According to the Ewing Marion Kaufmann Foundation, more than 500,000 new businesses are launched each month. That is a stunningly positive statistic, for a number of reasons. Even so, one consideration for potential entrepreneurs is how to benefit from the experience of entrepreneurs who have gone before--and not fall into common traps. Helping to avoid those traps is perhaps the greatest role a basic business education can play in the process of business formation and management.
Well-Traveled Ground
Those 500,000 new business start-ups every month say a great deal that is positive about the American economic system. New business presents a powerful source of new jobs. The range of unique companies being formed signifies a healthy expression of creative energy. Also, all this entrepreneurship represents a lively dose of make-it-happen effort toward economic betterment: significantly, immigrants have especially high rates of entrepreneurship.
The nature of an entrepreneur is often to be too independent to follow the footsteps of others; however, that doesn't mean it is wise to completely ignore the beaten path. For as unique as each entrepreneurial experience is, there is also much common ground to any business formation. The nuts-and-bolts of business administration--from licensing to bookkeeping to human resources--are fairly similar from one business to another. Even so, these are the tasks that often blindside new entrepreneurs, who are forced to learn the basics of business administration on the fly.
After all, entrepreneurs often don't have business degrees. They tend to be specialists in their chosen fields, and are drawn to entrepreneurship because they know an industry well enough to see an opportunity and deliver a distinctive product or service.
This specialized knowledge is what brings innovation to the marketplace. However, in order for innovation to survive, it needs to be supported by sound business practices. Entrepreneurs who lack a business degree often have to learn these practices by trial and error. Too often, the new business doesn't survive the errors. At best, the lessons of business administration are learned, but at the expense of energy and focus that could have been spent on further innovation or promotion.
Ironically, these entrepreneurs--people who pride themselves on bringing something new to the business--find themselves re-inventing the wheel. They struggle through the hard knocks of learning business administration on their own when there are standard practices (and programs for teaching them) already out there.
The Role of Entrepreneur Education and Business Degrees
This is where a little formal business training and entrepreneur education could help. A business degree, for example, could help establish the knowledge base necessary to run a business. There are even entrepreneur training programs, which focus on the challenges specific to starting a new business.
Whether or not an individual chooses the route of focused entrepreneurship training, or a more general business administration degree, any participation in these programs will better prepare that person to start a business. Certainly, some formal business education is cheaper than lessons which are learned via lost sales, skyrocketing expenses, or a damaged reputation.
No matter how entrepreneurial a start-up may be, any new business must combine energy and innovation unique to the marketplace with well-established business administration practices and procedures. The role of the entrepreneur is to bring the unique elements to the table; the role of education is to teach the more universal lessons.
Online Education: A Multi-Tasker's Dream
Of course, the dilemma is that no entrepreneur wants to delay the dream in order to pursue a business degree. After all, the greatest business innovations are driven by inspiration and opportunity--things that won't wait while an aspiring entrepreneur fills any educational gaps.
This is where online education has changed the game. It is a multi-tasker's dream: the flexibility of schedule and location allows a person to pursue an online degree in business while simultaneously getting a new business on its feet. In fact, working toward a business degree online while concurrently launching a business can be especially valuable--it allows the entrepreneur to immediately apply lessons as they are learned. For many people, seeing the practical applications of coursework first-hand helps the lessons become more vivid and memorable.
Face it: nobody is going to get rich by re-inventing the wheel. Entrepreneurs can use formal business education for lessons that don't have to be learned by trial and error, so they can focus their business efforts on the unique things they have to offer. Pursuing an online degree in business can be a timely complement to a new entrepreneur's start-up efforts. With online education as a time-management tool, this approach is more viable than ever.