Online Courses for Small Businesses

As part of our commitment to "make every small business better", Docstoc offers a wide variety of free online business courses on virtually every key aspect for business owners and operators. These courses typically range between 2-4 hours and are taught by renowned subject matter experts. We're adding new business courses each month. Take a look at our current set below grouped by relevant categories.

Getting Started

How to Start a Business: The Complete Guide – ALL the essentials for starting your business in one comprehensive course

Creating the Killer Business Plan – Entrepreneurship lecturer Kyle Murphy guides you through the secrets to creating a memorable business plan

Landing Customers Before Having a Product – Ryan Ferrier walks you through the steps to securing customers before releasing your product

Golden Rules of Entrepreneurship – The 21 golden rules no entrepreneur can live without

Finding and Working with Co-Founders – What to look for in a co-founder and how to establish a proper partnership

Finding Funding for Your Business Idea - An essential step toward success for any company is the acquisition of funds.

Create and Sell a Physical Product – Capitalize on your product idea and start building it today

Build, Sell and Promote an Online Product – Everything you need to market and sell your product online

Research and Vet Your Product Idea – How to conduct market analysis and design a product

Business Plans: Perfect the Pitch – Key elements of a business plan and pitch deck

Raising Capital for Your Business – Seed, angel, and venture capital: how they work and how to get them

Social Media

Social Media 101 – Experts weigh-in on basic social-media business strategies

The Six-Step Strategy to Profitable Social Media Marketing – Make money off social media through this simple strategy

Facebook Pages for Business – The best way to integrate Facebook into your marketing and business goals

LinkedIn Tutorial & Tools – Exploring how LinkedIn can be leveraged to grow your business and career

Twitter for Small Business – Grow your followers and create a buzz around your brand

Improve Your Social Media Strategy with Hootsuite – Quick guide to managing multiple social-media accounts in one place

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Sales & Marketing

Simple Steps to Create a Brand - Creating an identity that consumers can relate to is a key to success in any industry.

How To Persuade People – How to establish trust and interest, to improve both your business and personal life

Market Research for Small Business - With the abundance of communication channels in the digital age, it's easy to lose focus on your target market.

Mastering Business Writing & Grammar — Hone your writing and improve your marketing campaigns, B2B communications, social media and more.

Email Marketing for Small Business – Email marketing strategies and tools that have been proven to increase sales and engagement

Mastering Sales Copywriting – Marketing copy tactics that will increase sales and customers

Elements of Design for Small Business – Create a logo, product or website with excellent design and planning

Building a Brand – Research your market and develop a presence that attracts your target demographic

Guide to Business Development – Business development techniques to develop strategic and lasting partnerships and negotiate deals

Sales Techniques: From Pitch to Close – Train a winning sales team, prospect new customers, and close any sale

Growing Your Business with Mobile – Develop apps, create QR campaigns, and reach mobile customers for your business

The Power of Persuasion - Whether pitching a new business idea or convincing a candidate to join your team, persuasion plays a huge role in the success of any enterprise.

Real Estate 101 for Buyers and Sellers - It's no secret that the real estate industry can be tough to understand for both aspiring professionals and confused consumers. Whether you're a veteran looking for investment tips or an amateur searching for your first home, we can all use a bit of help.

Marketing 101 – The fundamentals of marketing from experts across the field

Design for Entrepreneurs - Creating a visual identity that resonates with consumers is vital in any industry

Communication Strategies For Small Business - Communicating effectively is a necessity for any business.

Building Credibility with a Book - Publishing a well-crafted book can build and expand any expert's personal brand.

Driving Online Revenue

SEO to Grow Your Business – Get more traffic to your website through link-building, content optimization and other tactics

Guide to Affiliate Marketing – Make money by selling other people’s products online as an affiliate marketer

Mastering AdSense – Easily generate revenue by displaying online ads on your site with AdSense

Run a Successful AdWords Campaign – Promote your business through the most popular online ad service on the web

Google Analytics for eCommerce – Improve site performance and sales through Google Analytics

Introduction To E-Commerce for Small Business - While opening up an e-commerce store can be a simple way to launch an online business, turning that store into a profitable and successful enterprise is much more difficult.

SEO Basics – SEO essentials to learn before starting your online campaign

Essential Software & Tools

WordPress for Your Business – How to make a business webpage on WordPress

QuickBooks 2012 – Master the top accounting software in the business

Financial Planning and Budgeting with Excel – Analyze spending, make financial forecasts and budget for the future

Simplify Your Financials with FreshBooks – Become your own accountant with an easy tutorial on FreshBooks

Basics of Excel – Learn the fundamentals of Excel how to use spreadsheets

Google Drive for Small Business – Use Google Drive to create share-able documents, spreadsheets and calendars

Getting Started with Gmail – Maximize your time and efficiency by customizing your email and inbox

Intro to PowerPoint – Host clear and engaging presentations with PowerPoint

Simplify eCommerce with Cashie Commerce – Guide to a simple, streamlined solution to selling your products online

Workflow and Project Management with Podio – Customizable platform for better structure, management and communication

Utilizing Google+ and Google Hangouts for Business - With the rise in importance of cloud collaboration and social media, it's vital to utilize all resources to optimize operations and improve your marketing reach.

HR & Legal Matters

HR and Employee Management – Follow proper legal procedures for hiring, onboarding, managing and terminating employees

Protect Your Business Ideas & Intellectual Property – Protect your ideas, designs, images, source code, and more

Legal Guide to Forming Your Corporation – Select a business entity, an equity structure and boards of directors

Hiring and Motivating Employees – Recruit, manage, and motivate employees

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Professional Skills

Mastering Public Speaking – A fresh perspective no how to speak comfortably, persuasively, and eloquently in front of others

Business Development: Strategies for Growth - Business development can be a key factor in the growth and success of your company.

How to Get a Job – Hiring managers and CEO's explain everything they look for in a candidate

Bootstrapping Your Business – Make your money go further, cut costs, and properly manage existing funds

Time Management – Time management tools and strategies for increasing efficiency

Event Planning Basics – Promote and prepare for any event

Improving Your Management Skills - Building and leading a solid team is the foundation of any successful business.