9 Best Online Business Courses Reviews in 2023 | To Advance Your Career

You might be interested in getting a Master of Business Administration (MBA). But, do you know the right place to get it from? The number one option for most individuals will be enrolling in an accredited university or learning institution. However, a formal business course at the University will take a long time. Besides, it's more expensive, making it unaffordable to many. Therefore, this may not be the ideal option for most individuals.

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[Best Overall] 

1. Database Management System from Scratch

The course covers all essentials involved in data handling for effective database management. It aims to educate learners, professionals, and business owners

4.9/5 

  • The highest employment rate
  • Median salary of $90,000
  • The course is free.
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[Best for the Money] 

2. Risk Management

This course is the learning resource that equips you with knowledge about identifying, assessing, and controlling threats to your business assets and revenues.

4.8/5 

  • Protect business resources.
  • Creates effective business strategy
  • It ensures you take the best approach in addressing business uncertainties
skill share logo on dark blue background

[Best for All-Around Skills] 

3Supply Chain Management - Fundamentals: Business Operations & Logistics

The course focuses on the organization of business pertainings for efficiency and effectiveness in producing goods and offering services. It provides the most viable supply chain management alternatives for effective business operation.

4.7/5 

  • The course is offered for free.
  • It covers several aspects of business
  • The course is taught by working professionals accredited by a University body

Online business courses have proven effective for most individuals. These online business courses come at a cheaper cost than in-class University courses. Besides, they are more convenient and flexible. You can learn while, at the same time, working, allowing you to apply new concepts in your profession directly.

Despite online business courses being less prestigious than University courses, they still give you the right business knowledge, experience, and tools to help you start, manage, and grow your business.

If you opt for an online business course, it's worth investing your time in picking the best course that fits your career goals and budget. We've exactly done that for you. Read on for the best online business courses.

What Are the Best Online Business Courses

There are several online business courses you can enroll in. However, we have compiled a list of the best online business courses so that you can have an easy time selecting them. They are listed below.

  • Database Management System from Scratch - Udemy

  • Risk Management - Coursera

  • Supply Chain Management - Fundamentals: Business Operations & Logistics - Skillshare

  • Business Intelligence Masters Program - Edureka

  • Financial Management - Linkedin

  • Marketing Analytics - Udacity

  • Business Analyst - Simplilearn

  • Financial Accounting - Edx

  • Springboard Business Course - Springboard

Best Online Business Courses Reviews

Database Management System from Scratch is an online business course several platforms offer for free. This course aims to educate learners, professionals, and business owners on the power of using data statistics in managing businesses. An example of a platform offering an online database management course is Udemy.

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There are high numbers of data generated in everyday business proceedings. The sources of these data are business emails, linked social media platforms, the internet, and the company's website. The various data from different sources can be useless and confusing if you don't manage them effectively. Such data can also be confusing if not managed well.

Database Management course covers all essentials involved in data handling for effective database management. Enrolling in this course lets you learn the following database essentials:

  • The relational databases creation process.

  • An effective approach to Structured Query Language (SQL) statements. The SQL statements are used for extracting information.

  • Design databases

  • How to make efficient table designs.

  • Database management systems.

  • Understand Database Management Systems, how they work, and how to apply them in business management.

The database management knowledge will help you understand your customers well, including their behavior and what they may do in the future. Having a clear view of these essentials will enable you to have a clear target for your customers and keep them for the future market.

The course has 13 sections with 105 video lectures. They also conduct the training program using articles. The course will cost you $119.99. This subscription will give you lifetime access to the course learning materials

You can enroll in this course and other related resources the platform offers for free. Online database management is ideal for all skill levels, starting from beginner, intermediate, and advanced skill levels.

Pros

  • Database Administrator is ranked among the best jobs in the world, according to U.S. News & World Report, which ranks it at number 30.
  • The course is among the best-paying jobs, with a median salary of $90,000
  • The course has the highest employment rate, with more than 99% of its graduates employed.
  • The course is free.

Cons

  • Database management is a complex course that requires high determination to succeed.

[Best for the Money]

2. Risk Management

4.8/5 

Any business venture is a risk. In addition, there might be other potential risks facing your business without your knowledge. You might face risks that may include financial, business, and non-business risks. Therefore, it is good to consider an online Risk Management course. So, what is it, and how can it help your business?

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Online Risk Management course is the learning resource that equips you with knowledge about identifying, assessing, and controlling threats to your business assets and revenues. Risks can be challenging to identify as they emanate from different sources, including technology complications, financial issues, legal compliance, strategic mismanagement, or even natural disasters.

The course will teach you about risk management methods. These methods include risk avoidance, risk mitigation, transferring, and retention. In addition, you'll also learn about the basic steps you should take for an effective risk management process. This process is as follows.

  • Risk identification.

  • Analysis of the risk at hand.

  • Risk Prioritization.

  • Treating the risk.

  • Risk monitoring.

Duke University partners with several online business learning platforms to offer online risk management courses. For instance, the University accredits Financial Risk Management to Coursera's online learning platform. Risk Management Strategies in Project Management is also accredited to the Simplilearn online learning platform.

The course takes up to fifteen hours to complete. However, to enroll in this course, you need a piece of background knowledge about R programming. You'll also need to know how to use RStudio, and Microsoft pen R. These languages are used in calculating Value at Risk (VaR) and Expected Shortfall (E.S.).

An online Risk Management course generally seeks to alleviate risks involved in your business. It also increases your business success rates and reduces the impacts of risks. But, do you know that there are some positive risks. For instance, strategy risks can have positive outcomes.

Duke University's AACSB accredits the Fuqua School of Business. It then avails the course to the Coursera learning platform. According to the U.S. News and World Report, this platform is the number twelve best business school.

Pros

  • Risk management ensures you take the best approach in addressing business uncertainties and risks to minimize their impact.
  • Online Risk Management course ensures the survival of your business even at the hardest of times.
  • The skills acquired from learning this course can be used to save time and protect business resources.
  • Risk management creates conducive room for effective business strategy execution.

Cons

  • It might be difficult to implement risk management strategies.

Skillshare has come out to offer Supply Chain Management - Fundamentals: Business Operations & Logistics through its online learning platforms. It has partnered with several learning institutions in offering the course. What is amazing is that the course is free of charge.

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Supply Chain Management - Fundamentals: Business Operations & Logistics as a course focuses on the organization of business pertainings for efficiency and effectiveness in producing goods and offering services. It provides the most viable supply chain management alternatives for effective business operation.

This online business course should be the ideal path for any operational manager who wishes to get the best out of the available resources at little expense. Operations managers have a different role at the company from the departmental managers. They are tasked to oversee all operations within the organization and ensure the company's growth.

The course has come in place to enact these managers with innovative skills, which they desperately need to ensure the business's survival. The course will also teach you other business essentials, efficient communication skills, negotiation qualities, and general management duties.

Below are some of the common topics this course will teach you:

  • A Supply Chain Of Life - Story

  • The Supply Chain Of Life - Blood

  • Why Is Supply Chain Management Important

  • What Is Supply Chain Management

  • Aims And Objectives Of A Good Supply Chain

  • Key Activities Within Supply Chain

  • The Main Stakeholders

  • Suppliers, Producers, And Distributors

  • Retailers And End Customers

  • Stakeholders And Their Relationships

  • Vertical And Horizontal Relationships

  • Segmentation Of Suppliers

The course is the key to a flawless supply chain, from sourcing or war resources, production process, marketing, and sales. It also explains the supervision qualities and effective employee handling. This course will impact you with all-around skills, making you eligible for various professional sectors.

Pros

  • The course covers several aspects of business, therefore, enacting you with more than one skill.
  • You have a higher chance of getting employed when you pursue online Supply Chain Management - Fundamentals: Business Operations & Logistics, as is applicable in small and large businesses.
  • The course is offered for free.
  • The course is taught by working professionals accredited by a University body, ensuring it is at par with the required standards.

Cons

  • The coverage of many business aspects in one course may be confusing.

Edureka has partnered with top companies and institutions to provide business training programs. One of its prominent business courses is the Business Intelligence Masters Program. The course has all the relevant topics you need to create, manage, and develop your business. 

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It has the crucial skills to help learners, entry-level employees, and business intelligent workers operate with tools and systems used by Business Intelligence Professionals. Besides, it has a broad coverage of Informatica, Power BI, Data Warehousing and BI, and Tableau.

This course is the right fit for you as its content is a result of in-depth research on several job descriptions all over the world. The course will take you through all the requirements and what it takes to make it in business intelligence. It has the right approach to data sourcing and application in business operations. Moreover, it will help you through critical decision-making processes for the success of your business.

The training program is a series of courses that correlate to one another. Among the common courses are:

  • Data Warehousing and BI Certification Training. This course has ten modules, which will help you acquire more than seven skills. It covers varied concepts, including Data Modeling, Business Reporting, DW Architecture, ETL fundamentals, and Data Visualisation. The time it takes to finish the course is 30 hours, which will take at least five weeks to complete.

  • Microsoft Power BI Certification Training Course. This course has ten modules with ten skills surrounding Business Analytics. Among the topics you'll learn are Reports, Power BI Desktop, DAX, Service, Mobile Apps, Architecture, and case studies. The complete course takes thirty hours to complete, meaning you'll need at least four or five weeks to complete the course.

  • Informatica Certification Training Course. This course has eight modules with up to 8 skills coverage. The course primarily focuses on Data Integration concepts like Data Mining. You'll also learn about Informatica PowerCenter and its application in data mining. The course takes 24 hours to complete, meaning you'll need at least four weeks to complete it.

  • Tableau Certification Training Course. This course has 12 modules that will help you acquire more than eight skills. The course covers Tableau Online, Prep Builder, and Desktop. It also teaches LOD expressions and charts. Among the skills you'll acquire are reporting, data visualization, and Business Intelligence. It takes 36 hours to complete the course, meaning you'll need at least six weeks to complete it.

This online business training program costs $1,199, which you can pay using PayPal. If you're not sure, you should talk to their online customer care.

Pros

  • The course has supportive online customer care.
  • You earn a certificate which can help you land a job.
  • You get a personal training instructor who commits to addressing your concerns.
  • The one-time subscription fee earns you lifetime access to course materials and other benefits.

Cons

  • The course is expensive.

Financial Management is a business discipline that entails all financial resources, including planning and how to spend funds. It also teaches the process of financial decision-making for an effective and productive business operation.

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The course takes six weeks to complete. Throughout this period, you'll be taken through six modules. The learning style includes quizzes, exercises, instruction, and practical projects, mostly at the end of the course.

The six modules you'll cover throughout the course are:

  • Financial analysis
  • Finance versus Accounting
  • Capital markets
  • Value Creation
  • Valuation
  • Capital allocation.

The good thing about this course is that you will get a professional certificate when you complete it. Harvard Business School Online accredits the certificate. You can add this certificate to your resume in your Linkedin account profile. however, you will need to pay a $1,600 fee for the course

Financial Management has many benefits as a course. Effective planning and management of financial resources are key to a successful business. You'll need financial management knowledge and skills to excel, even if you have the expertise and a strategically located business. The course will educate you on cash flow analysis, cost analysis, collections, credit, and ratio analysis to ensure this success.

In the early stages of the course, you'll learn about Introduction to Corporate Finance, which entails topics like:

  • The value of money
  • The cost of capital
  • Capital budgeting.
  • Assigning value to stocks/bonds
  • Calculate Net Present Values (NPV)
  • Calculating Internal Rate of Return (IRR).

Linkedin partners with several high-ranking Universities to offer online financial management courses. Some of these higher learning institutions include Harvard Business School Online. Columbia University partners with EdX online platform to offer the course. Therefore, the course is accredited, and you can use the certificate you acquire in your resume.

Columbia Business School is ranked as the eighth business school in the world, according to U.S. News & World Report. The school offers quality financial management courses with other business courses such as Corporate Entrepreneurship, Risk & Return, and Decisions in Business Analytics.

Pros

  • This course is among the best jobs in the world according to U.S. News & World Report, which ranks it at number 27.
  • The report also shows that Financial Management is among the best-paying jobs, with a median salary of $127,990.
  • The course is quality and up to the standards as its instructors are professors from Havard Business School and the University of Columbia.
  • Using financial case studies in the learning path of this course ensures you only learn practical skills you require in the industry.

Cons

  • The course is only available on limited dates, thus inflexible.

Marketing Analytics is an online business marketing course that top learning institutions accredit to Udacity's online learning platform. The course teaches its learners the knowledge you can use to determine the success of a marketing program. The course seeks to provide a better view of marketing as far as business operations are concerned.

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It provides a broad analysis of the competition and distinguishes the market into different entities to deliver the right products to the right group of customers. These essentials are improved customer satisfaction, which could potentially increase sales, trust, and business growth.

You might fail to get results when you, as a marketer, make promises and pledges about how your product may benefit the consumers without backup proof. However, Marketing Analytics provides the essential tools that track results and outcomes to support your marketing strategy. The course will also teach you how to acquire data that will enable you to quantify your marketing efforts.

Online business analytics is not meant for a specific business career; it is a general collective knowledge ideal for all business professions. You can learn it simultaneously with other business courses or learn it to acquire additional skills from the ones you already have.

This course will take you at least three months to complete when you dedicate five hours per week to the course. It covers the following topics:

  • Introduction to Data Analysis

  • Data Visualization

  • Google Analytics

  • Marketing Analytics

According to the U.S. News & World Report, top universities in the U.S. offer this online business analytics course; Haas School is number seven in business education in the U.S., according to U.S. News & World Report. It offers a collection of reputable online courses, including Open innovation for leaders, Financial Data Analysis for Leaders, and a New Manager Boot Camp.

Other online platforms offering online business analytics courses include Coursera, Udemy, and Edx.

Pros

  • Online business analytics course is applicable in almost all business sectors.
  • The course fits beginner learners, young business professionals, and practicing business professionals like business owners and managers.
  • Business Analysts receive satisfactory salaries as compensation for the roles they play.
  • The entry levels for candidates are lower than the market demands, meaning that you're guaranteed a job and a good salary.

Cons

  • Analyzing data from different sources may present challenges.

4.3/5 

Simplilearn is one of the well-known online learning platforms when it comes to business training programs. One of the prominent business courses is the Business Analyst course. The course primarily focuses on the three business analysis concepts including, Requirements management & communication, Planning and monitoring, and Requirements elicitation. You'll also learn the crucial tools you need in business analysis. Besides, you'll get a chance to extend your experience by involving in real-world applications.

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The course will teach you skills to apply data in problem diagnosis, problem-solving, and opportunity optimization. It links the business to its stakeholders and resources. The course will prepare you for a business analyst's career path, which is a crucial part of any business operation.

This training program is a set of courses and electives. It has six courses and seven electives. The course content is illustrated below.

  • Certified Business Analysis Professional - first course

  • Tableau Training second course

  • Data Analysis and Visualization with Python - third course

  • Mathematical Optimization for Business Problems - fourth course

  • Business Analyst Capstone - fifth course

  • Harvard Business Publishing Case Studies for Business Analysis - sixth course

After finishing each course, you'll earn a certificate of completion. Besides the courses, there are seven electives that also aid in enacting relevant skills to its learners. These electives include

  • Business Analyst Industry Master Class - first elective

  • Business Analysis Industry Masterclass - EY - second elective

  • Certification of Capability in Business Analysis (CCBA) - third elective

  • Agile Scrum Master - fourth elective

  • SQL Training - fifth elective

  • Data Science with R Course - sixth elective

  • Business Analytics with Excel - seventh elective

  • Statistics Essentials for Data Science - eight elective

The course costs $1399 per month with as low as $116.58 per month.

The course instructor is Tim Jerome, an international project management professional. He has more than fifteen years of experience in business analysis and has worked in companies like Digital Network Services and Intel.

Pros

  • The course instructor is well experienced in data analysis, ensuring you get quality training.
  • A one-time subscription grants you lifetime access to the course materials and other benefits.
  • The platform collaborates with several companies and learning institutions to offer standardized content.
  • It covers a broad range of tools.

Cons

  • The course is expensive.

Financial accounting is an advanced business course that will take you up to twelve weeks. This course teaches learners how to simplify complicated financial problems and present them to involved parties in a simplified form that they can easily understand. Throughout the course, you'll learn the aspects of financial data, including assets, revenues, liabilities, expenses, and equity.

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You need financial accounting in almost any business operation. Any business concept ranging from production, research, marketing, or investment needs financial accounting knowledge. Luckily, many online platforms offer this course. One of the outstanding platforms you can rely on for this course is the EdX learning platform.

EdX offers financial accounting as a free online business course. They incorporate all essential tools to help learners understand business finances. Some of the specific accounting sectors they address are:

  • Introduction to the building blocks of financial accounting.

  • Preparation and analysis of financial statements.

  • How to use financial statements as a creditor or investor.

  • Principles of accounting.

The course is great for those seeking to use or apply financial and managerial accounting reports in their businesses. Therefore, you should consider this course if you aspire to be a financial advisor, business owner, general manager, or executive.

Besides this online business course preparing for your business career or investment, it also prepares you for the Chartered Finacial Analyst (CFA) exams. You probably need this business component for effective communication and collaboration.

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology accredits the course. MIT is well known for its popular business courses like Introduction to Financial and Managerial Accounting, which you can access from the MIT Sloan School of Management archives.

MIT Sloan School is the fifth-best business school in the U.S. (U.S. News and World Report). The school aims to use financial accounting and other Master's Courses like Master in System Design & Management and Master in Business Analytics to address global issues like third-world economics and climate change.

Pros

  • Online Finacial Accounting course is a real University course accredited by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT's business school)
  • This course is free to learn. You need not pay any cost.
  • Online financial accounting gives quality assurance as it is a college course from MIT.
  • The course has several learning tools that are essential to any business operation.
  • The course instructors are practicing business professionals; therefore, whatever you learn is what matters in the industry.

Cons

  • A full course in Financial Accounting is time-consuming.

Springboard is another platform that has gained popularity for online business training programs. It entails business courses that teach the planning and implementing process involved in sales activities within a business. These courses seek to teach and inspire salespersons and business management on the best ways and the right tools to implement when selling. This online learning platform for business education has partnered with several learning institutions to offer the course.

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This course is divided into two distinct categories. The first one comes at an early stage where the manager devices concepts for the sales process. In this stage, the following procedures take place.

  • The sales manager finds the best sales strategy to apply.

  • He then manipulates it to fit the business capacity.

  • He determines the most viable way to apply the strategy.

  • The sales manager finally instructs the sales team on using the sales strategy in performing the sales activities.

The second category, which is the final stage, involves the sales execution team. What takes place here is as follows.

  • The sales manager selects a sales team.

  • He then trains them and motivates them so that they can excel in sales operations.

  • He evaluates the sales team's performance as far as sales are concerned.

  • If necessary, the sales manager may teach the sales team the four Ps and their benefits. These Ps include products, place, pricing, and promotion. Promotion is where we find sales management. It entails advertising, personal selling, and sales promotion. Personal selling is where the Sales Manager comes into the equation.

Throughout the course, you'll learn various sales management skills, including the process of sales forecasting and evaluation. You'll also gain skills in product assortment decision-making, inventory management, and many more skills.

For the survival and growth of any business, it needs to sell products. While marketing and advertising are also important, the business will incur more expenses without marketing, which may lead to losses. Therefore, a sales management integration carries more weight than other sales aspects. The course fits well with MBA.

The MBA course will add skills to top your sales management skills. These skills include conflict management within a business setup and interpersonal relationships. Sales managers with direct contact with clients need these skills to prosper. An advanced degree course in sales management will further the skills you can use in your business career path.

Pros

  • The course has wide coverage, ensuring you acquire more skills.
  • The course is fully online, guaranteeing your convenience.
  • The course is quality and is at par with the required standards as authoritative Universities offer it.
  • The course has wide application, almost in any business operation.

Cons

  • A career path in sales management has irregular salary ranges.

How to Choose the Best Online Business Courses

There are several business classes offered through various online learning platforms. It would be a waste of time learning all the courses. Therefore, you only need to select the best ones that suit your primary need. When choosing the best business courses, consider the following factors.

The Duration the Course Takes

Time is of the essence, and no one would like something that takes too much time. You're most likely taking the course part-time after one or between your daily schedules. Therefore, to avoid colliding with your work or boss, you need to take a course that takes as little time as possible. It should take an average of five hours a week and five to six weeks to complete.

Also, take a course that allows for flexibility. If you aren't available during the daytime, you should be able to access the learning resources later.

Cost

Most online business courses are offered free or at least at discounted prices. Also, your company might have set a training budget for the courses employees to take. Therefore, it is good to always check their handbooks before doing anything. If you are lucky enough, your company might have some partnerships with open universities to offer free or discounted courses to the employees. However, if they don't offer such in your company, you should always go for a course that has affordable costs.

Even though you can afford that course charging $6,000, there are multiple options you can get that charge much lower than this amount. So play your cards right and save the extra cash for other uses.

Have a Clear Understanding of What You Want

There are several aspects of a business, with each aspect demanding different skills. You, therefore, need to analyze your business to identify the skills you need to acquire to improve the weak areas. Below is a short guide on essential business skills and where to find them.

  • Business operations and process - Udemy

  • Software systems, their applications, and learning new skills - Udemy

  • Programming-related skills and database management - Udacity.

  • Operational and management courses like Operations management, sales management, marketing analytics, and risk management

  • Risk management is also best offered in the Simplilearn learning platform.

  • Marketing and sales courses like marketing management, sales management, and marketing analytics are best offered on the edX learning platform.

The next factor is convenience. You should always go for an online real estate class with flexible schedules for your convenience. The classes should have all the learning resources available in one place. They should also have records of the live events, which you can access in the future.

Professional Certificate

You need a professional certificate in your resume to land a job in your business career path. Therefore, you need to choose an online business course that guarantees a certificate when you successfully complete it. The course needs to be accredited by a well-known university or learning institution.

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FAQs

Which Course Is Best for an Online Business?

The best courses for an online business are listed below.

  • Financial Accounting

  • Financial Management

  • Database Management

  • Operations Management

  • Cybersecurity

  • Marketing Analytics

  • Sales Management

  • Risk Management

  • Marketing and Marketing Management

Which Online Certification Is Best?

Multiple online certifications offer several online business courses. However, the best ones are listed below.

  • Coursera

  • Udemy

  • Edx

  • Simplilearn

  • LinkedIn Learning

  • Udacity

What Are the Most Successful Online Courses?

The most successful online courses are:

  • Business management studies

  • Finance studies

  • Business accounting

  • Cybersecurity

  • Business analytics

  • Sales and marketing studies

Best Online Business Courses for Elevating Your Business Skills

The best online business courses for elevating business skills are as follows.

  • Communicate skills courses

  • Colleague mentorship courses

  • Employee morale-boosting courses

  • Negotiating skills courses

  • Business Management courses