Learn to Properly Manage a Small Business
In this course, you'll study the theory of small business and work to apply your learning in a variety of contexts.
Course Duration: 900 hours
Course Structure
Nine modules, including core and elective units.
Core Modules
Stream Studies: Small Business
One or Two Workplace Project(200 hours)
You next must complete a Workplace Project or work experience (approved by a tutor and equal to 200 hours duration) There are four options available to you to satisfy the Workplace Project Requirement requirement:
Alternative 1.
If you work in the industry that you have been studying; you may submit a reference from your employer, in an effort to satisfy this industry (i.e. workplace project) requirement; on the basis of RPL (ie. recognition for prior learning), achieved through your current and past work experience.
The reference must indicate that you have skills and an awareness of your industry, which is sufficient for you to work in a position of responsibility.
Alternative 2
A one module credit (100 hrs) can be achieved by verifying attendance at a series of industry meetings, as follows:
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Meetings may be seminars, conferences, trade shows, committee meetings, volunteer events (eg. Community working bees), or any other meeting where two or more industry people or people who are knowledgeable about their discipline.
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Opportunity must exist for the student to learn through networking, observation and/or interaction with people who know their industry or discipline
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A list of events should be submitted together with dates of each attended and times being claimed for each
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Documentary evidence must be submitted to the school to indicate support each item on the above list (eg. Receipts from seminars, conference or shows, letters from committee or organisation secretaries or committee members. All such documentation must contain a contact details)
Alternative 3
Credits can be achieved by completing standard modules Workshop I, II and/or III
Each of these modules comprises a series of “hands on” PBL projects, designed as learning experiences that involve interaction with the real world. (This approach is based upon tried and proven learning approaches that originated in American universities but are now widely used and respected by academia throughout many countries). See the web site or handbook for more detail.
Alternative 4.
If you do not work in the relevant industry, you may choose to undertake a project as follows.
Procedure for a Workplace Project
You will design this project in consultation with a tutor to involve industry based activities in the area of specialized study which they select to follow in the course. The project outcomes may take the form of a written report, folio, visuals or a mixture of forms. Participants with relevant, current or past work experience will be given exemption from this project if they can provide suitable references from employers that show they have already fulfilled the requirements of this project.
For courses that involve more than 100 hours, more than one workplace project topic may be selected. For example, 200 hours may be split into two projects each of 100 hours. This will offer the student better scope to fulfill the needs of their course and to meet the number of hours required. Alternatively, the student may wish to do one large project with a duration of 200 hours.
Students will be assessed on how well they achieve the goals and outcomes they originally set as part of their negotiations with their tutor. During each 100 hours of the project, the students will present three short progress reports. These progress reports will be taken into account when evaluating the final submission. The tutor must be satisfied that the work submitted is original.
If you wish to do one large 200 hour report, then only three progressive reports will be needed (however the length of each report will be longer).
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What Does a Business Operator Do?
In the daily operation of a business, some days will challenge you and some will inspire you. Most of them however will be just part of the daily routine of normal business operations. Unfortunately your business will not run itself - goals need to be set and decisions need to be made in order to achieve these goals.
The following are the three key areas in operating a small business:
- Management process: this includes staff management, hiring the right people, training, how to get the best results from the people you hire.
- Business strategy: defines your short and long term goals in relation to achieving targeted turnover and profit.
- Business operations: the means by which you achieve set goals i.e. resources, tools, business plans and set procedures.
The day to day goal of a business involves acquiring the means to deliver a product or service, then selling that product or service to someone.
Things you will need to do to fulfill your business goals:
- Buy or make your product or determine the services you will offer
- Make the correct buying decisions – based on market research and the needs of your customers.
- Fix prices (after determining costs)
- Keep costs down
- Raise Visibility -Advertise, Promote, Network (marketing)
- Sell
- Deliver
- Follow-up with your customers
- Hire and train new employees as the business grows
- Motivate your employees
- Measure your performance against your goals
- Keep appropriate records
The daily work of any business operator can vary in many ways:
- Small business operators need to do everything (planning, management, marketing, delivering the service or creating the products etc.)
- Big business operators have the luxury of being able to delegate areas of work to employees, but that luxury is readily offset by the added complexity of managing a larger organisation.
- Some businesses need to allocate more resources to acquiring their product or service than others. Others may find acquiring the product easy, but usually when one aspect of the business operation is easier, other aspects will be more difficult.
- Some businesses need to continually review and change the product or service they offer, while others may only ever make minor changes to what they are selling.
Setting Personal Goals
Set personal goals as well as business goals. The most integral part of any successful business operation is determining the range of tasks involved in running your business on a day to day basis. Once you understand this it is much easier to achieve the goals you have set for yourself in daily operations. Keep the following ‘Plan of Action’ in mind when determining your goals as a manager:
Write down your goals
- Be realistic – too much optimism in what you can achieve can cost in both business and personal terms
- Be specific about your goals – break them down into smaller goals if needed
- Set priorities for your goals
- Determine ways in which you can measure your goals
- Make sure you can measure your goals in terms of performance – determine what you hope to achieve in a month, two months, three months, next year or in two years etc. Mark the time you hope to achieve each goal against them
- Measure what you have achieved as you go along so you can see if you are on track or need to make changes
- Plans can go wrong – keeping a close eye on the business means you are more likely to foresee problems and use strategies to minimise or head them off. Revise your plans as things change
What else does a business operator need to do?
Things change every day of the week, and the manager of a business needs to react to those changes accordingly. Changes likely to occur could include:
- Accidents and illness and as a result, goals that were expected to be achieved are not met
- New businesses start which compete with your operation
- Anticipated sales targets are not reached and cash flow stalls
- Anticipated sales targets are exceeded, and your capacity to supply customers is put under stress
- Cost of supplies or raw materials change - prices go up and your customers may cancel orders as a result
- Government regulations change and impact on your business
- Economic conditions change and sales drop or increase
