Where to Find Small Business Training Courses

Do you know everything there is to know about running a successful small business? Then stop right here, because you don’t need to read this post. But if you’re human like most of us small business owners, you’ve likely encountered gaps in your small business education. You could be a bookkeeping whiz, but have an otherwise tenuous grip on the elements of customer service. Or you could be a natural, intuitive marketer but cringe whenever it comes time to fill out those tax forms. If you’ve encountered a gap in your small business education, lucky for you there are plenty of classes out there that will help you fill it in. You just have to know where to look:

1. The Government – The Small Business Association (SBA) is heavily invested in getting the U.S. economy back on track. After all, it isn’t in anybody’s interest to see a small business fail. Head over to the SBA website for free, self-paced courses on everything from business planning, to marketing, to scoring those lucrative government contracts. Self-paced courses are a great choice for the busy business owner who has trouble finding time to leave the office. Even if you’re swamped, adding one of these 30-minute sessions to your schedule each week can leave you much more educated in just a matter of months.
2. Local Colleges and Universities – Where do all those business and marketing majors hang out? This is where you’ll likely find some solid information on the mechanics of business. And now that more and more nontraditional students are returning to school, colleges are stepping up and offering business classes to non-business majors and the community at large. Call your local university, or find the “Continuing Education” or “Adult Education” section on their website and check out their course offerings. These classes probably won’t be free, but they will be longer and more intensive than the SBA’s 30-minute, self-paced courses. Plus, you’ll have the luxury of an instructor and classmates to network with.
3. Local Small Business Centers – Did you know that every major city has some kind of small business center? For most cities, this comes in the form of a SCORE counseling center. SCORE offers online workshops as well as hands-on advice to small business owners. Better yet? SCORE is absolutely free. You can begin browsing the SCORE site right this second to find workshops online or at a SCORE small business center near you.

Have you ever filled a gap in your small business education through a class or workshop? Where did you find it? Would you recommend it to others?

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