How to get a business education for less than $10,000
Hi there,
I've just finished my final class for my degree and provided I pass everthing will have successfully completed my Bachelor of Business (Entrepreneurship). With four and a half years tertiary study under my belt in various courses, close to $24,000 in debt and over $150,000 in opportunity cost, I can honestly say it has been a tough slog and is probably not worth it for many people.
For those of you who are not interested in losing the opportunity to make money and who want to avoid debt like the plague, here are my thoughts for how to get a fantastic business education for less than $10,000. Please note: I am not attempting to give career advice, merely showing how someone could spend a little to gain knowledge without taking a formal career path.
- Buy 100 business books: Television is one of the biggest time wasters for most people. I would say playing on facebook is a close second for most Australians. Disconnect for some time and buy 100 books on business, then spend time over the next few years reading them one at a time. Josh Kaufman over at www.personalmba.com recommends 99 business books he believes will give you a grounded business knowledge equivalent of an MBA's training. I haven't read all of them but I can honestly say that my bookshelf has been one of the best places of learning I visit regularly. Assuming each book is approximately $28 (Australian), this will cost you $2,800 to purchase 100 business, investment, personal finance, etc. books.
- Work to Learn: Try to find a company (such as McDonald's) where you can learn valuable Management skills and gain a certificate in Management at the company's expense. If you start as an Assistant Manager on $40,000 per year and work up to a Store Manager in three years while your friends are at uni, you would likely gain at least a certificate in Management, earn approximately $120,000 and be debt free.
- Blog: Practice improving your writing skills by blogging. Use a free platform and focus on writing for the benefit of other people. Learning to be an efficient communicator will help you dramatically. If you blog on a free platform it is a free opportunity to improve your writing skills.
- TAFE Courses: TAFE courses in relevant aspects of business is a great way to gain a business education. I still believe my TAFE education was the best official courses I have taken since leaving high school. $1,500 at a TAFE institute should help you gain an Advanced Diploma in an area of business.
- Launch a business: Launching your own business is a great education in itself. $3,000 spent on establishing a company, allocating shares, outsource the building of a website, getting business cards, etc. would teach you a lot of seed venture skills as well as project management knowledge which would dramatically improve your abilities to get things moving quickly.
- Invest: Spending $1,000-$1,500 on shares would be a great education. Even if you lost all the money, learning about shares, businesses, statements, etc. would be a priceless lesson for those wanting to learn about investment.
- Buy lunch: Take a variety of people (potential customers, mentors, etc.) out to lunch at your expense. $20 times ten lunches (assuming your lunch is not factored into allocation) is $200. The key is to try and get these guys to talk about their mistakes and 'failures' (or setbacks), as that is usually where the most important lessons are.
How would you spent $10,000 on a self-education process? Would you add anything to this list?
