MOBI On Demand Videos

Choosing the Right Business

The first and most important decision for new entrepreneurs is choosing the right business. The goals of this session are to share a step-by-step approach to selecting the best business for you, identify common mistakes that new entrepreneurs often make, and provide you with the tools you need to maximize your chances of success.

Choosing the Right Business is included in these MOBI courses: Starting a Business, Quick Start Entrepreneur, and Small Business Essentials. Ready to earn your Certificate of Completion for free? Create an account or login now.

The Business Plan

The business plan is the blueprint for your business, the who, what, where, when, how, and why. It provides a single place to keep all your ideas, the roadmap that will help you pursue these ideas, and the overview so that you can share your vision with others. In this session you learn about business plans, including the key elements of a business plan, ways you can use your business plan, and best practices to write your business plan.

The Business Plan is included in these MOBI courses: Starting a Business and Small Business Essentials. Ready to earn your Certificate of Completion for free? Create an account or login now.

Freelance, Independent, and Home-Based Businesses

You don’t need a traditional office space to start a business.  In fact, you might be able to start your business with a laptop, a smartphone, or a promotional flyer you post in your neighborhood.  In this session, you will learn about businesses that don’t rely on a physical space, and in this category, we will describe freelance, independent, and home-based businesses (referred to throughout this session collectively as “home-based” businesses).  This session discusses different types of businesses that you can start from home and provides a Freelance, Independent, and Home-Based Business Readiness Checklist to help ensure you have what you need to get started.

Freelance, Independent, and Home-Based Businesses is included in these MOBI courses: Starting a Business, Quick Start Entrepreneur, and Small Business Essentials. Ready to earn your Certificate of Completion for free? Create an account or login now.

Licenses and Permits

Obtaining the proper licenses and permits ensures that you are operating your business legally for your location, your industry, and your business entity. Licenses and permits can help you attract customers, suppliers, partners, or investors by demonstrating your business is official and legal. 

Licenses and Permits is included in these MOBI courses: Starting a Business and Quick Start Entrepreneur. Ready to earn your Certificate of Completion for free? Create an account or login now.

Business Organization

This module will cover three important decisions that every business owner must make: whether to go into business alone or with a partner, what business organization to use, and what professional resources are needed.

Business Organization is included in these MOBI courses: Starting a Business, Quick Start Entrepreneur, and Small Business Essentials. Ready to earn your Certificate of Completion for free? Create an account or login now.

Buying a Franchise

Buying a franchise offers a path to business ownership with an established brand and support system. This session covers what a franchise is, the types available, key differences from starting your own business, and how to choose the right one for you. 

Buying a Franchise is included in MOBI's Managing a Business course. Ready to earn your Certificate of Completion for free? Create an account or login now.

Financing the Business

Cash is the foundation of your business, and most businesses need access to additional cash resources to get started or fund growth. In this session, we will look at some things to consider when looking for financing.

In this session, you will learn how to locate, evaluate, negotiate for, and manage sources of money to help you start and expand your business.

Financing the Business is included in these MOBI courses: Starting a Business, Quick Start Entrepreneur, and Small Business Essentials. Ready to earn your Certificate of Completion for free? Create an account or login now.

Accounting and Cash Flow

In order to run a financially successful business, you will need to learn how to track your earnings and spending and how to make sure you always have enough cash in your bank account to meet your obligations. This session provides a guide for good financial organization, explains both accounting and cash flow in simple terms, discusses potential tax liability issues, and introduces different financial experts who can provide assistance before you start.

Accounting and Cash Flow is included in these MOBI courses: Starting a Business, Quick Start Entrepreneur, and Small Business Essentials. Ready to earn your Certificate of Completion for free? Create an account or login now.

Controlling Costs

Learn how to manage the costs of your business so that you can make a profit and grow. We start by talking about options for tracking costs, then discuss different categories of costs your business will have and strategies for managing costs so that you can keep them under control. Then we examine productivity and how it's related to cost and the business’s success. 

Controlling Costs is included in MOBI's Starting a Business course. Ready to earn your Certificate of Completion for free? Create an account or login now.

Microfinancing Basics

In this session, we discuss the emergence of microfinance, a new category of funding for new entrepreneurs who need less capital than traditional banks and lenders typically provide. Learn how microloans work, how to compare loans with different interest rates, how to choose the right loan for your business and your budget, and how to prepare to apply for a loan. Understand the differences between microlenders, fees that might be included with your loan, and more.

Microfinancing Basics is included in MOBI's Starting a Business course. Ready to earn your Certificate of Completion for free? Create an account or login now.

Business Operations

This session introduces the basics of business operations and explains why they matter for your small business. Understanding these essentials will help you manage day-to-day activities more effectively and keep your business running smoothly. 

Business Operations is included in MOBI's Managing a Business course. Ready to earn your Certificate of Completion for free? Create an account or login now.

Developing Negotiation Skills

In this session, we will explore the essential negotiation skills and strategies that are key for success. Whether you are an aspiring or current business owner or just navigating decisions and discussions with others, learning when and how to negotiate can help you achieve your goals.  

Developing Negotiation Skills is included in MOBI's Managing a Business course. Ready to earn your Certificate of Completion for free? Create an account or login now.

Selling

In this session, our objective is to create a practical and successful plan for getting new customers for your business. First, we start by introducing a way to focus your sales effort on the most likely buyers. From there we define the sales process and how you can use it to attract customers. Then we discuss the importance of a sales script and how to write one. Finally, we present the idea of a monthly sales activities calendar and strategies for keeping your sales strategy on track. 

Selling is included in these MOBI courses: Starting a Business, Small Business Essentials, and the Sales & Marketing Badge Course. Ready to earn your Certificate of Completion for free? Create an account or login now.

Marketing

In this session, you will learn about marketing. You will learn how to use market research to identify who your customers are and how to reach them. You will consider the importance of a business name and logo. You will learn about traditional methods of marketing such as signage, collateral, advertising, promotion, and direct mail as well as online or digital marketing strategies, including how to set up a business website and the basics of search engine optimization (SEO) and search engine marketing (SEM). 

Marketing is included in these MOBI courses: Starting a Business, Quick Start Entrepreneur, Small Business Essentials, and the Sales & Marketing Badge Course. Ready to earn your Certificate of Completion for free? Create an account or login now.

Customer Experience and Feedback

The purpose of this session is to help you understand how customer feedback can make your business stronger and more profitable. We will cover how to create a customer experience process. We’ll talk about how to respond to all kinds of customer feedback, such as online customer reviews or in-person feedback. This information will help you use customer feedback to improve your business. 

Customer Experience and Feedback is included in MOBI's Starting a Business course. Ready to earn your Certificate of Completion for free? Create an account or login now.

Ecommerce

Ecommerce is the sale of products and services over the internet, and the fastest growing segment of our economy. Many entrepreneurs who create an online presence for their business may also sell their products or services online in an ecommerce model. Ecommerce allows even the smallest business to reach a large (or global!) audience with minimal cost. In this session, you will learn if ecommerce is right for your business, how to collect payments from your online customers, how to set up an ecommerce website, and how to sell through different channels.

Ecommerce is included in these MOBI courses: Starting a Business, Quick Start Entrepreneur, Small Business Essentials, and the Sales & Marketing Badge Course. Ready to earn your Certificate of Completion for free? Create an account or login now.

Communication Tools

Communication is essential for starting and building a successful business. In this session, we will review the basic forms of communication, tools, resources, and equipment available for your business. 

Topics in Chapter 1 include internal and external communications, tools such as email, smartphones, text messaging, video and web conferencing, social networking sites, and online collaboration tools.

Topics included in Chapter 2 include computing platforms, the internet, artificial intelligence (AI), technology planning, and Top 10  Do's and Don'ts.

Communication Tools is included in these MOBI courses: Starting a Business, Quick Start Entrepreneur, Small Business Essentials, and the Sales and Marketing Badge Course. Ready to earn your Certificate of Completion for free? Create an account or login now.

Advanced Digital Marketing

Digital marketing is a cost effective way to reach new audiences, build brand awareness, and drive sales through search engines, social media, websites, email, and mobile apps. Learn the basics of digital marketing and how to plan your marketing strategies for each stage of your customer's online journey.

Topics in Chapter 1 include an introduction to digital marketing, an overview of the marketing funnel, and specific digital marketing strategies to increase Awareness and Discovery, the stages at the top of the funnel.

Topics in Chapter 2 include digital marketing strategies to turn prospective customers into paying customers, activities to build loyalty, and the Top 10 Do's and Don'ts. Chapter 2 focuses on the Consideration, Conversion, and Customer Relationships stages of the marketing funnel. 

Advanced Digital Marketing is included in these MOBI courses: Managing a Business and the Sales and Marketing Badge Course. Ready to earn your Certificate of Completion for free? Create an account or login now.

Business Storytelling

Stories leave a lasting impression, especially when they create a connection, draw emotion, or inspire action. In this session you will learn the art of business storytelling based upon your purpose and your audience, with a focus on your pitch, your presence, and your promotion. You’ll also learn the key elements of a storytelling framework that you can use across all your marketing and communications, tips for visual storytelling, and how to deliver and distribute your story to others.

Business Storytelling is included in these MOBI courses: Managing a Business Course and Sales and Marketing Badge Course. Ready to earn your Certificate of Completion for free? Create an account or login now.

Making Ethical Decisions

In this session, our goal is to help you make ethical decisions. We start by explaining what we mean by an ethical decision and why there are misunderstandings about expectations for ethical behavior in business. Then we identify some of the common ethical mistakes in business and the implications of unethical behavior. Finally, we present the idea of codes of conduct, how to write them, and how to deal with issues not covered by your code of conduct.  

Making Ethical Decisions is included in MOBI's Starting a Business course. Ready to earn your Certificate of Completion for free? Create an account or login now.