Hey EV readers 👋 

I hope you've had an amazing week so far! I've got something special for you - a delightful mix of insights that will quench your thirst for knowledge and help you power through another week of hustle and bustle. Enjoy!

Do you need a college degree to start a business?

It takes time to become an entrepreneur; depending on who you ask, a college degree may or may not be worth it. Here is my verdict, you don’t need a college degree to start a business. It is not difficult for anyone to arrive at this conclusion, not after seeing Instagram reels of college dropouts, influencers, creators, and young founders who made it without a college degree.

What these motivational videos and reels don’t reveal is that although you don’t need a college degree to start a business, you may need one to run a business. Successful entrepreneurs know that it takes more than luck and technical skills for a business to succeed.

You also need soft skills such as communication skills, time management, and networking skills which can translate into marketing skills, negotiating skills, and learning to achieve work-life balance. Also, college can be a great place to improve your technical skills especially if you are going into a very technical field.

At this point, you may be thinking why not start a business while in college? That’s a possibility but you have to consider the pressure and demand that comes with the decision. You may end up losing on both sides; poor grades and a failed business. This explains the high rate of dropouts among college founders.

Of course, this discussion wouldn’t be complete without factoring in individual intelligence. Most founders will cope just fine without a college degree. While others may find themselves struggling to grasp some advanced concepts in their chosen industry. This brings us to one final advantage of getting a college degree, developing a lifelong learning skill.

So back to the question; is that degree important? Yes and No. You need to decide for yourself by answering some key questions. Can your business wait four years (or more) for you to earn a degree? Will a degree give you more technical skills to run your business? Do you have the money to fund a college degree and then a business afterward? Are you capable of learning on your own?

If you answered No to the first three questions and Yes to the last, then you may not need a college degree. However, that doesn't mean you shouldn’t still get one if you have the means to do so.

Remember;

Entrepreneur VS Businessman - Who exactly are you?

Are you an entrepreneur or a businessman? The question may seem trivial but, if you are thinking of venturing out into the business world, it is quite important to know which of them you are. The reason is that although both individuals look the same on the outside, on a closer look, there are stark differences between them.

Take for instance their approach to business, a businessman would favor a stable idea that has been proven to be successful while an entrepreneur will be willing to take chances with untested ideas. What this means is that businessmen are more risk-averse compared to entrepreneurs.

That’s not to say businessmen don’t dip their foot into untested waters once in a while. However, they prefer to err on the side of caution. This example proves that businessmen and entrepreneurs think differently and are driven by different goals.

While one is focused on maintaining a stable and profitable operation, by taking less risk, the other is a trendsetter, innovative, and often driven by passion. Still sitting on the fence, then use the checklist below.

Take a deep dive into the mind of an entrepreneur and learn how to think like one 

Your "first million" is the hardest because you lack these three things

You might have heard someone say the first million is the hardest. That implies making your first pay will prove to be the hardest. It doesn’t have to be a million. If you run a business, then your first paycheck from the business can be interpreted as your “first million”. It will be tough.

But after that, things may move a lot faster and you realize it is not so hard to make more money. That is not a fluke. There is an explanation for this. The reason why it so happens that the first paycheck is the hardest is because when starting out, you don’t have three important things on your side.

There are people lucky enough to have the money they need to invest in their businesses, but for the majority of business owners, money remains a primary concern. Next is experience. You may have a great business idea but no experience in running a business. So you have another challenge lying before you.

Experience is something you learn on the job, and many times, it comes with the bitter lesson of failure. Lack of experience is one reason why many entrepreneurs fail in their first and second attempts at starting a business. But if you weather this storm and keep forging ahead, you not only gain experience but also build networks along the way.

This includes suppliers, distributors, customers, employees, other businesses in your niche, etc. It is an ecosystem that your business needs to survive and thrive without which your business is likely going to wither and die.

Now if you have earned your first paycheck from the business, chances are that you have gained experience and also made relevant connections along the way. So you now have money, experience, and networks, with these three, making more money will be easier than when you first started.

That’s all for now folks.

Until next time, stay inspired and keep chasing your dreams!

Cheers,

Alex