Successful entrepreneurship is a rare gem in the world of modern business where only one in every ten people makes it. Aspiring entrepreneurs have that dimming statistic at the back of their mind. Some of the challenges that start-ups face are information and decision-making—two things that go hand in hand. Without them, you cannot do anything. If you do, you are in a game of chance where the odds of failure are ridiculously high.
Even those who have modest success, a significant portion still lack the knowledge and skills required to transition from one stage to another. That continuous learning curve is what separates successful from mediocre entrepreneurship—no wonder founders are enrolling en masse into educational programs. These are some of the reasons that entrepreneurs are pursuing further education.
To improve their skillset
Entrepreneurs require a diverse set of skills that are not available readily from average learning institutions. Besides, the process of starting a business continues to get harder by the day, as competition and changing technologies confound the creative spark. An entrepreneur will need to be a marketer, accountant, leader, product engineer, and many other tasks. To improve on those skills, a budding entrepreneur will need every training program he or she can get.
Some institutions have masters courses tailored towards entrepreneurship, where a diverse range of skills including leadership training, accounting, human resource, and management are included. Others are offering very friendly learning schedules and environment including online programs.
To understand the industry
A great deal of entrepreneurs is pursuing hobbies as a business venture, which means it is a different area than what they majored in school. Some realize that they have limited knowledge of the sector. They are going back to school to pursue the academic side of the hobby so that they can relate with their customer base better.
An average entrepreneur has to conduct repeated customer testing and feedback at least three times before going to the market. That exhaustive period requires cues relevant to the area of interest. For example, education technology entrepreneurs are pursuing masters of education in various institutions in a bid to understand their industry better.
To gain industry authority
Any young business requires a certain level of experiential and credential approval from the industry. For example, when starting a private practice, people will rely on your track record. An added degree or qualification cannot do you any harm. It sets you apart from the competition, as the higher you go, the fewer people you compete with for the market. People tend to trust an expert. For example, if your startup is about a new marketing platform, people will want to know who you are in the marketing circles before they can take you seriously.
To understand your team
It is understood that you don’t need complete information about an industry to be a successful entrepreneur. All you need is an ability to visualize and map your vision to the people capable of delivering it. To do that, you need a language of communication. Sometimes, that language can be in code. You had better learn some code if you want to grasp what is going on. You will be in charge and responsible for your team. If you are incapable of steering lean methods, you will reduce your odds of success.
To understand formal organizations
Not all businesses have a structured approach. However, the correlation between the level of education and the formation of formal companies is substantial. People who want to create businesses that can outlast them require some formal training. Those who don’t have such training are actively looking for ways to improve their capacities through apprenticeship and short programs in entrepreneurship, business modeling, and management.
Conclusion
As Harvard Business Review puts it, a top education seems to be a good ingredient for one to be a successful entrepreneur. To get that superior education, you need to enroll in proven institutions that have flexible learning schedules, as your business will require brooding until all the eggs hatch.
