College Degree........or start a business?

Question

Im going crazy deciding either to get a business degree or run a small business! Both have advantages and disadvantages!
Half of family wants me to go one way other half wants me to go opposite way?????

Answer 1

You'll get more out of your business education if you run that small business first. The everyday experiences in business will give you lots of context when you go back to school. It doesn't work as well the other way around.

When people with no business experience go to business school they often have no real world understanding of what they're learning - it's all theoretical. Then when that person tries to run a business based on theory, they're just as likely to fail because that's not how small business works.

Small businesses work primarily for two reasons:
- long hours of dedication to the business
- getting the right kind of expert help where you don't have the knowledge (accounting/bookkeeping, or marketing, or sales, etc.)

You don't get either of those things by getting a business degree. Business school will make you a specialist in business theory, not in the day-to-day reality of one individual business in a specific industry within a specific town/state/region. For that, you need the real life experience and you can read the books on the subjects you need to learn, like marketing, or you can hire someone to help you with those things.

If you find you don't do well running a business (and/or don't like it enough to keep going), then you'll know that you want your degree program to focus either on some other aspect of business (because you like accounting, for instance) or to go in some other direction altogether.

Business school is not a magic way to succeed in business - many of the most successful and famous CEOs do not have business degrees, including Bill Gates. When you have real world experience running a business, that speaks volumes to potential employers. You can always take night classes to supplement, then complete your degree later.

Answer 2

Get a degree first,then stat a business.

Answer 3

Can't you do both? If you get a business degree in entrepreneurship, it will help you with starting your business. Why do you have to chose one or the other?

Answer 4

Get the degree.

Answer 5

I would say get your degree first. You can start a business after you get your degree, but vice versa might be difficult.

Answer 6

degree.. more businesses fail than succeed anyways

Answer 7

degree

Answer 8

college degree...it will pay off in the end