"Personal BA" idea

[geekchic9]

I'm fairly sure at least someone who visits this forum has heard of the "Personal MBA." (The Personal MBA - All Discussions). I'm thinking of doing something similar, except by calling it the "Personal BA." I've contacted the owner of the "Personal MBA" site and told him about it, that the list of books will come from 2 colleges that use "Great Books", which are classics, instead of textbooks. The goal of the site is to expand the mind through a structured program without the cost of a private college education.

However, frankly, a lot of it is still in the air. I'm just not sure really where to start. Should I register my business with my county? How does affiliation with Amazon work? What about donation buttons?

Thanks for any feedback.

Edit: Sorry if this is in the wrong section.

[ahimel]

Originally Posted by geekchic9

I'm fairly sure at least someone who visits this forum has heard of the "Personal MBA." (The Personal MBA - All Discussions).

I'm not one of them, but I like the site. Thanks for the link!

I'm thinking of doing something similar, except by calling it the "Personal BA." I've contacted the owner of the "Personal MBA" site and told him about it, that the list of books will come from 2 colleges that use "Great Books", which are classics, instead of textbooks. The goal of the site is to expand the mind through a structured program without the cost of a private college education.

However, frankly, a lot of it is still in the air. I'm just not sure really where to start. Should I register my business with my county? How does affiliation with Amazon work? What about donation buttons?

Thanks for any feedback.

Edit: Sorry if this is in the wrong section.

I think this post is in the right section, but I'm guessing you'll also need to start a thread in the technology section. Since you're planning to do this online, you'll need a domain name, a server, the ability to create a website, run forums, accept donations/place ads/whatever other monetization you desire. Do you have those skills? If not, that might be a good place to start. (There are tons of people in the Technology section who would be happy to help you get started.) Or see how much it would cost to get a geek to do all that for you. With luck, you might get someone to accept a share of the profits, rather than straight cash.

You can register your business if you wish. (In Colorado, at least, it's done at the state level rather than the county level, but that may be different in Texas.) It's really not the most critical step. A few months or years down the road, if it's still working out and you're still interested in the project and are certain you wish to continue, you can always register a business at that point, and "buy yourself out". The one exception is if you plan to create a non-profit, which I would seriously consider. As CEO of the non-profit corporation, you're still entitled to a salary, so you can still make money on the deal. But you get significant tax benefits as well as easier access to start-up cash, and I think this has a good chance of getting a 501C3 (the form to register as non-profit) approved -- you're expanding the literary base of our country, and since you're not charging thousands of dollars to do it, you're extending the benefits of an English degree to people who otherwise couldn't afford it. Anyway, but before people will donate to you, you have to get a corporation set up and registered as a non-profit, so that would come first.

If you've talked to the person who runs personal MBA, and he's cool with you doing this, ask him for advice. He's started a very similar business from the ground up; he presumably has good ideas on the subject. Otherwise, I'd start with getting a website set up, and as specific questions arise, post them here or PM people who have business experience.

[geekchic9]

Originally Posted by ahimel

I'm not one of them, but I like the site. Thanks for the link!

You're welcome.

Originally Posted by ahimel

I think this post is in the right section, but I'm guessing you'll also need to start a thread in the technology section. Since you're planning to do this online, you'll need a domain name, a server, the ability to create a website, run forums, accept donations/place ads/whatever other monetization you desire. Do you have those skills?

Let's say I jumped the gun a little and already registered and set up thepersonalba.com. I also did a little exploring and found out that Moodle is what I'm looking for in course management. It was included with the web site purchase.

Originally Posted by ahimel

If not, that might be a good place to start. (There are tons of people in the Technology section who would be happy to help you get started.) Or see how much it would cost to get a geek to do all that for you. With luck, you might get someone to accept a share of the profits, rather than straight cash.

Sounds good to me.

Originally Posted by ahimel

You can register your business if you wish. <snip> The one exception is if you plan to create a non-profit, which I would seriously consider. <snip> Anyway, but before people will donate to you, you have to get a corporation set up and registered as a non-profit, so that would come first.

That sounds like a great idea. I would have to change my domain name to personalba.org, but that doesn't sound too bad. I'll just have to talk to my domain/host provider about this.

Originally Posted by ahimel

If you've talked to the person who runs personal MBA, and he's cool with you doing this, ask him for advice. He's started a very similar business from the ground up; he presumably has good ideas on the subject.

I got his blessings today in an email. I will go back and ask him for advice, though.

Originally Posted by ahimel

Otherwise, I'd start with getting a website set up, and as specific questions arise, post them here or PM people who have business experience.

Thank you for your help. That's great advice.

[Vanessa]

Originally Posted by geekchic9

The goal of the site is to expand the mind through a structured program without the cost of a private college education.

There are some amazing courses opened up right now from MIT OpenCourseWare. MIT opened up the content for some undergrad/grad courses that you can download and put into Moodle (or any other LMS) and use the material for free while you have someone moderate the course. I've yet to see someone outside of MIT implement the courses with an instructor and build a community but they've offered up a lot of valuable content. There is a community called Opencourse that supports the development of freely available courses and using web technology to reach more students. Also,Your Source for Open Course Resources
has an additional list of courses that are freely available to implement.

There is a need for this kind of education, it's been in my 'one day look into expanding to this market when I have time' mental folder since I started focusing on education based technology projects in '03.

Let me know how I can help you with this initiative. I've implemented courses using other open source LMS's (Interact, Dokeos, currently developing one using Atutor and testingSakai) and would love to expand beyond govenment and univeristy sponsored elearning.

[geekchic9]

Originally Posted by Vanessa

MIT opened up the content for some undergrad/grad courses that you can download and put into Moodle (or any other LMS) and use the material for free while you have someone moderate the course. I've yet to see someone outside of MIT implement the courses with an instructor and build a community but they've offered up a lot of valuable content.

Ooh. More resources to explore. Thanks!

There is a need for this kind of education, it's been in my 'one day look into expanding to this market when I have time' mental folder since I started focusing on education based technology projects in '03.

Let me know how I can help you with this initiative. <snip>

Wow! This is so exciting! I will look at all of the links that you have posted soon. I need someone for brainstorming, etc. I think I'm going to go buy that "Nonprofit Kit for Dummies" book now. It will be very useful in setting things up for us.

Thanks again.