How College Can Help Entrepreneurs Succeed
Many young entrepreneurs think there is no reason to go to college or earn a degree. Notably, only around 50% of all business owners have a four-year degree or higher. Instead, these professionals use their wit and experience to find success. However, getting a degree or taking college courses can help build valuable skills that will help you in the long run.
We often need to fail once or twice to find out what works. This fact is an inevitable trend in business and life. But when you take a course, you learn from experts’ mistakes first. With their knowledge, you can stop yourself from following the same path.
To understand why learning these things early is important, consider that 50% of small businesses fail within the first five years. Some experts even estimate that number is as high as 90%. Truly, these numbers are daunting and disheartening. Thus, it’s good to prepare for common risks and problems upfront. College courses rely on the wisdom of professionals who have figured out what worked and what didn’t.
Additionally, you’ll learn about valuable resources and hone secondary skills, such as your research abilities. Staying on top of trends is important for any business – which means research is vital for success.
You don’t need a degree to run your business. Indeed, this fact alone is part of what makes entrepreneurship desirable. However, you can still benefit from taking a few courses. You may even find that a degree makes your business more credible to some. Keep reading to learn what skills you learn and why they’re important.
Top 6 Skills to Help Entrepreneurs
When people think of college, they often picture endless lectures, essays, and exams. They think of all the time and money they need to invest. They rarely consider the invaluable skills you gain from this process. Some are more obvious, such as marketing. However, we tend to forget about others like communication, writing, time management, and valuable soft skills.
Today, soft skills are important for success in any company. Employers, for example, value employees with strong communication and writing abilities. These traits are more difficult to teach than how to operate new software. Thus, hiring managers want individuals who excel in these areas from the get-go. When running your own business, you need to know that you can rely on your own skills to succeed.
Imagine how difficult it would be to get new clients without strong communication abilities. People want to know they can trust you and your product. If you cannot explain exactly what you’re selling, you’ll struggle to find anyone willing to buy.
Below are our top six skills you can get from college.
1. Communication
At the top of our list is communication. Indeed, this skill is one of the most important for any employee or entrepreneur. If you don’t know to express yourself, it becomes much more difficult to market, sell, and negotiate for your business.
As a business owner, consider how many people you will need to talk to or communicate with daily: suppliers, employees, prospective and future clients, partners, and more. You’ll need to be able to express your business’s goals and services to anyone who asks. Furthermore, you’ll need to be clear about expectations and projects. If you cannot say what you want your employees to do, it’s not their fault if they deliver a different result than you anticipated.
If you need to improve your communication skills, you have various options. Indeed, there are multiple cheap or free options on sites like Udemy and YouTube. Some people have free video series or podcasts you can listen to while working. Check out online and local universities if you’re looking for an accredited option that brings college credits or a certificate. Communication courses are some of the most readily available out there.
2. Writing
On the same hand as communication, strong writing skills are important to have as an entrepreneur. Consider how many posts you have seen over the years that are filled with typos, confusing or offensive content, and general nonsense. Would you trust a product from someone who posts like on their business account? More often than not, this content comes across as unprofessional and unappealing. No one wants to do business with someone who acts like they’re on their personal Facebook account.
A typo every once in a while doesn’t hurt anyone. But if you come across as unprofessional, you’ll hurt your chances of finding new clients, partners, and employees. Similarly, if you’re sending out emails filled with mistakes, people are more likely to think you’re a spam bot or a scammer.
There’s also the danger that someone will misinterpret your message. This confusion can cause a lot of hurt.
Improving your writing skills takes time. Notably, English can be a difficult language to perfect, even for native speakers. There are many grammar and spelling rules that we simply don’t learn in high school. Consider taking a course, study videos on your own, and use spell checkers.
3. Networking
Colleges often encourage their students to network. They host events and groups, provide career counselors, and create an environment to interact with your peers.
Having a strong network can be life-changing for entrepreneurs. If you ever need help, you’ll have reliable connections to reach out to. Additionally, networking opens paths up for new clients, partners, and suppliers. Indeed, it’s almost always better to work with someone you’re familiar with and know you can trust.
Networking today requires strong communication and writing skills. Much of it is done online on sites like LinkedIn. Colleges provide resources and opportunities to build these abilities up. Indeed, consider what other environment allows you to interact with hundreds of professionals across dozens of fields. A college campus’s diversity enables you to meet all kinds of people. You never know how these connections will come in handy in the future.
4. Marketing
Marketing skills are a must for entrepreneurs. You need to get your business’s name out there somehow. If no one knows your company exists, you won’t get clients.
Additionally, anyone can create an ad. But you must know how to follow trends, market to your audience, and create compelling advertising. Indeed, similar to writing, you must make content that is professional and appealing.
At some point, you may be able to hire someone to do your marketing. Until then, you must create enough buzz to get on your feet.
Of course, not everyone is an expert in digital art. You can get creative with your marketing efforts. Businesses work on social media sites like Twitter and TikTok, create LinkedIn posts, or get started by word-of-mouth. Notably, real estate agents rely heavily on friends and family to get their names out there.
Marketing courses are invaluable for entrepreneurs. Indeed, this is one of those skills that can take a lot of trial and error to figure out. Thus, learning from the experts can take a lot of guesswork out of the process.
5. Research
Research skills are hard to build outside of college. However, they are a valuable tool for any entrepreneur.
College courses require using valid and respected resources to support your arguments and essays. Thus, you’ll learn quickly how to find good sources of information. In the world of business, this is helpful for two main reasons.
One, you’ll be able to find higher-quality connections and employees with research skills. Imagine that another business comes to you with a product partnership. They want to pay you to sell their item in your shop. A quick Google search shows you their store, their team, etc. However, a deeper search may reveal lawsuits, negative press, and even reports of scams from other parties. Some companies are great at hiding bad press. You can keep yourself safe from these businesses with good research skills.
Secondly, you’ll be better able to follow business trends. To know what’s going on in your field, you need to know what to look for. For example, if you sell skin care products, you need to know what’s popular, recent studies, and the competition.
Developing good research skills can take time and a keen eye. College courses will push you to build this ability faster.
6. Math
Math skills are valuable for a variety of reasons. It helps with finances, statistical understanding, and goal setting. However, up to a third of the American population struggles with math. Among the top reasons are anxiety and a lack of quality schooling.
A college-level course can help improve your comfort and understanding of budgeting and planning. Indeed, basic math skills are necessary when you’re stocking your store or trying to figure out how many clients you can handle. If you buy too many supplies, you may create a disastrous situation for your company.
Additionally, as your company progresses, you’ll plan bigger projects. You’ll need to handle larger-scale goals and know how much extra money to set aside in case of emergencies.
These courses can be difficult for many people. If you know math is a problem area for you, consider working your way up. Your college may offer tutors included with tuition, and you can use YouTube and Udemy to improve your skills. Then, you’ll be ready to take an upper-level or specialized course. For example, you could enroll in a program that offers accounting classes.
Final Thoughts on Skills for Entrepreneurs
More skills than the above six will help you with your business. Notably, you also build critical thinking and creative abilities in college. Basically, you learn more than just what’s on the page. Tests, essays, and lectures prepare you for the real world in more ways than most people expect.
Additionally, those major skills such as marketing take a lot of trial and error when you’re on your own. Expert knowledge can ease your adventures in marketing while you get started.
If you’re afraid of the prices or don’t have the time for school now, don’t worry. You have options. Previously, we mentioned using sites like Udemy to improve your abilities. You won’t earn a credible certificate in these courses, but you can build your skills.
There are alternatives to traditional courses that allow you to attend college online and from home. For example, Lakewood University offers a variety of programs that focus on the skills entrepreneurs need for success. You can take vocational and undergraduate certificate programs or pursue a degree up to an MBA. Additionally, Lakewood offers Project Management courses to help you earn your PMP.
Overall, accredited online universities like Lakewood allow you to complete your educational goals faster and for lower tuition than a traditional college. You can also complete coursework at any time of the day. Thus, this is an excellent option for students with families and jobs.
If you’re interested, don’t hesitate. Reach out to an admissions representative today!
