Why it’s important to learn about entrepreneurship even if you don’t plan to start a business

Interest in entrepreneurship is exploding across the world. Universities are adding courses and creating centers. K-12 educators are looking at ways to infuse entrepreneurship into curricula. Policy makers are all chanting the mantra of entrepreneurship as a key to economic development and job creation.

Should all of this be focused on just creating business owners? No, what we need to do is create a generation of young people who think entrepreneurially so they can be more successful wherever they end up. A small percentage will launch businesses in their 20’s. Others may launch social entrepreneurship ventures. Most, however, will work for others, at least for a few years. Employers need talented young people who can think like entrepreneurs, particularly in the small to medium sized businesses where most young people start their careers. The days of college graduates assuming they’ll get jobs with Fortune 500 companies are past. Those jobs aren’t there anymore. They’re more likely to work in a company with 20, 50, or 100 employees. If they apply their entrepreneurial skills in a small company, the owners will recognize and reward them accordingly.

So just what are these entrepreneurial skills that are so important? Let’s take a look at just a few:

Business planning – Knowing how to write a business plan is not important just for launching a new venture but for helping to communicate ideas and explore new opportunities inside existing companies. Sometimes this is called intrapreneurship.

Creativity – Studies have shown that 5 year olds are typically very creative. By the time they are 10 years old or so, schools have generally rewarded them by playing by the rules and coloring within the lines, so they’ve lost some of their creativity. By the time they reach high school, society has clearly communicated to them that creativity gets you in trouble and taking a more conservative approach is the path to success. So guess what happens? They get to college and many struggle with projects that require creativity. Clearly there are exceptions. I know dozens of creative young people. We just need more of them. Business owners want creative employees who can think outside the box and are rewarded for doing so. That might also mean being a little more tolerant of failure too.

Working with limited resources – Every business owner knows what I’m talking about here. One of the biggest challenges facing most startups is how to accomplish big things with limited resources. How do you hire talented employees when you can’t afford to pay them market salaries? How do you promote your products and services when you don’t have a big marketing budget?

Financial planning – One of the most difficult parts of any project, whether it’s planning a business, creating a non-profit or launching new venture within a company is financial planning. Basic skills like understanding budgets, producing cash flow statements, understanding debt, etc. are critical to success in any field. In my opinion, this should start early on in a child’s education.

I could go on, but I think the picture is pretty clear. We need a new generation of entrepreneurial thinkers. It’s up to educators, policy makers and business leaders to make this happen.