You’ve heard it before: Certain key characteristics make a successful entrepreneur more than any checkpoints on a resume. If you have natural dispositions toward risk-taking, adaptability, and business, you might think that a degree can do little more than decorate your office wall. Think again: A management degree can equip you with invaluable tools that will help your start-up flourish.
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1. A Big Picture Perspective
A management degree will give you insights on many aspects of business from operations to communication to human resources management. By taking some time to step away from your daily tasks to study business on a larger scale, you will gain indispensable knowledge of both the current market as well as the roles of the diverse employees who make up your company. This holistic perspective of your start-up and its place in the business world will help you adapt to market changes, support and evaluate your employees, and seamlessly run your start-up.
2. A Better Understanding of Your Industry
Street smarts and a basic understanding of business may take you part of the way. But a management degree tailored to your interests will offer specific skills and knowledge to help you thrive in your field.
For example, an entrepreneur interested in selling sporting goods or opening a fitness center may want to pursue a degree in sports management to learn the ins and outs of the sports industry. On the other hand, a degree in construction management offers a different skill set for entrepreneurs looking to break into the construction industry, such as an understanding of practical engineering science or geographic information systems. A thorough understanding of your industry allows you to more easily adapt to the emerging trends in technology, marketing, and politics relevant to your business and its competitors.
3. A Network of Contacts
When you enroll in a management program, you open yourself up to a whole community of students and instructors who share your passion for business. Perhaps these new connections will give you advice and support. Perhaps a contact or two will specialize in a niche where you need the most help, such as information technology or marketing. You will likely meet talented, ambitious peers in your management program. Who’s to say that one of those peers won’t be the next Steve Jobs or Bill Gates?
Although often intimidating, networking with other professionals provides you with valuable resources and secondhand experience that may prove vital as you work out the kinks in your own start-up.
4. Funds for Your Business
Getting a business up and running takes capital. Whether from a loan, crowd-funding, or a start-up grant, you need to get your funds from somewhere, and management programs can help you find out how. Your management program may connect you with angel investors or school-run venture funds that make your search for funding much less daunting. That way, you can get back to running your business and improving your products.
Clearly, management degrees can do so much more than embellish a wall or a resume. The perspective and resources they offer will help mold your innate characteristics into practical business skills. For entrepreneurs interested in anything from sports to construction, management degree programs can help you launch a successful business career.
Image source: Cheerful Asian Businessman Working in Office
