SBA > Services > Online Training

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA): Online Training

The Small Business Training Network (SBTN) is a virtual campus providing quality and targeted online training to meet the information needs of prospective and existing small business owners.

It is an E-Government initiative, powering a comprehensive menu of business courses, designed to serve more customers, more efficiently. The Training Network operates like an electronic umbrella under which many SBA and agency resource training programs are captured, aggregated, sorted by content and made available in multiple formats.

About SBTN

The Small Business Training Network (SBTN) is a customer-focused SBA strategy designed to enrich, educate and empower small businesses. It is an Internet-based learning environment – operating like a virtual campus – offering online courses, workshops, publications, information resources, learning tools and direct access to electronic counseling, and other forms of technical assistance.

The Training Network operates like an electronic umbrella under which many SBA and agency resource training programs are captured, aggregated, sorted by content and made available in multiple formats. It serves small business clients, agency resource partners, other federal agencies and global students of enterprise.

Many of the learning opportunities offered by the Network are developed by cosponsors (academic institutions and corporations), some are developed by SBA’s resource partners and some are developed internally through agency contracts. All of the offerings are free, most are self-paced and the majority are considered “topical primers.”

The Training Network is a vehicle for knowledge, an expansion of electronic government and an initiative designed to help small businesses successfully compete. It is most importantly, however, a balanced approach to training. Not all training can be effectively achieved or is best suited for an online environment. Therefore, in addition to a robust selection of online offerings, the Training Network serves as a window to all of the traditional, face-to-face technical assistance programs offered by the agency. Traditional training opportunities offered by SBA and its resource partners around the country can be easily identified by clicking on National Training Events.

Most Popular Courses

Each day, some three to six thousand small business customers register for free online courses offered by the SBA through SBTN. Several course topic areas consistently stand-out as the most popular. Those topic areas include: starting a business, business planning, marketing, finance and government contracting. Check out SBTN’s most popular courses…

  • The Beginning: Developing a Successful Business Plan
  • How to Start a Business
  • Building Your Brand
  • Conduct a Marketing Analysis *PA SBDC – Kutztown University
  • How to Find Start-up Funding *Trump University
  • Assessing Financial Needs *South-West Texas SBDC
  • How to Write a Business Plan *Trump University
  • Steps to Accessing Contracts and Subcontracts

Source: www.sba.gov

See also…

Starting a Business

Business and Finance Law