30 years ago, self-made business owners were the norm – entrepreneurs didn’t tend to go to university, they were self-starters who had made the best of their situation. Today, however, that’s no longer the case, or at least, for the majority of business owners it’s not – most entrepreneurs attend university and get a degree.
Of course, there are the exceptions to the rule, like Mark Zuckerberg and Steve Jobs who founded Facebook, Dreamworks, and Apple, respectively. Two of the most successful men of the modern world created businesses and effectively ran them without any higher education, which demonstrates that a degree isn’t a necessity for launching a startup.
That being said, undertaking a degree can give entrepreneurs an array of skills, experience, and knowledge that otherwise, they would not have had. Today, statistics show that 64% of entrepreneurs have some form of higher education, with a quarter having a bachelor’s degree and 17% having a masters degree.
The fact is that you don’t need a degree to run a business, but you need a combination of skill, experience, and knowledge – all things that undergoing a degree course can give you. You may not require a degree to launch a business, but it can be highly beneficial to have one. With that in mind, below is a guide to some of the benefits of getting a degree before starting a business…
University is a prime location for networking
The truth of the matter is that as a business owner, networking will be a key part of your success. It’s vital that if you want your business to succeed that you understand that, and build up a strong relationship with key figures within the sector that your business will launch in. A great way to increase your reach is to attend university, as by doing so you will meet a lot of like-minded people (aka many business focused individuals) who you can network with, building up your customer base.
You will gain a better understanding of organization
A key part of running a business is organization. It’s impossible to run any business successfully without having key organizational skills in place because the fact is running a business can be messy. It’s not an easy task keeping your company on track for success or ensuring that your budgets are being carefully monitored. The fact is that undertaking a degree, whether it’s an undergraduate business management degree followed by a master’s degree in leadership or just an undergraduate degree, or perhaps even a diploma that equates to a degree, it doesn’t matter. All that matters is that you learn to effectively manage your time (as well as your budget), as it’s these skills that will make running a business easier.
You will learn key skills and gain important experience
To make a success of any venture, it’s vital that you have the key skills and experience to run a business. It’s not just a case of coming up with an idea and going with it; it’s a case of thinking everything through, picking every idea that you have apart, and finding ways to ensure that each area of your business runs seamlessly, or as smoothly as possible. Undertaking a university course that is linked to business, can give you these key skills and the vital experience that you need to succeed.
You may not need a degree to run a successful business, but the fact is, having one really can increase your chances of success.
