Start Your Own Small Business

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$389

AUD

35% off

$599 AUD

Quick Facts

Delivery Method Online
Professional Certificate
24hrs Suggested Study Time
3 Months Access
Tutor Support
Study On Any Device
7877 Students

Stop dreaming and learn how to start your own successful small business.

Learn how to take your dream of starting a business and put it into action. In this class, you'll learn everything you need to know about starting a business. You'll begin by discovering the tricks to picking the right opportunity for you. Next, you'll learn how to develop proven marketing techniques to easily build sales. Since every business needs money, we'll discuss traditional and nontraditional financing options. Finally, you'll learn easy-to-implement employee-management procedures and how to write business policies that help you build your business.

You, as a business owner, need to manage all your limited resources. One resource that often gets overlooked is your time. In the final lesson, you'll learn time-management techniques especially for entrepreneurs. While taking this course, you'll discover the secrets that separate the successful entrepreneurs from the struggling ones.

Courses are delivered to you through expertly executed lessons, online instruction and interaction with like-minded students. Our courses are designed to deliver all of the benefits of studying in a classroom whilst giving you the flexibility to study at a time and place to suit your needs. You can access your classroom 24/7 from any device with an internet connection.

This course has a 3 month duration. You'll complete comprehensive lessons, quizzes and assignments before submitting your final exam at the end of the course to achieve your certificate. Courses must be completed within the 3 month access period.

If you've dreamed about starting a small business but didn't know where to start, you've come to the right place! In this first lesson, you'll learn why you should start a business, why now might be the perfect time to do it, and what separates successful business owners from those who remain dreamers.

Today, you'll find out about the three different ways to start a business. We'll explore the advantages and disadvantages of buying a franchise, buying a business, and starting a business from scratch.

No matter what business option you're leaning toward, you must find and exploit your unique selling proposition (USP). Your USP is the reason a customer would do business with you instead of someone else. In this lesson, you'll develop your USP. Then you'll discover the single most valuable asset in your business and how it can create all the wealth you'll ever want.

Alan Lakein, a leading expert on time management, says, "Failing to plan is planning to fail." Today, you'll learn all the advantages of having a written business plan. You'll see how it helps you take advantage of more opportunities and keeps you focused on achieving your goals. If you need to find financing for your business, having a business plan becomes twice as important.

Once you've chosen the business opportunity you're going to pursue, you'll need to legally set up your company. To do that, you'll have to choose whether to be an S-corporation, a corporation, or a limited liability company. Each of these structures has advantages and disadvantages. In this lesson, you'll find out how to decide which one would work best for you.

Unless you have your own vault of money for marketing, you'll need to know the best way to spend limited resources to create the most sales. As a future business owner, you need to understand the importance of direct-response marketing along with tracking and testing. You'll learn about those things today as you discover how to expand marketing efforts that work and cut or improve those that are ineffective.

In this lesson, we'll continue discussing marketing as we explore the pros and cons of two main forms of it: advertising and publicity. We'll take a detailed look at free publicity because it's one of the most cost-effective ways to market your business.

No one can run a business effectively without proper accounting and financial statements. But few business owners take the time to understand the basics of bookkeeping. Today, we'll walk hand-in-hand with an actual business owner as she sets up her accounting records. By the end of this lesson, you'll know the basics of accounting and be able to analyze and develop your own financial statements.

Most new business owners need to find money to start their business. In this lesson, you'll find out the most common, traditional ways to fund a business and a few nontraditional ways as well. Whichever method you choose, your desire to get your company going is what will make the difference. Many people give up too soon or don't use the feedback from a funding source to improve their plan. You don't have to be one of them!

Employees can make or break a business. Just think about businesses you wouldn't use again because of the service the employees provided. Bad employees can cost a company thousands of dollars, and you, as an owner, won't have the luxury of hiring and training employees on an ongoing basis. Hiring, training, motivating, and parting with employees are all complex processes. Today, you'll learn tips that make them easier.

Having effective business policies in place helps your business run efficiently. It also gives your employees a framework for knowing what's expected of them. By the end of this lesson, you'll be able to develop your own business policies, including sexual harassment and ethics policies. We'll also discuss creating an employee manual.

To ensure success, business owners need to be able to use limited resources efficiently. In this final lesson, we'll focus on how best to manage your time, relationships, and personal financial position. You'll leave this course knowing you've done all the preliminary groundwork to get your business off to a good start.

Kris Solie-Johnson

Kris Solie-Johnson, chancellor and president of the American Institute of Small Business, best-selling author, educator, speaker, and mother of three, is an energetic and passionate entrepreneur. Her books are in public libraries, high schools, co... Read more

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Frequently Asked Questions

Once you've made the payment, we'll send you a confirmation email with a link to start your course. Feel free to get started whenever you're ready!

You'll have 3 months access to your course. In that time you are free to study at your own pace. The course duration is 24 hours.

Online learning is a flexible way to study that fits around your schedule, giving you the freedom to learn at your own pace from anywhere in the world. You'll have 3 months to complete the course and can take the multiple-choice questions and final exam whenever it suits you.

If you need help, you can contact us anytime. You can also join the discussion area where you can interact with other students. The discussion area for each lesson is open for the entire duration of the course.

Of course! We offer a 7-day money back guarantee. As long as you haven't completed the course, you can get a full refund within 7 days of enrolling.

We do not offer extensions or transfers for this self-paced course. However, you will have 3 months to complete the course, and if you need to cancel within the first 10 days of enrolment, we offer a money back guarantee.

What people are saying about our courses

As an artist with limited business sense, this was the perfect course for me to take. Kris took a lot of the mystery out of starting a small business. Her teaching style was very friendly and easy to comprehend. Thank you!

Verified Student

Excellent instructor - excellent course! I thoroughly enjoyed taking this class and can't wait to use the information I learned to start setting up my own small business. Thanks for the opportunity for me to be able to take this class. It was very little effort on my part to complete it, but what I learned will stay with me a lifetime.

Verified Student

I enjoyed the course and although I own a small business already, I learned some very important tips.

Verified Student

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The Learning Environment

From the moment that you enrol in the Start Your Own Small Business you will become an integral part of our learning community. You'll find yourself with the freedom to learn at a speed that suits you, on any device, from anywhere in the world. Achieving your career goals no longer has to mean compromising family and work commitments.

Ready to get started?

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Our Values

Learn At Your Own Pace

We believe in personalised learning. That's why we provide all the tools and support you need to succeed at your own pace. With flexible learning, you'll stay motivated and retain more information. Plus, you can balance your studies with work and family commitments to make your dreams a reality.

We Won't Break The Bank

Education should be accessible to anyone who wants to learn. That's why we offer some of the most competitive prices in the industry with payments plans for just $25 per week. Investing in your future is a smart choice and doesn’t have to break the bank.

Industry-Led Courses

There's no better way to learn than from experts with years of experience in your field. That's why each of our 200+ industry-led courses are designed to give you a real-life perspective on your industry. With our expert mentors, you'll learn from people who have a wealth of knowledge and experience, and who are passionate about sharing it with you.

Get The Personal Support You Deserve

At Vibe Learning, we're real people who are dedicated to providing you with personal support every step of the way. Our industry experts are not only professional and knowledgeable but also incredibly passionate about sharing their expertise with you. With their guidance, you'll gain invaluable insights and practical knowledge to help you succeed.

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Start Your Own Small Business

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Product reviews for PHP and MySQL Fundamentals

Fantastic course, Rich -- many thanks! Great teaching approach for those of us without a coding background, very non-threatening & encouraging.

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I can't say enough good things about this course and the instructor. As a 42+ year veteran of the 'computer wars' I've had a lot of training - this was quite possibly the best ever. My web site is up and running and I already have plans to leverage this new knowledge both at work and for a little project I've had in mind for a business I run out of my home. Heartiest congratulations to everyone for such a great offering!

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I have taken other courses, and this one is one of the best. The material was well-prepared, the assignments were relevant and did good job of strengthening the information taught in the lessons. Richard is very interactive in the discussion area, responds quickly and completely to questions, and is willing to research and answer questions outside of direct scope of the lesson. Very good teaching style, and an excellent instructor. I am looking forward to the Intermediate course.

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I've taken several online courses and I would rate this course one of the best. The instructor was very knowledgeable and responsive. Thanks.

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I was impressed right away with how our instructor wrote personal replies to our introductions in the discussion area. The written materials were excellent. The course was a good all-around start to setting up an easily-updated web site. I appreciated getting information that is not always included in a course like this -- in particular versioning information and database backups. I would definitely take another class from Rich. I've already recommended another class to a friend. Thanks.

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Richard is an excellent, patient instructor. He took time in the discussion area to completely answer questions no matter how many times information had to be repeated. I would definitely consider taking any course that he teaches. I will be watching for a PHP Level 2 course and hope it won't take too long for it to be available!

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The instructor was helpful and courteous, going out of his way to answer questions about the material that may not have been relevant to the class itself. I would definitely recommend others take this instructor's courses.

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This is one of the best courses I have taken. The course plan and the material covered helped me gain a good understanding of the subject. The assignments were very helpful. The teacher was good at communicating and answering questions.

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When I enrolled in this course, I'd just received a refund from another school for a PHP course that fell sharply below my expectations in examples and hands-on application. I could hardly believe this course offered so much, but I'm now convinced I got everything the course said I would and more. This course was excellent in text, instruction, and hands-on applications!

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Photoshop Elements 10 Digital Photography

Quick Facts

Delivery Method Online
Professional Certificate
24hrs Suggested Study Time
3 Months Access
Tutor Support
Study On Any Device
1785 Students

Learn the secrets of Adobe Photoshop Elements 10 and bring out the best in your images.

Take your images from so-so to spectacular! Whether you're making quick fixes or detailed enhancements, Adobe Photoshop Elements 10 provides the tools you need to achieve high-quality results. If you're a novice with no photo-editing experience or you want to upgrade skills you learned in an earlier version of Elements, this course is for you.

As you master this popular software, you'll learn to edit images on your computer, correct flaws, enhance your final product, create simple art projects, prepare images for email and the Web, and organise your images so you can keep track of them. It's fun and easy, and you'll see how Photoshop Elements 10 gives you room to grow while letting you achieve high-quality results right away.

So bring your photography skills into the digital age and get ready to unlock the mysteries of Photoshop Elements 10. The hands-on, easy-to-follow exercises in this course will help you turn your photos into masterpieces and leave you with a great feeling of accomplishment!

Photoshop Elements is an excellent package for photographers to enhance and edit digital images. In our first lesson, we'll introduce online training, show you how to download the images you'll use in class, and start with the very basics of Photoshop Elements. We'll take things a step at a time so that even new users can get comfortable editing and enhancing their digital photos. You'll also find information about what's new in Elements 10. 

Today we'll discuss the many file formats digital images can take and how you can use them to your best advantage with Photoshop Elements. You'll learn how to save updated originals and copies of your images, as well as how to use Smart Fix to produce fast results. You'll see how to crop with Elements 10 new Rule of Thirds crop guide and rotate images to get just the look you're after, and you'll practice using the Straighten tool for one-step corrections.

Digital images come in all sizes! In this lesson, we'll discuss image resolution, pixels, and recommendations for resizing pictures with excellent results. When you want high quality prints, you'll see just how to resize them and maintain quality with Photoshop Elements sizing options. We'll also discuss the different shapes images can take and how you can be sure your prints will fit the frames you choose.

Photoshop Elements gives you lots of options for printing your documents, and you'll learn about all of them in this lesson. You'll find out how to add temporary colorful borders and print images to just the size you want. You'll also practice saving photos for use on websites using Photoshop Elements Save for Web. In addition, we'll take a look at the Organizer and see how to print multiple photos on a page.

Most of the time, photographers have plenty of images to work with, but in some instances you'll want to create a new file as a foundation for your images. You'll learn how to do that in this lesson. You'll also see how to use Elements tabbed windowing for quick access to your open images. From there, you'll add color and then move a photo onto your background. You'll discover how to use the Layers feature in the process.

Ever wondered how professional photographers can make the colors in some images look out of this world? Today you'll find out how they do it! You'll work with color adjustments in your images, including hue and saturation. You'll also create black-and-white images from color images using Elements Black and White Conversion feature, and you'll pick individual colors to replace with others. Color Variations is a wonderful visual tool included in Photoshop Elements. You'll learn how to make quick changes with this! And before we finish, you'll see what you can do with Style Matching, —it's quite a change from the other tools.

Light is the essence of photography, but it's not always cooperative. In this lesson, we'll discuss ways to enhance and even create better lighting after you've taken an image. You'll see how to use Brightness and Contrast to improve your images, and we'll cover techniques for adjusting shadows and highlights. You'll also have a chance to work with the histogram, Levels, and Color Curves—all excellent tools for correcting lighting and color tones. Through all this, you'll see how Elements keeps track of your changes and lets you go back through them if you want to undo something.

In this lesson, we'll take a look at how Organizer works to keep track of your images. We'll also cover strategies for using both folders and Organizer. You'll see how to sort your pictures, add tags, and collect them in albums for use in projects like scrapbook pages and greeting cards.

In your creative projects, you'll often want to pair photos with text. Photoshop Elements gives you plenty of text tools, and in this lesson, you'll explore those and add text to your images. You'll see how Photoshop Elements uses layers with text, and you'll get tips on how to master the Layers panel. You'll also begin your study of the powerful selection tools, including the color-based Magic Wand tool and the flexible Lasso tool. With these, you'll discover the power of Feathering selections and copying selections within an image.

As you continue your study of selection tools, you'll learn how to create a silhouette image using the Quick Selection tool. You'll also practice using any of the selection tools in a reverse mode for tricky selections. We'll see how the Marquee tools let you select perfect squares and circles for use in framing and highlighting your images and how the new Text on Selection tool works with any shape! You'll also work more with Feathering and see the difference it makes, especially when you want to create a soft, blended background in your image. Finally, we'll go over how to add colors with the Gradient tool.

In our last lesson on the selection tools, you'll work with the Selection Brush tool for detailed and exacting work when you need it most. You'll also learn some advanced techniques for using the selection tools together. We'll work extensively with the Add to selection option, and we'll preview our work with Mask Mode. You'll have a chance to experiment with some of Photoshop Elements' filters and color options, as well as the settings in the Magnetic Lasso tool. As a final addition to your knowledge in this area, you'll have a chance to explore and work with the Select menu.<b></b>

As we bring this first class to a close, you'll find many new tools to put to work and still more to learn. We'll discuss Retouching and Correcting tools, and you'll perfect your skills with the Red Eye Removal tool, the Clone Stamp tool, and both the powerful Healing Brushes and the new Content-Aware Healing option. You'll learn when to use each tool for the best results. The power of Photoshop Elements will come to life as you use these tools in your final assignments.

Beverly Richards Schulz

Beverly Richards Schulz is a graduate of the New York Institute of Photography and an award-winning photographer. She has been teaching photography for more than 15 years. Since her first class with ed2go in 2000, she has written more than 30 onli... Read more

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Frequently Asked Questions

Once you've made the payment, we'll send you a confirmation email with a link to start your course. Feel free to get started whenever you're ready!

You'll have 3 months access to your course. In that time you are free to study at your own pace. The course duration is 24 hours.

Of course! We offer a 7-day money back guarantee. As long as you haven't completed the course, you can get a full refund within 7 days of enrolling.

What people are saying about our courses

I really enjoyed this course. I used to get quickly frustrated with PSE 10, because I didn't know what to do with all the options. Now I have fun editing my pictures. I have already enrolled in Part 2, and I am very excited to learn more. Big thumbs up!

Verified Student

The course was excellent and the instructors were great. I enjoyed it very much.

Verified Student

Great course to get me started in Photoshop Elements! It's not so intimidating now!

Verified Student

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The Learning Environment

From the moment that you enrol in the Photoshop Elements 10 Digital Photography you will become an integral part of our learning community. You'll find yourself with the freedom to learn at a speed that suits you, on any device, from anywhere in the world. Achieving your career goals no longer has to mean compromising family and work commitments.