How Confident Are You?
Small business is more than just marketing and selling. It demands a complete business skill set that we'll help you develop, one video at a time. From start-up to growth and beyond.
Learn about small business today
GoForth's small business training helps you develop your business skills, at your own pace. Through a series of short instructional videos, we teach you 100 Essential Business SkillsTM necessary for success. We've also designed time-tested, award-winning additional resources to complement your online or mobile learning. GoForth's Business Builder e-book, worksheets and quizzes help you reinforce your skills. Get one year unlimited access to all this and more.
Only $16.25 per month*
*Billed as one payment of $195 plus taxes
Learn By Video
GoForth’s small business training is 100% online and mobile. This means no traveling, no schedule restrictions, and savings for you! We designed our 100 Essential Small Business SkillsTM Program to work with your schedule. Got 20 minutes? Got five minutes? You can learn critical, practical business tools in the time it takes to enjoy a cup of coffee. Interested? Read more below
100 Small Business Skills
GoForth offers Canada's leading online small business education, used by over 10,000 Canadian entrepreneurs since 2009 to build their small business skills. We designed our program to work with your schedule. Got 20 minutes? Got five minutes? You can learn critical, practical business tools in the time it takes to enjoy a cup of coffee.
Welcome To 100 Essential Small Business Skills
Welcome to 100 Essential Small Business SkillsTM. Since 2009, thousands of entrepreneurs just like you have taken our training - and 90% of them are still in business today! Learn about the fundamentals of this program, and what you can expect. We're excited to have you join us!
Instructor: Leslie McGeough
Welcome to 100 Essential Small Business Skills
Why can taking small business training make the difference between small business success and failure? GoForth's Founder and President Dr. Leslie McGeough outlines the benefits you can receive from taking Canada's leading entrepreneurship training, and how you can beat the tough odds of small business.
Instructor: Leslie McGeough
Watch Sample VideoPreparing for the Journey
Before you begin the small business journey, you need to take stock -- of you.
What is Entrepreneurship?
Anyone can start and operate a small business – in fact, on average 86 new businesses are started every hour in North America. But what does it take to be successful in business? In this video lesson, we’ll discuss what it means to be an entrepreneur, and we'll review the most important characteristics you’ll need to develop to become a world-class entrepreneur.
Instructor: Leslie McGeough
Entrepreneurship Myths
Is starting a business easier than working for someone else? Is entrepreneurship only for the young? Is writing a business plan unneccessary? In this video lesson we'll do some small business mythbusting, and give you the real facts about the entrepreneur life.
Instructor: Rivers Corbett
Pros and Cons of Entrepreneurship
Looking forward to flexible work hours, more tax deductions, and personal achievement? What about a heavy workload, more admin duties, and loss of structure? We'll review the pros of entrepreneurship, and give you tips for dealing with the cons.
Instructor: Rivers Corbett
Marshalling Resources
Are there things that successful business owners have or do that distinguish them from those who don’t succeed in business? The answer is a very definite yes. Although there are many features of small business success, the entrepreneur’s ability to marshal resources consistently contributes, more or less, to an individual’s expected success in business.
Instructor: Leslie McGeough
Ideas and Opportunities
Good ideas don’t necessarily make good business opportunities. Only about four in 100 new product ideas actually have commercial potential. Let us help you improve those odds.
VPMF Test
To us, a good business opportunity is represented by four pillars – value, problem-solving, money-making, and fit. In this video lesson, we'll review the difference between a business idea and a business opportunity. Does your idea pass our VPMF Test?
Instructor: Leslie McGeough
Creativity
Creativity is the ability to view the world in new ways, to find hidden patterns, to make connections between seemingly unrelated things and to find solutions - and it's something all entrepreneurs can develop. Your small business will thank you!
Instructor: Leslie McGeough
Idea Sources
Where do small business ideas come from? In this video lesson, we'll review the four stages of the Opportunity Recognition Process. The more we understand the process, the more we can make it happen.
Instructor: Leslie McGeough
Developing Customers and Understanding Your Competitors, Industry and Business Environment
In our interviews with existing and experienced entrepreneurs, the most common piece of advice we heard was: Solve someone’s pain, and solve it better than anyone else!
Customer Development
Where do you get your ideal customer and how do you learn about them? Learn how to truly understand your customer in this video.
Instructor: Leslie McGeough
Competitive Analysis
"What do you mean I have competition? That’s impossible – we’re unique!" Not true. Every business has competition – both direct and indirect, and it’s important to understand who or what you’re competing against.
Instructor: Leslie McGeough
Industry Analysis
Your new business will be competing within a community of other similar businesses, known as your industry, or more specifically your industry sector. It’s important to analyze the industry in which your business will operate – and we’ll show you how.
Instructor: Leslie McGeough
Business Environment
No business operates in a vacuum. The business environment around you can have an impact on you, your company, and your success. Here's how to analyze your business environment.
Instructor: Leslie McGeough
Design it First: Establishing Value, Creating Models
In this Class, we'll discuss the Value Proposition Canvas and Business Model Canvas - tools you can use to establish the value to the marketplace. We'll show you how to design a business model that will work to create a successful, sustainable business.
Value Proposition Canvas
The Value Proposition Canvas helps us to systematically understand what customers want and to create products and services that perfectly match their needs. Here's how it works.
Instructor: Rivers Corbett
Business Model Canvas
In this lesson, we cover the Business Model Canvas: a widely-used concept that allows you to describe and think through the business model of your small business, your competitors, or any other company.
Instructor: Rivers Corbett
Going Lean: The Lean Start-Up Movement
In this video lesson, we introduce you to the principles of Lean Start-up, developing minimum viable products, testing and prototyping, and validating your product or service idea.
Lean Start-up
Launching a new business - whether it’s a tech start-up, a small business, or an initiative within a large corporation - has always been a hit-or-miss proposition. The odds are not with you, because about 70% of all start-ups fail. In the last decade, however, the Lean approach to managing start-up has emerged, and it can make the process of starting a company less risky.
Instructor: Rivers Corbett
Build, Measure, Learn
So just how do you implement Lean into your business? In this video lesson we continue our exploration of Lean Start-up by examining its cycle of planning, testing, and evolution.
Instructor: Rivers Corbett
Interviewing Customers
Get out of the building! In Lean Start-up, getting out of the building and talking to potential customers, asking them for their feedback on your minimum viable product, is critical. This way, you'll gain solid evidence to prove the viability of your prototype or idea.
Instructor: Leslie McGeough
Sizing It Up: Can I Make Money At This?
Forecast your revenue, estimate your costs and demystify your financial statements.
The Importance of Your Financials
In this Class, we begin a look at the numbers. Yes, dreaded numbers. But don’t worry — your calculator won’t blow a circuit, nor will you. Natalie Callendar explains why it's vital that every entrepreneur keep on top of their financials.
Instructor: Nathalie Callender
Estimating Sales
What kind of profit will you get? This is vital information that you should estimate before you open your doors. Here's how.
Instructor: Nathalie Callender
Estimating Costs
Estimating and managing expenses is a skill you can't afford to ignore. In this video lesson we'll review the three types of costs you'll need to estimate in your business.
Instructor: Nathalie Callender
Break-Even Analysis
You're probably in business to make money, and a break-even analysis will help you estimate exactly when that will happen.
Instructor: Nathalie Callender
Record-keeping, Billing, and Collections
Sorry, receipts stuffed in a drawer to deal with "later" won't cut it. Here's how to keep good records, and stay on top of your accounts receivable and accounts payable.
Instructor: Nathalie Callender
Working Capital and Cash Flow
Your next step in understanding revenues and costs is to understand flows of cash as they move through your small business. Not keeping an eye on your cash needs is one of the quickest routes to business failure.
Instructor: Nathalie Callender
Income Statements and Balance Sheets
Most small business owners don't like accounting. But it gets less scary when you understand how to read your reports - we'll show you how!
Instructor: Nathalie Callender
Ratio Analysis
Learn four pain-free ratios to help you determine the health of your business and make better decisions.
Instructor: Nathalie Callender
Get Selling! Marketing Strategies That Work
Marketing is not an expense, it’s an investment. We'll help you get a clear understanding of not only what marketing is and why you should do it, but we'll get you on your way to creating your own marketing plan.
Marketing Plan
You can do a four-year university degree in marketing, but we'll save you the time. In this video, we'll review a marketing plan - what it is and how you create one.
Instructor: Leslie McGeough
Finding Your Ideal Customer
Small businesses usually have small marketing budgets. Stretch your marketing dollar by strategically targeting and segmenting your customers.
Instructor: Leslie McGeough
Marketing Strategy
One of the most enduring marketing concepts is the marketing mix – the name given to the marketing strategy that incorporates a defined target market as well as the 4Ps – Price, Product, Promotion, and Place strategies. We'll discuss these elements and how you can apply them to your business.
Instructor: Leslie McGeough
Branding
People remember brands. If a customer has the choice to buy from several companies, they'll most often buy from the one whose brand they remember most. Let's review the components that go into developing a brand, including brand experience, brand identity, brand image, brand pillars and brand equity.
Instructor: Leslie McGeough
Quotations, Sales Proposals, and Negotiatng
If you're in business, you're in the selling business. In this video lesson, we'll share tips for preparing strong quotations and sales proposals, and negotiating without breaking a sweat.
Instructor: Leslie McGeough
Building Your Team
Your business is only as good as the people in it, so let's discover how to find - and retain - the best.
Building Your Team
Who do you want to have representing your business? Dale Hansen discusses the importance of the founding team, and how to find the best people to help you get started.
Instructor: Dale Hansen
Managing Your Small Business
Managing a small firm is different than managing a large corporation. However, managing and leading employees and other people is critical to success. In this video lesson we'll show you how to establish strong working relationships, motivate employees, and manage risk.
Instructor: Dale Hansen
Corporate and Organizational Culture
No matter what business you step into, no matter what industry, you will experience what's called a corporate culture. The culture of your workplace can have a huge impact on the happiness and productivity of your staff, which in turn has a huge impact on the success of your business. In this video we'll share tips for building a strong corporate culture your entire company will enjoy.
Instructor: Dale Hansen
Planning, Controlling, and Leadership
How do you set a strong example as a leader in your small business? In this video, we'll unpack all that goes into being a leader that will inspire, empower, and ultimately retain your employees. Leadership skills such as planning, organization, and controlling and monitoring processes can be learned, and they're vitally important to develop.
Instructor: Dale Hansen
Hiring the Right People
How do you hire employees who are not only great at their jobs, but the right fit for your company? Let's discuss how to find, hire, and retain your next great employee.
Instructor: Dale Hansen
Termination
Inevitably, you will lose employees at some point throughout the life of your company. In this video lesson we'll review the ins and outs - as well as the legalities - of terminating an employee.
Instructor: Dale Hansen
Compensation
In order to attract and retain employees, you need to offer appealing compensation. There are many forms of compensation, such as paid vacations, assistance with childcare, flexible hours, commissions, and bonuses. We'll review the different forms of compensation, and how to create a strong benefits package.
Instructor: Dale Hansen
Choosing A Location
This Class will give you practical tips and tools for that all-important (and sometimes baffling) business location search.
Location, Location, Location!
Your business location is one of the most critical decisions you have to make - whether you have a retail business or otherwise. We'll discuss the components of a location analysis, including accessibility, competition, business environment, proximity to customers and suppliers, and availability of resources. We'll also review leasing, renting, and buying options.
Instructor: Dale Hansen
Location Grid
When it comes to choosing your perfect small business location, you need to evaluate and weigh your prospective locations against each other. GoForth's Location Grid is a handy, systematic way to analyze your location shortlist and zero in on the components that will most improve your odds of small business success.
Instructor: Dale Hansen
Rent, Lease, or Buy?
In this video lesson we'll take a deeper look at the components, pros, and cons of renting, leasing, or buying your small business location.
Instructor: Dale Hansen
Home Office Considerations
Many entrepreneurs, particularly those running service-oriented businesses without client meetings or in-person sales, find success in working from a home office. Let's review the unique considerations of home-based entrepreneurship, tax writeoffs that may be available, and how to stay organized and motivated when working from your home office.
Instructor: Dale Hansen
Running a Great Business: Operations Management and Strategic Growth
Operations management is a critical success factor for small businesses. This Class will share best practices for a smoothly-running business behind the scenes.
Customer Experience Defined (CX)
Without happy customers, you wouldn't have much of a business. In this video lesson, we'll examine the components of a great customer experience (CX). We'll share tips and tools for defining, delivering and measuring customer satisfaction. Let us help you design the kind of customer experience that will result in smiles all around.
Instructor: Rivers Corbett
Operations Process
If your car's engine doesn't work, it doesn't matter how great it looks. Your small business is no different. Your operations process - the activities, processes, and controls your company uses to produce products and services - needs to be running well in order to see success. This video lesson will help you identify all the necessary factors that will help move your business forward.
Instructor: Rivers Corbett
Managing Quality
Are you providing a quality product or services? How can you tell? This lesson discusses the value your customer gets from doing business with you, how to measure that quality, and how to empower your team to deliver that value time and time again.
Instructor: Rivers Corbett
Managing Productivity
Improving small business productivity in the operations process involves an analysis of workflow, individual jobs, equipment, technology, physical layout, working conditions and customer feedback options. Let's explore some ways you can analyze and improve your business - and personal - productivity.
Instructor: Rivers Corbett
The Five Whys
Something, sometime, somewhere is going to go wrong. Asking "five whys" is a useful way to get to the heart of a problem or mistake in your process, so you can fix the real issue. We'll go through an example in this lesson.
Instructor: Rivers Corbett
Ready, Set, Grow!
Do you have a strategic plan? It answers the questions, "Where are we going, and how are we going to get there?" Norman Leach breaks down all the important components of the GoForth Ten-Step Strategic Growth Plan. This will get you and your small business off to a running start every year.
Instructor: Norman Leach
The Legal Side of Small Business
Learn the legal forms of business organization, how to protect your intellectual property, and how to keep your business safe.
Legal Forms of Organization
Sole proprietorship, partnership, corporation, or cooperative? Steve Major outlines the main legal forms of small business organization, so you can more easily determine which will be best for you.
Instructor: Steve Major
Considerations for Indigenous Entrepreneurs
Special tax rules apply to Status Indians and First Nations as sole proprietors or partners in a small business, which may dictate your choice of business form. Find out if there's anything you must keep in mind when starting your small business.
Instructor: Steve Major
Business Names
Your business name can have a huge impact on the perception of your company. In this video lesson we'll review important things to keep in mind - legal and otherwise - when naming your business.
Instructor: Steve Major
Intellectual Property Protection
This video will tell you all you need to know about protecting your intellectual property - patents, copyright, trademarks, industrial design, trade secrets, and licensing.
Instructor: Steve Major
Legal Considerations for Small Business Owners
We wrap up our legal look at entrepreneurship by covering business registration, agreements, insurance, ethics, and fraud.
Instructor: Steve Major
Funding Your Venture
Learn about different sources of equity financing, debt financing and angel or venture capital financing - and create your very own elevator pitch.
Build a Financial Plan
Every entrepreneur needs money to get started, and to keep their business moving forward. In this video lesson, we'll review all the key steps in developing a plan to get the financial resources your business needs.
Instructor: Rivers Corbett
Funding Your Venture - Equity
Let's review the main sources of equity financing — all of which come at a cost to you, because you give up some ownership of your business in return for investment capital.
Instructor: Rivers Corbett
Funding Your Venture - Debt
Another form of small business funding is debt — or money loaned to you or your business. In return, the lender has a right to earn interest on the loan. We'll review the main types of debt financing.
Instructor: Rivers Corbett
Elevator Pitch
Can you clearly describe your business concept statement in 45 seconds or less? You never know when you'll need to! We'll help you create a strong elevator pitch - a clear, concise and compelling business concept statement that is so attention-getting, it will make people want to hear more.
Instructor: Rivers Corbett
Colouring Within the Lines: Government Compliance
Entrepreneurs, take note - in this Class we'll cover income taxes, GST compliance and Canadian small business rules and regulations.
Paying Taxes
Cindy Radu will help you understand the ins and outs of paying taxes in a small business, and what tax deductions might be available to you.
Instructor: Cindy Radu
Organizing Records
In this video lesson, we'll give you some hassle-free tips for organizing your paperwork and records. It might not sound too exciting, but you'll be grateful when it comes time to file taxes, hire a bookkeeper, or correspond with government!
Instructor: Cindy Radu
GST/HST Filing
Collecting and remitting good and services tax (GST), Provincial Sales Tax (PST), or Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) is one of the responsibilities of being a business owner. We’ll show you how to do it right!
Instructor: Cindy Radu
Input Tax Credits
You may be able to recover the GST/HST that you paid on your purchases and expenses by claiming an input tax credit (ITC) on your GST/HST return. We'll walk you through the process. We'll also discuss record keeping and filing your GST return.
Instructor: Cindy Radu
Being an Employer
If you’ve decided that you can afford to hire and are able to justify filling a new position, there are several things you should be aware of when it comes to your responsibilities as an employer. We'll review topics such as employment standards, payroll, and workers' compensation.
Instructor: Cindy Radu
Paths to Business Ownership
There are many paths into small business ownership-- which one is right for you?
Buying an Existing Business
Businesses, like real estate, come up for sale all the time. This happens when owners want to retire, move or do something else and may not have a family member to turn the business over to. Buying an existing business has a number of advantages and disadvantages, which will discuss in this video.
Instructor: Rivers Corbett
Franchising
Success rates with franchises are much higher than those of buying an existing business or starting a business from scratch. However, this higher success rate comes at a cost. Join us for an examination of starting and running a franchise.
Instructor: Rivers Corbett
Starting a Franchise
Now that you're more familiar with franchising, let's take a look at the different franchising options available for you. We'll also tell you what documents and fees you'll need to get in order.
Instructor: Rivers Corbett
Family Business
Approximately 80% of all firms in Canada are family-owned and family-owned businesses are responsible for half to 70% of Canada’s gross domestic product annually. Let's take a look at the unique considerations of running a family business.
Instructor: Rivers Corbett
Social Entrepreneurship
Social entrepreneurs and social entrepreneurship have been around for centuries, quietly forging their way through increasingly complex social structures and disparate levels of wealth and access to basic human necessities, health care and education. In this video lesson, we’ll take a close look of this growing field of interest, research, education, and action.
Social Entrepreneurship Defined
Although a great number of social challenges are currently being tackled, today’s changemakers share one common feature: they are building businesses, products, services and platforms that unleash human potential. They struggle to increase the number of people who have the opportunity to contribute their talents to the world, and to help more people globally live with dignity.
Instructor: Leslie McGeough
Here's To Your Success
Congratulations on completing GoForth's training! You now have important skills and knowledge to help your small business succeed.
Congratulations!
Now that you've completed your GoForth training, what's next? GoForth President Leslie McGeough will let you know what your subscription gets you going forward.
Instructor: Leslie McGeough