Capstone - Launch Your Own Business!

Michigan State University via Coursera

Go to Course: https://www.coursera.org/learn/start-your-own-business-project

Introduction

### Course Review: Capstone - Launch Your Own Business! #### Overview If you've ever dreamed of becoming an entrepreneur, but felt overwhelmed by the thought of bringing that dream to life, look no further than Coursera's "Capstone - Launch Your Own Business!" course. This unique capstone project invites participants to transition from idle dreaming to active doing. Instead of just theorizing about business concepts, you will roll up your sleeves and develop a legitimate business complete with legal status within your jurisdiction. This course empowers you to build a tangible business venture within the framework of the knowledge you have acquired from previous courses in the specialization. #### Syllabus Breakdown The capstone is structured around a comprehensive syllabus that covers essential elements of launching a business. Let’s take a closer look at what you can expect: 1. **Capstone Welcome & Overview**: - The introduction sets the stage for a hands-on experience designed to push you out of the planning stage into the execution phase of your entrepreneurial journey. You’ll create a business entity, establish a digital presence, and develop operational plans while producing genuine business outcomes. 2. **Creating Your Legal Entity**: - This module is crucial for forming the backbone of your business. You'll learn the steps to legally register your new entity, ensuring you meet the necessary governmental regulations. Although the process can be complex, guidance is provided, and consulting a legal expert is encouraged. 3. **Setting Up Your Bank Account**: - Financial management is critical for any business. You’ll establish a separate bank account to manage revenue and expenses, helping you maintain clear distinctions between personal and business finances. This is key to protecting your personal assets and ensuring robust financial practices as you grow. 4. **Create Your Digital Presence**: - In today’s digital age, a strong online presence is crucial for success. You will be guided through the essentials of launching a website and setting up social media accounts, which will serve as critical touchpoints for your customer engagement and marketing efforts. 5. **Establish Your Financial Statements**: - Here, you’ll gain hands-on experience in preparing the three core financial statements: Income Statement, Balance Sheet, and Cash Flow Statement. This knowledge is invaluable, as it equips you with the skills to track your business’s financial health effectively. 6. **Create a Path Forward**: - The course culminates with the foundation to develop your business’s operational strategy. Depending on your progress, you will focus on either bringing a product or service to market or understanding the steps needed to achieve this goal, ultimately guiding you towards launching your business. ### Why You Should Take This Course 1. **Practical Application**: Unlike many theoretical courses, this capstone prioritizes real-world application, guiding you to create a functional business rather than a hypothetical concept. 2. **Comprehensive Guidance**: The course offers a complete roadmap from legal formation to financial management, which can be daunting on your own. Each module breaks down complex topics into manageable tasks. 3. **Confidence Building**: Successfully launching your business will solidify your understanding of entrepreneurship and build your confidence, proving that you can transform your ideas into reality. 4. **Networking Opportunities**: Engaging with fellow participants can lead to valuable connections and collaborative opportunities, enriching your learning experience. 5. **Flexibility of Learning**: Being an online course, it offers access to quality education and resources at your convenience, making it suitable for aspiring entrepreneurs with varying schedules. ### Conclusion If you are ready to stop contemplating and start launching your entrepreneurial vision, "Capstone - Launch Your Own Business!" is the perfect course for you. With its practical approach, comprehensive syllabus, and supportive learning environment, this capstone course not only prepares you to launch a business but can also ultimately set you on a path toward sustained entrepreneurial success. Don’t just dream it—do it!

Syllabus

Capstone Welcome & Overview

The goal of this assignment is to demonstrate your ability to apply all of the lessons you have completed by putting them to work and launching your own business in some form or fashion. This assignment is the sole assignment of this capstone course, and thus the last requirement for your certificate for this specialization. The primary goal though is for you to no longer be in the wishing stage, the thinking stage, or the taking classes stage, but to be in the 'have started something stage'. As stated above you will create a business. Specifically: • you will create and document a legal entity; • you will create a digital presence for that legal entity; • you will establish key operational plans (strategy statement, accounting ledgers, production and delivery schedules, and marketing plan); and • you will produce one of three tangible outcomes (sales, traffic to an e-commerce site, or feedback to business pitch). A successful assignment will illustrate your competence in the business startup fundamentals, but most importantly it will illustrate to yourself, beyond a shadow of a doubt that YOU CAN DO THIS!

Creating Your Legal Entity

In this module you will be taking the first step toward the launch of your new business by creating a legal entity for your company. (Note: Much of the entity creation process can be handled by the individual, but we do recommend that you speak with an attorney to assist in this process.)

Setting Up Your Bank Account

Now that we've established a business entity you are going to need to have a place to store all of the future revenue you make. In this module you will be tasked with setting up a bank account (or alternative) for the purpose of handling financial transactions related to your business entity. As a reminder it is critically important to try as hard as possible to keep your business and personal finances separate as to avoid any commingling of funds, and to protect personal assets from liability in case of litigation.

Create Your Digital Presence

In today's technologically driven economy your company's digital presence is a critical component in your future success. In this module you will be tasked with building the basics of your digital presence including: website and social media accounts.

Establish Your Financial Statements

Learners will be tasked with developing all three of their financial statements for their company. These are not financial projections but rather established templates / ledgers with defined line items for the Income Statement, Balance Sheet and Cash Flow Statement. Note: Learners may find it beneficial to review the lectures on creating financial proforma statements to refresh terminology.

Create a Path Forward

At this point in the Capstone experience, you will be at one three points: 1) you will have a minimally viable product or service that they will be able to produce and deliver to a paying customer, 2) you will have a minimally viable product or service but currently not capable of delivering to a customer, 3) you do not have a product or service that is nearing a point of delivery. Because of this reality the types of deliverables you will be able to complete at this point will vary and you will be prompted to respond with the based on your operational status.