Entrepreneurs are good for the economy. Not only do they create jobs, startups bring fresh competition to old markets and help meet the ever evolving demands of our rapidly changing world. What’s more, with the growth in social entrepreneurship – that is, ventures that are designed to create social good as well as profit – entrepreneurship has the potential to help solve many of today’s challenges – from inequality, to climate change, and from ageing demographics to the obesity crisis.
But according to this Harvard Business Review blog post ‘Entrepreneurs get better with age’, “twice as many successful entrepreneurs are over 50 as under 25. The vast majority – 75% – have more than six years of industry experience, and half have more than 10 years when they create their start up.”
So how we can best make sure that the next generation of entrepreneurs – those young go-getters who lack the life experience so important to business success – are as skilled, determined and likely to succeed as possible?
Education, education, education
Today, there are thousands upon thousands of courses in entrepreneurship offered at academic institutions around the world. The idea of teaching entrepreneurship is far from new, but has only really come of age in the past decade or so.
In the United States, around 400,000 students take courses in entrepreneurship every year, and there’s a teaching staff of about 9,000. Outside of the US, particularly in emerging markets like China and India, there’s a similar surge in entrepreneurial courses. The National University of Singapore is a prime example of this, with its ambition to become Asia’s university hub for entrepreneurship. The university has plans to more than double the number of students – including those opting to take entrepreneurship modules – from about a thousand to 2,500 students.
As well as attending courses at academic institutions, there are lots of opportunities for keen students to partake in virtual online courses – many of them at very affordable prices. After all, if you’re just looking to skill up enough to start your own business, there’s really no need to get those expensive qualifications for your resume.
However, as you might expect, lots of experts (and experienced entrepreneurs) don’t have a lot of respect for these kinds of courses. This Forbes article lists five reasons why undergrad entrepreneurship courses aren’t producing entrepreneurs, including criticising the students themselves for getting onto the courses for all the wrong reasons.
Learning on the job
As well as academic institutions, there are of course thousands of internships, placements and incubators available with businesses of all shapes and sizes. These kinds of positions are obviously hugely varied, and include different kinds of support and ‘on the job’ learning. Some are very specific – offering experience in particular industries, while others simply seek to nurture entrepreneurial youngsters in whatever capacity they require.
This kind of entrepreneurial fostering is becoming more and more common as businesses – big and small – begin to value the innovation and market differentiation that an entrepreneurial approach can bring. By bringing in fresh faces who are keen to earn while making those first forays into the world of business, these companies are providing themselves with a steady supply of valuable future employees. It’s a smart move, and – as long as the participants know what they’re getting themselves into – has the potential to benefit both parties.
One small warning: many will argue that it’s much harder to learn true entrepreneurship without the risk of financial failure on your shoulder. By offering a pay check for flops as well as successes, businesses may be removing a critical ingredient in the ideal education for the next generation of entrepreneurs.
Educating yourself
As you might expect in the age of the internet, one of the best and most popular ways to find instruction in the dark arts of entrepreneurship is to take steps to educate yourself. From online communities like Growth Hackers to free online courses from Coursera, there are countless opportunities for the entrepreneurial business person to find high quality, free resources for self improvement.
For those operating on a budget (either of time or money), this kind of educative approach is good because it’s highly responsive. That means it allows those pursuing it to learn only those skills or insights that they feel will be most valuable in the immediate future.
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Despite the somewhat daunting stats about age versus success that we quoted at the start of this article, the future of entrepreneurship is looking bright. With the economy on the turn, and the demand for innovative minds at a high point in markets and companies, we’re likely to see continued growth in the supply of entrepreneurial training.
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