Welcome to BUS503: Foundations of Entrepreneurship

Specific information about this course and its requirements can be found below. For more general information about taking Saylor Academy courses, including information about Community and Academic Codes of Conduct, please read the Student Handbook.

Course Description

Learn how to plan and operate a small business as a manager or entrepreneur by writing a business plan, launching a new venture, identifying market opportunities, creating a marketing plan, and financing your business.

Course Introduction

This course will introduce you to entrepreneurship and business planning. By way of introduction, the word entrepreneur originates from the French word entreprendre, meaning "to undertake". Today, we define an entrepreneur as an owner or manager of a business enterprise who attempts to make profits by starting and growing their business. In earnest, entrepreneurs are a diverse group of risk-takers who share the same goal of cultivating ideas and developing them into viable business opportunities. Consider the statistics below to get a sense of some of the (potentially surprising) qualities attributed to entrepreneurs:

  • According to the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor's 2024/25 report, around 800 million people worldwide were involved in starting or running new businesses in 2021. Further, in the United States, entrepreneurship activity increased by 7% in 2021, with an estimated 21.6 million Americans starting or running a new business.
  • According to the National Bureau of Economic Research, immigrants are almost twice as likely as native-born Americans to become entrepreneurs. 
  • The 2021 State of Women-Owned Business Report by American Express revealed that the number of women-owned businesses in the US grew by 58% between 2014 and 2021, compared to a growth rate of 12% for all businesses. 
  • According to the 2024 Wells Fargo Impact of Women-Owned Business Report, there are over 14 million women-owned businesses in the U.S., representing 39.1% of all businesses. These businesses employ 12.2 million workers and generate .7 trillion in revenue.
  • According to the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor 2024/2025 Global Report, the top 10 countries for entrepreneurship are the United Arab Emirates, the Netherlands, Finland, Saudi Arabia, Lithuania, South Korea, Switzerland, the United States, Qatar, and India.
  • The average age of a first-time entrepreneur in the United States is 34 years old. According to the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor 2024/2025 Global Report, the 18–24 age group exhibits the highest Total Entrepreneurial Activity rate globally.

As you can see, the entrepreneurial community is diverse, yet its members share many striking similarities. This course is geared towards both the eclectic mix of individuals planning to develop and launch their own businesses and those with established small business ventures they would like to expand. We will begin by reviewing the history of small businesses and identifying a successful entrepreneur's characteristics. The course will then coach you in some basic business skills, teaching you how to write a business plan, launch a new venture, identify market opportunities, create a marketing plan, and finance a business.

This course includes the following units:

  • Unit 1: Elements of Entrepreneurship
  • Unit 2: Building the Right Team
  • Unit 3: The Business Plan
  • Unit 4: Marketing Strategy
  • Unit 5: Financing the New Venture

Course Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this course, you will be able to:

  • Analyze when a business idea is a viable entrepreneurial venture;
  • Determine optimal entrepreneurial growth strategies in the context of different types of small business structures;
  • Identify best practices for effective team building and managing employees as a small business owner;
  • Create a formalized business plan and marketing plan;
  • Describe the importance of fundamental accounting systems and the value provided to small business owners and the significance of small business taxes;
  • Summarize the ideal options for financing a business venture; and
  • Identify ideal exit strategies available to small business owners.

Throughout this course, you will also see learning outcomes in each unit. You can use those learning outcomes to help organize your studies and gauge your progress.

Course Materials

This course's primary learning materials are articles, lectures, and videos.

All course materials are free to access and can be found in each unit of the course. Pay close attention to the notes that accompany these course materials, as they will tell you what to focus on in each resource and will help you understand how the learning materials fit into the course as a whole. You can also see a list of all the learning materials in this course at this link.

Some parts of this course may have been created or reviewed with the support of artificial intelligence (AI). To make sure you receive accurate, high-quality, and academically sound learning materials, all AI-assisted content is carefully checked and approved by Saylor Academy's faculty and subject matter experts.

Evaluation and Minimum Passing Score

Only the final exam is considered when awarding you a grade for this course. To pass this course, you will need to earn a grade of 70% or higher on the final exam.

Your score on the exam will be calculated as soon as you complete it. Be sure to study in between each attempt! If you do not pass the exam, you will not complete this course or receive a certificate of completion. You can attempt the exam as many times as you want.

There are end-of-unit assessments in this course that are designed to help you study and do not factor into your final course grade. You can take them as many times as you want until you understand the concepts they cover.

You can see all of these assessments at this link.

Continuing Education Credits

The certificate earned by passing this self-paced course displays the program hours you completed and continuing education credits (CEUs). CEUs document successful completion of courses that are designed to improve the knowledge and skills of working adults. Many industries value CEUs, and now your certificate reflects them clearly, and they may be used to support career advancement or to meet professional licensing standards. This course contains 3.9 CEUs.

Tips for Success

BUS503: Foundations of Entrepreneurship is a self-paced course, meaning you can decide when to start and complete the course. We estimate the "average" student will take hours to complete. We recommend studying at a comfortable pace and scheduling your study time in advance.

Learning new material can be challenging, so here are a few study strategies to help you succeed:

  • Take notes on terms, practices, and theories. This helps you understand each concept in context and provides a refresher for later study.
  • Test yourself on what you remember and how well you understand the concepts. Reflecting on what you've learned improves long-term memory retention.

Technical Requirements

This course is delivered entirely online. You will need access to a computer or web-capable mobile device and consistent internet access to view or download resources and complete auto-graded assessments and the final exam.

To access the full course, including assessments and the final exam, log into your Saylor Academy account and enroll in the course. If you don't have an account, you can create one for free here. Note that tracking progress and taking assessments require you to log in.

For more details and guidance, please review our complete Technical Requirements and our student Help Center.

Optional Saylor Academy Mobile App

You can access all course features directly from your mobile browser, but if you have limited internet connectivity, the Saylor Academy mobile app provides an option to download course content for offline use. The app is available for iOS and Android devices.

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Fees

This course is entirely free to enroll in and access. All course materials, including textbooks, videos, webpages, and activities, are available at no charge. This course also contains a free final exam and a free course completion certificate.


Last modified: Thursday, October 2, 2025, 5:09 PM