First episode date 1994 | Genre Educational television | |
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Small business school the series on pbs tv stations from 1995 to 2001
Small Business School was a weekly, half-hour television program that began airing in 1994 first in the United States on PBS-member stations and then throughout the world via the Voice of America. The show went on location all over the USA and around the world to visit with the founders of a small business which had created work for at least ten years and they were recognized by their community and industry for their valuable contributions in making the world a better place.
The program was titled "Small Business Today" until 1995. Then, it was then titled "Small Business 2000." The producers said, "We never expected to be still producing in 2000, so we had to re-brand the show a third time."
Throughout the interviews, these owners talk about how they got their idea for a business, how they got started, and how they got over the hurdles. Many even talk about their initial failures. These interviews provide insight and inspiration for all business owners.
Each episode has a transcript, case study guide, overview and homepage to provide a means for viewers to further study each episode.
The show was on the air most actively between 1994 and 2008. It has been in re-runs on PBS and PEG stations around the country. The case study guides were first prepared for the PBS Adult Learning Satellite Service where they were made available to all the colleges and universities throughout the USA. Nobody can pay to be on this show and nobody has ever paid to be on it. For over 50 seasons the show was sponsored by many large American companies and for one season by the U.S. Small Business Administration.
In December 1994 the television show put up its first website. The transcripts, case study guides and overview were all posted. By 1999 this online school for business owners began streaming video of key episodes. By 2006, each key point within most of the weekly episodes began streaming as a short-burst, user-driven videos between one and five minutes long. There are over 1800 video clips on the site today that address key issues that typical business owners face every day.