Starting A Business? Learn These 3 Vital Skills First
Do you want to start your own business? No matter what your background in your intended field is, you will also need to know how to successfully run a business. And one of the best ways to do just that is to get formal training in business school. Not sure how business school will benefit your entrepreneurial plans? Here are three key things you'll learn about there.
1. Legal Matters
Starting a business means handling a lot more than just working in your chosen field or putting a product together. You'll have to navigate the maze of legal issues that come with ownership. This will start at the very beginning of your entrepreneurship, with such decisions as which type of business entity you'll form. Even such a seemingly small detail could cost thousands in liability if you make the wrong choice.
In business school, you will learn legal matters related to all aspects of ownership, including tax obligations, employer responsibilities, patent and copyright protection, and avoiding libel.
2. Accounting Basics
How much do you know about keeping books? Even if you plan to hire out the daily and annual accounting work for your fledgling company — which you may not be able to do immediately — you still need to understand your money. If you don't know where your money is and how to make the most of it, you put yourself at the mercy of others. This doesn't help you make the decisions you need to make.
At business school, you will learn things like how to track expenses and calculate costs of individual jobs or products, what your payroll obligations are, how to use depreciation to your advantage, and what is in your financial statements. Accounting skills ensure that you can have confidence that your enterprise is on the right track and that you can rely on the people who help you manage your finances.
3. Entrepreneurship
New businesses face headwinds, and many will ultimately fail. Avoid becoming a part of that statistic by learning skills needed to get your own off the ground. A successful entrepreneur needs to know how to network in the best ways, what types of risks to take (and avoid), and how to turn an idea into a reality. Even the most brilliant nugget of an idea can't get very far if you don't know how to give it what it needs. Entrepreneurial skills can be learned, and you can learn them from pros who have already done what you're doing.
Could you benefit from improving your understanding in any of these three areas? If so, start today by making an appointment with a business school in your area to learn what they can offer you.