Do you want to start your own business? For many, it’s an entirely sensible idea; they will be able to do just what they want to do, choose their own hours, be their own boss, and forego the worry of having to apply for an interview for other work. Of course, it’s a lot of effort, and although you do have some freedom, it’s down to you to put the hard work in, but once you have reached the level you want to reach, you’ll find that it can be the best decision you ever make.
You might think that having a degree is completely unnecessary if you want to start your own business. After all, the main purpose of studying for earning a degree is to get a job, and if you’re doing your own job, then why bother with attending school and getting a degree? Why not start your business right away and begin earning money?
The truth is that although education is a major part of earning a degree at college, there are many other skills you will learn as well. These soft skills such as communication, teamwork, networking, research, time-keeping, and much more will help you be a better business person, allowing you to be much more successful than if you simply began your business with a high school education and no life experience.
This is not the only reason why a degree will help you start your business. No one knows everything, and no matter how much research you do or how interested you are in a subject, there is nothing that can compare to the in-depth education provided at college. The more you know about something, the more you can put that knowledge to good use, and that includes if you want to start your own business. Understanding more about a topic means you can apply that knowledge in better, more useful ways and build your business to a more successful level.
It’s clear that, despite the fact that having a university degree and qualifications is not a prerequisite to starting a business, it will certainly help you, ensuring you can stand out in the crowd since so many people are choosing to be entrepreneurs these days. Yet there are so many courses to choose from, and so many subjects within each course, that it can be hard to decide exactly which degree is going to help you the most. With that in mind, here are some of the best degrees to choose from if you want to start your own business.
Business Studies
The first thing that will probably come to mind if you start to consider your options for the best degree to take when you want to start your own business is business studies itself. In this topic, you’ll learn about different management styles and leadership, you’ll get to grips with the ins and outs of the business, and you’ll become a better decision-maker. In other words, if you don’t have any knowledge of business, but you know you want to start one of your own, a business studies degree will help you immensely.
The syllabus for a business studies degree is a potentially complex one with a lot to learn, but if the business is something that interests you (as it should if you intend to start your own), then it should be something you can understand. You’ll learn all the skills that are essential to creating a successful, thriving startup, and because everyone you are studying with is also going to go into business in some way, this is the ideal time to start networking.
The only issue with a business studies degree is that although it will teach you how to run a business, it won’t teach you absolutely everything, and you will have to study for additional information on your own time. If you’re keen to start a business, however, this shouldn’t be too much of a burden.
Business Finance
When you run a business, understanding the numbers associated with it is crucial; this is the only way you’ll know whether what you’re doing is working or not and the only way you’ll know what direction to take your business in. Plus, being on top of your finances means there will be no nasty surprises further down the road when your taxes are due or when you have to pay for something urgent.
When you have a business finance degree, you’ll be able to predict outcomes much more easily and create an educated, well thought out business plan that will help you face any obstacles that might come your way, and that will help potential lenders see that their investment will be a fruitful one.
This is not an easy degree to take, however, and you will need to have a solid understanding of math before you tackle it. For some, taking a more general business studies degree would be a better option, and when it comes to finances, they can outsource to an accountant if required. This is something you’ll need to decide for yourself.
Communications
There is little doubt that communication is crucial in the world of business. No matter what industry you work in, no matter what service you are providing or product you are selling, without good communication, your business is not going to grow as well as it could or should. In fact, without a good education, you might find that you have to close things down much earlier than you ever would have wanted.
When you run a business, you’ll need to communicate with a variety of different people, including:
- Business partners
- Investors
- Lenders
- Employees
- Subcontractors
- Customers
- Suppliers
Not only do you need to be able to talk to all of these different people in the right way, but you will also need to understand how to communicate through writing, whether that be creative writing for your blog, marketing copy, or emails. You’ll need to know how to write a good pitch for investors and how to engage your customers on social media. All of this falls under the umbrella of communication, and it’s vital that you get this right as a business owner.
This is why a degree in communications makes a lot of sense. If you already have a solid understanding of how business works, but you know that your communication skills could do with some extra help, earning a degree in the subject will mean you are entirely up to date on what you can do, and this will boost your business much further than you would have been able to do without this knowledge.
Marketing
What is it that all businesses need to do in order to get ahead of the competition and be noticed by potential customers? The answer is marketing. So if you start a business, you’ll need to ensure you market it in the right way if you want it to be as successful as possible. Without marketing, no one is going to know you even exist, and if your marketing is poor, you might even find you develop a bad reputation, which is just as bad as no one knowing about you in the first place. If you intend to start your own business, you need to get your marketing right, and without a good level of knowledge in this subject – there is certainly a lot to learn – this can be very hard indeed.
That’s why a degree in marketing could be the ideal thing when you want to be an entrepreneur. Marketing is something you can learn yourself, and it is something you can outsource, but the former means that you might miss out on some of the most important elements as you’re not being directed to the best information as you would be if you were studying for a degree, and the latter means that you lose some element of control. Plus, coming up with your own marketing is something you can be proud of, giving you a sense of achievement and accomplishment that will boost your efforts even further.
Marketing is crucial if you want your business to do well, and the more you know about it through a degree, the further you can push things in the right direction.
Healthcare
How can a degree in healthcare help you when you want to start your own business? This is a good question; this degree is not something that most people would associate with business. This is one of the reasons why it’s a good idea, but there are others.
Healthcare requires extensive study, whether you are studying medicine or administration or anything in between. There is a lot to learn, and gaining a degree in this subject will ensure that you are willing to gather information and use it in the right way. Not only that, but a degree in healthcare will teach you how to help people, how to be compassionate, how to reach out, how to network, and how to communicate. All of these things are crucial in business, but not every business owner is able to utilize them in the way that someone with a degree in healthcare might.
On top of this, if you intend to start a business in the healthcare field, having a degree in the subject will be extremely useful. You’ll be able to show that you’re an expert in your field rather than someone who simply saw an opportunity in a potentially lucrative sector. This will earn you trust and respect and ensure that customers are able to make a purchasing decision that goes in your favor more often than not. If you’re interested in a healthcare degree, click here for more information.
Computer Science
What is the one thing that every single business is going to need, no matter industry, sector, or niche it happens to be part of? What will you have to have at least some knowledge of if you are going to succeed? The answer is IT and technology. It would be all but impossible to compete with other businesses if you chose to do without any kind of computer technology within your business. Even if the idea appeals because you want to do things the ‘old-fashioned way’, the truth is that if you opt to do this, you will fall behind those who are using tech to advance their cause.
Although you can still do the work in the traditional way, you are going to need to have technology around you in some form. It could be a good website, it could be a booking system, it could be a social media presence, or perhaps your marketing is all done digitally. Whether it’s a little or a lot, there is no denying that computers are crucial to a business.
So having some expert, in-depth knowledge in this area could be extremely useful, since technology is no longer a choice when you run your own business and is instead something that will put you on a level playing field with everyone else. Computer science will give you this in-depth knowledge, and it will help you to understand business in the modern world much more. You might, for example, have an idea of how to run a business, but without the extra knowledge that this kind of degree would give you about technology, you still might not have the required information to get ahead of your competitors and give your customers the excellent experience they expect from every business in the 21st century.
When you take a computer science degree, you will become much more aware of the way that technology shapes the world, and your business, in particular, allowing you to do much more than you might otherwise have been able to do. Of course, it will help if you are a fan of technology already, as the work will be very tech-based.
Psychology
As with some of the other subjects on this list, if you’re a budding entrepreneur looking for a degree that will help you in business, psychology might not be the first thing that comes to mind. However, if you do have a better understanding of psychology, you will be in a better position to understand exactly how your clients, customers, partners, and suppliers think. When you have this knowledge, you can use it to your advantage in your negotiations and in your marketing.
In essence, a degree in psychology means you can build good relationships with people in the right way, and that means they’ll be much happier to do business with you.