This year you may have attended a graduation party or two or even
have recently had one of your own. Earning a degree is something that
should be celebrated. But unless you are looking for certain technical
skills, college is not always the best place for entrepreneurs.
That’s not to say that you shouldn’t attend college. It may even be
a great place to start a business. It's just that educational institutions aren’t known for teaching essential startup techniques.
In an attempt to fill the gap, here are 10 startup
lessons that I never learned in college:
Related: What Helps Entrepreneurs Truck Forward After Massive Loss?
1. Deal with failure.
An inevitable part of the startup experience is tasting failure.
Almost all successful entrepreneurs have failed at one point or
other. It’s a learning process that can help you make your next venture a
success.
But you won’t learn about this in college. After all, colleges want
you to succeed. They want you to graduate and become an esteemed alumni
who donates money.
Colleges don’t prepare you for failing a class or not landing a job
after graduating. They don’t prep you for failure. Truth is, it’s not
the end of the world. This is something that you will have to discover
and cope with when joining the startup world.
2. Raise money.
Relatively speaking, raising money for college is a cinch compared
with funding a new business. While some people rely on parental support,
others pursue loans and grants.
But raising money for a startup is infinitely more complex in its
paperwork. Investors and banks expect you to present a detailed business
plan that describes how a product works and how it will eventually make
them a little something extra.
You may have to negotiate with investors and banks if they don’t at
first understand your vision (another skill that you may not have
acquired in college).
Related: Shoestring Budget? No Problem. Just Be Creative.
3. Budget.
In college you probably did not handle considerable sums of money.
You lived off student loans, a part-time job or credit cards --
not taxes, payroll, business expenses or office rent. If you had extra
cash, you savored it, even if that meant living off Ramen Noodles for
the next two weeks. You really did not have to budget your money.
Just try to do that with a startup.
Being able to understand a profit-and-loss statement or balance sheet
is vital. You will have to be able to budget expenses for the next six
months, a year or longer -- skills you may not have picked up in a
college lecture hall.
4. Pivot if necessary.
College students often change majors and transfer to another school. That's not something widely advertised. But, in fact,
61 percent of students switch their major by the close of sophomore year at the University of Florida, according to
The New York Times. And pivoting is something that startups are becoming familiar with.
Related: Do Pivots Matter? Yes, in Almost Every Case.
5. Think outside of the box.
Often in school, there’s a right and wrong answer. But in the startup world, ambiguity rules.
“If you are not prepared to be wrong, you will never come up with
anything original," author and educator Ken Robinson declared in a TED
talk, “
Schools Kill Creativity,” which has been viewed almost 27 million times.
6. Build the right network.
Connecting with people in college is not the same as engaging with
people in the real world. A drinking buddy or roommate who may have been
so crucial to you in college won't matter so much as you try to get a
startup off the ground.
No matter how tempting it may be to hire friends, they may not be
right for your startup. If you majored in business, though, how often do
you cross paths with an awesome programmer? Probably never.
When running a startup, be ready and willing to reach out and engage
with the right people, instead of just relying on those who are
there. With the right network of people, the possibilities are endless.
Related: Where the Real Deals Are Ignited at Conferences -- the Bar
7. Become a salesperson.
If you want your startup to succeed, then you must sell. You’re going
to have to market the company's product to employees, investors and
clients. But did you ever take a "Salesperson 101" course in college?
Being a top-notch salesperson isn’t hardly something that can be
taught in a classroom. It’s a skill that must be refined over time
through experience and that entails being able to read people well
enough to get them hooked on your company's mission.
8. Mind your health.
Although your college's cafeteria may have stocked nutritious food
and included gyms and wellness seminars, your health may not have been a
focal point back then. Instead, staying out all night and then skipping
class was fine occasionally.
But at a startup, you and your employees will put a lot of hours and
hard work. You just can’t call in sick because you have the sniffles.
Since every day at your startup matters, take note that the Centers for Disease Control has found that overall
healthy employees are more productive and call in sick less often.
Related: Managing People Is an Art: 32 Ways to Do it Right.
9. Become a boss.
Some people are natural-born leaders. Others become great leaders in
college, like that star quarterback. And still others take business
classes that cover all sorts of theories for how to make a better
businessperson. But being a boss -- that is, actually managing employees
-- is something else entirely.
While great bosses may also be great leaders, not all leaders make
great bosses. When that quarterback leaves college, could he look the
father of five directly in the eyes and fire him?
Being a great boss means that you should be able to guide, inspire
and even make tough decisions. There isn’t a class for that. It’s just
another skill you’ll have to learn in the real world.
10. Manage your time.
In college, because of the abundant stretches of free time, you could enjoy leisure time and also make up for any goofing off.
That won’t happen at a startup.
There is no free time. You’re going to be working essentially 24/7,
no matter how tired you may be. So while your friends are enjoying happy
hour, don’t become upset about finishing up a business plan, doing
research or having a late-night meeting with employees. That’s just the
nature of the beast.
What startup lessons did you not learn in college?
Related: 9 Lessons You Won't Learn in Business School
Original: Entrepreneur
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