Tag: business degree

Do You Need a College Education to Own a Business?

Is it necessary to study? If you want to be well prepared for a lifetime, you need to study. Yet, this is not about simply attending school; you need to do your own effort. You must attend conferences, workshops, etc.

Many options are probably going around in your head. Should I study something that interests me or something that will give me money? Should I work or go for both? Is it possible to stretch my time? These are common questions that disturb many individuals. This leads to indecision, frustration, etc. Enough said, read on and make a wise choice.

college grads
Image by Will Folsom

Several factors and aspects

While there are many aspects to consider when trying understanding such conflicting situation and many other large and complex issues, you can start one step at a time. Some aspects need special focus; you may start treating some points that consciously or unconsciously weigh heavily in this sense of indecision and dissatisfaction about your future. It is not only about education, it is linked to many levels of youth.

On the one hand, in recent years, the primary and secondary education system may not be fulfilling the idea of its main function, which is to guide students to decide on their future. Teachers should take control and give the tools to undertake this process. Channeling student interests is a priority. Experts must help every individual decide how to proceed once it is time to enter the next level of education.

Structure and overall content

The structure and content of the learning activities should be determined to provide all children, youth and adults with the skill, knowledge and values they need to survive, to improve their quality of life and to participate fully and responsibly in the life of their communities and nations, to give impetus and properly adapt to all sorts of new and unexpected situations and continue to gain knowledge, according to their particular interests, tastes and needs. For the previously mentioned facts, many students do not know what to study or wish to start a business without studying. Not to mention, those students who do not know what they think about a career, how this will change them or if they should go from one career to another.

In turn, another crisis of education as an institution is its lack of credibility and quality. Note that studying still involves a lot of effort, determination, perseverance and honesty. Yet, this doesn’t mean you will get a job. Do you want to be someone in life or rather be the best entrepreneur? This is the same, you can do both. It also depends on your approach and on external factors; the economic sphere is intertwined with top knowledge.

In short, education is considered an economic hub and not really a vital need to develop a better society. This is a mistake. This is a key point. Dare to become a better person by being well educated. The rest will flow. Your business opportunity will take place.

Author Bio: If you are writing a persuasive essay, Ann P. from SolidEssay.com, a college essay writing service, will be able to instruct you on how to do it properly.

The 3 Most Important Concepts Business Schools Teach

As mentioned in a previous post, you don’t necessarily have to have a business degree to be a successful business owner. You do, however, usually need to have an understanding of certain business concepts to run a profitable business. If you skipped business school and are in the process of starting up your own business, here are a few concepts you should be aware of:

1. Globalization is here to stay

Everything you do in the business world will be affected by global business trends. Even if you open up a brick-and-mortar store, the price of the inventory you order will most likely depend on how much it costs to make the inventory in another part of the world. More and more businesses are outsourcing work to cut costs and selling to the global market. Because of this, business schools teach students that they need to learn to think about global business trends. If you didn’t get your degree in business, you need to be aware of how big of a role the rest of the world will play in determining the success of your startup.

2. Cash flow management is key

Sales matter, but they don’t matter as much as cash flow. You can have record sales numbers and not have enough money to pay your bills on time if you don’t manage your cash flow well. Ultimately, you have to get paid enough from your customers at the right time to be able to pay everything you owe for your office, inventory, etc. Cash flow management is a very important balancing act that business schools spend a lot of time teaching students about. Since you probably don’t have time to go back to business school, you should know that you’ll need to carefully monitor your inventory, orders, payments, and bills to ensure your company’s finances stay on the right track.

3. Your success depends on the profitability of one unit

This is one of the simplest and most essential business concepts, and it’s one you should definitely be aware of before you start your own business. When you’re developing your business plan, you should think about whether or not one unit of what you’ll be selling would be able to make a profit.

If you’re going to be selling smoothies, for instance, you have to consider how much the ingredients to make one smoothie cost, how much it costs to pay an employee to make the smoothie, how much you’ll charge for the smoothie, and whether you’ll be able to make a profit with all these things in mind. If you are able to make a profit, your business, in theory, should be able to make a profit. Business schools stress the importance of the profitability of one unit for a reason, and it’s absolutely critical that you keep this concept in mind as you make business decisions.

If you understand that business is global, sales aren’t everything, and you have to be able to sell at least one unit to succeed, you’ll be just as prepared as all those business grads for the wonderful, crazy, and daunting adventure of owning your own business.

About the Author: Patricia Garza is a freelancer and blogger who primarily writes about education, online college accreditation, business, and technology. When she’s not writing, Patricia likes to spend time with her kids, discuss current events, and paint. Please feel free to leave your comments and questions below. Patricia appreciates your feedback.

Don’t have a business degree? Good!

Why you are probably better off without a business degree.

It seems crazy, but it’s true: an undergraduate degree in business isn’t a door to wealth. Parents think they can’t go wrong by sending their kids off to business classes at the university, but business school, unlike most other vocational fields, doesn’t offer experience or a big pay-off.

Business majors learn fewer applicable skills.

Let me break it down for you. A recent high school graduate who goes to school to learn to be a mechanic actually gets his hands dirty and works with physical parts, gaining knowledge that can be directly applied to his vocation. Business majors learn how to respond to theoretical scenarios in the sheltered vacuum of a classroom. It’s a little like learning to drive a submarine by playing a video game and then being expected to survive once you’re unleashed on the open waters.

Becoming a business leader takes a variety of skills – psychology, mathematics, communication – but it also takes creativity. Many students who aspire to make money in business fail to make the correlation between imagination and ingenuity. It was, in fact, Andy Warhol who called business “the best art.”

business graduates
Image by Rob Chan

Some undergraduate liberal arts degrees are even father down on the pay-scale than business (which ranks 35 out of 75), but for some graduate programs, a liberal arts degree is more promising than an undergraduate degree in business. Students who study philosophy and English literature are well-versed in analytical thinking and are constant practitioners of sharp communication. On the other end of the spectrum, mathematics majors understand the language of economics and statistics.

Your life can become overrun by work.

Degrees in business are extremely common, so once you graduate; you’re going to be forced into an oversaturated market with high levels of competition. In this case, becoming a small business owner is a great option, but most college students don’t have the resources to fund a startup right after college. With no career history or savings, most people are starting from scratch.

In a study completed by labor economists, business majors working in the finance and consulting sectors were shown to have extremely difficult times juggling their work and lives. The fields are so competitive that they demand constant participation, and those who go on leave or drop out of the race for even short periods of time, face great challenges and penalties in terms of resuming their careers and moving forward.

If not business…then what?

By all means, if you find the right business degree program and you are confident that you will have a job after college, go for it! Some people thrive in competitive environments and can juggle project and personnel management with a happy home life. Creating your own small, independent business is a great way to exercise business skills, but there has to be a passion beyond making money, and that is what a business degree fails to nurture.

A business degree isn’t necessary to becoming a business leader. Higher education is a way to improve the skills you already have while exploring new territory, and you can pair any degree with business classes if you are interested in becoming an entrepreneur.

About the Author: Melissa Miller is blogger and freelance writer for associatedegreeonline.com. She is interested in all things education and writes to help recent college graduates navigate the challenging world of first-time employment, adult responsibility, and finances. Throw your questions to melissamiller831@gmail.com.