As the saying goes, knowledge is power, especially when it comes to starting a new business.
Theoretical knowledge and basic business skills such as accounting, management and marketing can be beneficial for aspiring entrepreneurs to learn before setting up their first business venture.
For people wanting to learn these skills, entrepreneurship programs are offered at community colleges in the Upstate.
Community college entrepreneurship programs
Spartanburg Community College
Program: Small Business Startup/Entrepreneurship Certificate
Program length: two terms
Credit hours needed: 27
Entrepreneurship-certificate students at Spartanburg Community College learn how to develop a business plan, handle finances and market their businesses throughout the two-term program.
Mark Smith, dean of technologies at SCC, said the certificate helps bridge the knowledge gap between students wanting to set up a business and the skills needed to accomplish their goals.
Some of the courses offered through the certificate include:
- Accounting
- Entrepreneurship
- Business law
- Marketing
- Small-business management
While the certificate is offered through the School of Business, many students from the college’s trade programs — including culinary arts, automotive and digital design — also decide to complete the certificate.
“This program (can) really help out someone that has that vision, they just need that extra help to get the skill set because it’s a totally different skill set,” Smith said.
Greenville Technical College
Program: Small Business Entrepreneurship Certificate
Program length: Three semesters
Credit hours needed: 34
At Greenville Technical College, students completing the certificates learn the basic principles of opening a small business.
Vincent Weaver, management department head at GTC, said the program provides opportunities for traditional as well as nontraditional students who have decided to go to college later in life.
One of the first classes students take through the program is a course on entrepreneurship taught by former business owner Jodi Ryall.
Ryall said she has designed the class as though students are competing on the television reality show “Shark Tank,” on which entrepreneurs pitch ideas to potential investors. Throughout the course, students research, design and present business models based on products they have created.
The college also hosts a startup-support student-entrepreneurship competition at the end of each semester. Ryall said selected students give presentations on business plans they have created to a judging panel of local entrepreneurs. The winner receives $1,500 to help start a business.
North Greenville University
Program: Entrepreneurship Concentration for Management Degree
Program length: Eight semesters
Credit hours needed: 123
Note: A minor in entrepreneurship can be obtained in 18 credit hours
North Greenville University began offering a major in management with a concentration in entrepreneurship in 2020 along with a new minor in entrepreneurship.
While learning the essentials of building a business, students in these programs learn how to be innovative and develop critical-thinking skills.
John Duncan, dean of the College of Business and Entrepreneurship at NGU, said that being able to think creatively and solve problems is important when setting up a successful business.
Students completing the programs take various courses including:
- World of business
- Market problems and solutions
- Innovation and entrepreneurship
- Small-business startup
- Innovative technologies
To help students begin networking in the business world and gain an outside perspective, the college invites local entrepreneurs to come and speak to the students. Many students also complete internships in the Greenville area to gain experience before building their own businesses.
Tri-County Technical College
Program: Business Administration Degree with Entrepreneurship Emphasis
Program length: Five semesters
Credit hours needed: 66
Program: Small Business/Entrepreneurship Certificate
Program length: Two-three semesters
Credit hours needed: 33
Aspiring entrepreneurs attending Tri-County Technical College have two programs they can complete to learn the essential tools needed to turn a business concept into a reality.
Jackie Blakley, dean of the business and public services division at TCTC, explained that both the degree and the certificate give students a foundation on business startups.
“I think (the programs are) well-rounded to help a person that’s interested in building a small business to be successes or at least to know enough to ask for resources that they need in a timely manner so that their business is successful,” Blakley said.
While studying entrepreneurship, students also learn about some of the challenges to owning a business.
“With Tri-County, we’re focusing on economic mobility for our students and for our community so that we can actually help our students in this area establish their business and be successful,” Blakley said. “A lot of businesses — they don’t survive after a couple of years and a lot of that is because of the foundation that’s not built before the company starts.”
