Small Business Entrepreneurship

Upcoming Start Dates and Tuition

Now Available On-Demand

Two courses, Four to Five-weeks each

3-5 hours of self-paced learning per week

Tuition: $950.00 per course*

*Bundle both courses for a 20% discount

Course Overviews

Course 1 - Small Business Entrepreneurship: Starting a Business

Welcome to Small Business Entrepreneurship - Starting a Business, a practical online course designed to equip aspiring entrepreneurs with the essential knowledge and skills required to turn innovative ideas into successful and sustainable ventures.

Rice University’s online business courses for entrepreneurs provide a convenient, yet interactive and hands-on, way to learn or brush up on practical entrepreneurship skills.

Taught by industry professionals from Rice Business, the #1-ranked Entrepreneurship Graduate Program in the U.S. (Princeton Review, Entrepreneur Magazine), learners will explore the entire entrepreneurial journey, from conceptualizing a business idea to crafting a business model canvas, pitch deck and business plan draft. Through a combination of engaging lectures, practical case studies, group discussions, interviews, and hands-on exercises, students will gain invaluable insights into the principles and best practices that define successful small business ventures.

Recommendation: As a next step in your business venture, we recommend completing the second course in this series, Small Business Entrepreneurship – Marketing a Business, after completing Starting a Business.

Course Learning Outcomes

After completing this course, participants will be able to:

• Evaluate entrepreneurial opportunities by aligning venture ideas with personal strengths, market needs, and feasible pathways to entry. 
• Develop and validate a business model by testing assumptions, analyzing risks, and iterating based on customer and market feedback. 
• Construct a clear and compelling venture narrative that communicates the value proposition, business model, and growth potential. 
• Assess funding strategies and launch requirements to support early-stage venture development. 
• Apply structured decision-making to reduce uncertainty and improve the likelihood of venture success. 

Applied Learning and Real-World Skills

Participants will develop practical capabilities that can be applied immediately, including the ability to:

• Assess personal entrepreneurial fit and identify complementary skills needed for venture success. 

• Select appropriate pathways to entrepreneurship (e.g., startup, acquisition, partnership, or franchise) based on individual goals and risk tolerance. 

• Generate and validate business ideas using structured frameworks such as idea sourcing, market testing, and customer discovery. 
• Design and iterate business models using tools such as the Business Model Canvas and hypothesis testing. 
• Evaluate and mitigate early-stage venture risks across market, financial, operational, and competitive dimensions. 
• Develop and deliver a venture pitch or complete business plan that clearly communicates the opportunity, value proposition, and business model. 
• Translate customer insights into actionable business decisions that improve product-market fit and growth potential.

Course 2 - Small Business Entrepreneurship: Marketing a Business

Marketing for small businesses and start-ups is essential. Do you have the know-how and tools to position your venture for growth? Rice University’s online business courses for entrepreneurs provide a convenient, yet interactive and hands-on, way to learn or brush up on practical entrepreneurship skills.

Taught by industry professionals from Rice Business, the #1-ranked Entrepreneurship Graduate Program in the U.S. (Princeton Review, Entrepreneur Magazine), learners will focus on core competencies like strategic thinking, audience analysis, engagement techniques, and practical marketing planning. Although 100% online, the course is hands-on and will enable you to develop marketing plans, customer journey maps, and even more tools to immediately implement as a busy entrepreneur or small business owner. Through a combination of engaging lectures, practical case studies, group discussions, interviews, and hands-on exercises, students will gain invaluable insights into the principles and best practices that define successful small business ventures.

Recommendation: To gain the foundations of your business venture, we recommend completing the first course in this series, Small Business Entrepreneurship: Starting a Business, before starting Marketing a Business.

Course Learning Outcomes

After completing this course, participants will be able to:

• Articulate a differentiated brand position that clearly communicates value to target customers. 
• Analyze customer segments and decision behaviors to inform targeted marketing strategies. 
• Design integrated marketing approaches that align messaging, channels, and customer engagement. 
• Evaluate pricing, marketing mix and promotional decisions based on cost structures, market dynamics, and perceived value. 
• Construct a data-informed marketing plan that aligns with business objectives and supports scalable growth. 
• Interpret marketing performance metrics to refine strategies and improve results over time. 

Applied Learning and Real-World Skills

Participants will develop practical capabilities that can be applied immediately, including the ability to:

• Develop a brand identity and positioning statement that defines how you want the business is perceived in the market. 
• Map customer journeys to identify key touchpoints, friction points, and opportunities for engagement with your specific audience. 
• Segment and prioritize target audiences using demographic, behavioral, and psychographic insights to focus on who you want to attract. 
• Design marketing strategies across channels (digital, traditional, and direct) based on customer behavior, business goals and optimal impact. 
• Apply pricing strategies that balance cost, competition, and customer value.  
• Understand, build and manage an effective marketing funnel from awareness through conversion, retention, and advocacy. 
• Use marketing metrics (e.g., CAC, LTV, CPM, CPC) to evaluate effectiveness, optimize spend and guide decision-making. 
• Develop and refine a comprehensive marketing approach that supports enterprise value, business growth and market traction. 

AI as a Business Tool

In these small business entrepreneurship online courses, you will not just hear about AI. You will use it as a practical tool to help you move from idea to execution. Within each course, you will be given instruction on how to work with leading platforms such as ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, and other generative AI tools to evaluate business ideas, research markets, build and refine business models, create marketing content, and strengthen strategic decisions. As you progress from exploring a business idea to marketing, growing, and eventually preparing to sell a business, AI will serve as a guide, thought partner, and drafting assistant. The focus of these courses is on building real world skills you can apply immediately to reduce risk, move faster, and make smarter entrepreneurial decisions.

How you'll use AI tools:

• Explore ideas, uncover growth opportunities, and improve strategic decision making
• Strengthen operations, customer retention, and expansion planning
• Evaluate exit options and prepare a business for sale or transition
• Identify value drivers, risks, and sale readiness

Who Should Attend

• Aspiring entrepreneurs, start-up founders, or small business owners
• MBA students or college students majoring in business or a related subject
• Current small business owners, entrepreneurs, or leaders who need help crafting a business model canvas, pitch deck, or business plan draft

Hear From Our Faculty

Before you start the program, get to know some of our faculty on the award-winning Rice Business podcast, Owl Have You Know. 

Image

Image

Rice Business Wisdom is our online ideas magazine that features faculty research.