Do you think it is important to take business classes in order to set up a small business?

maybe not necessarily, but it couldn’t hurt to take them anyway, right?

You think it’s important to take classes before buying a house? What classes does one take to buy a house?

Well I’d have to go back to school to take them. Which costs money. So, it all depends on how important it is.

they say you have to spend money to make money

Well when I bought my house I was told to pay for and go to the classes, I didn’t think it was worth the time or money but I soon realizes they told me a lot of stuff I didn’t know that wud help and it was worth the time and the money in the end, the classes shudnt b to much and shudnt take to long

I meant what’s the name of these classes. I didnt know you could take classes (I am actually planning on buying a house, so it would be helpful to know)

Do i think its neccasary - no. It would definatly make things easier and be beneficial, but i believe that if you put in the hard work and study as much as you can about opening a small business and have an advisor to help you along the way you could definatly get by without the classes. Nothing that you learn in the classes cant be learned on your own if you put forth the effort and time.

I contacted the home owners association, its differant names in differant cties, if u contact them they can give u start times and end times for the classes and how much they cost, some people even r accepted to have thr classes paid for, so just check around and see, maybe u cud call a real estate agency and they may provide classes for new home owners, that’s wat the program was that I went to in my cit “ new home owner” classes

Thanks!

Ur very welcome

I’d only take a class (or two) at the most. If you get a mentor that’s as good as taking a class, imho.

Thing is, I grew up with parents who had small businesses since i can remember…I learned as much that way as I did from getting a minor in business in college (total of six classes)…and reading through paperwork, tax advantages / disadvantages, etc, of the various business structures is something you need to do whether or not you take a class. Plus, the rules are different in each state…so, it’s worthwhile reading up on your local “department of corporations” or equivelent to find out how it works where you live…some cities also require a business license, but it depends on the kind of business, whether or not you have customers arriving at your place of business, etc.

To be honest, if you spend enough time reading, pick up a book or two from Barnes & Noble, they’ll have tons in stock on how to setup a business…that and the desire to succeed are as good as the classes.

Sorry, didn’t read the whole question: Do you need to know about accounting, taxes, laws, advertising, etc, before you start?

I’d say yes, you need to know the basics, and that’s it…if you network, you can probably learn enough over a lunch with a colleague that between the lunch meeting and the book reading, you don’t need a class.

This is so very true, what you will need a lot of in any business is determination, drive, and heart. I have been through four small business startups, 2 have failed and 2 are struggling, one thing you must do is market. I am not talking about buying every ad you see, but word of mouth. From my experience you have two really beat the streets, whatever rhetorical street that may be. Running a SMB is harder and more rewarding than your standard 9 to 5 job.

By the way I have a BS in Management and am a step away from my MBA in PM, but this is no were near as valuable as the knowledge I have gained through experience.

I don’t think it is necessary. But it might not be a bad idea like Jeremy says to read a few books. Accounting isn’t the only important thing. My mother has a small business and recently bought another one and controls are very important else you get people stealing from you, so is basic things (and you would be surprised how many people miss it) like cleanliness, friendliness and just keeping it simple. Also you need to have a basic understanding about tax and maybe you could do a small taxation course at your nearest university or college or any other place you can find.

controls?

Basic stuff, like cashing up regularly, making sure staff writes down what they are doing, making sure duties are segregated i.e. the same person doesn’t receive and bank the cash, those types of things. It isn’t difficult to see once you have the business, but maybe a small course or book could describe these to you. I.e. if you search look for internal controls.

I agree on the home buyer class. Because I was doing a USDA Rural Development loan I had to take a First Time Home Buyer class. I wasn’t too thrilled about the idea of sitting in a classroom all of Saturday, but I did it. I was very glad I did. I learned so much not just about home buying but about how exactly credit works, and a lot of other financial topics.

this would be like a one person business. i.e. i’m the accountant, and cashier and cleaner, and therapist, etc :)

It’s important to be as prepared as possible, but many of these classes are available free to low cost at your public library, you can ask a respected business owner in your area to be your mentor and get real life experience by becoming a volunteer.

If you need an internship: idealist.org is the place to go. There are also many programs that train young entrepreneurs to be found on the site!

Then that is fine. You don’t need to know that. You actually just need to know the accounting part and be professional, both which I am sure you already have a basic understanding of :)