Business Development Courses
Learn business development strategies including how to gain a competitive advantage in the marketplace with online professional education courses from Wharton. Find additional online business courses from top schools like Georgetown, RIT, Thunderbird and more.
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What is Business Development?
A wide-ranging field that integrates a number of skills and practices, Business Development is commonly defined as the pursuit of strategic opportunities for a particular business or organization.
An executive in a Business Developer position will be responsible for the creation of long-term value through growing customer bases, identifying new markets, and cultivating commercial relationships. Because it’s such a critical part of any growing company, many of the world’s greatest business ideas have come from the business development side of the table.
Business Developers don’t just work for large corporations – these skills are needed in the small business world as well. Growing companies rely on business management personnel with a working knowledge of small business software and small business insurance, as well as specific skills in small business administration and small business accounting.
Small business consulting is also an enormous field that helps burgeoning companies develop a proper business strategy and take advantage of available resources like a local Small Business Development Center, or SBDC. An SBDC is a cooperative initiative undertaken between numerous public and private entities providing services that include business counseling, training, and technical assistance.
People who excel in Business Development often have a certain amount of business training, having undertaken specific business studies and received an MBA or another diploma of business, completed a business certificate program, or taken small business courses or, specifically, a business analyst course. Any amount of sales training can be an advantage as well. These individuals often show aptitude for analysis, communications, and economics.
Online Courses in Business Development
Online courses are available in a variety of Business and Business Development subjects. Delft University of Technology offers an XSeries in Business Model Innovation that teaches the necessary tools to help improve, grow, and sustain a business. Courses in the series include Business Model Testing, The Value of Business Models, and How to Design a Successful Business Model, among others.
The ACCA (Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) offers a whole host of professional development courses including Accountant in Business, Management Accounting, and Financial Accounting, which can help business leaders gain a better understanding of their businesses’ finances.
Jobs in Business Development
The job site Indeed lists nearly 70,000 jobs related to Business Development. Of those, more than 11,000 offer starting salaries of $105,000 or greater. LinkedIn has nearly 75,000 Business Development roles listed as well.
Business Development Managers make $76,000 a year on average. There are also over 430,000 open positions for Sales Manager, 83,000 of which start at $65,000 a year or more.
Explore a Career in Business Development
Every growing business requires that some form of Business Development role be filled. Large or small, organizations depend on talented Business Developers to drive market strategy, find new customers, and acquire partners. Online coursework is one way to prepare for this exciting and demanding field. Get started today!