Earn a Small Business Launch Certificate Online!
Complete our Business Launchpad Workbook online training to assess the feasibility of launching your business.
You will identify your personal objectives, assess your management skills and financial resources, describe your product/service and competition, and develop your distribution strategy, sales forecast, start-up expenses, and operating budget.
Our training is based on reputable academic research and accesses resources available via the SBA, SCORE, and state, local, and University programs for small businesses.
Going through this process will show investors, lenders, and/or potential distributors that you have invested the planning necessary to be a success. Complete your certificate today!
This program is offered by the VSU Center for Entrepreneurship's Minority Small Business Launch Center program at Virginia State University.
Through this program, we offer two certification courses. One for working professionals/adults (PRO LAUNCH CERTIFICATE), and the other for high school and undergraduate students (STUDENT LAUNCH CERTIFICATE).
The Pro Certificate helps aspiring and existing entrepreneurs:
-Identify their personal objectives, skills and resources;
-Develop a clear business model; describe their products and/or services;
-Identify their target market; analyze competition;
-Develop a sales and distribution strategy; determine management and human resources requirements;
-Select the appropriate business legal form; develop a sales forecast;
-Determine start-up expenses;
-Develop an estimated 12-month operating budget, cost of goods sold worksheet, and profit and loss statement; and
-Come up with a market, management, and money score for their business concept.
All of these activities will help any business owner effectively evaluate the feasibility of their business, and guide their decision on whether or not to launch, or what modification to make to ensure a successful launch.
The Student Certificate helps aspiring young entrepreneurs identify their personal objectives, skills and resources, and starts them on the path toward developing a clear business model, describing their products and/or services, and identifying their target market.
All of these activities will help students identify and build their entrepreneurial skills, and guide their decisions on whether or not to launch the business ideas they are considering.