What does a healthy business look like on the books? What do those financial statements actually mean? What about all the jargon your accountant uses? The Beanstalk KnowHow program gives you and your students the answers to those important real-life business questions. This is a homeschool mom’s review of an online business training program with the goal to educate about businesses; starting, growing, and selling one successfully. Read further to find out how you can get BeansTalk KnowHow with a special discount code!
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Beanstalk KnowHow Course Review and Huge Discount
This is a sponsored review of BeansTalk KnowHow. Although I was compensated for my time and received free access to peruse the course, I enjoyed it and gladly share it with you as a great resource for your homeschooled high schoolers. Please see my disclosure. The opinions in this review are unbiased and honest. Also included is a special discount just for you!
About the Instructor
The creator of the course and your video instructor is Steve Watkins-Barlow. Steve is a Chartered Accountant, (CPA).
- Homeschool Dad: He began home educating his two youngest children when his wife passed away from cancer in 2012. Once he took on the task of teaching his kids at home, he began to realize there was not much curriculum available to teach basic business knowledge and help people gain an understanding of financial statements. He decided to share his extensive knowledge by creating this set of online courses.
- Methods/Style: Steve introduces each lesson with a short video clip. The curriculum ties together the academic information that is being presented with a clever “Jack-and-the-Beanstalk” analogy of planting “beans” and learning about business. The comparison is fun – not overdone.
- Modules: The modules (One thru Five) progress from teaching student the fundamentals to the end goal of selling your profitable business and gaining financial security.
Who Will Benefit?
The course was designed to make business knowledge accessible to homeschoolers, to adults who may already be small business owners, or to anyone interested in future entrepreneurship. Whether they forge ahead into creating a small business of their own, or you use the Beanstalk program as a business or accounting course for your homeschooled high schooler, students will benefit from the instructor’s knowledge and the structure of the courses themselves.
- Middle Schoolers, High Schoolers, and Adults: The learning levels are appropriate for middle school and high school students, or adults. Some students will move through the material quickly if they already have a basic understanding of business and will gain more from the later modules. Anyone who is interested in gaining business acumen will benefit from the material.
- Aspiring Entrepreneurs: The course is available online and includes “bite-sized” sections of information to give students time to digest it. It begins with the basics and moves into more detailed information quickly to keep the student interested, and invested in learning the lessons they need to know to succeed in business.
What Does it Include?
The information in each module is introduced by video and covered in depth through written lessons and supplements.
- Modules: Each section includes real-world examples and quizzes to help you review the material covered. Students can go at their own pace, but the average student completes each module in about ten hours.
- All-Access Pass: Once you purchase the online course, you have an all-access pass. There is no time limit, so students can work within their own time-frame and the courses can be reviewed as much as needed. Your purchase enables you to view on multiple devices. You can purchase access for multiple students as well.
What is Covered?
- In Module One: Fundamentals, “Planting the Seeds of Business Knowhow” instructor and course creator, Steve Watkins-Barlow covers the basics and history of accounting, balancing the books, double entry, why the banks seem to lie to us, and why it’s right for debits to be on the left.
- Module Two: Bean Counting, “Interpreting Financial Statements” discusses financial statements themselves including discussion of the types of profit mentioned in the Profit & Loss statements, overhead, depreciation, why cash doesn’t necessarily equal profit, what a good balance sheet should look like and the key performance ratios used to judge a businesses’ performance.
- Module Three: Getting Beans, “How Business Works” focuses on business structure: roles within a business, sales, prices, profits, assets, costs, budgeting, and forecasting, marketing, and business planning.
- Module Four: Bean Magic, “Growing the Business” is designed to take your business to the next level, and beyond – discussing leverage points and cash flow vs. profits, data collection, and customer retention.
- Module Five: Golden Egg, “Selling the Business” covers the documentation and systemization you will need in order to sell your business for a good price and how to exit your business with a profit for a comfortable retirement.
What Do I Think?
- Structure and Pacing: I like that the curriculum is thorough and well structured. I always enjoy going at my own pace and I think that is a real benefit for most students. The material is presented in an interesting way and the online format is easy to navigate.
- Self-Correcting: I also appreciated that the quizzes and tests are self-correcting, so you can check your answers and see the correct answers right away. Some of the lessons seemed basic to me since I already own my own business, but I was able to move along through the sections and still gain some new technical knowledge.
- Computer Based: I love that it’s portable and convenient due to being computer-based, but I also enjoy the fact that you are able to print out the pdf files rather than only reading them on a device. Students who prefer “print” as part of their learning style will also enjoy the program.
- Educational Value: This course would be a great help to anyone who is working up a business plan! It would also be a terrific business, economics, or accounting credit for a homeschooled student.
Want a Deal? Here’s a Discount for You!
Right now readers of The Frugal Homeschooling Mom blog get a valuable discount on the program. Only $199 when you use the code FRUGAL at checkout. If you want more than one student to use the course, additional logins can be added for only $20 each by contacting customer service. You will need to let them know the email address you used to sign up for your course. To take a closer look at the BeansTalk KnowHow program, or to purchase the online course now, go to .
