<p>I would like to start my own business one day. Would it be a good idea to get a management major for this? If not, what major would you recommend and why?</p>
<p>I recommend taking whatever money your parents have saved for college and using it as start-up funds for a business. The only college I would recommend going to if you knew you wanted to be an entrepreneur is Babson College. Otherwise, you’re wasting time, money and experience.</p>
<p>No college is going to teach you the creativity, work-ethic and perseverance you need to make it as a entrepreneur. These days degrees are overpriced and undervalued, so why waste time if you want to go down this path?</p>
<p>A small business owner with a well-rounded college education is much more likely (although not guaranteed) to succeed than someone with only a high school diploma. You should try to figure out what industry sector you want your business to be in and then recognize that starting a business requires capital, which will be acquired either through personal savings or financial institutions. For this reason it is a good idea to take your time, explore your interests, and make sure you graduate college with a small amount of debt. Then you will want to get work experience in the industry you want to own a business in, while saving up as much as you can, building a good credit score, and generating contacts in your chosen industry. </p>
<p>Just foolhardily trying to start a business with no business plan, no contacts, little education, no written goals, no rules to live by, etc… is one of the worst pieces of advice you will ever receive in your life and you would seriously do yourself a favor by dismissing it.</p>
<p>Inmotion you are a FOOL.</p>
<p>WHAT about college will teach this person about running a business? WHY would he waste 4 years and tens (or even hundreds) of thousands of dollars on something he DOESN’T NEED? Are you even old enough to have taken an economics course and understand opportunity cost? If you have, I’d retake it.</p>
<p>So let’s break down your completely moronic post.</p>
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<p>Oh, MAN! This is a TOUGH ONE! This is something you’ll need all those BS classes for. You’ll never be able to research this by yourself without paying thousands for classes, right?</p>
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<p>AW! Good! He knows what capital is! Too bad he doesn’t know how people raise it. Capital comes from the 3 F’s: Family, Friends, and Fools. If you can find a bank making small business loans in this economy, please, let me know. </p>
<p>It is RARE for a person to use a bank loan as startup capital. I guess you’d know that if you had any clue what you’re talking about.</p>
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<p>What on earth are you talking about? Are you really naive enough to think that entrepreneurs pay for their own startups?</p>
<p>And what a foolish piece of advice to recommend taking ANY personal debt on when he will be taking LOADS on from investors when he starts his business.</p>
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<p>Seriously, this is to much. Are you joking? He needs to know how to RUN A BUSINESS, which includes researching your market and industry. This DOESN’T require working in the industry of your choice! </p>
<p>And “build a good credit score” are you kidding? You think a bank is going to loan you tens of thousands of dollars for a start up that has a 90% chance of failing just because you have a good credit score?</p>
<p>Your ignorance is BLINDING.</p>
<p>This last paragraph is the icing on the cake.</p>
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<p>Foolhardily starting a business is abnormal? 90% of businesses FAIL! Everyone who starts a business is a fool, no matter when they do it.</p>
<p>I ask again, what will a college degree do to prepare him to run a business? What will college offer that outweighs the 4 years of experience he could gain in running ANY kind of business and the tens of thousands of dollars he will be foregoing?</p>
<p>“No written goals” ROFL! What the hell does writing goals have to do with anything? Here I’ll help him “I want to start a business”. Goal written.</p>
<p>And contacts? You realize there are conventions, small business owner clubs, etc he can use to build up connections. Connections you build in college include your frat bros dad who can get you a job. You’re not going to have ANY easier of a time finding investors in college than you will outside of college. </p>
<p>Inmotion you are an absolute fool who clearly has ZERO experience with this subject. Please, save your breath.</p>
<p>^^^wow, this guy…</p>
<p>A business degree will teach you some basics about accounting, contracts, marketing, etc. Is that sufficient? Probably not, but having a degree will possibly make it easier to get someone to give you some capital assuming you have a good business plan to begin with. </p>
<p>Also, chances are 4 years from now you would rather just get a job rather than start a business which will fail anyway.</p>
<p>That said, big4bound is right about it being better to use the cash your parents would otherwise spend on your education if you have a GREAT idea or some other skill you are building your business around. If you are already making some decent coin selling iPhone apps you’ve created or you have some amazing talent or genius idea to build a business around…then sure, go for it. “I’d like to start a business” =/= a business plan.</p>
<p>A college degree will give him insurance if his business fails. It also gives him capital if he decides to work prior to going full time with his own business venture. Minimize risk.</p>
<p>Big4bound,</p>
<p>1.“Foolhardily starting a business is abnormal? 90% of businesses FAIL! Everyone who starts a business is a fool, no matter when they do it.”</p>
<p>Well, this post is the most foolish I have ever seen on these boards. First of all, a fool cannot start a business, nor maintain it. Starting up a business requires more skills and the level of thinking than your big 4 job. </p>
<ol>
<li>“Are you really naive enough to think that entrepreneurs pay for their own startups?”</li>
</ol>
<p>There are not many people who are able to get money from banks, so they have to invest their own money, which they accrued by working and saving.</p>
<p>I believe that a business degree will not teach you how to be a business man, yet it can give you the knowledge how to start up a business, how to promote it, keep the records, understand how the economy works, etc. Usually people are born with a talent of being an entrepreneur, but through the education, you can DEVELOP the skills that you lack, or already have. Education is a key to success. </p>
<p>Yet, I have an uncle in Moscow who is a successful business man, and believe it or not, he majored in veterinarian studies lol. However, he has a talent, and in his case the type of education did not matter. </p>
<p>ingegneriae,
If money is a problem, then you can go to a public school and graduate with no debt at all. For starting up a business, best majors would be an entrepreneurship, economics, or a business management, IMO.</p>
<p>Tosh you’re clearly a foreigner as you misinterpreted BOTH of those quotes. </p>
<p>Inmotion said it was foolish to start a business without a degree. I responded by saying that it was foolish to start a business at any time because the chances of failure are so high. It was a tongue in cheek comment. I obviously don’t believe a fool could runa business, I was trying to make a point. Is this clear now commie?</p>
<p>My point about the money was clear. I was responding to his comment that you should save up money for startup costs by saying that it is rare to front all the costs yourself, people find investors.</p>
<p>I even went on to say you can’t get a loan, did you just skip tha part?</p>
<p>You don’t think your uncle believes his degree was now a waste? </p>
<p>Please don’t respond if you lack the basic reading comprehension skills to understand my post, alien.</p>
<p>^What I understood is that you tried to dissuade him from getting a college degree: “what will a college degree do to prepare him to run a business? What will college offer that outweighs the 4 years of experience he could gain in running ANY kind of business and the tens of thousands of dollars he will be foregoing.”</p>
<p>“You don’t think your uncle believes his degree was now a waste?”</p>
<p>He didn’t think of that, for he was passionate about it, but later he realized that he couldn’t earn enough money to support his family. All people should have at least an udergraduate degree, whether they use it or not.</p>
<p>“And what a foolish piece of advice to recommend taking ANY personal debt on when he will be taking LOADS on from investors when he starts his business.”</p>
<p>In order to get any kind of loans from investors, a person must have a strong background, which includes a working experience, a good credit score, and good credentials. (undergraduate degree or graduate degree, professional certifications will also help) You might not believe it, but that is true. Investors will more likely lend money to a CPA, rather than to a high school kid.</p>
<p>By the way, I’m not a commie. Alright homie?</p>