AT THE rate things today’s high school graduates forego their college education to start their own businesses, one might think that we are welcoming some sort of a new revolution where a new breed of young entrepreneurs will one day take over the country’s business landscape.
While I recognize the success stories of college dropouts who made it big and left a mark in their chosen field, I couldn’t help but ask if we should continue romanticizing the rags-to-riches stories of Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Steve Jobs, and others and then tell young people that it is okay not to pursue college or drop out from school because one can still succeed in life even without a high school or college diploma.
Don’t get me wrong. True, some of the world’s billionaires did not finish college; but these are definitely more of the exception rather than the rule. Aside from being college dropouts, the likes of Gates, Zuckerberg, and Jobs have another thing in common – exceptional IQ and unparalleled vision.
Some students that I know justify their inability to come to class regularly and submit even just the basic course requirements by saying they don’t need a diploma anyway and are ready to put up a business venture. Most of the time, I ask them why the “need” to continue wasting their parents’ hard-earned money on school fees and other related expenses when they could just work on the business enterprise they have been envisioning and wanting to start?
Their reply? “Still waiting for the right time.”
I would like to believe that the time to start a business is made right by a series of formal studies and life experiences that enable one to make informed decisions. One does not become an entrepreneur based on a whim or gut feel. People with business acumen do not take risks for the sake of taking risks; in fact, they always take calculated risks.
A case in point – one does not put up an eatery simply because he or she cooks well, loves everything about food or simply finds passion in cooking. One has to know the rudiments of running a restaurant no matter how small or big it is – managing people, determining the menu and the inventory of supplies, establishing the profit-earning and break-even price for each item in the menu, meeting or even exceeding customer’s satisfaction, understanding the accounting cycle including evaluating financial statements, and a lot more.
Over the years, I have seen a lot of very promising establishments started by young entrepreneurs close shop in less than a year because of wrong business decisions. These decisions stem from the lack of basic managerial knowledge and skills that could have been acquired either through formal education or informal lessons.
After the pandemic, I witnessed one establishment put up a branch within four months into its operation, probably because of the resounding buzz it created among food lovers. It was a knee-jerk decision not based on a careful market study or financial analysis. Suffice it to say that in less than a year since the main branch opened, both stores shut down and the young owner was left with a considerable amount of financial obligations to pay.
Not being able to pursue education because of financial difficulties is one thing. I know a lot of people who either work and earn first then go back to school, or work and study at the same time. But not taking your education seriously even if you have the means is another thing; especially if you keep on assuring yourself with the thought that if college dropouts like Gates, Zuckerberg, and Jobs made it big, so can you. You can find motivation and inspiration to their rise to fame, but that is as far as it gets. You have to work hard, capacitate yourself and learn everything to prepare for the real world that does not rely solely on diskarte.
A diploma is not an assurance to succeed in life; neither is a long-cherished dream or a burning passion buoyed by other people’s success stories. But if you have the opportunity and the means to get formal and informal education, equip and capacitate yourself. And as you move forward, you will acquire invaluable experiences, learn more and eventually acquire the diskarte that will aid you in some of your personal and business decisions.
