Last Updated on Apr 17, 2020 by James W
In short, the answer is yes, you can study to be an entrepreneur. It’s not an innate talent people are born with, it’s a skill (or rather a group of skills) that can be developed by anybody wishing to learn.
That said, unlike the value of undertaking an academic course such as an MA Education (i.e. a masters in education for people wanting to teach), learning entrepreneurship within an academic context may not be the smartest move.
See, you want to learn from do-ers, people who have been there and done it themselves, who can give you advice from the trenches and prepare you for the journey ahead. In contrast, you’ll find many business teachers at college or university to have embraced a much more settled and secure lifestyle than the average entrepreneur, in that they are employed as a lecturer or teacher… meaning, they are a different breed to the likes of you, if you consider yourself to be entrepreneurially spirited.
Also, when you look to some of the most successful entrepreneurs alive today, you’ll notice that many dropped out of college – indeed, Richard Branson didn’t even make it that far.
That said, you should study to become an entrepreneur, but studying isn’t limited to academic education. Indeed, you can study to become an entrepreneur by watching interviews of successful entrepreneurs, even by watching episodes of Dragons Den and The Apprentice.
You need to understand there’s a common tendency amongst entrepreneurs to focus more on ‘doing’ and making things happen, rather than the more analytical and roundabout academic approach.
This begs the question, particularly in consideration of the huge cost associated with acquiring an academic education today, whether this route is really worth it for the aspiring entrepreneur and business owner?
A lot of people that want to start a small business feel unable to get started as they fear inadequate as they might not have a long list of academic qualifications, but the real value value of an education is in its ability to create more value to the marketplace; and it’s important to note there are plenty of other ways you can create more value to the marketplace that don’t require a degree certificate.
See, there’s no intrinsic value in having a higher education qualification – indeed, there are plenty of people with degrees working in call centres for minimum wage.
The only way to make more money in life is to create more value and whilst formal education can help you to do that – it’s not the only option.
The great thing about TED talks, for instance, is that they are led by people who are doing what they are talking about; real world experts that are on the front line experiencing what they’re professing to have superior knowledge about. They aren’t lecturing from a lectern regurgitating a textbook, they are out there in the real world, getting results.
That’s what you want.
In summary, if you want to be a successful entrepreneur then you need to learn from successful entrepreneurs. You want to learn from people who are do-ers, those putting themselves out there, and getting real world results.
