What is Entrepreneurship?
New Jersey is part of the economic juggernaut that is the Northeastern United States. The state borders on both New York City and Philadelphia, which supports its manufacturing and financial sectors, but it also has wide expanses of agricultural space. Furthermore, New Jersey also offers fun tourist destinations. Not only is it home to Atlantic City, where casinos are king, but everyone loves the Jersey Shore, where hoards flock to splash in the sun.
For New Jersey's top industries, the state is led by professional and business services. That sector rakes in over 100 billion dollars each year and ranks ninth in the nation. The top five industries also include real estate, social services including healthcare, manufacturing, and wholesale trades. While New Jersey may never match Wall Street, the state still rakes in over 42 billion from its financial sector, which is the sixth largest in New Jersey and the 11th largest in the nation.
An entrepreneur is a business professional who takes their creative business ideas and pursues them in their own unique ventures. They may have a totally new invention that they wish to bring to market, or maybe they have a new twist on an old idea. Entrepreneurs are people like Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, or even the owner of a local pizzeria; people who aren't interested in being employees and who want the satisfaction that comes back from running their own firm.
Entrepreneurs can find work wherever they discover a market for their goods or services. Some may be consultants who are perpetually shifting their environment with each new client. They may spend a great deal of time traveling to service clients both foreign and domestic. Others might have small retail operations and spend their days perfecting their marketing skills. Then there are those who build massive manufacturing facilities to produce their cutting-edge products.
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Online Entrepreneurship Education in New Jersey
With such a diversified economic foundation, entrepreneurs have many options available to them. The state has large population centers which may need smaller consumer-level businesses such as landscaping, restaurants, or electrical services. There is also room for more advanced projects such as a technology start-up, financial services, or manufacturing facilities.
New Jersey's budding entrepreneurs thus need a strong academic foundation from which to launch their dreams. Not only do entrepreneurs need to have that special creative, maverick spirit, but they need to balance their wild streak with solid knowledge of how business is done in New Jersey. This is where New Jersey's community colleges and four-year institutions can come into play.
Business degree programs that foster the skills needed to thrive as an entrepreneur can be found throughout the state. Business programs are interested in helping their state thrive and innovate. That is why they seek to attract business faculty members that have experience in business on top of their academic credentials.
Given New Jersey's economic strength, it's certain that the state will continue to evolve. Its strong support of its innovative entrepreneurial class will ensure that the state's economy remains one of the strongest nationwide.
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Since entrepreneurship is fraught with great risk, some who have trained as entrepreneurs find work as employees. Their independent streak is often valued by employers who hire them to develop new lines of business. Many entrepreneurs also become salespeople who manage their own set of clients and business.
Online Associates (AS)
A two-year associate entrepreneurship degree is a terrific way to launch a career. Many budding small business owners begin their careers with a two-year degree from their local New Jersey community college, which can instill key business fundamentals such as marketing, basic accounting, and managerial skills. They may become familiar with key skills such as formulating and presenting a business plan and landing the all-important start-up funds. They may learn how to provide shares to investors or how to calculate the bank's compounding interest rates.
With a two-year degree an entrepreneur can build quite a foundation. Some may never return to school once they build momentum in the business community. However, others may decide to return to school to acquire more skills. Those who envision a tech start-up, for instance, may need to learn more about computer science. Others head back to complete a bachelor's entrepreneurship degree in order to then go on to an MBA program. Many entrepreneurs get an MBA for the sole purpose of networking with other business professionals.
Online Bachelors (BS)
Professionals who earn a bachelor's entrepreneurship degree enter the business community with a head full of knowledge. Since a true entrepreneur doesn't necessarily need academic credentials, they certainly come in handy. For instance, when seeking a loan from a bank, the loan officer will be impressed by a degree. This is because holding a bachelor's degree implies that an entrepreneur has undergone a certain degree of academic rigor. The loan officer may be particularly impressed by those who have focused their studies on fields that specifically match their intended business.
Along the way to earning a bachelor's entrepreneurship degree, students not only learn a lot about starting and operating a business but they also network. Their fellow students may have a similar vision. Others may have skills but not business insights. The entrepreneurship student may choose to team up with a software engineering student, and the two can form a partnership where each can express their unique talents.
Online Masters (MS)
Entrepreneurship is not an easy road for many. There is a great deal of risk involved before you are likely to find success; and though these can be stellar, they are relatively few. However, a professional who earns a master’s entrepreneurship degree, or an MBA with a concentration in entrepreneurship, may find that their chances of success rise considerably.
Loan officers are sure to be impressed by an applicant who has an MBA in entrepreneurship and who can put together a terrific business proposal. After all, an MBA graduate should be able to conduct a stellar marketing study as well as put together sound predictions for revenues and eventual profit. An MBA can also use their time in school to network with business professionals who may be able to join their firm or prove otherwise valuable. Some may join private equity or venture capital firms that can provided needed seed capital. Other fellow MBA classmates may join the firm as HR, marketing, management, or operations specialists.
Online Doctorate (PhD)
Since an entrepreneur is not beholden to an employer, a PhD is not often found among the ranks of entrepreneurs. However, a doctorate degree can be very useful for any budding entrepreneur. This may be especially true of those who hold an MBA in a non-business field. A computer scientist may decide to put their tech skills to use in a firm of their own. Mathematics PhDs have also been known to dive into tech startups. Other sorts of STEM students also take their innovative ideas to market by way of their own firm. After all, why share all of that innovation and creativity with a boss?
A PhD in entrepreneurship can be of great use to those who desire a career in academia. They can teach at a local college or university, where their academic credentials may earn them a tenure-track position. A PhD in a business field may especially find success in academia if they have first had great success in the business world.
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Become an Entrepreneur in New Jersey
Many Garden State dreamers want to become an entrepreneurial professional in New Jersey. Those who grow up in the northeastern corner of the state may be inspired by all of the robust business activity in New York City. They may dream of a high-flying career in the financial markets on Wall Street, or maybe they have a groundbreaking solution for the citizens of that densely populated area. However, each of them is curious as to how they can break out of the mold and into the exciting, and risky, life of an entrepreneur.
Some may start out with a childhood lemonade stand. As the years go by, they may learn how to save up start-up capital, create a marketing scheme, and perhaps even develop a new approach to the old standard beverage. Others may stick with school and take courses that will help focus them toward general business success. In high school, this may mean advanced mathematics courses. Their New Jersey high school may offer introductory business courses that cover accounting, marketing, and management.
Most New Jersey entrepreneurs will probably complete a college degree. For those who aim toward a very small business such as a pizzeria, construction crew, or landscaping organization the best route may be to earn an associate degree. A two-year, community college degree should provide enough of a business background for these businesses. However, those who dream of more complex businesses should look into a bachelor's entrepreneurship degree or another, more focused, degree with a minor in entrepreneurship.
Those who are interested in starting a business related to finance, for instance, may want to seek out an entrepreneurship degree from the best university possible. To ensure the best success, finance majors should look for business programs accredited by AACSB, ACBSP, or IACBE. These nationally recognized credentials will help graduates whether they stay in the New York/New Jersey area or move away to Boston, Chicago, or Los Angeles.
Along the way, budding entrepreneurs should continually seek to expand their business networks. This can be accomplished by way of advancing their academic credentials with an MBA or by joining various social clubs in their local area. After all, many entrepreneurs are made by way of their business networks.
Careers for Entrepreneurship Graduates
- Business Owner:
Every entrepreneurship student dreams of becoming a business owner someday. This title comes after a long road of learning the ins and outs of business, conceiving a novel ideal, and then taking that idea to market. Whether the entrepreneur is the owner of a small restaurant, laundromat, or a billion-dollar hedge fund, they must have strong skills of negotiation, financial management, as well as specific knowledge of the industry they are joining. - Public Relations Manager:
This is a profession that is involved with creating and protecting the public image of individuals and businesses. A PR manager may run the whole department or may oversee a team of PR professionals who write press releases, arrange media events, and even manage social media accounts. A PR manager is responsible for knowing how to conduct the public relations campaign of each individual client. Some may need damage control after a controversy of some sort while others may need help with launching a new product line or even a new film or other entertainment.
- Appraiser:
These business professionals are often independent entrepreneurs who make a business out of assessing the value of certain items. We may be most familiar with appraisers who assess the value of homes in our area. Appraisers can also provide pricing information for boat sellers, art dealers, and jewelry professionals. Though they often work as part of a firm, a successful appraiser can branch out and work as an independent contractor. - Web Developer:
These technology workers should not be confused with website designers. Web developers are more concerned with the back end of a website. They are the ones who write code for website cookies but also for search engines. Essentially, while a web designer makes a site look good, a web developer ensures that it functions well. - Social Media Manager:
Marketing professionals may choose social media management as their chosen path. These business professionals manage the social media accounts of their employer or clients. They may be charged with responding to comments from the general public or may focus more on clever and viral posts that advance a brand or individual's social media goals. - Marketing Manager:
These business professionals often have several years of experience working in marketing departments. They may also have an MBA with a concentration in marketing. Marketing managers can come from a background in analytical marketing or from the creative side of the field. Either way, they must have a strong working knowledge of the other side of the equation. For this reason, most hiring managers look for a marketing manager who has a lot of experience on top of an MBA. - Sales Manager:
These business and marketing professionals are typically seasoned sales professionals who have decided to forgo the life of chasing commission sales for a desk position. They oversee a team of salespeople who are involved in a familiar industry. The sales manager needs to be able to motivate their team to make large sales and thus keep the firm's revenues growing all the time. They also must be able to mentor and nurture new salespeople for later success. - Investment and Acquisition:
This is one of the financial sector's strongest branches. To thrive in corporate finance, students need a business degree from a strong, fully accredited college or university. Once prepared, New Jersey and neighboring New York City provide loads of job opportunities.
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