1. Small Business Management
It's a fact of life that for every five successful businesses, there are five glum stories about not-so-successful businesses. Likely reasons for a business to bottom out? Lack of knowledge about running a business, poor planning and wide-eyed expectations from naive young Zuckerbergs who blindly ignore the harsh realities of entrepreneurship. Earning a small business degree before deciding to take the plunge into starting your own business will give you the skills and know-how required to at least stand a fighting chance in a highly competitive industry.
2. Entrepreneurship
With the digital revolution facilitating the ability for anyone to start their own business, some colleges and universities are now including a bachelor's degree in entrepreneurship to their curriculum. If you don't live near a college that offers a BA in Entrepreneurship, try searching for an accredited online school that does--but make sure it is accredited by a national or state education organization.
3. Business Administration
A degree in business administration includes courses on managing finances and HR departments, principles of marketing, sales and advertising and organizational behavior. Although business administration programs tend to be geared towards people who plan to work for mid-size to large businesses employing more than 500 people, it is still a degree that benefits entrepreneurs with high hopes of one day running a large-scale company.
4. Communications
Successful entrepreneurs are not only authorities in business and marketing techniques but also have "people" skills that are out of this world. As a determined and assertive entrepreneur, you will inevitably have to give presentations, speeches about your product or service and be ready to provide impressive answers to sometimes difficult questions posed by customers, B2B companies and the media. Communications degree courses include mass communication, psychology, English and writing, interpersonal relationships and nonverbal communication.
5. Basic Computer Programming/Web Development
Nearly all entrepreneurs start their business as a web-based operation, meaning you must have more than a rudimentary grasp of basic programming, building a website, optimizing content for SEO and social media marketing. Although you don't need to have a doctorate in programming to be an entrepreneur, you should know about Java, CSS and markup languages like HTML--unless you can afford to hire someone to create your website, write your content and maintain your blog.