What Your Students Should Know
Whether you're starting out or starting over, the Business & Growth track equips you with the strategy, marketing, sales, and operations skills that companies and organizations are actively hiring for — right now.
From market research to project management, from advertising sales to event coordination, every role in this track shares one throughline: the ability to move the work forward and know the technology you need to deploy for efficiency and to manage hybrid teams.
Workforce Snapshot
Sales & Development
- Advertising Sales Agentmedian $61,270/yr
- Account Executivemedian $84,210/yr
Marketing
- Market Research Analystmedian $74,680/yr
- Content Strategistmedian $74,800/yr
- Growth & Lifecycle Marketermedian $112,400/yr
Business Operations
- Project Management Specialistmedian $95,370/yr
- Meeting, Convention & Event Plannermedian $62,480/yr
- Desktop Publishermedian $49,450/yr
- Data Entry Keyermedian $38,040/yr
Salary data sourced from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and LinkedIn Talent Insights 2025.
Why This Lab, Why Now
Business operations, project management, and marketing roles remain the connective tissue of every growth-stage organization. Marketing managers, growth analysts, and partnership leads are in the top 15% of fastest-growing professional roles — and content, lifecycle, and partnerships hiring is outpacing broad sales, especially at impact-driven brands.
AI fluency is now table stakes for the top business roles. This track trains you to use AI as a strategic accelerator — not a replacement for your judgment.
- +8.7% projected Business sector growth through 2034
- +6.4% projected Sales & Marketing sector growth through 2034
- 1.1M+ U.S. business openings per year
- 174 live roles currently on the Brand Evangelist marketplace
Learning Modules
Each partner purchase includes CORE 102, 109 & 207 + (1) sector speciality of your choosing.
Business Foundations
Sector Focus: Business
Build your professional foundation from the ground up. Learn how impact-driven organizations are structured, how they operate, and how every role connects to mission and margin.
- →Business models for nonprofits, B Corps, social enterprises, and startups
- →Organizational structure and stakeholder management
- →Introduction to project management principles
- →Data entry, documentation, and operations fundamentals
- →AI tools for business productivity and workflow automation
Marketing for Impact Brands
Sector Focus: Marketing
Go beyond campaigns. Learn to build marketing strategies that communicate values, grow audiences, and drive meaningful action at impact-driven companies and organizations.
- →Brand voice, messaging, and positioning
- →Content strategy for digital and social platforms
- →Email marketing and lifecycle campaigns
- →Marketing analytics and performance measurement
- →AI-assisted marketing workflows and tools
Market Strategy
Sector Focus: Marketing, Sales & Development
Learn to find, understand, and reach the right audiences — with data and strategy in unison.
- →Market research methodologies and survey design
- →Competitive analysis and audience segmentation
- →Growth strategy and funnel development
- →Partnerships, sponsorships, and business development basics
- →Research and analysis in the age of AI
Sales Management for Business
Sector Focus: Sales & Development
Learn the human side of selling — how to build relationships, communicate value, and close opportunities at organizations that lead with mission.
- →Sales fundamentals, funnels and lead generation
- →Advertising and media planning
- →Consultative selling and relationship-based business development
- →RFP writing and proposal development
- →CRM tools and pipeline management
- →Ethical sales practices for teams
Project Management & Events
Sector Focus: Business Operations
Learn to plan, execute, and close out projects and events that keep impact organizations moving forward on time and on mission.
- →Project lifecycle management (Agile and Waterfall)
- →Tools: Loom, Jira, Trello, Notion, and others
- →Branded event planning from concept to execution
- →Budget management and vendor coordination
- →Stakeholder communication and reporting
AI Tools for Business Professionals
All Sectors
AI isn't replacing business professionals — it's raising the floor for everyone. This module ensures you graduate as an AI-fluent operator, not one who fears it.
- →AI productivity tools for research, writing, and planning
- →Prompt engineering for business outputs
- →Automating workflows with Magnetic AI
- →Security, data storage and ethical AI use in business and marketing contexts
- →Building AI agents and GPTs to deploy for your business
Portfolio & Career Readiness
All Sectors
Participants don't just complete a course — they gain a network, hands-on experience, and industry credibility.
- →Portfolio development across 3–5 real-world projects
- →Resume and LinkedIn optimization for business and marketing roles
- →Interview preparation and salary negotiation
- →Access local and regional ecosystems with warm introductions
- →Creating and tracking S.M.A.R.T. goals
About the Lab
Each lab at Upskill Appalachia follows these signals:
- →Greet each student with a support system from day one (mentor, instructor, network, peers)
- →Embody a cohort-based program for skill building and project-based for speciality
- →Encourage original thought, critical analysis and real-world experiences
- →Use of AI tools responsibly and strategically
- →Blend delivery to serve learners with different styles, schedules and goals
- →Connect the dots between technical skill, leadership, impact and opportunity
Program Details
| Lab | Business & Growth |
|---|---|
| Fee | $6,998 |
| Seats per Cohort | 25 |
| Format | Live sessions, virtual labs + self-paced modules |
| Duration | 15 weeks |
| Placement Strategy | Included — Career Advisor, Workforce Counselor & Instructor |
Who This Is For
This lab is built for:
- Career changers ready to pivot into marketing, sales, or business operations
- Working professionals who need to modernize their skills with AI tools
- Corporate leaders who want to grow their company more strategically
- Recent graduates looking for structured, career-specific immersive training
- Anyone on an entrepreneurial path but never had the formal training to back it up
No prior business or marketing experience required — only curiosity, commitment, and a desire to do good work.
Financial Assistance
We believe cost should never be the barrier to professional development. Options we can coordinate:
- →Educational scholarships and grants
- →WIOA workforce development funding (where eligible)
- →Employer-sponsored professional development or reimbursement
- →Other scholarship opportunities through local and regional partners