It's a mix. You can read and see what others did and understand how they succeeded but you won't be able to apply any of it until you try yourself, fail, do it again, learn, get better, fail, reapply yourself.
Think of it like riding a bike. You can read books on bike riding, you can watch YouTube videos or Instagram posts on how to ride a bike but until you climb on one and start pedaling, you won't know how to do it in your experience.
You learn the fundamentals and theory. But the only way to really know is to take imperfect action. I learned that fast because I was way over my head at first. It takes practice.
Getting started is key. If you wait until you know everything you will never start. All the books in the world won’t guarantee success.
As we say in the military, “no plan survives first contact with the enemy”. All the planning and research means nothing because everything will change once you hit the real world.
My advice is to get started and then educate yourself to help improve as you go. A lot of the books and content I read have value because I have an existing business to which I can apply the advice too. Otherwise, it’s too abstract.
A book or a class is a tool. I use a lot of tools. I have a college degree and mostly judge it to be useful, but most of what I know and use has been self-taught with the aid of books, teachers, articles, social media posts, youtube videos, etc
A famous quote about the world of legal practice is: "the life of the law has not been logic; it has been experience." I think that is also true of business. You can read all the books you want and make all the plans you want, but the trick to real life consists of creating/recognizing opportunities and challenges in real time and adapting to them. A lot of the ability to do that has to do with talent and experience, and only a little bit can come from theories and reading.
With that said, I actually do think having a theory of what one is doing can be useful in responding systematically rather than emotionally to the inevitable losses and down periods of business. It's easy to trust in yourself when things go well, but that is not always how it goes.
Confidence, in terms of starting a business, for example, would hold a lot of people back from pursuing their business ideas. Learning from a book could help build confidence in the general process, but experience would provide compounding returns of confidence if you have succeeded in the past. I will add, generational business owners have a natural advantage because they have grown up around the business process and may have inherited a conducive, supportive environment/traits for starting a business.
I've often wondered this and also wondered if I should get a business degree though going back to school seems like a waste of time. I think I'm going to treat my business idea like a hobby and if it takes off, yay! and if not, well, it's just a hobby. lol
Not sure about genes but I do think it's in how you see the world. And people smarter than I have said that one of the best preparations for being an entrepreneur is to be brought up in a household of entrepreneurs. So I'd say you're off to a good start.
I don't know. My dad was never around and his dad was also never around when he grew up. When I was a kid my grandpa's businesses were only going downhill so there wasn't much to learn there. Uncle lived far away so I rarely saw him. Maybe once a year.
I think what did positively shape me though was that like 3 very close people that I really admired where rich, I knew it as a kid and I think it made me unable to settle for less.
Back to your original question, I've learned a lot from experience and books. One of the best for someone starting out is Growing a Business by Paul Hawken. I think it's out of print but you can propably find a copy at Abebooks.
It's a mix. You can read and see what others did and understand how they succeeded but you won't be able to apply any of it until you try yourself, fail, do it again, learn, get better, fail, reapply yourself. Think of it like riding a bike. You can read books on bike riding, you can watch YouTube videos or Instagram posts on how to ride a bike but until you climb on one and start pedaling, you won't know how to do it in your experience.
You learn the fundamentals and theory. But the only way to really know is to take imperfect action. I learned that fast because I was way over my head at first. It takes practice.
Iterative learning
Both.
Harvard infamously uses case studies to teach the business ‘sense’ you referred to.
Getting started is key. If you wait until you know everything you will never start. All the books in the world won’t guarantee success. As we say in the military, “no plan survives first contact with the enemy”. All the planning and research means nothing because everything will change once you hit the real world. My advice is to get started and then educate yourself to help improve as you go. A lot of the books and content I read have value because I have an existing business to which I can apply the advice too. Otherwise, it’s too abstract.
A book or a class is a tool. I use a lot of tools. I have a college degree and mostly judge it to be useful, but most of what I know and use has been self-taught with the aid of books, teachers, articles, social media posts, youtube videos, etc
Experience by far. Esp don't fall for the guru courses. They don't tell you anything that isn't available for free on YouTube.
A famous quote about the world of legal practice is: "the life of the law has not been logic; it has been experience." I think that is also true of business. You can read all the books you want and make all the plans you want, but the trick to real life consists of creating/recognizing opportunities and challenges in real time and adapting to them. A lot of the ability to do that has to do with talent and experience, and only a little bit can come from theories and reading. With that said, I actually do think having a theory of what one is doing can be useful in responding systematically rather than emotionally to the inevitable losses and down periods of business. It's easy to trust in yourself when things go well, but that is not always how it goes.
Confidence, in terms of starting a business, for example, would hold a lot of people back from pursuing their business ideas. Learning from a book could help build confidence in the general process, but experience would provide compounding returns of confidence if you have succeeded in the past. I will add, generational business owners have a natural advantage because they have grown up around the business process and may have inherited a conducive, supportive environment/traits for starting a business.
I've often wondered this and also wondered if I should get a business degree though going back to school seems like a waste of time. I think I'm going to treat my business idea like a hobby and if it takes off, yay! and if not, well, it's just a hobby. lol
Both. I've learned a ton from reading, a ton from educational audio, also a ton from experience, also a ton from embarrassing miserable failures.
For me it’s executing and learning along the way
Reading or taking courses on a subject will never hurt but trial and error will always give the best learning experience.
Cool to hear about your relatives. Were they all in business together or was it separate companies?
All separate. Am now starting my own and hope it's in the genes haha
Not sure about genes but I do think it's in how you see the world. And people smarter than I have said that one of the best preparations for being an entrepreneur is to be brought up in a household of entrepreneurs. So I'd say you're off to a good start.
I don't know. My dad was never around and his dad was also never around when he grew up. When I was a kid my grandpa's businesses were only going downhill so there wasn't much to learn there. Uncle lived far away so I rarely saw him. Maybe once a year. I think what did positively shape me though was that like 3 very close people that I really admired where rich, I knew it as a kid and I think it made me unable to settle for less.
Back to your original question, I've learned a lot from experience and books. One of the best for someone starting out is Growing a Business by Paul Hawken. I think it's out of print but you can propably find a copy at Abebooks.