We’ve all heard about those who dropped out of school or uni, started up their own business and made a billion dollars, right?
But, have we heard about those who dropped out of school or uni, started up their own business and never really made a success of it?
Only a very small percentage make it successfully, while most entrepreneurs don’t make it.
Read on to find out why most people fail, and how you can succeed.
What does an Entrepreneur need?
Entrepreneurs need a lot going for them. Not just personal drive, being in the right place at the right time with the right product, backing from others who share their vision, and a bit of luck. They also need to be very smart about what they do.
Entrepreneurs see a new, innovative product and they also see a hole in the market where this product can be useful. They may also know that it’s going to take some time before customers catch on.
Entrepreneurs also see where the value is in their product or service.
Take Google for example.
Sure, they offer a search engine, and most of us use Google for this purpose. But, we’re not their customers.
Google generates eyes to the internet, and then they sell advertising space on this space. That’s where they make their money. So, while they need to keep us using their search engine, their customers are the advertisers. Smart, huh?
What’s the best business course for a startup entrepreneur?
Marketing
An Entrepreneur would need to get a really good cross-section of knowledge. Obviously, marketing would help them to identify a market, then how to get their product to the market, at what price, and how to let customers know the product is out there. It’s called the 4 P’s of marketing; Product, Price, Promotion and Place.
A good business course would teach Entrepreneurs all this and help you apply what you’ve learned.
Human Resources
Entrepreneurs would also need to know about Human Resources. Google and other tech companies put a premium on the Engineers. Whoever has the best Engineers can create the best, the most innovate and, ideally, the most profitable products.
So, a good course for Entrepreneurs would teach HR principles about identifying the talent, attracting them, using them to their potential, and then retaining them.
Financial Management
Entrepreneurs are not normally known for their accounting skills, but they really have to know about the fundamentals, or the business will suffer due to financial mismanagement.
Things like cash flow, which keep oxygen in the business. Profit & loss, which tracks your costs and income and tells you if you’re making money or not. Budgeting, which forecasts, plans and prepares the Entrepreneurs for what they can expect in 3-6-12 months’ time.
While the Entrepreneurs would be wise to get professional help here, they really should know how the financials work, or they will be left in the dark.
Where can entrepreneurs do a business course?
There are a few business courses options available to budding Entrepreneurs. You can go to uni, but that might take 3-4 years and, while you can specialise in marketing or human resources or accounting, or maybe even economics (which explains how the economy works on a broader scale), most of this knowledge is theory.
Often, Entrepreneurs are keen to get going a bit quicker than that. You may also be left with a big debt to pay back.
Entrepreneurs can do a business course through TAFE. They have good, solid courses and they usually can be completed quicker. Like uni, it’s mostly theory, so any case studies that you look at would be learned through a textbook.
The best business course to learn how to be an Entrepreneur is to do both work and study at the same time.
The absolute ideal situation is to get a job with a business that’s started from scratch, by someone who couldn’t speak English and has built the business to a sizeable, multi-million-dollar turnover, with 30-100 people employed. Then, learn how they did this.
I guarantee you will learn a lot!
At the same time, study a business course outside of work. If you do this online, you can fit it in around your own schedule. Then, check the theory you’re learning in your business course against what the owner of the business does in practice. This will fast-track you to being an Entrepreneur. It might take 1-2 years, but the bonus is that you’ll also be getting paid in the job!
So, to be successful Entrepreneurs, the best business course is to mix theory and practice.
Get a broad mix of theory and then see how it applies in practice.
Good luck!
