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What is Entrepreneurship?
Anyone wanting to become an entrepreneur can earn a business or entrepreneurship degree from a community college, public university, or graduate college anywhere in the country. With this degree, they should have the basic knowledge and skills required to start their own business, operate it effectively, and earn revenue. If this professional lives and works in Oklahoma, there are a variety of industries from which to choose when they consider the type of business they should start.
One of the largest industries in Oklahoma is that encompassing finance and insurance, which earned $7.6 billion in revenue in a recent year. Then there is the social assistance or healthcare industry, which earned closer to $13.4 billion in revenue. As you can see, despite being seen as one of the more rural states in the US, Oklahoma still brings a lot to the table when it comes to high earning industries. All you have to do as an entrepreneur is find a way into one of these industries and bring your vision to the table to carve out a piece for yourself.
An entrepreneur is a person who has an idea for a new business and the drive to make it happen. They often take on a large amounts of financial risk when they start a new company. However, if the business is successful, they also reap the majority of the rewards from the company’s achievements and eventual income.
Doing the legwork of starting up a company can earn you the title of entrepreneur, but you’ll also need something else. That is vision. The most successful entrepreneurs develop new ideas for their company; this may be a new product that no one else has offered or a service that targets a need in a specific industry. Their ability to target needs and fill the gaps in existing offerings is the main ingredient in becoming a successful entrepreneur.
Generally, entrepreneurs aim to start and operate their own business and put their big ideas into practice, but they may not plan to operate the business long-term. They are the idea man and, while it might be invigorating for them to make a business successful, they often sell to the highest bidder and start over with a new brilliant idea.
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Online Entrepreneurship Education in Oklahoma
As far as the average salary for an entrepreneur in Oklahoma, that will strongly depend on what industry you start a business in, how efficiently you are able to run that business, how much of the market you hold, what services or products you offer, and, let’s not forget, what you choose to pay yourself. As the owner of a business, you’ll likely choose what your income is. Many entrepreneurs take very small incomes until their business is standing well on its own. According to ZipRecruiter and Intuit, business owners in Oklahoma can make anywhere between $18,000 and $120,000 per year. And, while entrepreneurs may start their own businesses without the benefit of a college degree, they have more chance of being successful if they do have an entrepreneurship degree. A college of business will often offer entrepreneurship degree programs within a business administration degree, or you can opt for a simple business degree, though focusing on entrepreneurship will give you a better understanding of gathering investment dollars and starting a brand-new venture.
After all, special knowledge is often needed to start a successful business. Someone interested in starting an entrepreneurial real estate company should do their homework first, understand what the market is, and know how real estate works from top to bottom. Earning a professional certification can also help.
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Online Associate Degree in Entrepreneurship (AS)
Those who wish to earn enough basic knowledge to start a business but aren’t worried about spending years in school might want to consider earning an associate degree. For example, an Associate in Applied Science in Business Management, with a focus on entrepreneurship is a field of study that exposes students to all the basic knowledge they need to run a business from the ground up. Students will gain foundational knowledge in finance and accounting, management, marketing, and much more. It can help you to develop a course of action that will bring you closer to achieving your goals.
Online Bachelor's Degree in Entrepreneurship (BS)
A college of business at a four-year university will often offer a bachelor’s degree in entrepreneurship for undergraduate students who want to start and operate their own businesses. These programs will have curriculum that varies from school to school, but they will tend to have some specific areas of focus including creating an entrepreneurial mentality, helping students to gain all the skills needed to start and operate a business, training them to manage a business and grow it, and teaching students how to develop ideas for change.
Students can also gain real-world experiences as they compete in national competitions at some schools, such as business plan competitions or competing with students within their own school to get into incubator programs, which can help you get your business started right away.
Online Master's Degree in Entrepreneurship (MS)
Graduate students who want to advance in entrepreneurship and management, or those who are looking for a hit of innovation for their career as they move forward, may do well to look for a master’s degree in entrepreneurship. There are Master of Science options in management and entrepreneurship that can give students the training and experience they need to advance within their own company or better manage their own. And, in many cases, they can attend from their own home by attending classes online. Students enroll in relevant courses which help them to gain the skills they need and learn new entrepreneurial skills and strategies.
There is also the option of earning an MBA with a concentration in entrepreneurship. The skills and theories learned in these programs will support you whether you end up working as an executive, managing a small business, or starting their own company. These degree programs provide knowledge in every business area: marketing, entrepreneurship, finance, accounting, business analytics, and more.
Online PhD Degree in Entrepreneurship (PhD)
Professionals planning to earn a doctoral degree in entrepreneurship will be placing themselves in a position to lead the field in research and growth. Students in these degree programs usually work closely with faculty members and focus on research methods and theory and study the questions that entrepreneurs face every day. These may be questions that resource providers, public policy creators, and other professionals ask as they encourage entrepreneurship, or the student may have a question of their own that drives their research. Either way, the goal is to create unique research before you complete the program.
During a doctoral program, candidates usually complete around 40 credit hours of regular coursework and around 20 credits for their dissertations. They may also attend doctoral seminars focused on the theories, processes, and history of entrepreneurship and research.
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Become an Entrepreneur in Oklahoma
Entrepreneurs who want to create career opportunities for others may want to look into earning professional certificates if they feel the need to improve their credentials. These certifications can be offered by universities, open online courses, or even software vendors, depending on what you want to learn. Business owners may earn certificates to show potential clients or customers that they are capable, to ensure that they don’t make any accounting mistakes that could cost them in the long run, to keep from having to hire an HR professional to complete payroll for a particularly small team, or to show potential customers that they are serious about their work. Here are just some options for those who wish to earn certifications focused on entrepreneurship.
- Professional Certificate in Innovation and Entrepreneurship
This certificate is focused on helping you learn how to think with an entrepreneurial mindset (mentality), motivation, and behavior. It will also help you understand macroeconomic change, industry condition and status, and competition.
Those earning the certificate will also learn how to develop new models of business and design value propositions. As a part of their study, they learn how to bring in talented individuals and create a good team. One of the most important skills gained is developing the right financial model, one which lessens risks and maximizes gains.
- Entrepreneurship Certificate
This certificate program, offered by eCornell, offers new entrepreneurs the knowledge they need to determine whether their idea is viable, examine the market and potential demand, then move through the process of pitching their idea to other professionals. Students also learn about equity investors, venture capitalists, angel investors, economic development centers, grants, and crowdfunding. This can help you discover which method is right for your business idea.
Another focus is helping entrepreneurs know how to protect their interests during the development and structuring of their new business. You’ll also learn how to nurture relationships with investors.
- Innovation and Entrepreneurship Graduate Certificate
In this program, students develop an understanding of the principles and methods of idea development: design thinking, creativity, and systems thinking. They also learn to understand business frameworks and their models. They link innovation and entrepreneurial initiatives to the objectives and goals of the organization.
Careers for Entrepreneurship Graduates
A career in entrepreneurship is much more than simply starting a business. There are many types of entrepreneurship opportunities including the builder, opportunist, specialist, innovator, fact finder, and more. For the best chance at success, determine the quality that best suits your strengths, character and personality and then choose an entrepreneurship career path, such as:
- Business Owner
Small businesses are rightfully called the backbone of the US economy. In the US, small businesses are the source of about two-thirds of new jobs in the private sector, according to the US Small Business Administration. Entrepreneurs often start businesses and become business owners. They plan their business’ daily operations and they may always be a small company, or they may grow very large, depending on the industry and their goals. - Appraiser
An appraiser values property for their clients. This is a role that is common in real estate, as sellers and real estate companies want to ensure that the right price is affixed to the property before they buy or sell it. The appraiser writes a report, which can become the foundation for taxes, mortgage loans, resale, and other legal processes. - Web Developer
The work a web developer does combines both technical skills and graphic design. Both help with creating attractive websites that site visitors appreciate. Technical skills allow a web developer to create a website that functions well and is secure from cyber-attacks. Graphic design skills allow them to create pages with attractive designs, easy-to-read fonts, and easily navigable menus. - Social Media Manager
A social media manager focuses on engaging with customers or potential customers via social media sites such as Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, Facebook, and others. They handle the planning and implementation of social media messaging, such as writing the messages or ensuring all messages remain on-brand, and they may also plan all social media strategy for a business.
Depending on their skills, the business may see their social media presence growing and placing its brand value in a positive light. Social media managers work with photos, infographics, videos, and text, posting these on social media accounts consistently to retain engagement with prospective customers.
- Marketing Manager
This professional is responsible for promoting a business, its brands, products, and/or services. Part of their responsibilities include developing strategies for marketing and pricing, generating new business leads, and supervising marketing staff. They are also responsible for analyzing trends in marketing and managing the marketing budget. - Systems Analyst
This tech professional is responsible for implementing, maintaining, and supporting IT systems so that they support the needs of an organization. They may also ensure that IT systems easily scale upward if the organization is expecting to grow. - Brand Manager
A brand manager handles the development of creating brand strategies, putting brand plans in place, ensuring the growth and expansion of an organization’s brands, and working with data to increase volume and profits. Their goals focus on both short- and long-term objectives. - Marketing/Research Analyst
A marketing analyst studies market conditions in order to determine the potential for sales of services and products. To be successful, analysts should have the skills to examine qualitative data, strategies, trends, and competition. Their goal is to increase the organization’s ability to compete.
Research analysts carry out research, gather and analyze the information they find, and use the data they collect to develop solutions to problems for the organization. They may also help the management of an organization to make decisions by providing them with meaningful data in the form of reports.
Both of these jobs may be done by the same person or group, or the work may be split in a particularly large organization.