Start your own Online Business

Key Business topics including Finance, gaining an Online presence, using Social Media and Marketing, learning important Selling skills and Analysing key business data.

The aim of the course is to provide the service leaver with essential skills to start a business with an online presence. There are many online options, and this course will guide you towards making informed decisions based on your budget and business idea.

The course was created and is run by current business practitioners. They will bring to the table a wealth of knowledge relating to the business world and provide guidance towards developing an opportunity but also to plan for sustainability.

The course will be delivered by experienced trainers and current business owners with many years of experience working in the fields of finance, website development, website optimisation, social media, sales, marketing and data analysis. You will learn using a blend of instruction, discussion, case studies and activities to help embed knowledge and practice skills.

You will be encouraged to participate in discussions and explore questions relating to your business idea. By the end of the course you will be well prepared to start your new career in business.

Is this course for you?

This five-day course is designed for service leavers planning to start their own business and develop a fully optimised online presence using a range of social media and online platforms.

Aim

To significantly improve your understanding of five key areas of business: Finance, Business internal and external data, Sales, Website options and getting the most out of Social Media.

Course Objectives

By the end of each course you will be in a position to:

• Understand the important elements of a successful sale
• Understand the key financial aspects of a successful business
• Understand how to capture and analyse important internal and external data
• Understand the important aspects of a successful website
• Understand how social media platforms can support your business

Start your own Online Business Course Content

Day 1: The Art of Selling

IPSO FACTO provides professional sales courses to sales team leaders and their teams. This module has been modified from our professional schedule and will provide tried and tested sales techniques used by sales professionals. Assuming that you are new to sales and have no selling experience, this course will provide a platform of fundamental but important techniques. It will include practical exercises that will enable you to deliver a professional sales pitch.

• Introductions. Your journey so far.
• Direct Sales. Selling to the public. Selling to business. Selling your services.
• Implement a tried and tested sales process which will maximise your sales opportunity.
• Ask questions which will lead to a reduced level of objections and an increased level of sales.
• Identify your customer’s needs.
• Be effective, not pushy.
• Quality Manual – Daily Summary

Benefits: This element of the course will provide you with an important selling skills framework that is critical for you to succeed in business. Training has been adapted from our professional sales course and comes with a proven track record of success.

Day 2: Business Structures and Financial Planning

This module is delivered by a practicing-chartered accountant and will cover the important elements of finance for a small business. We’ll also have a look at a small business software package and its relationship with your bank and payment services.

Financial Essentials

• Understand the basics of business finance.
• Profit and Loss, Balance Sheet, Cash Flow.
• Payment terms, Invoicing, cash or card.
• How to choose an Accountant and Software. Q&A business and personal tax / pension Q&A.
• Identify the benefits of XERO. Link software to your bank and payment services using STRIPE and other options.
• Daily summary.

Benefits: Many new business owners have a great idea, lots of enthusiasm but a poor sense of financial planning. This module will aim to give you the tools to get a head start.

Day 3: Planning for Success

This module has a look at communicating with your clients, capturing data, important regulations and getting a free Google presence.

• Collect prospect data via website using Campaign Monitor for mailings. Email Campaign do’s and don’ts.
• Collect customer and supplier data using MS Forms.
• GDPR policy. Information Commissioners Office registration. Set up your Terms and Conditions of trade.
• Set up a Google account for your business.
• Set up Google My Business. IMPORTANT
• Daily Summary

Benefits: Managing and Analysing business data is a crucial part of decision making. This part of the course will provide an insight into the amount of data that’s at your disposal, and what you can do with it.

Day 4: Your Website – Platform choice, Creating Content, Ecommerce options and Optimization

This module is delivered by the owner of a website development company with 20+ years’ experience guiding and supporting existing businesses and start-ups. If you are planning to have an online presence, then this element of the course will answer important questions.

• Identify the best website platform for your business. Choosing an eCommerce platform.
• Choose a Domain name and Hosting company.
• Set up and explore Google Analytics and Search Console.
• Explore performance tools including Gtmetrics.
• Explore Search Engine Optimisation SEO. Including Screaming Frog.
• Daily Summary.

Benefits: Its all about having the most up to date, Google friendly online presence that’s going to work for you and your customers.

Day 5: Social Media Marketing including Google

Delivered by a business professional with over 20 years’ experience in social media marketing. This module will focus on the current top marketing platforms and how you can get the best out of them.

• Identify Keywords and Keyword strategies. Explore Google Trends
• Set up a Google Ads account and explore its uses
• Identify Content Marketing including blogging
• An introduction to Social Media – Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube + others
• How to set up and use Social Media
• Course washup

Benefits: Driving traffic to your website with the help of social media is important for your business to thrive and survive.

Live Virtual Classroom schedule: days 4 and 5

Logon at 08:30 test your system and be ready for a 9am start.

Session 1: 09:00 to 10:00 [break 10:00 to 10:15]
Session 2: 10:15 to 11:15 [break 11:15 to 11:30]
Session 3: 11:30 to 12:30 [lunch 12:30 to 13:30]
Session 4: 13:30 to 14:30 [break 14:30 to 14:45]
Session 5: 14:45 to 15:45 [summarise and close 15:45 to 16:30]

Start your own business Google updates Oct 2022

Google updates will be discussed during the course

The October 2022 spam update targets search spam that violate Google’s Search Essentials.

In November 2021 Google completed a major refresh of Webmaster Guidelines, and with that, renamed it to Google Search Essentials.

What this really meant for you as site owners and what you have subsequently experienced during 2022 so far is technical requirements: Google published new rules to help site owners understand how to publish content in a format that Google Search can index and access that content.
Spam policies: Google updated its guidance for the Google Search policies against spam, “to help site owners avoid creating content that isn’t helpful for people using Search,” Google said. Note that most of the content in these spam policies has already existed on Google Search Central, Google did however make a few additions to provide clearer guidance and concrete examples for issues like deceptive behavior, link spam, online harassment, and scam and fraud.

Key best practices

Google published new guidance with key best practices for site owners to consider when creating sites. To create content that serves people better which in turn if applied, will help a site be more easily found through Google Search. Other changes were to organise content in a more logical structure and consolidating similar pages.

This is the eighth major Google algorithm update of 2022 – and the first spam update since the November 3rd 2021 roll out. This latest spam update is global and impacts all languages and is expected to take a week to complete rolling out.

Author: Brian Mathers from ICT Advisor

Please contact us to discuss the options above: 01489 588453

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