How to become a business man

Hi James,

Thank you for your question! I also wanted to be a business man when I was in school. What helped me narrow things down was to think about what parts of a business really fascinated me, and then identify specific goals from those aspects. The best way to do this would be to learn from examples. I started my search for a business area I wanted to work in by reading about companies I was really interested in: Apple, Google, Nike, Pixar, etc. Chances are if you pick a few companies that inspire you, then you will be able to find a multitude of online or written books/resources about them.

While exploring these companies I learned a few things about my interests. One was that I was not interested in the Finance aspect of companies (setting budgets, managing salaries, reporting revenue, etc.) and I was also not interested in marketing or advertising. The parts of business that most excited me was about the creation of the product/offering itself. Second, I learned that the technology industry was particularly interesting to me, so I began to look into those companies more.

Ultimately, from my searches I realized I wanted to be hands on with technology products in a product management job. Once I understood the industries and jobs of a business that I was inspired by, I started taking classes that aligned with those interests and searching for internships and summer jobs that would help get me some exposure to that area.

Best,

David

It depends on what are you looking to go into. Are you planning on starting your own business or are you looking to work for a company. I would recommend if you are looking to start your own business take a few classes at a local community college on accounting, finance, management, marketing ect it will help you get a better understanding.

If you are looking to work for a business most schools offer business management degrees. I would start by going to college board and finding out where you like to study and you can enter in your major and it will help narrow down your search. There are great school out there of study and i once you find a few that interest you reach out to the admission recruiter and ask for information. Many times they will send information or there are online information sessions or if you're close to the campus in person sessions. Look at the programs and see what interest you and know that if you like one part of business you may not always like another part which is ok but every undergraduate has to do work they do not like for example mine was accounting but it paid off!

Hi James,

That's a great question and you're already well on your way by asking it. You don't need to have some grandiose idea to become a businessman, but you do need to have a place to start. Starting a small business, many first time business owners start a landscaping business, will put you down the path to becoming a great businessman.

Understanding how the entire process of a business works will give you a valuable set of experiences that you can directly translate to the business world. Slowly building your business acumen step by step will ensure that you become knowledgeable and skilled.