Yes, College Degrees Are Still Relevant to Entrepreneurs

The world has changed significantly in the past few decades — sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worse. Our future plans and expectations are different now than they used to be. With the advent of technology and the fluctuating economy, the past ways of doing things might seem obsolete. But not all of them are.

The Old Right Way

Just a few decades ago, the path to success was simple. You just had to get good grades in high school, get into a university, get a degree, and then walk into a stable career that would pave the rest of your life. Nowadays, success isn’t that easy. There are plenty of college graduates working thankless retail jobs, and there are plenty of successful business owners who filled their niche without ever touching a college course. How and why are college degrees still relevant to today’s world?

Getting an Edge

There are certainly varied principles of entrepreneurship, but if there’s one thing that entrepreneurs can agree on, it’s that the market is insanely competitive. No matter your industry, there are people fighting to fill your niche and beat you at your own business strategies. It’s not easy to rise to the top of such a cutthroat situation. So, getting a college degree can give you an edge over the competition, if you do it right.

That means that you’re not getting a degree just to hang on your wall. You’re getting a degree because you recognize that the skills you’ll learn and the connections you’ll make will give you the advantage you need to succeed. Plenty of entrepreneurs balk at the idea of paying for college. But college classes often show more benefit than a new business in a much shorter period of time. And you can finance both the same way. In addition to federal aid, you can take out a private student loan to cover your expenses while you’re studying.

Biding Your Time

The biggest mistake that wannabe entrepreneurs make is not having enough patience. Building a business takes time and energy. It’s often a thankless task and an uphill battle from the start. You might not see any profit for years. Too many entrepreneurs see the success stories of people like Bill Gates and think they can get rich quick. But that’s simply not the case. Whether you get a college degree or not, you’ll need to put grueling work into making your dreams come true. You might think that you should skip the college degree because you want your success to happen now.

But what about biding your time? While you acquire the skills you need and perfect your vision for your business, all the impatient competitors will drop out of the herd. When you do enter the marketplace, you’ll be bringing the patient fruit of several years of labor with you. That’s way better than just running ahead with no plan. On top of learning important skills at college, you can also forge the industry connections you need for success.