99 Free Online Classes on Business and Entrepreneurship

Are you looking to take business and entrepreneurship classes but are worried about the money and time availability? The courses below are all free and can be taken at your own leisure. They're recommended to anyone starting an online business - I know I'll be taking a few myself. Browse through courses from MIT and other reputable schools across six categories - Marketing and Sales, Management, Legal, Finance and Technology/Product.

 

Marketing and Sales

1. Introduction to Marketing: Get an introduction to the theory and application of marketing.

2. Entrepreneurial Marketing: This course clarifies key marketing concepts, methods, and strategic issues relevant for start-up and early-stage entrepreneurs.

3. Marketing Management: Provides an introduction to the fundamental concepts of marketing, including a customer orientation, matched with attention to competition and core strengths.

4. Listening to the Customer: His course deals with the customer and emphasizes qualitative methods (interviews, focus groups, Voice of the Customer, composing questions for a survey).

5. Marketing Strategy: The course is aimed at helping students look at the entire marketing mix in light of the strategy of the firm.

6. Pricing: Provides a framework for understanding pricing strategies and tactics. Topics covered include pricing in competitive markets, estimating demand, price discrimination, the role of price cues, anticipating competitive responses, pricing in business to business markets, and pricing of new products.

7. Blogs, Wikis, New Media for Learning: This course is designed to help you understand and effectively use a variety of "web 2.0" technologies including blogs, RSS, wikis, social bookmarking tools, photo sharing tools, mapping tools, audio and video podcasts, and screencasts.

8. E-Marketing: This course, offered in Spanish only, discusses the use of the Internet as a marketing tool.

9. SEO Training Class: This course is divided into 4 classes - SEO Training, Successful Website Marketing, Website Development, and Tech Training.

Management

1. Entrepreneurial Behavior: Find out what's involved in becoming an entrepreneur.

2. Designing and Leading the Entrepreneurial Organization: This course is all about building, running, and growing an organization.

3. Understanding Management: Get a clear definition of "management" and information on what's involved in being a manager.

4. Creating an Ethical Organization: Find out what you can do to make your organization more ethical and responsible.

5. Ethical Practice - Professionalism, Social Responsibility, and the Purpose of the Corporation: Designed as an introduction to ethics and business, with a focus on business management. Students will have the opportunity to explore theoretical concepts in business ethics, as well as cases that represent the challenges they will likely face as managers.

6. Cross-cultural Leadership: Examines what constitutes "effective" leadership across cultures.

7. People and Organizations: Develop skills in negotiations, teamwork and leadership.

8. An Introduction to Business Cultures: Learn about the different cultures behind companies and how they act conceptually.

 

9. Organizing for Innovative Product Development: This course introduces new product development. Topics include technology transfer, relations between science and technology, and the innovation process.

10. Managing the Innovation Process: Learn through five levels of analysis -€“ individual, team, network, organizational, and industrial.

11. Managing Innovation – Emerging Trends: A follow-up to the previous course explores the trends to open source, the distribution of innovation, and toolkits for innovation.

12. Negotiation and Conflict Management: The course covers conflict management as a first party and as a third party: third-party skills include helping others deal directly with their conflicts, mediation, investigation, arbitration, and helping the system change as a result of a dispute.

13. Practical Leadership: An interactive seminar where students receive repeated coaching and real-time feedback on their own leadership capabilities from their peers and the instructor.

14. Power and Negotiation: This course is designed to provide you with a competitive advantage in negotiation. You will learn and practice the technical skills and analytic frameworks that are necessary to negotiate successfully with peers from other top business schools, and you will learn methods for developing the powerful social capital you will need to rise in the executive ranks of any organization.

15. Supply Chain Planning: Focuses on effective supply chain strategies for companies that operate globally with emphasis on how to plan and integrate supply chain components into a coordinated system.

 

16. Technology Strategy: Provides a strategic framework for managing high-technology businesses. The emphasis throughout is on the development and application of ways of thinking or mental models that bring clarity to the complex co-evolution of technological innovation, the demand opportunity, business ecosystems, and decision-making and execution within the business.

 

17. Game Theory for Managers: Examines the choices made and enhances the student'€™s ability to think strategically in complex, interactive environments.

18. Introduction to Operations Management: Introduces students to problems and analysis related to the design, planning, control, and improvement of manufacturing and service operations.

19. Operations Strategy: Relationships between manufacturing and service companies and their suppliers, customers, and competitors are analyzed. The material also covers decisions in technology, facilities, vertical integration, human resources and other strategic areas.

20. Logistics Systems: This course is taught with an emphasis on where and how specific tools can be used to improve the overall performance and reduce the total cost of a supply chain.

21. Management Information Systems - Generating Business Value from Information Technology: Study how leading firms get more value from their IT investments and how business value can be achieved.

22. Management of Supply Networks for Products and Services: Covers organizational, strategic and operational aspects of managing Supply Networks (SNs) from domestic and international perspectives. Topics include alternative SN structures, strategic alliances, design of delivery systems and the role of third party logistics providers.

23. Training and Human Resources Development: This course helps managers and entrepreneurs address the specific human resource needs of an organization.

24. Strategic HR Management: This course is about both the design and execution of human resource management strategies. This course has two central themes: (1) How to think systematically and strategically about aspects of managing the organization's human assets, and (2) What really needs to be done to implement these policies and to achieve competitive advantage.

25. Strategic Planning and Execution: This course shows how to craft missions, visions, goals, and strategies for your business,  It shows you how to best present and execute your strategy through strategic stories, the act of organizing genius, and tipping point leadership tactics.

26. Fifty Lessons: This digital video business library site has developed a comprehensive and compelling resource of management and leadership lessons from some of the world'€™s most successful business leaders.

Legal

1. Making and Using Rules: Learn how we interpret and apply rules, and how they work in the English legal system.

2. Law for the Entrepreneur and Manager: Provides a basic understanding of legal issues that corporations face during their existence.

3. Innovative Business and Breakthrough Technologies – The Legal Issues: An introduction to business law which covers the fundamentals, including contracts, liability, regulation, employment and corporations. It takes an in-depth look into the treatment of legal issues relating to breakthrough technologies, including the legal framework of R&D, the commercialization of new high-technology products in start-ups and mature companies, and the liability and much more.

4. The Law of Corporate Finance and Financial Markets: This course focuses on mergers and acquisitions, and the law-sensitive aspects of financial services and financial markets.

5. The Law of Mergers and Acquisitions: Provides an introduction to the aspects of M&A by examining the legal implications of key roles and deal structures. It also walks through some of the issues that would typically arise in a simple and friendly transaction.

 

6. Patents, Copyrights, and the Law of Intellectual Property: This course examines the key concepts of  U.S. intellectual property law, with emphasis on patents and copyrights and a look at trade secrets and trademarks.

7. International Relations: Learn the fundamentals of international relations in this course.

Finance

1. Introduction to Financial and Managerial Accounting: Learn the basic concepts of financial and managerial reporting from the viewpoint of readers of financial reports.

2. Entrepreneurial Finance: Examines the elements of entrepreneurial finance, focusing on technology-based start-up ventures, and the early stages of company development. Find out how much money can and should be raised, when it should be raised and from whom, company valuations, and how funding should be structured.

3. Early Stage Capital: Examines the elements of raising early stage capital, focusing on start-up ventures and the early stages of company development.

4. Business Analysis Using Financial Statements: Understand what'€™s contained in financial reports, why firms report certain information, and how to be a sophisticated user of this information.

5. Taxes and Business Strategy: The objective of this course is to provide a framework for tax planning and to apply basic principles of tax strategy.

6. Financial Management Training Center: This great website offers free short courses in everything entrepreneurs need to learn about finance. Take a course on Financial Planning & Forecasting, Managing Cash Flow, Competitive Intelligence, and more. There are currently 19 courses total.

Technology/Product

1. How to Develop €œBreakthrough€ Products and Services: Learn practical concept development methods and listen to case students that show the art required to implement a concept development method.

2. Product Design and Development: A project-based course that covers modern tools and methods for product design and development.

3. How does Source Code become a Program?: A discussion of how source code written by a programmer in a computer language is converted into meaningful data that the computer can understand and therefore output the intended data.

4. What does someone need to write Programs?: An explanation of what is needed to write programs. This lesson discusses the tools necessary to write programs in various languages, some advice for beginners, and the advantages of using certain tools for writing programs in certain situations.

5. The Different Types of Languages: A rundown of the different types of computer languages in existence. This lesson discusses different categories of languages, individual languages and their usage, as well as some programming paradigms.

6. Programming Languages: Teaches the principles of functional, imperative, and logic programming languages. 

 

7. Structure and Interpretation of Computer Program: Learn the principles of computation.

8. Network Security: Learn about the methods available for network security.

 

9. Learn and Apply HTML: This class will introduce you to the language of the Internet called HTML.

10. Flash: Get familiarized with Macromedia Flash in this course.

 

11. Java: Get familiarized with Java on this site.

 

12. CSS: Get familiarized with CSS on this site.

13. JavaScript Programming Tutorials: Multiple tutorials to get you familiarized with JavaScript.

 

14. PHP Programming Tutorials: Multiple tutorials to get you familiarized with PHP.

15. Object-Oriented Programming in C++: Learn and apply the basic concepts of object design and programming.

16. Fundamentals of Visual Basic: This course is intended for serious computer hobbyists, IT students, and IT professionals. Windows and Visual Basic are required.

17. Information on the Web: Learn how to use the Internet as an information resource.

18. Models and Modeling: This course discusses models and the modeling process.

19. Introduction to Algorithms: Learn about the design, analysis, and methods of efficient algorithms from MIT professors Eric Demaine and Charles Leiserson.

20. Designing the User Interface: Discover how user interface design can create a user-friendly environment.

21. Accessibility in Interaction Design: Take a look at disabilities and understand how you can create a design that's accessible to all.

22. Creating Interactive Media: Introduction to the technologies, tools and techniques associated with the creation of interactive multimedia.

23. Three-Dimensional Modeling, Animation and Rendering Using Blender 3D Software: This course is an introduction to computer generated 3-D modeling and animation.

 

24. Understanding Online Interaction: This course is designed to provide an introductory level of understanding of the manner in which individuals interact with one another via the network.

25. Data Visualization Theory & Practice: In this course you will explore the question of what visualization is, and why you should use visualizations for quantitative data. In doing so, you will address theoretical concepts and examine case studies that show the importance of effective visualizations in real world settings.

 

26. Fundamentals of Business Analysis: The certificate program focuses on the skills needed to identify business requirements and to develop appropriate solution strategies.

 

27. WikiBooks: Browse the Computing department for free educational textbooks. Topics include Basic Computer Security, Open Source, etc.

 

28. Videojug.com - Browse technology videos that show you how to create a website, internet, and PC topics.

29. LearnItFirst – Videobooks for IT Professionals

Other

1. Classes offered by the SBA:

a. Starting a Business

b. Business Planning

c. Business Management

d.  Finance and Accounting

2. MyOwnBusiness.org: This nonprofit organization offers 14 free courses for anyone starting a business. Topics range from Evaluating the Potential of Business to Business Organization and E-commerce Business.

3. Trump University: Find free mini-classes specifically for entrepreneurs.

4. Global Entrepreneurship Lab: Focuses on the challenges leading-edge companies face.

5. The Concept of Innovation: Examine the concept of innovation, and learn its differences from invention.

6. Developmental Entrepreneurship: This class surveys developmental entrepreneurship via case examples of both successful and failed businesses and generally grapples with deploying and diffusing products and services through entrepreneurial action.

For cheap resources in each of these areas, check out our Cheap Zone.

Previous Posts:

2007 in Review: The Best and Worst in Business and Entrepreneurship

What is "Grown-up" Internet?

Top 20 Entrepreneurial Quotes

By: Yasmine Mustafa

Comments

[Earn Money Online On The Internet At Home]

IS there any online classes on link exchange strategy and Search engine Strategy?

[Keith]

This is a GREAT list...many thanks...bookmarked!!
Regards, Keith Johnson, Author, "365 Great Affirmations"

[Yasmine]

I couldn't find any free classes on link exchange or search engines strategies but you can find some good posts at www.searchenginewatch.com and www.toprankblog.com.

The search did lead me to find a free online course on SEO, which I've added above and is actually the number one downloaded link - thanks!

-Yasmine

[Donald B. Dousharm]

Thanks Yasmine, This is very helpful information. I found a few courses that interest me very much. I guess I will be busy for awhile.

[Brent]

OMG.... You rule. Thank you soo much. VERY useful.

[Campus Entrepreneurship]

What a list. I can't wait to use it and share it. Well Done!

[Dave Davis]

Fantastic list skip! Thanks for taking the time to prepare it. Went hot on sphinn too!

[Internet Marketing Joy]

Wonderful free online resources on Marketing..^^..thanks for sharing!..it's really a big help!

[Matt Hudson]

This is a great list! You forgot to add http://www.recognizedexpert.com though. :)

Now i have 99 more sites to check out, thank you! :)

[oggin]

VERY useful list, thank you soo much.

[Matt Ellsworth]

Great overview of free courses. Thanks!

[Yasmine]

Thanks everyone! I'm glad you're finding them useful. Feel free to add any you've come across and we'll add them to a future blog post.

[Kelly @ Small Business Guru]

Geez-ow....this is an awesome collection.
If it's cool with you i'd like to link to this on my site as well.

Thanks for the great work!

[7leads]

Great collection of links and information. Well worth the stop and reading your blog. Good blog to bookmark !

[Vicky]

Very interesting list. I linked to it from my site. Thanks for doing the work in finding all these.

[Propecia]

i just started in a marketing firm and number 5 on the list could certainly help me.

[onlinepr24]

I have Benifitted a lot from your Discussion.Here is site where you find information on SEO and online pr part of a strategic internet marketing strategy, Netcallidus have an impressive success rate and work with many premium companies.

[Mike Chi]

Great list and very useful, thank you so much.

[Cassandra]

You said it all and that all I needed to do is read it and put necessary action on it. Thanks for this informative resources. =)

[Bid2Learn]

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[Cheap Courses @ www.Bid2Learn.com]

Cheap Courses @ www.Bid2Learn.com They're using a bidding service to lower the costs on job training, classes, courses, certifications and licenses from National Vendors and loval trainers. From I.T. to Vocational, Business to the Arts, Marketing, CDL's, Sports...you name it.

[www.Bid2Learn.com]

Use the bidding service at www.Bid2Learn.com first before paying retail. Same providers just a lot cheaper like Priceline of Orbitz or Expedia for all training needs...check them out.

[www.Bid2Learn.com]

Cheap Courses @ www.Bid2Learn.com They're using a bidding service to lower the costs on job training, classes, courses, certifications and licenses from National Vendors and local trainers. From I.T. to Vocational, Business to the Arts, Marketing, CDL's, Sports...you name it.

[Busby SEO]

Wow..what a huge marvelous list and useful to inspire my marketing blog. Thanks for sharing it.

[Marilyn]

An excellent resource for anybody looking to start or grow a business! Thanks for putting this list together.