To be successful in business you have to be smart, tough, and oh-so-good at networking. But without formal training, the challenges can make even the best leaders feel unqualified. Business Made Simple University markets itself as the solution.
BMSU is a virtual training program designed to help you master all the basic skills without taking time off from your business.
It doesn’t matter if you’re starting from scratch or you’re already a seasoned business owner, this program will help you boost your bottom line.
So let’s get down to it. What is Business Made Simple University and is it worth it?
What is Business Made Simple University?
Business Made Simple University (BMSU) is a training program by Donald Miller and the team behind StoryBrand.
It’s an online platform designed to grow your business—and surprisingly, it makes an excellent alternative to a traditional MBA or other advanced degree.
BMSU has evolved over the years in order to best serve small business owners and their growth. Currently, BMSU includes a six-step plan to help you grow your small business. It uses the metaphor of an airplane to demonstrate why each facet is important:
Leadership: The cockpit
Like the cockpit of an airplane, the leadership of your organization is the command center of your business, and leaders need to know where they’re going. In this module, you’ll take courses like Negotiation Made Simple and How to Fix Your Mission Statement in One Hour.
Marketing: The right engine
In order to be propelled forward, a plane needs engines. In a business, one of those engines is marketing, and clarifying your message helps your business get where it needs to go. Here, you’ll see courses like Marketing Made Simple and How to Drive Sales Using Social Media.
Sales: The left engine
Just like two engines working together on a plane, marketing and sales work together to propel the business forward. In this section, you’ll take courses like Proposals Made Simple and How to Create a Salescript that Closes the Deal.
Products: The wings
Planes need wings to lift off the ground, and if your business doesn’t have an in-demand product, you won’t be able to get the wheels up on your goals. Courses include How to Create Profitable Products.
Overhead & Operations: The body
While strong and protective, the body of an airplane is also streamlined and efficient. When your operations run smoothly in a business, you’ll get where you want to go faster. These courses include a Playbook for Hiring and Compensating Top Talent.
Cash flow: The fuel
If a plane runs out of fuel, that spells bad news for the pilot. Regulating your cashflow fuels your business and ensures that you stay high in the sky. This section includes a course on How to Manage Your Small Business Finances.
Each course within the six-step plan is video-based. Donald Miller, J.J. Peterson, Koula Callahan, and other instructors lecture on the material and sit down to work through examples. All courses also include quizzes and a workbook.
True to its name — and the StoryBrand M.O. — all Business Made Simple courses are easy to digest. Together they condense about two years’ worth of business education into an accessible format. Talk about an alternative to a two-plus-year MBA!
You’ll learn how to implement sales funnels that get you results, give your company a clear vision for success, and build a healthy workplace culture.
Wait, where are the other courses?
If you’ve been around the BMSU block, you might notice the website looks different than it has before. And you’d be right! In 2022, BMSU optimized its website to include only the most relevant content for business owners in a way that is simple to understand. After all, Don Miller loves to say, “If you confuse, you lose.” So in order to provide a better product, BMSU removed courses such as Enneagram Made Simple and How to Grow a Business.
Is Business Made Simple University Worth the Money?
What’s BMSU going to cost you?
A one-year subscription at Business Made Simple University is $275 per user and gives you 24/7 access to all of its courses.
When you consider the average MBA in the United States costs between $30,000-$120,000 a year — BMSU feels like a steal. Of course, it’s not a direct comparison, but a lot of what you learn in BMSU will directly correlate to your day-to-day work.
And BMSU is designed to help you grow your business. By investing just a few hundred dollars, you are investing in the future profitability of your business!
But as good as it is, the plan can’t teach you everything you need to know to run a business.
For example, there’s no instruction on how to manage the book-end of your business or how to define roles in your company—although there is a course on managing money as a small business and a simple system to manage every team. In their new format, Business Made Simple is continuing to build out more quality content that small and large business owners (and their employees) can benefit from.
So is BMSU worth the money?
Absolutely.
BMSU’s courses are effective and they teach practical skills.
The best part about the program is BMSU makes the business basics easy to understand. And if you put in the time to fill out your workbook, you will have the foundation you need to grow your company.
If an entire BMSU membership feels too overwhelming for you, you have another option! The entire course is based on Donald Miller’s 2021 book, Business Made Simple. It’s just over 200 pages, so it might be a good place to start if you’re not ready to invest in an online program. Read our honest review of the book here.
How to Get the Best Value Out of BMSU
For the best value, go through BMSU with a Business Made Simple Certified Coach. An experienced coach gives you the accountability and feedback missing from a virtual program.
Plus, you can ask questions from someone who knows what it takes to scale their company.
Is Business Made Simple University Right for You?
If you’re a business owner looking to grow your leads and increase your revenue then Business Made Simple University is arguably the most cost-effective solution.
There are still areas it could improve, but when you consider an MBA consumes two years of your life and more than $100,000 in tuition fees, it’s a no-brainer.
BMSU gives you the practical skills you need to see a return on your investment much faster than a formal degree.
You can visit the BMSU website to learn more but if you’re ready to start now and want to see results faster, then have a personal coach mentor you through the program.
P.S.—Interested in signing up for BMSU? Use our special link! When you register, you’ll get access to Business Made Simple’s six-step plan to build a better business. Sign up now and get your business ready for takeoff!
