1. Business Start-Up Lessons

Learning goal: Know the difference between start-up costs, revenue, per-sale contribution and net profit before committing money to a business.

Step 1 — Estimate start-up costs

List one-time costs (supplies, initial inventory, equipment, permits, initial website setup) separately from ongoing monthly costs (hosting, replenishment, insurance, storage, advertising). Research rules and permit requirements where your business operates; costs vary by location.

Step 2 — Set a price using real costs

Sales revenue is money collected before costs. Contribution per order is revenue per order minus variable costs such as product, packaging, shipping and applicable transaction fees. Net profit accounts for additional overhead, labor, taxes and other expenses. A positive sale does not always mean a profitable business.

Step 3 — Keep records

Save purchase and sales receipts, record transaction dates, describe what was bought or sold, and keep business activity separate from personal spending. Reconcile records against statements regularly. Specific tax recordkeeping requirements differ by jurisdiction.

1. Write down your planned product and who would buy it.
2. List at least five start-up expenses.
3. Calculate your per-sale contribution using the real costs you expect.
4. Decide what you need to track after every sale.

Use the free Small Business Profit Estimator in the Entrepreneurship tab

2. Entrepreneurship Workshop

Learning goal: Test one business idea before investing heavily. This guided at-home exercise provides structured practice; it does not include a live instructor or individual feedback.

Part A — Define the customer and the problem

Complete this sentence: “I help [specific customer] solve [specific problem] with [product/service].” Make the customer group specific enough that you can find and speak with them.

Part B — Test demand

1. Identify three competing or alternative ways customers currently solve the problem.
2. Speak to five potential customers without asking them to share private financial information.
3. Ask about their current solution, frustrations, buying criteria and willingness to try an alternative; do not pressure them for a yes.
4. Compare your estimated delivered price against alternatives, including shipping or service fees.

Part C — Draft a simple sales plan

3. Planning Templates

Use these beginner templates as a starting point. You can copy the column headings into a notebook or spreadsheet, duplicate the rows as needed, and update them after each transaction. They are not a substitute for professional bookkeeping, legal, or tax advice.

Template A — Start-Up Budget

Template B — Sales and Expense Register

Template C — Inventory Tracker

Inventory formula: Closing units = opening units + units added − units sold or used. Record damaged or spoiled inventory separately so counts stay accurate.

Template D — Monthly Sales Forecast

4. Intro to Coding

Learning goal: Understand the roles of the three core technologies used in many webpages. You do not need prior coding experience.

Read your first HTML

<h1>Welcome to My Page</h1>
<p>I am learning to build websites.</p>
<button type="button">Say Hello</button>

What happens? The browser displays a large heading, a paragraph and a button. A plain button does nothing special until behavior is added.

Make a visual change with CSS

h1 {
  color: #8b6924;
  font-size: 32px;
}

Add simple JavaScript behavior

document.querySelector("button")
  .addEventListener("click", function () {
    alert("Hello, future builder!");
  });

Practice: Change the sample heading text, pick a different CSS color, and explain what the click handler does. You can test the code in a local HTML file or a trusted online code editor; no service is required to read this lesson.

5. Build Your First Website

Learning goal: Create a simple single page website, understand the difference between writing code and publishing it, and practice basic accessibility and privacy safeguards.

What do I use? Use the free Coding Studio farther down this page. It has three boxes: HTML for words and headings, CSS for colors and design, and JavaScript for interactive buttons. You do not need Microsoft Word or a paid program.

1. Scroll down to Coding Studio: Build Your Website.
2. Tap the HTML box and change the sample heading and introduction.
3. Tap the CSS box and change a color. Leave JavaScript as it is for now.
4. Tap Run my code to see your website in the Working preview.
5. Tap Download my website to save your HTML file. If downloading is blocked, use Copy website code and save it as index.html in a text editor.
6. Open your saved HTML file in a browser. To publish it for everyone, you will need website hosting.

Starter website file

<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>My First Website</title>
  <style>
    body { font-family: Arial, sans-serif;
           max-width: 700px; margin: 40px auto;
           padding: 0 20px; line-height: 1.6; }
    h1 { color: #85651e; }
    a { color: #174d85; }
  </style>
</head>
<body>
  <h1>Welcome to My Website</h1>
  <p>I built this page myself.</p>
  <h2>About this project</h2>
  <p>Describe what you offer here.</p>
  <a href="https://example.com">Example link</a>
</body>
</html>

Before sharing your website

• Use a unique page title and descriptive link text.
• Check text contrast and readable font sizes.
• Do not put passwords, secret keys, private customer details or payment-card numbers in page code.
• Only collect visitor information if needed; use appropriate privacy notices and secure services.
• Understand that domains and hosting are separate from the webpage file and may have recurring costs.

Build It Here: Student Workspaces

Complete the exercises right on this page, on a phone or computer. Your work stays in your browser until you download it. No account required.