How to Be a Great Entrepreneur Without a College Degree
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This article was authored by: Derek Goodman of Inbizability
The beauty of entrepreneurship is that it contains no prerequisites. Unlike traditional jobs, which have a host of education and professional requirements, starting a business does not require one to hold a degree or have years of experience. Being successful as a business owner will require you to be organized, have a strong plan, and manage finances, but these things are learned best by practice rather than theory. In this article by AMA Consulting Services, we’ll explore a host of techniques and resources non-college graduates can use to become successful entrepreneurs.
1. Choose a Great Business Idea
The first step will be to home in on a business idea which can include selling products or services. While there are a host of ideas to choose from, your job will be to narrow down the options based on interest, scalability, and the ability to earn profit. For instance, running a drop shipping business will entail minimal investment but a heavy investment of time towards forming supplier relationships and promoting products.
Becoming an interior designer is another great option to consider. If you don’t have formal education in the field, completing a certificate or an apprentice program will do just as well. This is a field that provides great room for growth and the opportunity to work with numerous clients. Here is a resource guide to help understand whether interior designing is a good career choice for you.
2. Write a Strong Business Plan
A business plan is a document that outlines your business goals, strategies, and the steps to achieve them. As reported by the SBA, having a business plan will help you stay organized through all stages of the business and develop a good understanding of financial, labor and time requirements, in addition to serving as a framework for future growth. Here is a template to help you create your very first business plan!
3. Understand Funding Requirements
Making a business self-sufficient will always be the end goal. But when starting you’re bound to incur more costs than expenses. Hence, you’ll need to ascertain the best funding sources for the business, which can include loans, grants, and seeking funding from venture capitalists (VCs). Bootstrapping is another option to consider if you’re starting a low-cost business.
4. Adopt a Digital First Approach
Saving and organizing business-related documents digitally will significantly reduce costs and make it easy to manage day-to-day operations. The go-to method is to save documents as a PDF and upload them to a cloud-based storage or CRM (customer relationship management) platform. Compared to other file formats, a PDF provides security through encryption, ease of editing, and small file sizes.
5. Choose The Right Business Structure
The type of business structure you choose will depend on several factors, including the size and nature of your business. Additionally, it will have an impact on the ease of raising funds and the amount of liability you’re exposed to. As a new entrepreneur, establishing a Limited Liability Company (LLC) is the best option as it is easy to set up, protects from business-related liabilities, and allows you to use business expenses as tax write-offs.
Rather than managing the hassle of collecting and filing paperwork for an LLC, hire a formation service to do it for you. Along with registration, a formation service will provide ongoing assistance with tax returns.
6. Invest Ample Time Towards Networking
As an entrepreneur, it's important to network with people in your industry, as it can help you find mentors, partners, investors, customers, and suppliers. Additionally, it helps you learn about industry trends and threats (from new technology, competitors, etc.) and create a presence in your business fraternity.
Consistently networking will help to find a mentor as well, who will provide guidance and support through all stages of the business, especially during the start-up and growth phases. Additionally, a mentor can introduce you to new people and opportunities, as reported by Seed Growth Capital.
When it comes to running a business, the amount of effort you put in matters more than a degree. From choosing the right business idea, such as interior design, to creating and implementing a business plan, you’ll develop skills and expertise through practice and, in time, be proficient in managing the day-to-day as an entrepreneur.
