Best business management course, online or night classes?

miko · 11-01-2009 02:58PM #1

Hi, I'm looking at setting up my own business and would just like to know the best way to learn about business management. Has anybody here ever gone to night classes or studied online? And which were the best recognised courses if say I were to go to bank looking for funding?

keefg · 11-01-2009 03:09PM

miko wrote: »

And which were the best recognised courses if say I were to go to bank looking for funding?

I can't advise you on which course to take but I can tell you that most banks wont care if you have all the business degrees in the world......they are more interested in a sound & viable business plan (for new ventures) and a proven track record regarding sales for established companies.

Qualifications & good business management don't always go hand in hand, some of the most successful business owners I have met left school with minimal qualifications.

That's not always the case of course and is dependent on the type of business you are setting up.

SKYDOG · 12-01-2009 10:17PM

miko wrote: »

Hi, I'm looking at setting up my own business and would just like to know the best way to learn about business management. Has anybody here ever gone to night classes or studied online? And which were the best recognised courses if say I were to go to bank looking for funding?

It would be well worth your while to check out your local County Enterprise baord. As well as running Start your own Business Courses, they are also good to give you advise on start up issues. heres a link to get you started.
http://www.enterpriseboards.ie/services.aspx#training

Darragh29 · 12-01-2009 10:39PM

miko wrote: »

Hi, I'm looking at setting up my own business and would just like to know the best way to learn about business management. Has anybody here ever gone to night classes or studied online? And which were the best recognised courses if say I were to go to bank looking for funding?

I did a degree in management and I can tell you that very little I did during that course prepared me for the real world experience! It was a well respected Irish management DIT degree covering modules like, management theory, industrial phsycology, business accounting, employment law, consumer law, entrepreneurial development, etc, but nothing prepared me for the reality of self employment.

I would compare business and management theory -vs- actual business reality as like watching the epic HBO mini-series Band of Brothers.

If you watch that series, at the very start, you see a platoon of highly trained and prepared infantry soldiers going through months and months of highly disciplined preparation, physical traning, and the like.

As they get dropped into Normandy, you see the reality taking over that nothing could prepare them for. This is just my experience of self employment, it's a hard road and fair play to you for wanting to go in best prepared but it is still a huge struggle no matter how prepared you are. One of my old college lecturers said these things were 90% perspiration, 10% inspiration.

Darragh29 · 12-01-2009 10:41PM

keefg wrote: »

I can't advise you on which course to take but I can tell you that most banks wont care if you have all the business degrees in the world......they are more interested in a sound & viable business plan (for new ventures) and a proven track record regarding sales for established companies.

Qualifications & good business management don't always go hand in hand, some of the most successful business owners I have met left school with minimal qualifications.

That's not always the case of course and is dependent on the type of business you are setting up.

One of the most successful Irish entrepreneurs that I know personally has no third level qualifications, was fu*ked out of the army a few years ago, had two failed start up's before he made a success of his current outfit.

It's a school of hard knocks you need to get a qualification from I think sometimes... Certainly true in my own case and also true of people I know who are now successful Irish entrepreneurs...

Bandara · 12-01-2009 11:00PM

Darragh29 wrote: »

It's a school of hard knocks you need to get a qualification from I think sometimes... Certainly true in my own case and also true of people I know who are now successful Irish entrepreneurs...

completely agree.

SKYDOG · 10-04-2009 11:39PM

Hi Miko,

You should look into Plato (http://www.Plato.ie) They have excellent programs for supporting SME's. Their Dublin office can be contacted on 01 6763933.

11-04-2009 02:24AM

I hope the hard knocks I go through when I get started aren´t business endangering ones! I need to make my first one a success.

SKYDOG · 12-04-2009 10:18PM

Good luck with it!

byrne0f56789 · 15-04-2009 10:52PM

Business courses are only an introduction. They can be useful but only if you put them in context of your situation. You have to get your hands dirty and make mistakes. You have to read blogs on your industry sector and take in as much information as possible on the Internet. Try to avoid academic type courses and go with more practical ones. Look for courses that have up to date marketing modules that focus on Internet marketing. Also, look for ones that factor in the difficult funding situation we are now in.

For the time being use Google video. Remember when taking advice take it from someone in the same (or similar) sector as you.

fiscalstudent · 16-04-2009 08:43PM

Are you looking to gain expertise to help with your business or to apply for a job in the future?? if its just the knowledge then there is an abundance online of great information. Harvard business review always has top quality articles you can learn from. Depends what your looking for, but a bit of searching online can find exactly what you need. For example you can now take some University of Berkley courses online http://www.youtube.com/user/ucberkeley

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www.fiscalstudent.com

Best business management course, online or night classes?

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