7 Free online classes that equal an MBA

7MBA – one of the most sought after degrees in the world has always acted as a major game-changer in people’s academic and professional journey. For some, an MBA is the straight forward path to success, but alas, it doesn’t work that way for everyone. Taking two years out of your already established professional career and racking up thousands of dollars of student debt might not be the ideal alternative for everyone.

Fortunately, an expensive degree is not the only way to gain success and it is definitely not the only way to become business savvy. Over the years, MOOC courses have gained enough traction to establish themselves as relevant and acceptable forms of education by various companies and organizations.

Various top universities and business schools in the world have developed and released MOOC courses that any person with an internet connection can access. Here is a list of some of the best MOOC courses in the basic business subjects which coupled with an impressive work performance can propel your career journey in the right direction.

Project management

Alison Diploma in Project management. Alison is a free learning platform offering over a thousand online courses to their users. This diploma is especially great for people starting in project management or those who wish to further polish and build their skills in the field.

This course would provide a detailed knowledge of project management methodologies such as Scrum and Agile. A thorough explanation of tools such as Gantt and PERT charts, documentation such as system, technical-paper based, specialist user documentation and electronic documentation, and a project life cycle analysis along with modules on planning, design and evaluation.

Marketing

Marketing is an important facet of any business and there are a plethora of courses on this topic for people from all walks of life. But if you are a complete novice and need help in building the fundamentals of sales and marketing then the “Fundamentals of Marketing and Sales” by Goldman Sachs 10,000 women course on Coursera is the perfect course for you.

This course will help you develop a clear and comprehensive understanding of the marketing and sales cycle while also allowing you to explore a range of useful tools and metrics concerning your own business to gain a deeper understanding of the nuances of marketing while strengthening your brand name. This program also provides a comprehensive module on effective communication for converting customer interaction to revenue.

Finance

Finance is the backbone of a business and the majority of the MBA journey is deploying the best financial tools and strategies to gain profits from a project or case. And if there is one finance course that I must recommend here, it’d be the Corporate finance MOOC from the New York University.

It is an entirely free course with plenty of quizzers and after tests to test your understanding of the modules. Each module tackles a different financial aspect and provides an in-depth course work on every topic. This course not only focuses on the beginner aspects of finance but takes a deep dive into the subject by introducing and analyzing various financial tools and techniques as Beta diagnostics, Premium evaluation, debt and its cost calculation etc.

Negotiation

Negotiation is a vital aspect of business and a technique businessmen deploy most often. If you are just a beginner starting on their business journey and wish to build upon the foundations of the skill, the eCornell Negotiation Skills courses is your best choice. This course is built to provide the latest developments as well as foundational tactics of this area. This a two-week introductory course with a lot of quizzes and supplementary material for self-learning.

And if you are already familiar with the concepts and wish to develop an in-depth understanding of the domain, then the ‘Successful negotiation: essential strategies and skills’ by the University of Michigan is the way to go. This is a 16-hour long course that delves into the four steps to a successful closing of a deal.

Entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship is a wondrous human activity that cuts across all sectors and while there are a lot of entrepreneurs who made it big without any formal education in the subject, it is still one of the most sought after courses on the internet. If you wish to gain a deep understanding of the subject from an industry expert himself, then the ‘How to build a startup’ course by Steve Blank is the holy grail on the subject.

The course provides key insights into the steps that one needs to take to build a successful startup by conducting extensive customer research and mitigating the effects of a failed startup by finding an appropriate solution to develop a successful and stable business model.

Strategy

The Business strategy brings out knowledge from various disciplines to analyze a company’s competitive position in the market. For the novices who are completely unaware of the concept and nuances of business strategy, The ‘Foundations of Business Strategy’ by the University of Virginia on Coursera is the best course on the platform for developing the ability to think strategically, analyze the competitive landscape and recommend firm positioning and value creation.

This beginner-level course would help you to explore the underlying theories and frameworks of a successful business strategy along with providing you with appropriate tools to understand and analyze it.

Leadership

Efficient leadership is the foundation of a successful business. And for complete beginners wishing to gain a comprehensive understanding of leading people and teams effectively, the ‘Leading people and teams’ course by the University of Michigan on Coursera is the best option available.

This is a rookie friendly 5-month course that will provide you with the essential leadership skills to run a business by evaluating and assessing some of the greatest leaders in the domain and applying the gained insights to your own business and teams.

To Sum Up…

I am not advising anyone against pursuing an MBA but If you are not looking to make a radical change in your career and simply want to gain a foothold of the basics of business to push your existing career forward in the right direction, then these online MOOC courses are your best bet. Moreover, you can access them for free or pay to buy a certificate that you can attach to your resume.

Author Bio

Author Bio: Abhyank Srinet is a passionate digital entrepreneur who holds a Masters in Management degree from ESCP Europe. He started his first company while he was still studying at ESCP, and managed to scale it up by 400% in just 2 years. 

Being a B-School Alumni, he recognized the need for a one-stop solution for B-School to get in touch with schools and get their application queries resolved. This prompted him to create MiM-Essay, a one-of-a-kind portal with cutting edge profile evaluation and school selection algorithms, along with several avenues to stay informed about the latest B-School Updates.