Published: 14 January 2021
Are you someone who wants to work for themselves? Have you got aspirations to become a high-flying entrepreneur?
The Business Enterprise Certificate (BEC) could be your first step into the world of start-ups.
The BEC is a free six-week course run by the University of Sunderland in London’s Careers and Employability team.
Over the sessions, you’ll get practical knowledge and skills aimed at helping you launch your own company, including how to write a business plan.
How to prepare for the BEC
The first step is to work out your idea. If you decide to apply for the BEC course spend some time drafting your business concept on paper.
Then go through and work out all the questions you want answering during the course. Write them down and tick each off as they’re addressed.
But be sure to raise your hand and ask if they don’t come up.
Who can apply?
The short answer is anyone as long as you’re a student at the University of Sunderland in London.
You don’t need to be on a Business, Management and Finance or MBA course to apply.
For one thing, your idea might be around Health and Social Care or Events and Entertainment. Good concepts come from every walk of life.
All you need to make the most of the course is a passion for your business idea and a willingness to work hard.
What will I learn?
Each week the BEC trainer Phillipa Seal will break down the key elements you need to know for running your own business.
You’ll be asked to look at a series of questions, discussing them with the group and building up to a presentation in the final week.
For example, week one focuses on you and your team, considering things like ‘what’s your unfair advantage’ and ‘what is the problem your company is trying to solve?’
Other weeks look at your product or service, target market and road map to success.
By the end of the course, you’ll have a huge amount of knowledge that will help you launch your business and make a success of it too.
Find out more about what you’ll be learning each week on our Business Enterprise Certificate page.
If you’re interested in applying for the course and taking your ambitions to the next level contact the Careers and Employability team.
You can email them at careers-london@sunderland.ac.uk. Find out more by following #WeAreSunLon on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.