In my last article, I talked about why you don’t necessarily need a business degree to run your own business. And while I still stand by that, I also want to talk about why having that degree can be helpful for you. I mentioned it in the last article — a degree will just get you one step closer to your dream.
Here are three reasons why you might want to consider that degree after all:
Credibility
Whether you’re looking for a partnership, hiring employees or asking an investor for money, these people are all going to feel more confident in you if they know where you’ve been. A degree in business shows them that you know what you’re doing and you’re committed to a future in that field.
In a management class I took during my undergrad, I worked on a case study regarding a man who wanted to be promoted to IT manager for his company. He had been with the organization for a few years, but in the end, was denied the promotion because he had a degree in English. The position was given to someone who had been with the company for less time but graduated with a degree in computer information technology.
Of course, you’re your own boss, so this is completely different. But your education will often tell people all they need to know about your experience and your goals in life. And if you’re looking for someone to be a part of your business, you’re going to want them to know you’re serious.
Understand Business Fundamentals
As you start running your business, you’re going to figure things out. But like I said in my last piece, it’s like learning how to ride a bike without first getting your training wheels.
Having a degree in business or entrepreneurship will help you to better predict, plan and organize how things will go. You’ll be able to stay on top of things and there’s less of a chance for your business to take off without you. Plus, you’ll be able to understand and discuss all those odd business terms with your accountant that you might not have understood without your degree.
Experience With A Safety Net
When you learn how to run an organization in the safety of a classroom, you have the opportunity to fail without severe consequences. In a finance class I once took, I had to learn how to handle several millions of dollars and stay on top of it all. It was overwhelming and frustrating. And to be honest, I didn’t do well with it at all. Not the first time, at least. But it was OK. Because it wasn’t real!
Over time, I got to practice more and more and I got better each time. By the time I was dealing with real money, I knew what I was doing so I was less intimidated and was much more successful.
Failure is always the best teacher, but it can often be painful. It doesn’t hurt quite so much when it happens in a classroom.
Having spent the majority of my adult life in a small town, I’ve seen so many friends try and fail to start up businesses around town. It might be comforting to blame the demographic of a small college town for the lack of success, but I know it’s mostly due to inexperience. Many young entrepreneurs can get overzealous when a new idea for a business comes into their head, but running a business takes so much more than most people realize.
A real degree can help you with that. It can get you ahead of other competitors because most of your trial-and-error process will have already happened in the classroom. Now that you’re out of there with a degree in your hand, you’re ready to take on whatever storm comes your way.
by: Emily Brady
Emily Brady received her Bachelors at Brigham Young University Idaho where she majored in Communication Sciences with an emphasis in journalism and professional management. She has written for Scroll News and Deseret Digital Media and is currently a freelance writer. In her free time she enjoys hiking, reading and swinging in her hammock.
