Portland Community College | Portland, Oregon

Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development, 1-year certificate

Build your business idea at PCC

PCC’s Entrepreneurship certificate helps you explore an idea, build a plan, and connect with people who can support your next step.

Turn your ideas into action with one of PCC’s newest certificates in Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development! This 1-year program helps students explore, plan, and develop a business or social enterprise concept. Or students can build their intrapreneurial skills and work on a new product or service concept for their employer.

Through practical coursework, hands-on projects, and mentoring from local entrepreneurs and business advisors, you’ll learn how to build a business model, create an initial budget, understand customers and conduct market research, develop a competitive strategy, and prepare for the realities of launching or growing a venture.

Whether you want to start your own business, bring new ideas to your workplace, support a family business, or explore entrepreneurship as a career path, PCC’s Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development program gives you the tools, confidence, and network to move forward.

Why choose entrepreneurship at PCC?

PCC offers the most comprehensive Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development program among community colleges in Oregon and Southwest Washington. The program is designed for you, if you want to do more than learn business theory – enroll with us to ideate, test, and strengthen real skills and ideas.

This certificate program gives you the opportunity to work on:

• Venture concepts and market research
• Business models and strategy
• Budgets and financing options
• Marketing and branding
• Product development
• Legal issues
• Supply chain planning

All while capitalizing on sustainability and social entrepreneurship considerations to build your concept’s unique value proposition.

What also distinguishes this program from others? You’ll directly engage with classmates, instructors, local entrepreneurs, and business mentors who bring real-world experience into the learning process.

All of this certificate’s courses are offered online except for the new Business Strategy class, which is currently only offered as an in-person course because students work directly with business mentors.

Award information

Degrees and certificates by number of terms to complete

Award	Length (attending full-time)	Financial aid eligible	Currently accepting students?
Certificate: Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development	1 year

Learn more about Business Administration and all 10 awards available »

What will you learn?

In PCC’s Entrepreneurship program, you will learn how to:

• Explore entrepreneurial mindsets, the legal requirements, and the risks involved with starting and/or running a business or social enterprise.
• Design a business model for a new idea and assess its differentiation factors and feasibility.
• Identify the resources and operational tools needed to manage a business or social enterprise.
• Create an initial budget and identify your key financing needs and options.
• Use business analytics to make informed decisions and better understand customers, markets, and opportunities.
• Develop product management, distribution, branding, and marketing strategies to build your concept’s unique value proposition.
• Identify the legal, operational, and supply chain considerations for your venture concept.
• Strengthen your leadership, problem-solving, and communication skills.
• Work directly with local entrepreneurs and business advisors, who will help you think through real-world business applications and challenges.

What will you do?

After completing the program, students will be prepared to:

• Launch a small business, social enterprise, or community-focused venture.
• Take on a leadership role in any type of organization: startup/small business, nonprofit organization, or family-run business.
• Develop a new product, service, or program for a current employer.
• Continue your education in any field or area of expertise.

Courses

Course listing for the 2026-2027 catalog year.

Course List

Code	Title	Credits
BA 106	Introduction to Excel for Business Data	2
BA 111	Introduction to Accounting	3
BA 150	Intro to Entrepreneurship	4
BA 205	Business Communication Using Technology	4
BA 226	Introduction to Business Law	4
BA 236	Product Management and Branding	4
BA 250	Small Business Design	4
BA 253	Budgeting & Financing for Business	4
BA 255	Project Management Essentials	4
or BA 169Z	Data Analysis Using Microsoft Excel
BA 260	Supply Chain Management	4
BA 277	Professional Ethics in Business	4
BA 296	Small Business Strategy & Pitch	4
Total Credits		45