A discussion about the process, steps and options of starting a new business

If you are new to the small-business world (and I'll assume that at least some of you are if you're reading this blog) you may be interested to learn that BusinessWeek Online offers free courses to assist you in starting and running your new business.

Most courses have about 4-8 lessons, which you can complete at your convenience once the lesson is posted.  Each course also has it's own message board, which you can use to ask the instructor questions or to talk with other students.

Topics range from subjects such as securing funding for your start-up to hiring employees.  For example, an outline of a recent course on recruiting and retaining staff shows that it is led by Yvonne Phelps, a business consultant with experience in teaching and leading workshops.  This course is available online for a total of 12 weeks, and it includes 4 lessons:

• Beginning Your Talent Search
• The Online Gold Mine: Recruiting on the Web
• Handling Responses and Filling the Position
• Keeping Your Best Employees

Once you register with BusinessWeek Online, you get a personalized home page that keeps track of your courses for you, and reminder emails whenever a new lesson is posted.

I like the idea of being able to take lessons online.  As a new business owner, finding the time to attend courses in a classroom setting is difficult, if not impossible.  Kudos to BusinessWeek Online for making this offering available.