astro posted on February 23, 2010 19:03
It’s no secret that someday, someway I want to return to the academic community as a professor. I’m delighted to announce that journey has started with my appointment as the Dean of the Technology program at Aspen University (www.aspen.edu). I look forward to this role in addition to my day job as CEO of SMB Nation.
More importantly, we are DELIGHTED and thrilled to announce our SMB Nation Pocket MBA program. This is an online ACCREDITED academic certificate in “BusinessSpeak” that requires the completion of six rigorous courses taught by real instructors. The academic credits are transferable if you plan to continue the full MBA program at Aspen University. How cool is that?
Why did we launch the SMB Nation Pocket MBA as a bona fide certificate that our tribe can earn? We did it because the world is now full of SMB “kits” of different flavors and stripes and we wanted to distinguish our brand and offering. We did it because I have a strong academic background, having taught at the vocational, undergraduate and graduate-levels for 12+ years as an evening adjunct instructor over the years. We did it because YOU have communicated a hunger for on-going continuing education and this professional certificate fulfils that demand.
This program is tailored to provide the business information you need to grown within your SMB market. The curriculum draws from cutting edge business leaders and materials, focusing on essentials necessary to aggressively build a competitive market advantage, starting the day you complete the course. This program provides an overview of management essentials for you to put to work in your business immediately:
Looking In at Your Business
• SMB Consulting Best Practices
• Entrepreneurship: A Powerful Economic Force
• Strategic Management : Gaining a Competitive Edge
• Managing Cash Flow
• Creative Use of Advertising and Promotions
• Pricing and Credit Strategies
• Global Marketing Strategies for Entrepreneurs
• Staffing and Leading a Growing Company
Looking Out at Your Clients
• Developing and Delivering on the IT Value Proposition
• Developing IT Strategy for Business Value
• Linking IT to Business Metrics
• Managing Perceptions of IT
• Analyzing Consumer Markets
• Analyzing Business Markets
• Identifying Market Segments and Targets
• The Financial Environment: Concepts and Principles
A little bit of business know-how can lead to a lot of new customers, and better integrated service offerings with existing customers!
You can learn more about the SMB Nation Pocket MBA at www.aspen.edu/smbnation. We will formally kick-off the program at the SMB Nation Spring 2010 show (April 30 – May 2, 2010, East Brunswick, NJ) with classes starting in early May 2010.
You will learn much more about this program in the coming weeks. For now – I just wanted to give you a heads-up!