College Student

[Betarcher]

Hello All,

I am a college student interested in starting my own business; I guess it would be a media consulting agency. What are some tips on classes I could take to be successful? I know classes aren’t everything, but having a decent education can’t hurt me at all.

Stepho

[jdoc]

Assuming you already have the requisite technical know-how, I would suggest taking some accounting, finance, marketing, and (if available) entrepreneurship courses. If you're planning on making this more than a one-person shop, I'd also suggest and Organizational Behaviour/Management class.

In my experience, the courses above (save entrepreneurship of course) are geared towards education future professionals who will work for large established companies. That said, they give you the basics and will help you understand how the relationships between company, employees, government, customers, and suppliers work.

Good luck!

[desimv1]

Hi Stepho,

Taking traditional business courses, like accounting, finance, management, etc., can be helpful, but I would also recommend looking for more experiential methods of learning. Entering a business plan competition, for example, can be a great way to connect you with a team that might already have the business background that you lack AND usually puts you in a position to have a faculty advisor who knows something about the entrepreneurial process.

If your school doesn't have a business plan competition, look at the entrepreneurial societies/clubs on your campus. They often host guest speakers that are more than willing to be mentors and/or hire students as interns (which is really one of the best ways to learn the process).

Another method is to take a course at another institution nearby. Their are a series of courses called FastTrac that are offered throughout the U.S. that help entrepreneurs go from the idea phase to high growth. Go to www.fasttrac.org to see if they offer something in your area.

Taking initiative is the first step, so good job. Best of luck!
D