Best Certifications for Business Owners: Enhance Your Skills and Grow Your Business

Business owners can earn certifications to help them manage their businesses successfully. These certifications highlight key topics, such as management, finances, marketing, and technology, helping leaders build the knowledge they need to oversee employees and manage business operations. If you're looking to build your business management skills, explore certifications and learn more about pricing and their requirements.

Why certifications are valuable for business owners

Business certifications are a valuable asset for business owners. Consider the following reasons why certificates can benefit you and your business:

• Build credibility and trust with clients. Holding business certifications shows your clients you're committed to ongoing learning and excellence. Being knowledgeable and meeting industry standards is a great way to build credibility and trust with potential and current clients. 

• Expand expertise in key business areas. Broadening your expertise in different business areas can help you handle various challenges you may experience as a business owner. 

• Stay competitive in a rapidly evolving market. The business market is an ever-evolving area that can be unpredictable and change rapidly. It is important to stay relevant, and obtaining certifications to build your knowledge can help you do that. 

Popular certifications for management and leadership

Explore the different management and leadership certifications available and determine which one might work for you. 

Certified Manager (CM)

Cost: $160 [1]

Requirements: To qualify for the exam, you must follow a point system: you need at least three education points based on your academic degrees and four experience points based on management, non-management, and military roles. 

Overview: Offered by the Institute of Certified Professional Managers, the Certified Manager certification develops your ability to manage people at various levels. As a business owner, you will work cross-functionally with different teams and people, making it important to know how to interact with them and manage employees. 

Project Management Professional (PMP)

Cost: $675 [2]

Requirements: To qualify for the exam, you must meet one of the three requirements sets, including work experience, education, and training. 

Overview: The Project Management Professional certification, offered by the Project Management Institute (PMI), is a globally recognized certification that showcases your project management skills. Earning a PMP certification develops your ability to lead projects and expertise in the field and can also increase your average median salary. Those with the PMP certification have a 33 percent higher median salary than those without it [2]. 

Get started with project management on Coursera:

Read more: PMI vs. PMP: What’s the Difference?

Six Sigma certification

Cost: The first level is free, with additional levels costing various amounts. 

Requirements: You can sign up for the first level (white belt) without meeting any requirements. 

Overview: The Six Sigma certification showcases an individual’s knowledge of team leadership, team dynamics, and the ability to assign roles and responsibilities to team members. You’ll find various certification levels, including white belt, yellow belt, green belt, and black belt certifications, with master black belt being the highest. 

Learn more about Six Sigma:

Read more: Six Sigma Certification: Benefits, Options, and How to Get Certified

Essential finance and accounting certifications for business owners

Finance and accounting are two important tools in business ownership. Not only is it important to keep track of your finances, but accounting can also help you monitor your company’s performance. Some helpful finance and accounting certifications are as follows:

Certified public accountant (CPA)

Cost: Fees depend on the jurisdiction of certification [3]. 

Requirements: To take the CPA exam, you need at least 150 hours of college or postgraduate education with at least one year of qualifying professional experience. 

Overview: A certified public accountant evaluates financial operations and streamlines an organization’s accounting processes to optimize efficiency. CPAs also commonly manage account books, prepare taxes, and organize and maintain financial records. You can earn your CPA credentials through your state’s Board of Accountancy.

Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA)

Cost: $990 [4]

Requirements: You’ll need to pass three Chartered Financial Analyst exams. To take the exams, you must have qualifying work experience and become a member of the CFA Institute. 

Overview: The Chartered Financial Analyst program from the CFA Institute focuses on training individuals in investment analysis skills. This program can provide you with financial tools and knowledge that will contribute to the success of your business and help you learn possible investment avenues.

Certified Management Accountant (CMA)

Requirements: A bachelor’s degree or a professional certification and two years of professional experience in management accounting or financial management. You’ll also need to be a member of the IMA and pass an exam.

Cost: CMA certification includes three fees: an entrance fee, an exam fee, and a membership fee. If you are a student or academic, the entrance fee is $225, the exam fee is $370 per part, and the membership fee is $160. For working professionals, the entrance fee is $300, the exam fee is $495 per part, and the membership fee is $295 [5].

Overview: Offered by the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA), the Certified Management Accountant certification focuses on learning how to explain the reason behind numbers. You can learn financial management, planning, performance, and analytics during this certification program. 

Marketing and digital strategy certifications for business growth

Marketing is an important aspect of promoting and growing your business. Digital marketing is a helpful way to reach a broader audience in a cost-effective way. Below are certifications available to help you with marketing and digital strategy:

Certified digital marketing professional

Cost: $1,442 [6]

Requirements: This certification has no formal requirements or prerequisites. 

Overview: As a certified digital marketing professional, you can gain knowledge in various digital marketing topics, equipping yourself with skills to successfully design, implement, and optimize digital marketing strategies for your business. The Digital Marketing Institute (DMI) and American Marketing Association (AMA) have a dual certification program where you can earn both the DMI and Professional Certified Marketer certifications. 

Read more: 8 Industry-Recognized Digital Marketing Certificates + How to Get One

AMA Professional Certified Marketer (PCM)

Cost: Starting at $749 [7]

Requirements: This certification has no requirements, but the AMA suggests that applicants have at least a bachelor’s degree and four years of marketing experience, a master’s degree and two years of marketing experience, or seven years of marketing experience. 

Overview: The AMA offers three PCM certifications in marketing management, digital marketing, and content marketing. If you're looking to bridge knowledge gaps in these areas and want a self-paced learning format, this certification may meet your needs.

Google Analytics certification

Cost: Free [8]

Requirements: None

Overview: Google offers an Analytics Individual Qualification (IQ) to validate and showcase your knowledge of digital analytics and analytics fundamentals. Although you can take the test anytime, Google recommends completing its Analytics Academy to prepare for the exam. 

Read more: Google Analytics Certification: Benefits and How to Get It

Technology and cybersecurity certifications for business owners

Information technology (IT) helps ensure efficient business processes, and cybersecurity can help keep your business secure. The following certifications provide knowledge of cybersecurity and IT practices. 

CompTIA Security+

Cost: $404 [9]

Requirements: This certification has no formal requirements, but CompTIA recommends having the CompTIA Network+ certification and two years of professional security experience.

Overview: This certification focuses on the skills needed to implement security solutions. You can learn general security concepts, how to protect your business from threats, and how to implement a security program. 

Read more: What Is the CompTIA Security+ (Plus) Certification? Guide

Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP)

Cost: $749 [10]

Requirements: You must have at least five years of work experience in two or more disciplines outlined in the exam. 

Overview: The CISSP certification, offered by ISC2, focuses on cybersecurity and gives you the tools to design, implement, and manage a cybersecurity program. The certification displays your competency in securing an organization’s data and ensuring hackers do not access sensitive data.

ITIL 4 Foundation certification

Cost: $669 [11]

Requirements: This certification has no formal requirements. 

Overview: The ITIL 4 Foundation certification focuses on IT service management. It allows you to learn key topics in service management, including the service value chain, service management concepts, and the service value system. 

Build business skills and knowledge on Coursera

Business certifications can expand your knowledge and help you build the skills you need to effectively manage your organization. You can develop your skills on Coursera, starting with the Google Digital Marketing & E-commerce Professional Certificate to learn more about digital marketing and e-commerce. If you want to learn how to utilize social media for your business, check out the Meta Social Media Marketing Professional Certificate on Coursera. Upon completing either program, gain a shareable certificate to include in your resume, CV, or LinkedIn profile.