Whether you keep getting passed over for promotions or your boss is a real jerk, you’ve come to the realization that you should stop relying on others to define your career success and start working for yourself.
But you don’t have a college degree. And you’re wondering if you really need a formal education to be an entrepreneur.
That’s a valid question. Certainly, you can start a business with no formal education. But there are some important reasons why those “college dropout becomes billionaire” stories are few and far between, and you should consider investing in formal education as an entrepreneur.
Table of Contents
1. Business Skills Don’t Come Naturally
You may be a great negotiator or deeply understand how to turn a nickel into a dollar. We all have strengths we can use to grow a business. But what about your weaknesses? Do you know what they are and how to navigate them?
Taking courses toward an online bachelor’s degree, for example, helps you get to know yourself on a deeper level. Grow your confidence in areas where your skills are strong and develop some basic knowledge in areas where you have less experience and skill.
Become a more well-rounded entrepreneur.
2. Broaden Your Understanding
You already have inherent skills you need to succeed. But honestly, most of us grew up seeing a narrow slice of life that we may believe is the whole picture.
This narrow view makes it hard to put yourself in the shoes of people who grew up with a different frame of reference or realize there are many effective ways to approach the same problem.
This can really hold you back in business. It’s hard to find common ground and connect on a meaningful level to build your empire.
Degree programs are designed to give you a broader look at life and business while also keeping you focused on learning the business skills you need to succeed.
3. Learn from the Mistakes of Others
Why make mistakes with your own time and money when you can learn from the mistakes of others? After all, time is money.
If you’re wasting time re-creating the wheel when you could just learn from others what works, that’s time you’re spending not making money. What a waste!
Degree programs are designed to help you avoid common pitfalls and direct you toward time-tested strategies that work.
Getting your degree doesn’t hamper your creativity to do things your own way. It gives you a solid foundation on which to develop your own creative solutions and grow your business.
4. Look Smarter (It’s Sad But True)
Of course, in a perfect world, people would take time to get to know you before passing judgement on your intelligence.
But we already know they have the attention span of a goldfish. Our brains are designed to look for patterns to enable these fast first impressions of the world.
And formal education is one of the ways we do it.
People who have some formal education are perceived as smarter at first glance. You can prove them right or wrong after that initial judgement. But you need these first impressions to get your foot in the door with potential clients, industry regulators, and business partners.
So having some formal credentials can help you, especially online where your charisma may not immediately come through on a screen.
5. Attract Top Talent
As you grow your business, you’ll need to build a competent team around yourself. You can’t do it all. This may include a Chief Marketing Officer (CMO), Chief Financial Officer (CFO), and a Chief Information Officer (CIO). Chances are these people will have some formal education, probably a masters’ degree and beyond.
These professionals will expect you to have some formal education even if it’s less than their own. Getting a degree can display some competency and give them confidence that your business is somewhere they can continue to build their career.
6. Grow in a Straight Line
Entrepreneurs are often willing to work unbelievable hours and even spend excessive money to pursue the dream of working for themselves. The drive and hustle is certainly admirable. But it can lead to a significant disconnect between your goals and developing a plan to achieve them.
Getting your degree can get you on a straighter path to success.
7. You Don’t Have to Wait
If you have that entrepreneurial itch, go ahead and start your business. These days, you can work toward your degree online in your spare time from anywhere with the Internet.
Apply what you’re learning in your business as you go to get the most out of that education and grow into the entrepreneur you know you can be.
About Carson Derrow
