Before You Start Your Own Company, Educate Yourself on Successful Entrepreneurship
By Emily Wengert
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With a sense of Manifest Destiny, you know you're guaranteed success. But then reason kicks in: You have no concept of how to write a business plan and you know nothing of accounting, tax law, or how to grow a company. All you've got is one great idea and a lot of passion. So how can you convince investors you're the next big thing?
That's where education comes in. While becoming an entrepreneur may make you feel like a cowboy (or girl) ready to ride toward a new frontier, it's important to have supplies and a map to get you there.
Seasoned Entrepreneurs
Jeff Sloan knows a thing or two about starting a business. He's launched more than a dozen successful companies. From marketing Arabian horses to a device that prevents batteries from dying, Jeff's varied experience helps him with his current job: Giving advice with his younger brother Rich, who was Jeff's partner on several ventures.
Together they comprise the Sloan brothers, who host their own national radio show, conduct webinars (online seminars) and authored the newly published book "Startup Nation" (Currency Doubleday, 2005), all aimed at giving advice to budding entrepreneurs.
Although neither brother took a business class during their college years, they recognize not everyone finds the success they have without a business background.
"Certainly Rich and I are educated today due to early failures," Jeff Sloan explains. "Business knowledge is critically important. You have to know the basics - how to structure a business plan that's logical. how to manage your books in such a way that you can use the information to further manage your business."
Knowledge can come from a variety of sources - undergraduate business classes, an MBA, books, magazines, or a mentor.
Touch of Class
One benefit of any business degree is the big N word: Networking.
"Within our courses we have an extremely collaborative environment," says Doug Stein, Ph.D., director of business and information technology programs at Ellis College, which offers an online B.S. in business administration for entrepreneurs and small business.
When students connect in online chat rooms, they meet people who may have found a solution to a problem they're currently facing, or someone who could someday be a client, he says
Many business degrees also include hands-on components, which give students the chance to test out an idea and get feedback without failing in the marketplace.
"Some students have actually taken that project and used that as the basis for starting their own business," says Richard Thompson, Ph.D., academic chair of business administration at Jones International University (JIU).
The degree program in entrepreneurship offered online at JIU helps give students the "entrepreneurial mindset," Thompson says, which makes them popular hires for corporations looking to start a new division.
Learning the Hard Way
When Brandon Busteed was a public policy major at Duke University, he became fascinated with the problem of alcohol abuse and how little support and education is given to young people. That's why, just after graduation, Busteed started a company called Outside the Classroom, which sells an online tool to colleges for student alcohol education.
To date, more than 425 colleges have signed on to the program, many requiring their entire freshman classes to participate, and last year he created another version for teens, which is used by more than 100 high schools.
"If you're thinking of starting a business, you wouldn't naturally recommend public policy studies," says Busteed with a laugh. "In terms of operation and tactical pieces, I had very little background before I started. The pieces I would still love to have courses on are finances - everything from accounting to investments - and writing contracts, how deals are structured."
One of the Boston-based biz' owner's biggest failures early on was not hiring great staff. Radio host Jeff Sloan says he and his brother had a similar problem -one of their companies almost failed because of a poor choice for CEO.
"It took me a good two to three years to get a sense for what type of people I am looking for," Busteed says.
Now he recommends entrepreneurs shadow a human resources manager to observe how they find the best employees. But there is one thing that you can't learn in school, says Startup Nation author Jeff Sloan - passion.
"Business is risky. You can mitigate risks by picking a business you're truly passionate about," Sloan says. "You'll be a much better salesperson because you can genuinely speak to the product you're offering."
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