Simon Sinek’s idea of finding your why emphasizes the importance of understanding what truly drives you—an essential step in making major decisions, like choosing a degree. Your why is the core of what inspires and motivates you, and it can guide you toward a career path that aligns with your passions and goals. So, is business management a good degree to help you achieve those ambitions?

In this article, we’ll explore how a business management degree can equip you with the skills, opportunities, and mindset to pursue success. We’ll also discuss the challenges and rewards of this field, helping you decide if business management is the right degree for your why.

Is Business Management a Good Degree for Aspiring Entrepreneurs?

Many high school students choose their future careers without fully understanding what they’re signing up for. At Immerse Education, we aim to change that by equipping students from around the world with the knowledge and skills they need to succeed. Schools often provide limited insight into entrepreneurship, despite it being one of the most popular and competitive career paths. That’s why we’ve designed programs that teach core areas like cryptocurrency, marketing, project management, and organizational behaviour through real-world experiences and learning from others.

Business Management degrees are similarly valuable for aspiring entrepreneurs. They provide the tools and knowledge needed to make informed decisions across all areas of a business. Many students choose this degree because they’re passionate about starting or running a business, whether inheriting a family venture or building something entirely new. Passion is essential for success in entrepreneurship, driving students to overcome obstacles and learn from challenges.

While passion is innate (it can’t be learned), you can develop the skills necessary to harness it and make the most of it whilst studying for a business management degree.

What If I Don’t Want to Be an Entrepreneur?

If entrepreneurship isn’t your goal, a business management degree still offers immense value. Business skills are fundamental to almost every industry, from manufacturing and healthcare to sports, entertainment, and travel. With a business management degree, you’ll develop the ability to make informed decisions, communicate effectively with stakeholders, and contribute to the stability and growth of organizations across various sectors.

This versatility makes business management a smart choice for students who want to explore diverse career paths or apply their skills in different fields. Whether you aspire to lead teams, manage projects, or drive innovation within established organizations, the knowledge gained through this degree can open doors to opportunities in virtually any industry.

Business Management

In-person

Develop advanced business acumen in Cambridge, where innovation...

Academic Insights
Provides a thorough introduction to diverse academic fields. Ideal for students beginning to contemplate their future academic paths and eager to explore various disciplines.
Laptop with Google analytics dashboard on screen
Ages: 16-18

Business Management

In-person

Hone advanced business skills in Oxford, where academic...

Academic Insights
Provides a thorough introduction to diverse academic fields. Ideal for students beginning to contemplate their future academic paths and eager to explore various disciplines.
Business ideation session in class
Ages: 13-15

What Skills Will I Learn?

Those looking to become an entrepreneur, business mogul, or who generally seek commercial success will need to master leadership and decision-making skills. After all, part of your daily activities will involve…

  • Motivating others to perform tasks that are critical to the success of your business.
  • Planning and successfully executing your company’s vision and mission. 
  • Delegating. 
  • Learning and quickly applying that knowledge in critical situations.
  • Communicating effectively. 
  • Driving value for the organization. 
  • Taking decisive action and initiative. 
  • Understanding individual talents and how they relate to the rest of the organization. 
  • etc. 

Leadership is often a focus of business management degrees, and often you might even find degrees called “Business Management (Leadership Practice)”. This shows us how integral leadership is to the art of managing a business. Some people have a natural predisposition to leadership – part of your research to decide whether or not to pursue a business degree should include taking some time to understand if you have the innate ability to lead others. That’s not to say you have already successfully led a team – having the potential to lead is enough to mean that business management is a good degree for you to pursue.

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How Do I Know If I’m a Potential Leader?

To discover if you have this, you need to do some soul-searching and determine if the following characteristics define you: 

  1. An innate leader is empathetic by nature, which makes it easy for them to connect with their peers and colleagues. You understand emotions and concerns. They foster an environment of trust to build strong relationships. 
  2. They genuinely inspire and motivate others. A natural leader has a passion for what they do and communicates it to others to inspire achievement and commitment. 
  3. A natural leader fosters credibility with those around them. There is always consistency between what they say and what they do. 
  4. They can understand and manage emotions to build strong and productive relationships. 
  5. A natural leader has a positive and active energy. People find them enthusiastic, dynamic, motivating, inspiring, and stimulating.
  6. They act according to ethical and moral principles and strive to live by their values. 
  7. They have the ability to make decisions based on intuition and knowledge. They trust themselves and can quickly assess possible outcomes. 
  8. Finally, a natural leader can communicate effectively with others and to align and focus people toward a common goal.

In short, a natural leader is someone who takes initiative, is proactive, and respects ethics, values, and principles. They are those who like to work closely with people, to inspire and motivate them through their action, a shared vision, and creativity.  These are all traits that come in handy when you need to take on the responsibilities of a business role.

Challenges of a Business Management Degree

If you take a look at the curriculum of any business management degree, you’ll see that it’s a multidisciplinary field with areas as diverse as marketing, finance, human resources, operations, strategic management, project management, and so on. 

Having such a variety of subjects makes it challenging for some students. One moment you are in a class learning about financial theories and how to apply them to the business world, a few minutes later you are in a class with a marketing expert learning how to select a target market. 

In other words, over three or four years, you will learn a wide range of skills and how to apply them to real-world scenarios. We won’t lie to you, this is a field with many challenges. And one of the biggest is the fact that not all students can master or are interested in every subject. 

The challenges begin as soon as you decide that this is the career path for you. 

The admission process to any business school is very competitive. To get an undergraduate business degree in the UK, you must apply through the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS), submitting an application form and personal statement. This is where you need to shine, explaining why you are interested in the field, your life experiences, and the skills that make you a good candidate. 

Of course, time management is also an issue. Some business programs are designed to intentionally create a stressful environment that simulates the work pressures future graduates will face in the real world. As you prepare to enroll in business school, we always suggest that you start practicing time management skills. Schedule time for work, study, classes, networking, socializing, and don’t forget to carve out some free time to do whatever helps you relax.

Rewards of a Business Management Degree

But not everything will be challenging. Of course, you will have many victories during your years in college. Your first victory will come when you receive an offer from one of your chosen universities or colleges. That’s when you know you’ve been accepted to business management school, and you can begin the process of educating yourself to achieve your goal of becoming a business owner or leader. 

  • Enroll in and complete extracurricular activities such as finance, accounting, marketing, project management, digital marketing, etc. 
  • Join an entrepreneurship club. 
  • Get hired for your first internship. 
  • Start teaching or tutoring younger students. 
  • Finish volunteering. 
  • Earn your business degree. 
  • Starting your first business. 

Do you have the drive, passion, and leadership skills to succeed in business school? Will it help you achieve your life goals? If so, read on to discover the financial aspect of business ownership.

What Opportunities Are Available to Business Management Graduates?

The business world is vast. Virtually every industry has room for a business leader to come in, do the necessary work, make the right decision, and start on the road to success. You have the option of working for an existing organization or simply starting your own from scratch. 

There are many decisions you will have to make to create a path that will allow you to get the right education, develop the necessary skills, learn to use the right tools and achieve your goals. But first, you need to have a clear understanding of what you want to do:

  • Do you want to be a business owner, or sit on the C-suite?
  • Is entrepreneurship right for you?
  • Do you want to lead a marketing, finance, or human resources team? 

Pros and Cons of Business Management Pathways

Each path has its advantages. For starters, as a business owner, you get to be your boss and have the potential to make more money than in any other role. Of course, this comes with flexible hours and the understanding that if you don’t put enough time into your project, no one else will. Success depends on you. 

As an entrepreneur, you will always have the chance to have unexpected and exciting experiences, become a digital nomad, choose who you want to work with, earn more than you would if you worked for someone else, and be proud of your success. 

On the other hand, if you decide to follow the corporate world and become a business manager, you can still live your life to the fullest and enjoy several perks and benefits, such as higher pay, influencing a company’s culture, room for growth and development, helping others improve and develop, creating a great work environment, and continuing to advance your career. 

There is no right or wrong answer. You can choose the path you want to take based on your skills, goals, personality traits, and needs. Some can’t function on flexible hours, and who need schedules, face-to-face meetings, and a more structured environment to feel at peace. Others would rather spend their lives traveling while working from their own computer. 

Is Business Management a Good Degree If I Want to Improve the Lives of Others?

Most companies you know have had an impact (positive or negative) on our society. Some produce the best chocolate we know, but at the same time are killing forests and wildlife. Others produce oil but endanger marine life and our beaches. Still, others have managed to do good and still be profitable. 

“A social impact strategy is any effort to create public value that is systematic, sustainable, and innovative. Effectively creating social impact is an essential challenge for all organizations, regardless of geography or sector.” Peter Frumkin, Ph.D., The Center for Social Impact Strategies

For example, The Body Shop, a skincare company, has opposed animal testing and supported fair trade. Adidas has a program called BOKS to increase access to fitness for students in marginalized societies. Ikea works with women artisans to create handmade products to sell in its stores. And Google has committed more than $300 million to developing technology to fight climate change.

Every company is fighting a battle to make the world a better place, so it could be a route to take if you have an idea of how the world should look.

Final Thoughts

Now that you’ve read everything you need to know about earning a business degree, it’s time to think about whether this aligns with your why. Will this career help you achieve your ultimate goal? Does it make sense for you to acquire the knowledge, skills, and tools associated with this degree? Do you have what it takes to be a successful business owner or leader? 

There is no right answer. This is a personal decision that needs to be made with care and thought.