I found Accounting to be a good foundation for me in business and in understanding the financials behind it. However, my sales background in selling books door-to-door with the Southwestern Co. really taught me how to run a business.

Sales is the world's oldest job and it is not something they teach in college. They teach marketing which is merely related. If you want your product or service to be purchased it has to be sold. My advice for a college student interested in business would be to start brainstorming about what small business you can start now or how you take a few hundred bucks, like James Sun, and invest it to try your hand at reading the market. Do something to get your feet wet that will be a learning experience for you.

If you want to work for a big company they are going to want to know you played "the game" in college. They can see your final score by looking at your GPA, activities and perhaps any job you held while going to school. That is what they can gauge you on before your interviews.

I have talked with many business people over the years and I have asked them if college taught them what they needed to know to succeed in business. None of them could directly apply their college learning to their work outside of it being a foundation. But what college did teach them was to learn 'to learn.' It helped them with their ability to gather information & to solve problems. Problem solving is a big reason a company is willing to pay you. Be a problem solver!

My Best,

Jeff Collins
Professional Haberdasher
www.MyHaberdasher.com