Entrepreneurship isn't just a trendy buzzword - it's a powerful force for innovation that is changing our world and creating new business opportunities every day. Entrepreneurs create new businesses, whether it's inventing new products, offering new types of services, or simply developing new processes for connecting existing goods and services to markets.

Today, we often associate entrepreneurship with the tech industry and venture capital-backed startups like Facebook and Tesla (and their superstar founders Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk). However, this skill can be relevant regardless of your career path; social entrepreneurship is essential for non-profit founders, corporate entrepreneurship can help drive innovation and spin-off divisions from within established multinational giants, and everyday small business owners can take their company to the next level with entrepreneurial skills.

No matter where your entrepreneurial path takes you, they all begin in the same place: with a vision for a new business idea. But turning that idea into a profitable business requires a lot more than that!

Successful entrepreneurs must have the passion as well as the skills to turn their vision into a viable business. That means creating a business model that identifies your customers, revenues, and expenses, as well as a realistic business plan that strategically maps out the future trajectory of your company.

Another key consideration for entrepreneurs is funding. While many startups begin by bootstrapping, entrepreneurial ventures usually need to tap into other sources of financing as they grow. Typical types of financing include angel investors, venture capital, and private equity, and choosing the right funding strategy for each stage of your business's development is a critical skill for aspiring entrepreneurs.

Yes, there are online courses and short Guided Projects available to help you develop the skills you need at every stage of your entrepreneurship journey. If you're trying to refine your world-changing business idea, courses can help you get in the entrepreneurial mindset, generating the inspiration and creativity you need to think outside the box and identify new opportunities for innovation. Once you've got your vision, more practical courses can help with things like the process of launching your startup, business modeling and planning, lean startup principles, and change management. And when you're ready to bring in outside investors, online courses can help with startup valuation and financing strategy.