achieved by verifying attendance at a series of industry meetings, as follows:
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Meetings may be seminars, conferences, trade shows, committee meetings, volunteer events (eg. Community working bees), or any other meeting where two or more industry people or people who are knowledgeable about their discipline.
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Opportunity must exist for the student to learn through networking, observation and/or interaction with people who know their industry or discipline
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A list of events should be submitted together with dates of each attended and times being claimed for each
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Documentary evidence must be submitted to the school to indicate support each item on the above list (eg. Receipts from seminars, conference or shows, letters from committee or organisation secretaries or committee members. All such documentation must contain a contact details)
Alternative 3.
Credits can be achieved by completing standard modules Workplace Project I, II and/or III. Each of these modules comprises a series of “hands on” PBL projects, designed as learning experiences that involve interaction with the real world. (This approach is based upon tried and proven learning approaches that originated in American universities but are now widely used and respected by academia throughout many countries). See the web site or handbook for more detail.
Alternative 4.
If you do not work in the relevant industry, you may choose to undertake a project as follows.
This project is based on applications in the work place and specifically aims to provide the student with the opportunity to apply and integrate skills and knowledge developed through various areas of formal study.
You design this project in consultation with a tutor to involve industry based activities in the area of specialized study which they select to follow in the course. The project outcomes may take the form of a written report, folio, visuals or a mixture of forms. Participants with relevant, current or past work experience will be given exemption from this project if they can provide suitable references from employers that show they have already fulfilled the requirements of this project.
For courses that involve more than 100 hours, more than one workplace project topic may be selected. For example, 200 hours may be split into two projects each of 100 hours. This will offer the student better scope to fulfill the needs of their course and to meet the number of hours required. Alternatively, the student may wish to do one large project with a duration of 200 hours.
Students will be assessed on how well they achieve the goals and outcomes they originally set as part of their negotiations with their tutor. During each 100 hours of the project, the students will present three short progress reports. These progress reports will be taken into account when evaluating the final submission. The tutor must be satisfied that the work submitted is original.
If the student wishes to do one large 200 hour report, then only three progressive reports will be needed (however the length of each report will be longer).
HOW TO PROCEED
1. Students are expected to select a suitable project or task to complete that allows the student toapply and integrate the knowledge and skills they have obtained as part of their studies.
2. The student should submit a draft proposal outlining their proposed project, study or task. The expected outcomes of this project should be clearly stated. This will be looked at by a tutor andcomments made. Students are welcome to visit the school or to talk to a tutor to obtain advice on how to draw up their proposal. The proposal should indicate what the student intends to do, how they intend to do it, where they intend to do it, and what they expect to produce (e.g. a written report, a folio, references from an employer) as a means of showing what they have achieved during their project/study/task.
3. A refined proposal will be submitted by the student incorporating changes based on the commentsmade by the tutor. This updated proposal will either be accepted as being suitable or further comments made. The proposal may need to be submitted several times before it is finally accepted.
4. The student will then be expected to carry out the project, study or task.
Progress Reports
The student will be expected to submit three progress reports during the duration of the progress. This is in addition to the final project product (e.g. report, folio). Each progress report should show what you have done so far (e.g. what research you have done, what tasks you have carried out, etc.). It should also cover any problems you have had so far, and if so, what you have done to overcome these problems. Each progress report should be in the vicinity of 300 - 500 words in length.
Progress Report 1.
This should be submitted about one quarter of the way through your study/project/task.
Progress Report 2.
This should be submitted about one half way through your study/project/task.
Progress Report 3.
This should be submitted about three quarters of the way through your study/project/task.
Final Report
This report is to be typed and submitted to the school.
The final report should summarise the objective of the workplace project, and be set out like a professional report.
Although content is the most important factor in determining a pass grade for the workplace project, your report should exhibit elements of professional report writing (in regards to spelling, grammar, clarity and presentation).
Final Report Length
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For 100 hours Workplace Projects: this report should be about 1,500 to 3,000 words.
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For a 200 hour Workplace Project: this report should be about 3,000 to 5,000 words.
Course Duration: 900 hours
More Information on ACS Distance Education and our courses
Who are our tutors?
Our tutors are all highly experienced and professional, knowledgeable in their field of study. We have staff from around the world, enabling us to gain a wide variety of perspectives. We have a school in the UK and in Australia. If you would like to have a look at our tutors, then click on the “The School” in the boxes above and choose “The Staff” option.
Sample Course Notes
Our courses are all written by highly qualified tutors and writers, who also teach on the courses, so know them well. We strive to update our courses and improve them with new information, methods and knowledge on an ongoing basis. If you would like to see examples of some of our courses, then choose the “Enrolment” option above, and then click on “Sample Course Notes”.
What learning method should I choose?
We offer three learning methods – e-learning, correspondence and online. If you are not sure which is the right choose for you, then click on the “Enrolment” box above, then “Learning Methods.”
How Long will it take to complete the course?
This obviously varies from student to student. Some students will have more time for study than others. Some students may work quicker than others, so it is an individual thing. We estimate that most students will take, for example, 4 – 6 months to complete a 100 hour individual module, but we allow up to 12 months for you to complete it.
Longer courses will obviously take longer. You can find more information on the length of time required and so on the “Enrolment” box, then selecting “Terms and Conditions of Enrolment.”
What Do Our Students think of us?
If you would like to read comments from our previous students, then choose the “Enrolment” option above, then “Student Testimonials”.
I don’t think this is the right course for me.
If you’re not sure about this course, then why not look at our wide range of other courses. Click on the “Courses” box above.
You may also wish to design your own course to fit in with exactly what YOU want. To do so, click on the “Enrolment” box, then “Design your Own Course”.
If you would like more advice on a course, then you can contact us and ask a tutor about the courses. You can contact us by calling 0800 328 4723 or +44(0) 384 442752 or emailing info@acsedu.co.uk
Recognition and Accreditation
For more information on our recognition and accreditation, click on “The School”, then “Recognition”.
Who is ACS Distance Education?
If you want to know more about ACS and our history, then please click on “The School”, then “About us.”
SMALL BUSINESS TRAINING DISTANCE LEARNING COURSE
This course provides a very sound foundation of knowledge and skills needed for managing a small business. Business success of course will always require more than just what can be learnt from a course, but this course certainly provides an excellent starting point for a career in business whether self employed or working for someone else.
This course is internationally accredited through International Accreditation and Recognition Council.
