Is business entrepreneurship a good major? Give one reason why (or why not) incoming college students should consider majoring in entrepreneurship.
To help incoming college students determine whether or not to major in entrepreneurship, we asked successful entrepreneurs and small business owners this question for their best insights. From taking advantage of the networking possibilities to gaining practical and essential skills, there are several viewpoints that may help you decide if entrepreneurship is a good major for you.
Here are 11 considerations for majoring in entrepreneurship:
- Take Advantage of the Networking Possibilities
- Develop Your Personal and Professional Brand
- Learn Business Strategies
- Create a Business Model
- Prepare For The Future
- Develop Reasoning Skills
- Source Funding Opportunities
- Think Like a Leader
- Determine Your Business Goals First
- Diversify Your Education
- Gain Practical and Essential Skills
Take Advantage of the Networking Possibilities
Business entrepreneurship is a good idea for the sake of networking opportunities. Many university programs connect majors with alumni networks or entrepreneur groups. Students can find mentors through these networks, and the groups can be a source of continual learning after graduation. Not to mention, these introductions can form the basis for future business ventures and relationships. Entrepreneurial majors connect aspiring founders with the resources most likely to benefit their careers.
Michael Alexis, TeamBuilding
Develop Your Personal and Professional Brand
Every business begins with an idea, but how do you successfully build a brand around that idea? It takes effort, skill, and resilience. Majoring in entrepreneurship can give you the tools you need to develop a memorable personal and professional brand. You can also learn indispensable knowledge about how to market your brand and help it grow to its full potential.
Randall Smalley, Cruise America
Learn Business Strategies
There is no single path to success in business. What worked for others might work for you, or it might not. If you aspire to start your own business or help others do so, you need to learn how to get a company off the ground and make it a success. Entrepreneurship classes can show you all the different options out there, exposing you to a wide variety of business strategies and how to implement them.
Debra Hildebrand, Hildebrand Solutions, LLC
Create a Business Model
To build a business from the ground up, you need a business model to work from. A business model shows you and others how you intend to create value from your business idea. Since it is basically the blueprint of your business, you need to learn how to draft a successful business model. Studying entrepreneurship can teach you how to create one that will help you reach your business goals.
Nick Santora, Curricula
Prepare For The Future
If you're thinking of or already attending any type of college of business, consider entrepreneurship as a major. You see, being an entrepreneur is the clear path to the future. Traditional business models are beginning to disappear, and you have to be both innovative and creative to keep up these days. Learning the skills that every entrepreneur should possess will be a major requirement as we move deeper into a digital age. Plus, these skills will open up a wide variety of exciting industries.
Lauren Kleinman, The Quality Edit
Develop Reasoning Skills
Majoring in entrepreneurship is about more than studying how to start and run a business. Students need to learn how to develop the sort of critical, analytical, and strategic thinking skills business leaders should have in their toolkit. With such reasoning skills, you can then develop the flexibility and resilience needed to launch a business and weather any storms.
Eric Blumenthal, Zoe Print
Source Funding Opportunities
Many aspiring entrepreneurs believe that their only funding option is to secure a business loan. The truth is far more complicated, but in a good way. Entrepreneurship majors will be introduced to the many different ways they can source funding opportunities. You'll learn about angel investors, home equity lines of credit, crowdfunding, and more. Majoring in entrepreneurship is a great opportunity to learn about different funding opportunities beyond business loans.
Henry Babicheknko, Stomadent
Think Like a Leader
Leaders aren't really born; They're made, and before you can become a leader, you need to learn to think like one. There are few better ways to do this than by studying entrepreneurship. Through your studies, you will come across examples of leaders you'd be wise to emulate. By following their examples and lessons, you will learn how to think like a leader when making business decisions in the future.
Lily Yu, Oak Springs Realty
Determine Your Business Goals First
Majoring in business entrepreneurship can be helpful, but it’s not necessary to become a successful business leader. If you major in business, whether with entrepreneurship, marketing, or management focuses, you will learn key terms and develop skills by completing projects. You will draft business plans and marketing strategies, practice pitching, and learn how to manage finances.
However, some successful entrepreneurs did not receive a degree in entrepreneurship. Some of them haven’t received a degree at all. When deciding if an entrepreneurial focus is for you, determine your business goals. If you want to get involved in a corporation, you can opt for a general business degree from a reputable school. If you want to start your own business, an entrepreneurship focus might not assure your success, but it can be a helpful supplement and an opportunity to network.
Justin Soleimani, Tumble
Diversify Your Education
Business entrepreneurship can be a great major, if you’re already learning valuable skills from your side jobs. I began work as a home services provider, and on the foundation of those skills, I eventually started up my own home services tech company. Both my business education and my experience painting homes still contribute to the work I do now as CEO–so as long as your diversifying your education, you should be well set.
John Jacob, Hoist
Gain Practical and Essential Skills
As a major, business entrepreneurship imparts to incoming college students several practical and essential skills as well as loads of theoretical knowledge. And all this comes in handy irrespective of industry or job profile. From creative thinking, risk-taking, and networking to communication, customer service, and problem-solving, formal education in entrepreneurship equip several critical skills that one can develop and master over time. And when it’s a major, the studies are in-depth and the knowledge updated.
Eva Taylor, WP Buffs
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