Getting a Degree Is the Million-Dollar Question
Some of the world’s most successful business people never had a small business degree (or any college degree) when they first started out. Bill Gates stands as a classic example. He’s often touted as the world’s most successful college dropout. Also consider Rachel Ray, Russell Simmons, Michael Dell and Mark Zuckerburg. They all belong to the illustrious crowd of “uneducated” superstars.
And yet, so many budding entrepreneurs hesitate to take the plunge because they feel the need to get a small business degree. They look to higher education to teach them about:
- Accounting, so they can do their own books
- Advertising, to learn how to sell their products and services
- Web development, so they can build their own websites
- Contract law, so they don’t get taken
- Marketing, to learn how to research competitors and identify a niche
- Human resources, so they can hire, train and manage a staff
- Management, to be able to manage said staff
- Leadership, so they can guide their venture
- Writing, so they can create their own proprietary copy
Pick Your Poison
Sure, there are plenty of institutions ready to take your money and give you that small business degree before you ever even earn a nickel in profits. A recent Google search for “small business degrees” turned up 443 million hits. And each has developed its own pitch as to how they’ll make you a better entrepreneur.
In 2019, however, it’s not the sheepskin hanging on the wall that impresses customers. It’s the quality of your products and services. It’s not how savvy your ads are that bring in the business. It’s how passionate you are about your brand. And clients don’t really care if you’re a Quickbooks pro or rely on a handwritten ledger to keep track of your money; they just care about getting a good deal.
The Entrepreneur Defined
A small business degree doesn’t make you a bona fide entrepreneur. While a doctor is defined by credentials, an entrepreneur, as defined by Dictionary.com is: “a person who organizes and manages any enterprise, especially a business, usually with considerable initiative and risk.”
Some say that entrepreneurs are born, not made. Did you have a lemonade stand or cut the neighbor’s grass as a kid? Did you arrange for a band at your high school graduation or champion great photos for the yearbook? Have you ever sold candy to go to camp or figured out how to get a bigger allowance from your parents? If you answered yes to any of those questions, chances are you have entrepreneurial blood running through your veins.
Find a Need and Fill It
Entrepreneurs just do it. Even the founder of Nike that made the slogan famous didn’t have a small business degree. He was a track and field coach looking for better shoes for his runners. The important traits and skills needed by successful entrepreneurs can’t be taught in a classroom. Not even in virtual classrooms.
No small business degree can provide you with energy and optimism you need either. Entrepreneurs tap that well from deep within. They watch other successful startup pioneers. They learn from trial and error. For all those other tasks — you can hire someone to do them.
Ray Access is a content marketing firm that delivers targeted words to empower your business. Contact us about your specific project to receive a quote or discuss your needs. We write website copy, blog posts, e-newsletters and more. Everything we do is thoroughly researched, professionally edited and guaranteed original.