Do I Need a Degree to Start My Own Business? Thinking about launching your own business and wondering if you need a degree to start it? While having a degree won’t hurt your chances of success, it’s not a requirement. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, there are nearly 7 million non-public businesses in America, with roughly 98% of them being small businesses (that is, they have fewer than 100 employees).
To be successful in any business venture – whether you launch your own company or work for someone else – you need to be passionate about what you’re doing and provide a service or product that others will want to buy. A college degree isn’t necessary for all entrepreneurs; you may already have the perfect combination of education, experience and natural talent as an entrepreneur. But if starting your own company is something that interests you, here are some ways a bachelor’s degree can boost your chances of success.
You’ll Have a Solid Foundation for Your Field of Choice
Investing in a bachelor’s degree gives you a solid foundation for your chosen field of study. If your degree is in an area that interests you, it can spark a lifelong passion for learning. That can be useful for any entrepreneur – even if you decide to start a small business in the same field as your degree.
Having more knowledge about your field of choice can help you identify trends and make predictions about where your industry is headed. For example, if you’re interested in entrepreneurship but want to start a business in the financial services industry, a bachelor’s degree in finance can help you understand trends in the stock market and give you a head start on developing your business plan.
You’ll Be Networking With the Best and the Brightest
If you attend a top-ranked college, you’ll be exposed to excellent professors who are at the top of their fields and who are actively involved in research. You’ll also be able to network with like-minded students from a variety of backgrounds and majors.
These connections can help you find mentors, clients or even partners to start a business with long after graduation. Finding people with different skill sets, backgrounds and interests can strengthen your ability to expand your business, pitch your product to new markets and solve problems that come up in your industry.
You Can Test Run a Business Idea with an Essay
During your college years, you may be inspired to write a business plan or create a business plan outline for a new business idea. If you want to test run your idea, you can do so with a college-level business plan or essay assignment. By doing this, you can make sure that your idea makes sense, that it’s viable and that you’re passionate enough about it to pursue it after graduation. If you decide to pursue your business idea after graduation, having a business plan or essay under your belt will help you get your business off the ground sooner.
You’ll Learn Problem Solving Skills
One problem plaguing many industries is a skills gap – the fact that there are jobs that need to be done, but no one is qualified to do them. If you choose a bachelor’s degree program in a field that’s in high demand, you’ll learn how to solve problems and how to provide solutions that are sorely needed, such as in health care or computer science. Employers in many industries may welcome the skills you gain in a bachelor’s program, and they may even be willing to hire you without any previous experience in their field.
A Degree Can Help You Find the Ideal Company to Work for
If you want to work for a specific company, a bachelor’s degree in a relevant field can help you get a foot in the door. If you’re applying for an entry-level position, you may not need a degree in your desired field. But if you have a bachelor’s degree in a relevant area, you can make a stronger case for why you deserve a higher-level position. For example, if you want to work for a marketing company, but you don’t have any marketing experience, you can explain during the interview process that you’re interested in marketing and you have a degree in marketing.
Bottom line
A bachelor’s degree can help you launch your own business in a number of ways. First, you can use your degree to identify a lucrative field, then test run your business idea to make sure it’s viable. You can also use your degree to network with potential mentors and employers, and you can use it to find the company that’s the best fit for you.