Courses
Entrepreneurial Mindset (ENTR101)
This three (3) credit hour interdisciplinary course will help students understand what it takes to develop an entrepreneurial mindset and skills. The course is ideal for students who want to work on an idea they may have. Students enrolled in this course will also learn the basics of design thinking and how they can use design thinking to solve problems. In addition, students will develop personal skills such as; self-efficacy, resourcefulness, grit, leadership, persistency and opportunity recognition.
The course does not require any pre-requisites and you can take this course regardless of your major. The course is also transferable to Temple, ESU, Penn State and Moravian. High school students are also eligible to take this course as dual enrollment students. If you would like to know more about this course please reach out to Sean Brandle at sbrandle@northampton.edu.
Workshops
If you are thinking about starting your own business, you need to understand what you need to accomplish in the first 100 days. You may have a good understanding of your product or service, but do you understand the business aspect? In other words, have you crossed your t's and dotted your i's?
Design thinking is an experiential hands-on problem-solving tool that promotes collaboration and dialogue to bring superior products and services that meets your user’s needs. This four-part workshop will teach and provide tools to implement design thinking inside your classrooms, departments or bus inesses, no matter the size.
This basic computer skills course is designed to meet Burmese small to micro business owners' needs with limited English capabilities. This beginner course will provide information with minimal technical jargon, broken into components that will help you start a small business or manage an existing b usiness for growth.
This course is designed to introduce investing and finance fundamentals, including understanding credit rating, managing credit, investing for retirement, and college funds. This beginner course will improve your financial thinking and decision-making process to help you understand the financial mar ket and how it drives the economy and affects your life. The course will focus on some of the most common money mistakes people make and how to avoid financial pitfalls. This course will be applicable to individuals and small business owners.
Proper book-keeping is essential for every small business. A significant number of small businesses lack internal checks and balances when it comes to maintaining their finances. This can lead to serious problems which can lead to costing the businesses time and money. This short course will look in to best practices when it comes to maintaining your books.
Buying a franchise can be a good way to start a small business. Many people who dream of owning their own business choose this route. Though franchising offers many benefits, it also presents challenges and can be a costly endeavor. This class will focus on the due diligence one needs to do when acq uiring a franchise.
A significant number of people these days are starting their small business as independent consultants. This is also true especially with individuals who have recently retired or those who are going through a career change. Especially with the movement towards remote working this trend is only going to increase. This short workshop will focus on the do’s and don’ts of starting a business as an independent consultant.
If you are currently managing or thinking about starting a small business, a business plan is crucial. A business plan serves as a road map and is developed over time. This short workshop will help you get started on your business plan. You will be exposed to the different parts of a business plan a nd how to put it together in the context of your business.
Having a well thought out marketing plan is essential for any small business. An effective marketing leads to sales increases. But many small businesses do not give adequate attention to their marketing. This workshop will show participants how to create and implement an effective marketing plan.
This two part workshop is designed to teach you how you can effectively utilize Google tools to grow your business. Focus will be on learning how to effectively use Google to reach new customers with a very small budget. The workshops will focus on effectively using YouTube, Google Search and Maps, Google Analytics and Google Business Suites
How you manage your personal finance dictates your future to a large degree. If you are planning to start a business, your personal financial health matters a lot. This workshop will focus on ways you can build your personal financial health over a period. The workshop will focus on do’s and don’ts and also guide you on how to read your personal credit score.
If you are planning to start a business in Pennsylvania, then this workshop is for you. This workshop will focus on steps that you need to take in order to properly form your business in Pennsylvania. The workshop will also cover basic business structures that you should consider.
State and federal governments award trillions of dollars’ worth of contracts each year and most small to mid-sized businesses are eligible to apply for such contracts. Finding out how and where to apply for these contracts can be challenging for most small businesses. This workshop will allow participants to learn the process of applying for state and federal government contracts. The workshop will also explore easily available resources.
This workshop is a comprehensive overview of the three major types of Intellectual Property: Copyright, Trademark and Patent. Participants will learn what they are, what they cover or protect, why you should have them and finally how to earn money from them once you have them protected.
Design thinking is an experimental hands-on problem-solving tool that promotes collaboration and dialogue to bring superior products and services that meets your user’s needs. This four-part workshop will incorporate LEGO® in learning the five stages of Design Thinking. After the conclusion of the workshops, you will be able to lead your own sessions using LEGO.
For any small business to survive and thrive, continuous product and service development is vital. But this process is costly. Participants will learn what role “design thinking” plays in product and service development including testing prototypes.
Getting, keeping and growing customer is the key to success of any business. In this context, think about how marketing and sales have changed in the last 20 years and the role social media has played in transforming how companies market their products and services to end users.
The Small Business Management & Entrepreneurship Non-Credit Certificate is a 168 hour Program focusing on the nuts and bolts of owning and managing a small business. This certificate consists of 4 courses where participants will be able to complete the entire program in 14 weeks. Each course will be tween 5 to 9 weeks long.
