Overview

All the best bits of an MBA—without the boring stuff. This course is designed for entrepreneurs and leaders who want practical tools, not theory. Whether you’re just starting out or already running a business, there’s always more to learn, juggle, and improve. This program combines essential MBA knowledge with no-nonsense strategies that actually work in the real world. Running a business can feel overwhelming: marketing, sales, operations, hiring (or not hiring), profits, taxes, and more. I break it all down into simple, bite-sized lessons you can apply immediately. Just clear, focused, and practical. Inside, you’ll discover why hiring employees isn’t always the smart move, how to raise your prices confidently, and the difference between effective marketing and empty noise. You’ll learn how to build a high-performing sales team, remove bottlenecks that quietly destroy profits, generate powerful referrals, and protect your business from hidden risks. I’ll also share techniques to unlock better ideas from your team and create smoother operations. Chris Croft is a business coach with over 20 years’ experience teaching entrepreneurs and leaders worldwide. His specialty is making complex ideas simple, useful, and even fun. By the end, you’ll have a clear growth plan, stronger profits, and the confidence to run your business like a pro.

Syllabus

Finance - Getting your foundations right

The first section of this course is where we focus on the numbers in your business - making sure things like cashflow and profit are all heading in the right direction.

People - Getting the best of your most precious resource

Honestly - the people in your organisation are the single most important component. Their talent, motivation and creativity will be what causes you to succeed or fail. So in this section we look at how to manage them effectively.

Yourself - don't forget to look inwards

As the leader of an organisation (or team) it's very important you invest in yourself too. Understand your role, your fears, your self talk and your support network. How effective you are as a person will set the tone for the whole business so don't put yourself at the bottom of the priority list and create burnout.

Strategic marketing - who are you on the outside

In this section we look at how to market yourself and grow to grow strategically over the years to come - covering areas like acquisitions, launching new products segments, and expanding overseas.

Marketing communications

However great your product and team are, you need to make sure potential customers are hearing about it, understanding it, and ultimately buying it. So here we investigate communication in a marketing sense - meaning how to reach your audience and get customers' attention.

Commercial - Let's make money!

In this section we delve into the world of finance - think about pricing, profit margins, negotiation, KPIs, and even the concept of loss making customers.

Selling - Your income goals and strategy

Taking good care of your sales team and having a robust plan for long term sales growth (especially organic or referrals based growth) can be transformational for your business. Let's look at how to achieve those things.

Operations - building an efficient machine

Operations are an important component of your business because they create all the smooth running behind the business front - without them being well organised you will eat away your profits, or let down your customers, or have high stressed staff. So let's spend this section getting everything well oiled and efficient!

Quality and service - Delight your customers

Finally, let's finish this course by looking at quality - including your literal product quality but also your customer experience quality (customer service and queueing). Learn tips to ensure you are achieving the highest standards you can!