Small Business Management
Two-Year Curriculum

“The SBM program has made a big difference in how I look at my business. It has helped me understand more about profit and loss, branding, a willingness to change some of my outlooks. I would recommend this small business class to anyone who has a small business”.

Chris Phillip, Hair Legends

The Rogue Community College Small Business Management Course is designed as two full years of topics geared to provide small business owners with information and tools they can apply for more effective management and profitability. 

Curriculum A (2009-10)

• Effective Business Practices:  Business planning, charting the future/goal setting, time management, intro to E*Myth/Michael Gerber (video). 
• Understanding Your Financial Statements and Management:  Learn how playing with your money can be fun rather than intimidating.  Running your business is easier once you stop ignoring your money and start using recordkeeping to make successful decisions. 
• Principles of Marketing:  Learn how to utilize the 4 P’s to effectively market your business and the importance of defining your target audience
• Promotional Strategies:  Developing and communicating your unique value proposition, review effective advertising and promotion strategies
• Managing Cash Flow:  Cash is “king”:  making cash flow projections, and the relationship between cash and profits, accounts receivable, and inventory.
• Personal Selling:  Effective sales techniques and the importance of customer service.
• Effective Human Resources Management:  Fundamentals and components of an effective HR system.  Best practices for avoiding HR claims and litigation when hiring, supervising, disciplining, and terminating employees.  Review components of effective HR system:  employee manual, confidential files, and job descriptions. 
• Banking and Borrowing Money:  How, when, and the cost of borrowing money, and working effectively with your bank.
• Management Strategies:  Emphasis on creating operational efficiency and learn the language and processes of LEAN management, TQM, continuous improvement.  Introduce concepts of situational leadership, Abilene Paradox, adult learning model, group process model, project management, selecting legal advice, legal ownership structure.

Curriculum B (2010-2011)

• E*Myth  Revisited:  Why most small businesses don’t work, and what to do about it.  Explore Michael Gerber’s strategies for successful small business ownership. 
• Tax Planning and Business Law: Planning for maximum tax benefits for your business.  Learn about the legal forms of business, other legal aspects of owning and operating a business, and business ethics.
• E-Marketing:  Creating, maintaining, and marketing an effective website, and other electronic-based marketing strategies. 
• Financial Analysis:  Work through various business ratios, simply derived from numbers available on your income statement and balance sheet.   Gain insight into your business’s financial health and how bankers and other investors view your business. 
• Managing Employee Performance:  Motivating and retaining employees, conducting effective performance evaluations, compensation plans, training, and supervision methods. 
• Providing Great Customer Service:  Explore strategies for delighting your customers that will keep them coming back and referring your products/services to others. 
• Placing A Value On Your Business:  Explore tools and methods for valuing a business, useful for buying or selling a business. 
• Financial Planning and Insurance:  Explore retirement goals and planning, business insurance, and health insurance for business owners and employees.  
• Leadership and Managing Change:  Review leadership qualities and explore Situational Leadership model. Review models and best practices for managing change.