Hi Ty,

I think it's great that you want to be an entrepreneur! I was a lot like you when I was in high school and college - I had dreams of starting my own business. I've now done that a few times. It's a lot of fun (but stressful too).

Getting a degree in business sounds like a good plan. Before then, there's a lot of great material about business, that you can access without even taking a course (you'll find that this content will be useful to read while you are studying business at college as well as after your career).

I would suggest reading blogs or books about fundamental business topics - marketing, sales, and the like. The other type of content that I found very rewarding (and motivating!) was to read books about entrepreneur journeys. Things like biographies about entrepreneurs or people who built things. While you won't learn about business fundamentals from these things, you will find inspiration and motivation from what these people have done.

All the best!

Hi Ty!

There are many good business schools in Texas, so staying in-state should not be a problem!

To get a jump start, I'd recommend looking at a website called ed2go.com It has a full range of courses. They usually run for 6 weeks, with new lessons coming out twice a week, and, usually cost about $100 each. I was just reading that some libraries offer these classes for free, so you might check on that first. If you want something more challenging, turn to MOOCs. These are (usually) free college classes, without the credential for having completed it. (just Google it!)

Are you in FFA ? My son was in it years ago, and he had to track all expenses, weight gain per pound of feed, shelter, etc. It was interesting. I don't know how advanced the business side of it gets, but could be worth looking at.

I recommend you take advantage of whatever HS classes available to prepare you for college and beyond. This would include accounting, public speaking, and maybe even debate (to help prepare you to negotiate business deals!) You also may want to join Toastmasters, to improve your speaking skills and, more importantly, to start networking in the business community.

Good question!

Kim

Hi Ty!

I love how you are preparing for your future. I would recommend that you look into the website called Study.com. It has some great online business courses and depending on the package that you select, you might be able to receive college credit. My daughter who is a freshmen in high school has already earned 9 college credits by taking their business courses.

If you do select the college accelerator program make sure that your "end college" will take these types of credits. Study.com has a list of colleges on its websites that currently give college credit for their courses.

If that's not a good fit for you, check out Straighterline.com because they offer a myriad of affordable online business courses for college credit.

I would also recommend you check out Saylor.org Academy. They offer free business courses and grant credit upon the pass of their exam. The exam fee is only $25. Amazing right?!!

It's an incredible time to take advantage of online learning. If you continue to think outside the box, you will find many doors of opportunity are awaiting you!

Hope this helps!

Ayanna Murray

Hi Ty !

Love the answers and advice so far, I would also suggest volunteering your time around other businesses near you you may not know about. Become friends with the owners, ask them questions to understand their business and day to day and offer your help. You will learn a lot just by discussing with people and perhaps you will find real-world projects to get some experience.

Remember to document your findings.

Best,

Rose

Rose recommends the following next steps:

• Reach out to local businesses to schedule a chat/interview Save
• Volunteer your time to help out Save

Listening to podcasts are a great way to learn about business, and lots of other topics . If there is a business or business leader you admire and want to learn more about, try searching podcasts that feature that person or organization. Hope this is helpful and good luck!

Phoebe recommends the following next steps:

• Find a podcast episode that features a business or business leader you’re interested in. One of my favorite leadership podcasts is called “Masters of Scale” and is hosted by Reid Hoffman who founded LinkedIn. Save