Students. The children, teens, and young adults out there in the world trying to learn as much as they can in order to succeed in life. As I am currently one of these, I can say that studying and learning is my job, aside from the actual side jobs for extra money. As I write this post, I am well aware of the fact that I have three to four hours of homework waiting for me at home, and I canāt say Iām excited about that fact. Some business owners may understand my pain as you have piles of bookwork stashed away to be tackled when you have time.
But this blog isnāt for the people who already have a business started. Itās for all of the people who are reading this, hoping to gain more information on how to be a business owner so they can become one too. Youāre doing your homework, so to speak. Reading entrepreneurship articles for hours, trying to understand as many concepts as you can to ensure that your vision can come to fruition.
I realize that Iām still a student with very little āreal world experienceā, but I can say that I understand homework and studying. Itās tedious, your hand cramps as you write yet another research essay, and you canāt cram any more accounting information into your head. Studying is legal torture, and you cannot convince me otherwise.
Iāve also heard that you never stop learning. But Iām beginning to realize that we have confused studying and learning. Many students study for hours to simply regurgitate what they memorized onto a test, and then forget it immediately after. They havenāt really learned anything, just passed the test. Most of you are probably wondering what this has to do with business, but Iām not just talking about formal education here. Many people have goals and visions for a future company. They spend hours researching on sites like Forbes, Entrepreneur, and The Wall Street Journal hoping to eventually figure out exactly how they should put this idea into action. They study, and while this isnāt bad, itās not learning.
Growing up on a farm, I never studied how to check cattle. There was never a website that I logged onto to figure out how to unlatch a gate, or read a magazine article on how to carry a hay bale. But I learned a lot. It was informal, and often painful as I would get kicked or stepped on, but I learned a lot about how to properly handle an animal and farm work that I couldnāt have learned through a book.
One Entrepreneur article says that many people have the knowledge to become business owners, they have studied so much that they have āinformation overloadā and donāt know where to go. They havenāt turned their hours of studying into learning. The article goes on to encourage aspiring business owners to take action, and start the business. You canāt fail if you never start, but you canāt succeed either.
I doubt that most of you will have to worry about stampeding cows if you open your business, but there are other things that will be difficult. You may struggle finding loans, creating a customer base, or marketing your product. However, I would have never learned how to jump over a fence if I never had the cattle in the first place. Maybe itās time for you stop studying entrepreneurship, and start learning about entrepreneurship.
If youāre ready to take the next step but are still uncertain on exactly where to go, the Iowa SBDC is here to help. Visit / to schedule your free and confidential advising appointment.