Several years ago, our family had the privilege of starting a business. We have diligently worked to make that business grow and be successful, and along the way, have made our share of mistakes. Experience can be a great teacher, but how much better it would have been to take an easier path to gaining this wisdom and business sense! How I wish we could have experienced this course in the beginning of our entrepreneurship journey!

1-2-3 Entrepreneur is a very detailed business course designed for both high school students and adults. Written from a Biblical perspective, it explores a Christian understanding of entrepreneurship with an emphasis on the ideology that a successful business accumulates wealth that can be used to further the Gospel around the world. There are eight video lessons with a wide array of additional resources that enhance each lesson. The lessons are designed to be used on a flexible timetable, and the videos can be paused for note-taking or replayed for additional review as the student desires.

Each lesson introduces a glossary of business terms that will be used during the video. There is also a worksheet to print that correlates with the lesson, and recommended chapters to read in the suggested supplemental books. Lessons that detail specific business aspects, such as writing a business plan or designing a budget, also include a downloadable template that the student can use to complete those tasks. Following each lesson, there is a quiz (multiple choice and true/false) that is electronically graded for immediate feedback. On the student dashboard, a progress bar is kept allowing the student to track their progress, and a cumulative course grade is provided.

Choosing entrepreneurship over a traditional career path can be a very rewarding journey, but it was stated that most people who start a business do so with only a 10% idea of what to do. They get blinded by the excitement of their idea, only to make common mistakes and lose their initial investment. 1-2-3- Entrepreneur is designed to teach students how to ask themselves the challenging questions about their idea before they even start, and train them to set their business up for success by designing and fine-tuning a business plan. In fact, the student writes a complete business plan in lesson three, and then edits it throughout the remaining lessons, ultimately ending with a thorough plan of action to start and grow the business. 

Other business concepts that are addressed in this course include startup costs, services vs. products, legal requirements, hiring, marketing, systems, operations, budgeting, and economics. Each lesson reviews and builds on prior lessons and is taught by an entrepreneur. There are relevant interviews with successful businessmen included in each video. Emphasis is placed on character, integrity, and professionalism. Though this course has such challenging content, it is explained in a remarkably simple format, with thorough yet easy to understand language that treats the student maturely.

1-2-3 Entrepreneur is currently available for purchase through the website for $55 a month for a six-month subscription for one student. Though there are only eight lessons, the subscription allows the student to take their time completing the extra assignments in each lesson, and fully develop their business idea before executing it. Additional family members can each purchase their own subscription at a discounted rate.

As I previously stated, even though we have an entrepreneurial family, there was a great deal of information presented in this course that was either new to us or stated in such an understandable way that it finally made sense. I am excited to apply these principles to our family business and see more success and growth because of it. I would also like to mention that the company’s ‘behind the scenes’ customer service is excellent, offering support quickly to any questions the user might have while completing the course. 1-2-3 Entrepreneur equips average people with all the proper tools to start, grow, and maintain an excellent business and I highly recommend this course to anyone who has dreams of being their own boss and pursuing the American dream of entrepreneurship.

-Product review by Erica Beyea, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine, LLC, May, 2018