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by Toni Doswell

Created on: July 30, 2010

An entrepreneur does not need a college degree to be successful.   The spirit of being an entrepreneur comes from within.  It is the willingness to buckle down and do for oneself that makes this type of venture unqiue.    Being an entrepreneur does not always involve going to college or even getting a degree, but it does involve expertise in the area of choice and it does mean the entrepreneur must know how to go about being successful.  This can happen minus a college degree if the person operating the business venture is willing  and eager to learn what works in his or her field and what is not working.  The entrepreneur also must be a sort of visionary- seeing what may work in the future and moving in that direction. 

For many entrepreneurs college would only slow their progress down.  If they are eager, ready and willing to get started, they may only need guidance from others who have gone before them.  They will need to consult others and be willing to take advice.  Their enterprise may also need a good accountant and secretary.  There are some essentials like equipment and materials which are musts.  As an entrepreneur moves forward, their ability to read and understand what is the "in" thing is vital.  Some entrepreneurs got around their shortcomings by improvising ways to compensate for the skills they did not have.  They hire people who have these skills, and if those skills could only be gotten by college educated personnel, they hired them. 

There are many college graduates who decide to become entrepreneurs.  Many take on this challenge because they are good in what they do, like it, and see how they can make a living doing what they like most.  The world, however, of the entrepreneurs is vast.  A person with as little as a 3rd grade education can become an entrepreneur.  I knew one.  He had a large family to feed.  This man bought several small hitch trailers and rented them out to people who were hauling items in the city.  College does not always produce ingenius or resourceful people.  This man of whom I speak was well respected in his community, however because he was willing to work hard many saw him as a hard worker or "hustler".   In a real sense, it is clear that entrepreneurs must be "hustlers"  Here this word is being used to show a positive willingness to throw oneself into the work part of the business to produce the desired results.  It is not meant in any way to detract from  uniqueness and beauty being  an entrepreneur. 

There are many paths in life. Some individuals see a collegiate degree as their means to travel down a lucrative road.  Still others do not see the necessity of having a degree if they can manage their affairs in a way to give them an outstanding quality of life minus it.  And then we have many entrepreneurs who use their savy to hire college graduates to help them achieve their success.  Many entrepreneurs like the idea of being their own boss and dictating how their business will go.  What stands out most in the discussion is that any individual who is willing to think hard, plan hard, and work hard may find the entrepreneurial lifestyle their niche.  Getting started and staying in business means long hours, more than just a 8-4 or 9-5 job.  It means sacrifice, and lots of prayer.  It means meeting people who can help you and understanding people per se.  It means that your paycheck is out there- in other peoples' pockets.  Now just how you can get it out of their pockets- well- that's what successful entrepreneurs figure out, and you don't necessarily need a college degree to do that! 

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