“I’m not a businessman, I’m a business, man!”
Those are the famous words of hip-hop business mogul Jay Z (real name Sean Carter). A man who has built a multi-million dollar music empire with his wife Beyoncé Knowles, otherwise referred to as Queen Bey. Together they have built a product portfolio from musical products, shows, licensing agreements and other business arrangements to build their wealth portfolio.
The business models that they have used to build their business empire are the same models that are taught in universities, colleges and in TAFE courses – the similar models that are used to forge the brand identity of companies like Coca-Cola and Pepsi.
Sean Carter was a poor kid from Brooklyn, New York, who has maximized his business potential to not only develop his wealth and fortune, but to build his iconic global brand. Others in the hip hop industry like 50 cent and Sean ‘P Diddy’ Combs share a similar success story.
You see, nowadays, we live in a world where the opportunity surrounds us more than ever. If a person has a business idea, they have the opportunity to make it work and to realize the potential of your idea.
Access to information has grown exponentially in size with the widespread accessibility of the internet. TAFE colleges around Australia have realized this and are encouraging those with an ambitious attitude to fulfill their business dreams.
Tafecourses.com.au is welcoming the trend with their platform that is assisting potential business moguls to learn more by enrolling in TAFE courses around the country. This increased opportunity to help those with a sense of direction, guidance or mentorship that’s required to fulfill business goals and dreams.
The new age of wealth is also being created with the rise of new technology across web and smart device applications, as well as social network channels, development opportunities and the emergence of new market demands across a range of industries following the changes that have come with impact of technology.
But wait! Just before you get involved in business and start that next big idea of Facebook or Google, be clear on what ‘real business’ actually is.
Business is the transaction of products or services in exchange for a profit.
This is the foundation of business. Transactions which come about from providing sales. The more sales you can attain, the more your business grows. Any other activities that are conducted will help to support your business growth. Sales must always be the driving force for the business that you are involved with.
Keep this in mind. Structure the business organisation with a model that will allow your business to grow and scale to generate revenue, profits and to grow as a recognized brand. Identifying and gaining skill sets into the business organisation such as bookkeeping, accounting, marketing and business management are areas that will keep the well-oiled machine of your business engine running smoothly.
There are a few options that can be used to develop your business skills.
Seek higher learning
You can enroll in a university or TAFE course that teaches you about how to develop, manage and understand the different areas of business so you can successfully develop or manage an area of business in your career.
Learn from a mentor
You can learn from someone who is already experienced in business. By working under someone skilled in a role such as an internship or as a junior, you can learn a vast amount of knowledge and skills that people in the organisation have developed over a large number of years in a matter of weeks. You can take the learnings that you have acquired and apply them to your business career.
Go into business yourself and learn from the grassroots up
This is a great way to learn about business, but it is the one that takes on the most risk. Up to 97% of businesses fail within the first three years of operations. You can succeed by learning and apply the business skills by responding to the everyday demands of the business. As the business grows, you would be in a position to hire very skilled people into the organisation who are people you will learn from. As you would build a team of very skilled individuals, you would learn a vast amount of business skills while adapting them to the needs of the business.
The main thing is just to do it. There are many success stories where people have gone from rags to riches simply by following their dream and applying the business knowledge that they have learned along the way.