How Much Education Does It Take To Be An Entrepreneur?

Skye Leist
March 26, 2011

So, waddyathink? How much schooling does it take to be an entrepreneur?

Answer: zilch.

There are very successful entrepreneurs who can’t even read, let alone dissect the tax code. We all know a great little hot dog stand that has the tastiest dogs this side of anywhere, or the seamstress who just knows how long a pants leg should be. These businesspeople, and thousands like them, don’t necessarily have any formal education at all.

Truthfully, there is no way that entrepreneurship can be “taught”, and not only have I attended such classes, but I have “taught” them. We can teach about bookkeeping, or about all the options for advertising, or about how to write a press release, or even how to write a business plan. But we can’t teach how to be an entrepreneur.

It is almost like there is an entrepreneur gene that lurks in some people. Some people just “get it”, and some don’t. That is true no matter what size the business is, large or small.

This fact struck home when I saw recently that the group of entrepreneurs with NO high school diploma were the fastest growing group of entrepreneurs. Basically, high school kids are dropping out of school to form their own businesses. These probably are not sophisticated corporations or partnerships, and may not even involve any funding, but they are businesses none the less. These are the business people who seem to inherently just know what to do to create and build a business. Problem: They need money. Solution: They start a business to earn it.

Hallelujah! This is the best news that I have seen in a long, long time. It shows people with gumption, with a sense of direction, people who can solve problems and help themselves, their families and their communities.

I would like to suggest that we get behind these youngsters and help them out, but I won’t do that. I suspect they are doing just fine on their own. They don’t need you and me. And if they do need our help, they will ask.

Truly, we wish all of you new entrepreneurs all the success you could dream of.

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