West Des Moines Community Schools Community Education

Starting a business is something that all of us have thought about at one time or another. Everyone wants to be their own boss. Yet statistics show that most businesses fail within the first five years. This course provides insight into the characteristics, knowledge and skills needed to become a successful entrepreneur.

At the end of this course, you will be able to identify the abilities required of successful entrepreneurs and how to acquire them, develop goals to help establish your business, develop an outline for your plan, and take home techniques to successfully manage your new business.

To progress through this course you will:

• Read the print readings.
• Have the option of accessing the online readings.
• Listen to the audio presentation for the Unit and view the slides.
• Have the option of taking a self-quiz to see how much you have learned.
• Engage in written online discussion with your instructor and other participants.
• The content (readings, audio lectures, slides) and self quizzes are accessible for the entire course, so you can work ahead, or go back and review again, at your convenience.

Discussion:

• The discussion for each unit lasts one week. All comments are made in writing and can be made at any time of the day or night.
• Your instructor will log into the discussion area at least once a day and answer questions, make comments, and respond to comments by you and the other participants.
• We encourage you to make 2-3 comments each day to maximize your learning and enjoyment of the course.