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Course Description

Every business whether they are Facebook, or your local professional services firm can be broken down into two distinct areas. Firstly, the knowledge and experience they sell and secondly, the skills they need to run a business. Alec Drew, the Business Expert, calls these skills The Business of being in Business. Large organisations have the luxury of employing full time experts to manage this side of the business. Smaller organisations are forced to do some of it themselves but also need to outsource expertise as required. 

In this course, Alec has outlined the various elements of The Business of running a Business and talks you through each area, identifying what you can do yourself and where you must bring in experts. 

Join Alec as he takes you on a planned journey to what he calls your destination 'Success'.  

In this course you will learn:

  • What experts to bring in and when to bring them in.
  • How to create your brand
  • How to create an organisational chart
  • The value of having processes in your business
  • The importance of creating the right culture in your business
  • How to identify your costs and manage debt
  • The importance of networking and how to build relationships

Course curriculum

  • 1

    Chapter 1 Your Personal Journey

    • Lesson 1 Why the Business of Running a Business?

    • Lesson 2 Let's Take a Business Journey. Where Do You Want To Go?

    • Lesson 3 Destination Success

    • Lesson 4 Attract the Right People & Have a Plan
  • 2

    Chapter 2 Branding and Messaging

    • Lesson 1 What Do You Do?

    • Lesson 2 Creating Your Bespoke Message

    • Lesson 3 Your Business Behind Your Logo

    • Lesson 4 What do you do?

    • Lesson 5 Design Brief
  • 3

    Chapter 3 Company Structure

    • Lesson 1 Company Structure & Partnerships

    • Lesson 2 Staffing Up Your Business and Org charts

    • Lesson 3 SWOT Analysis

    • Lesson 4 SWOT Analysis Exercise
  • 4

    Chapter 4 Processes That Build Your Business

    • Lesson 1 The Value of Processes

    • Lesson 2 The Inquiry Process

    • Lesson 3 The Discovery & Client Process

    • Lesson 4 Validating The Client Needs & Managing Expectations

    • Lesson 5 Qualifying and Closing a Deal

    • Lesson 6 Closing a Job

    • Lesson 7 Discovery Process and Closing a Job

  • 5

    Chapter 5 The Lifeblood of Business – Budgets & CASH!

    • Lesson 1 Cash Flow Simplified

    • Lesson 2 Billable Hours and Workdays

    • Lesson 3 ROI of Employees

    • Lesson 4 Paying Yourself – Your Net Bottom Line

    • Lesson 5 Management Information Systems & IT

    • Lesson 6 How do I charge?

    • Lesson 7 Financing Options & Marketing Debt

    • Lesson 8 Cash Flow

  • 6

    Chapter 6 Employees, culture, recruitment, retention, HR

    • Lesson 1 Attracting and Managing Suppliers

    • Lesson 2 Recruitment

    • Lesson 3 Welcoming & Training Employees

    • Lesson 4 HR – The Basics

    • Lesson 5 The Importance of Creating the Right Culture

    • Lesson 6 Training Plan

  • 7

    Chapter 7 Sales and Marketing

    • Lesson 1 Targeting Your Audience

    • Lesson 2 CRM – The Value of Data

    • Lesson 3 The Art of Networking – Be the Centre of Influence

    • Lesson 4 Competitor analysis

    • Lesson 5 Your Personal Journey and An Exit