Accelerated Business Degrees for Entrepreneurs

Key Infor­ma­tion:

• Accel­er­at­ed busi­ness degrees are designed to be com­plet­ed in 1–2 years, allow­ing entre­pre­neurs to enter the mar­ket quick­ly and apply their learn­ing to real-world busi­ness sce­nar­ios soon­er than tra­di­tion­al four-year programs.
• These pro­grams empha­size prac­ti­cal skills over the­o­ry, which is ben­e­fi­cial for entre­pre­neurs who need to apply knowl­edge direct­ly to their star­tups or busi­ness ventures.
• Accel­er­at­ed pro­grams attract career-ori­ent­ed pro­fes­sion­als, offer­ing excel­lent net­work­ing pos­si­bil­i­ties with peers who have sim­i­lar goals and aspi­ra­tions, poten­tial­ly lead­ing to future busi­ness part­ner­ships.
• When choos­ing an accel­er­at­ed busi­ness pro­gram, impor­tant fac­tors include the cur­ricu­lum’s rel­e­vance to entre­pre­neur­ship, the expe­ri­ence of the fac­ul­ty, and access to entre­pre­neur­ial resources like accel­er­a­tors and incu­ba­tors.

Start­ing your own busi­ness is gen­er­al­ly attrac­tive if you have a cer­tain skill yet have been stuck in a cubi­cle your whole life. The prob­lem is that if you want to suc­ceed as a busi­ness own­er, you need basic knowl­edge of han­dling the admin­is­tra­tive parts.

Most peo­ple start their first com­pa­ny in their 40s, rely­ing on their tal­ent or a bril­liant idea they once had. But that’s not enough. In order to suc­ceed, they should also know the ins and outs of busi­ness man­age­ment. If you’re in this sit­u­a­tion, some entre­pre­neur­ial skills cours­es can help you get your start so that you don’t end up on the fail­ure side of business.

Relat­ed:

• Top Schol­ar­ships for Busi­ness and Busi­ness Admin­is­tra­tion Students
• Best Online Bachelor’s in Entrepreneurship
• Most Afford­able Bachelor’s in Entrepreneurship
• Fastest Online Bachelor’s in Entrepreneurship

What Is an Accelerated Business Degree?

Accel­er­at­ed busi­ness degrees offer busi­ness edu­ca­tion for start­up founders as well as oth­er use­ful cours­es. They are typ­i­cal­ly short­er than a tra­di­tion­al 4‑year degree, an accel­er­at­ed pro­gram last­ing around 1–2 years. Com­pared to con­ven­tion­al pro­grams, the cur­ricu­lum is more con­densed, with more inten­sive coursework.

These cours­es may be deliv­ered dif­fer­ent­ly, and you can choose based on your usu­al learn­ing style and pos­si­bil­i­ties. You could go for the online ver­sion if you want more flex­i­bil­i­ty or the on-cam­pus option if you pre­fer the class­room expe­ri­ence. If you want a mix­ture between the two, then hybrid busi­ness pro­grams can offer you the best of both worlds.

Benefits of Accelerated Programs for Entrepreneurs

Join­ing an accel­er­at­ed busi­ness pro­gram for entre­pre­neurs brings a series of advan­tages, includ­ing the following:

1. Time-Efficient

When you have a busi­ness idea, you must seize the oppor­tu­ni­ty before some­one gets ahead of you. The busi­ness world is high­ly com­pet­i­tive, so you can’t real­ly afford to take four years and join a tra­di­tion­al pro­gram. This would mean leav­ing your day job, and you’ll need that income to start on your own.

On the oth­er hand, a fast-track busi­ness degree takes about 1–2 years to com­plete. Indeed, the time to final­ize depends on the cur­ricu­lum, its inten­si­ty, and var­i­ous oth­er things. That said, you can still enter the mar­ket much faster with this route.

2. Focus on Practical Skills

Very often, accel­er­at­ed pro­grams put great focus on the­o­ry instead of prac­tice. While this may be use­ful for young stu­dents still learn­ing the ropes, it might not be as effec­tive for work­ing professionals.

On the oth­er hand, accel­er­at­ed busi­ness degrees rely on the prac­ti­cal side of things. Rather than drilling just the the­o­ry in you, they put more focus on appli­ca­tion and actu­al expe­ri­ence. This allows entre­pre­neurs to rec­og­nize oppor­tu­ni­ties and nav­i­gate the chal­lenges of being their own boss.

3. Networking Opportunities

Most stu­dents who choose tra­di­tion­al col­lege pro­grams are fresh out of high school. At this point, they are study­ing while try­ing to make the most of col­lege life. Very few have a clear goal ahead of them, aside from get­ting a degree and pray­ing they don’t fail their exams.

Con­verse­ly, those who choose a busi­ness school for entre­pre­neurs are already career ori­ent­ed. Many had already worked at a 9‑to‑5 office for years before they decid­ed to fly solo. This gives you plen­ty of net­work­ing oppor­tu­ni­ties with indi­vid­u­als with the same ideas as you have, along with a high poten­tial for busi­ness partners.

Key Features to Consider in an Accelerated Business Program

When look­ing for a busi­ness degree for entre­pre­neurs, there are sev­er­al fea­tures you should con­sid­er in a course, includ­ing the following:

1. Curriculum Relevance

Not every busi­ness pro­gram is the same, and they may not all cater to entre­pre­neurs. Look for the ones that have top­ics on mat­ters such as start­up man­age­ment, inno­va­tion, mar­ket analy­sis, and oth­ers that could help you make your break as an entre­pre­neur. The entre­pre­neur­ship cur­ricu­lum should help you under­stand how to start your busi­ness and keep you prof­itable in the long run. 

2. Experienced Faculty

The next thing you need to look at is the gen­er­al fac­ul­ty expe­ri­ence, as it tells you whether or not the busi­ness start­up edu­ca­tion is going to be qual­i­ta­tive. You’ll also need to check the men­tors and their qual­i­fi­ca­tions. Make sure that they don’t just have expe­ri­ence in busi­ness but also in entre­pre­neur­ship so that they can cov­er broad­er topics.

3. Entrepreneurial Resources Access

Entre­pre­neur­ial resources are just as impor­tant as they can help val­i­date and shape your busi­ness ideas. These resources should include accel­er­a­tors, busi­ness incu­ba­tor pro­grams, co-work­ing spaces, indus­try part­ner­ships, and more. By being giv­en access to these resources, you’ll increase your chances of being suc­cess­ful in the program.

Top Accelerated Bachelor’s Programs for Entrepreneurs

If you want to get your bachelor’s pro­grams for entre­pre­neurs but don’t know where to start, we’ve got you cov­ered. Here are some notable insti­tu­tions that you could go to:

1. Southern Illinois University Online MBA

For those of you who wish for an accel­er­at­ed course that cov­ers account­ing, cor­po­rate finance, deci­sion-mak­ing, and nego­ti­a­tion, this could help. The 36-cred­it pro­gram lasts about 12 months and only costs $18,941 to cov­er the full tuition.

2. Cornell University Program

If you are look­ing for online busi­ness degrees of both bachelor’s and master’s lev­els, then the joint pro­gram offered by Cor­nell Uni­ver­si­ty takes about 5 years. The accel­er­at­ed bachelor’s course lasts 3 years, where­as the master’s takes about 2 years to complete.

3. Indiana University Accelerated Class

If you are look­ing for a pro­gram that is 100% online, this work­er-friend­ly prob­lem is exact­ly what you need. You can learn every­thing from deci­sion mod­el­ing to ana­lyt­ics and entre­pre­neur­ship, requir­ing 120 cred­its to grad­u­ate from the course. Depend­ing on your pre­vi­ous edu­ca­tion, those cred­its could also be transferred.

Accelerated vs. Traditional Business Degrees

Tra­di­tion­al and accel­er­at­ed busi­ness degrees have their dif­fer­ences, and their pros and cons can help you decide which entre­pre­neur­ship edu­ca­tion works best for your needs.

In the case of accel­er­at­ed pro­grams, their advan­tage is that they have a short­er dura­tion than the tra­di­tion­al ver­sion. This allows entre­pre­neurs to set the grounds for their busi­ness much faster, as the course focus­es pri­mar­i­ly on prac­ti­cal skills. How­ev­er, the work­load is quite inten­sive, and some might find it chal­leng­ing to obtain a work-life-edu­ca­tion balance.

Tra­di­tion­al pro­grams have more lee­way in terms of bal­ance as the class­es are spread fur­ther apart. This makes them last an aver­age of 4 years, dur­ing which you’ll have to attend cam­pus class­es at set hours. This could be rather incon­ve­nient for prospec­tive entre­pre­neurs who are still bal­anc­ing a 9‑to‑5 job. Get­ting an entre­pre­neur degree online is often the per­fect choice for future busi­ness own­ers, as it allows them to set the grounds for their com­pa­ny faster.

How to Apply to Accelerated Business Programs

Apply­ing to fast-track busi­ness cours­es is rel­a­tive­ly easy, as each pro­gram has its require­ment cri­te­ria. You should have no issues get­ting accept­ed as long as you respect them.

· Step-by-Step Application Process

When it comes to busi­ness school admis­sions, some research and atten­tion to detail are essen­tial. You need to get your hands on the spe­cif­ic pre­req­ui­sites of the insti­tu­tion, respect­ing their spec­i­fi­ca­tions to a tee. Here is a run­down of the steps you’ll have to go through:

• Pre­pare the nec­es­sary doc­u­ments for appli­ca­tion, such as your high school diplo­ma, stan­dard­ized test scores, resume, and so on.
• Write a per­son­al state­ment that show­cas­es your pas­sion for becom­ing an entrepreneur.
• Get good let­ters of rec­om­men­da­tion from those who can speak about your achievements.
• Com­plete the stan­dard appli­ca­tion form that each learn­ing insti­tu­tion should pro­vide, adding your pre­vi­ous edu­ca­tion, expe­ri­ence, and extracur­ric­u­lar activities.
• Sub­mit the appli­ca­tion by the set dead­line and keep a record of your sub­mis­sion confirmation.
• Fol­low up and stay engaged with their events and infor­ma­tion ses­sions, as this shall demon­strate inter­est in their program.

Very often, as long as you are thor­ough and respect­ful of their process, there should be no issue in get­ting into short busi­ness cours­es. You just need to prove that you are skilled enough to do so.

· Tips to Prepare a Standout Application

Some­times, even if you have all your doc­u­ments lined up, it might not be enough to get you accept­ed. In this case, you must show them you are an asset they can­not pass over. In this respect, some good busi­ness degree admis­sion tips include the following:

• Start your pro­gram research ear­ly. This way, you won’t mess up your appli­ca­tion due to last-minute rush.
• Tai­lor the appli­ca­tion mate­ri­als to the pro­gram you are opt­ing for, as this will show interest.
• Make sure to include strong per­son­al state­ments and let­ters of rec­om­men­da­tion, as this can offer more insight into who you are.
• Be unique and authen­tic in your appli­ca­tion, empha­siz­ing your qual­i­ties and experience.
• Use rel­e­vant projects and expe­ri­ences to demon­strate your com­mit­ment to life as an entrepreneur.

The more they see your deter­mi­na­tion to become an entre­pre­neur, the high­er your chances of being accept­ed into busi­ness incu­ba­tors and accel­er­a­tors will be.

The Bottom Line

In the end, get­ting an accel­er­at­ed busi­ness degree can give you the head start need­ed to suc­ceed in the busi­ness world. You just need to find the pro­gram that fits your require­ments the most. Con­sid­er your options care­ful­ly, as this course can sig­nif­i­cant­ly impact your career.

Sources:

The Guardian