Learning entrepreneurial skills

At a time of economic uncertainty, when finding employment is tough, those people who have the vision to create their own employment ideas, and the requisite entrepreneurial skills to deliver them, are the most likely to succeed.  Ideas can be generated by looking at how the world of business is structured in a particular field and determining if there are any gaps in provision or improvements that could be made; entrepreneurial skills can be learned and there are a range of courses in entrepreneurship in California offering undergraduate and graduate degree programs in a number of creative areas.

 

Benefits of being an entrepreneur

While managers and administrators play an important role in the organization of business ventures, it is the entrepreneurs who have the creative ideas and the acumen to start up the venture in the first place.  This ability to plan and to organize, while recognizing acceptable risk levels, marks out the entrepreneur as a creator of long-term financial gain, both for themselves and for others.  They have the ability to act independently of the labor market and, in this way, entrepreneurs make an important contribution to wealth creation and can have a considerable influence on economic growth at all levels of a company’s or a nation’s development.

Learning entrepreneurial skills

 

Increasingly, governments have recognized the value of promoting entrepreneurship and to encourage entrepreneurial thinking as part of the culture, it has been integrated into education systems all over the world.  In particular areas, for example digital media, courses now exist to encourage students to learn the principles of, and the highly specialized skills required for, innovation and entrepreneurship specific to this field.

Getting valid, real-world experience is a huge benefit when learning about entrepreneurship and Cogswell Polytechnical College in Sunnyvale, California provides Bachelor of Arts programs in Entrepreneurship and Innovation for Audio Artist Management, Game Entrepreneurship and Interactive Marketing.  Coursework in entrepreneurship is combined with that in the relevant area of study, so the student learns to plan a business venture, to launch it successfully and to grow it in the future.

 

Master of Art

At a higher level, Cogswell College also provides a graduate degree program – the Master of Arts in Entrepreneurship and Innovation.  This advanced program takes account of the rapidly changing world of the creative industries and equips students with the ability to adapt quickly in order to sustain their chosen creative pursuits.  An intensive course that is also experiential, students are given the unique opportunity to gain first hand knowledge from companies and their creative entrepreneurs, in addition to the coursework they undertake.  Comprising clear conceptual models, and offering students access to core skills and knowledge, the course provides an additional layer of expertise for those wishing to embark on a startup business venture or grow an existing creative company.

 

Outcomes

Cogswell’s courses in entrepreneurship teach students to come up with a fresh business concept or product, to identify and describe how their business could grow and to develop a business planning document suitable for presentation to an investor.  Students learn about ethical issues and leadership skills and complete the courses with a personal development plan, fully equipped to launch their new creative enterprises.

 

A guest post contributed by Dave Stephenson, a dedicated blogger writing on a variety of topics, from business and learning to media and travel.

Image taken from Flickr.com