If you’re just starting out in the business world, you may be under the impression that all business owners have spent years studying the craft of entrepreneurship and hold degrees from highly ranked schools in areas such as finance, marketing, and business administration. While these credentials certainly won’t hurt your chances of success, they are far from the rule when it comes to being an entrepreneur or starting a successful business.
If you’re unsure of your business acumen and would like to brush up on some skills before diving in, check out the following reasons why trade school may be your best bet — and your most cost-effective option — for gaining new skills as you start your business. Read on for pertinent information from This Lady Blogs.
Trade School Is Affordable
Students attending college, graduates who have taken out loans, and anxious parents of toddlers who have already begun saving for their children’s post-secondary education can tell you one thing about college: it’s expensive. If you already know what you want to study and there’s a great trade or technical school in your community, you may opt to save yourself from years of paying back loans and get a vocational degree instead. Trade school can afford you an apprenticeship as well as a solid academic foundation for a fraction of the cost of a four-year college or university.
Trade School Is for Business Owners
Juggling school and a business is a challenge, but not an insurmountable one. If you’re someone who is endeavoring to start a small business while also taking classes, look for ways to ease your everyday business tasks. For example, you can take advantage of the many benefits small business time tracking software offers. Enjoy easy scheduling, straightforward team management, real-time reports, the ability to keep track of your time by job code and more thanks to apps like QuickBooks Time. Plus, users report an average savings of 5 percent on their payroll costs — something any savvy business owner will find desirable.
If you want to get a foothold in the business community, you can try your hand at a few accounting classes and work as a bookkeeper, gain skills as a medical assistant before working as an in-home caretaker, or study administration and become an office assistant before branching out into entrepreneurship. Listen to your mentors and take it all in. You don’t need to commit to an expensive price tag to get a great business education.
Trade School Is Practical
Liberal arts degrees are fantastic for young students who are leaving their parents’ homes for the first time seeking a well-rounded and broad education, and for those who will be studying specific degrees such as the social sciences, the arts, or foreign languages. On the other hand, a trade school is also a good option for students who want to study something very specific: a trade.
Trade schools, or technical schools, can afford their students highly focused and in-depth training in areas like construction, electrical sciences, computer technology, accounting, plumbing, or skilled health fields such as nursing and medical administration. While it is a shorter and less expensive commitment than a college or university degree, even though it’s more focused, a trade school can prepare you for a wide variety of jobs. For example, Verywell Mind explains those with two-year healthcare degrees can work in pharmacies, respiratory centers, dental offices, hospitals, and so forth.
When starting from the ground up, attending a trade school in your spare time will boost your business knowledge and related skills while not overloading your schedule with extracurricular activities and events that would be more appropriate for a young student studying French with the hopes of teaching abroad.
Trade School Is Convenient
Though many business schools, including highly ranked MBA programs, offer online degrees, NPR points out many trade schools offer night classes, online options, and a great deal of flexibility for working adults. Most bachelor’s and master’s programs, even in business-related areas, are not designed for adults who already have family obligations or need to work at a full-time job.
Trade school is not right for everyone, just like a liberal arts degree is not right for everyone: Your choice of higher education should be personalized to your immediate goals, finances, and dreams for your future. If you are a budding entrepreneur who needs to gain skills in finance, business administration, or another technical skill, trade school may be a fantastic and affordable stepping stone in your entrepreneurial journey.