Studying & Running a Business

You may find yourself in a similar position or debating whether doing both at the same time is a wise move. You may be at university with a brilliant idea, or already running a business fearing your lack of knowledge.

I fall into the later category, after running Focal for almost three years my apparent lack of knowledge glared at me accusingly. Hopefully my sharing of experiences guides you to a choice ideal for you. For reference, I chose Business Management, Innovation & Enterprise as my degree choice.

So why on earth would you consider both simultaneously? If there's anything I've learnt from taking this step, if you thought you had a lack of time before you have a lot less now. You're also capable of a lot more.

I found that my lack of business knowledge was profound, and the purpose of this degree was to start filling that gap ASAP. We were growing, and I had no idea how to build a solid foundation for a business.

And so far (Just finishing 1st year), it has been an incredible help not only to Focal but also myself. My ability to plan & execute on plans has improved dramatically, I also think a lot clearly on how to navigate the constant issues running a digital agency comes with. I'd even argue the decision to move from a production agency to a full marketing & digital agency was primarily down to the degree.

The concepts & models involved are also heavily useful in avoiding pitfalls we'd have otherwise fallen into. For example, how to manage, market & assess whether the move to becoming an agency would cause issues for us in the long & short term.

Admittedly, a small part of me enjoys this not just because I enjoy the subject matter, but because the challenge is very motivating. It's very important that you find some self-enjoyment from studying your chosen degree otherwise you will find it difficult to succeed in this, and your grades will take an impact.

To be perfectly clear, this is difficult in every sense. Most do one or the other and with good reason, it's exhausting. I salute those who complete masters alongside a job.

The key issue you'll find is time management, you have to breakdown how you'll go about learning each module and do your best to keep on track. Doing everything the night before is never the best way to learn, you'll take nothing in & apply nothing new. If you stick to a plan & allow yourself time for yourself & family, this will be go by quickly. Being motivated isn't always going to be the case, but that's were a sprinkle of that grit comes in handy.

The other consideration, especially if you've chosen Open university, is getting the grades is hard work. Due to the frequency of 1st's being awarded and disparity between a 1st from a world renowned university (Such as Oxford) & a 1st from another university being held as equal despite the difficulty in achieving a 1st from Oxford, they make you have to gain an average of 80% to gain this qualification.

I chose Open University because of its flexibility; I could only commit to long-distance learning as my location is never certain. You also have the option to increase your workload or decrease it to ensure you have sufficient time for your job & life commitments. It was also a great extra to discover that the Open University Business School is very highly ranked, however I believe this is due to the nature of the course. Those willing to self-motivate to complete a degree are often very ambitious and will work harder in their place of work.

My chosen degree is also key, obviously it'd have to been business related but I chose the 'Innovation & Enterprise' based modules because of where I intend to take Focal & myself in the future. Think about the degree you want very carefully.

Above is an image of Focals current approach & branding, 'No More Margherita Marketing'. I brought this up as there's only so much a university education can teach you. There's a lot of reasons you don't need one, a lot can be self-taught, a lot can be taken up by someone with more experience than yourself & most of your decision making will probably come from a prior work experience.

That was our stumbling block, we looked into the beast that is the marketing industry from the outside in with no understanding of how it worked, how to sell, how to network or even what technical advancements were being made. Add a dash of zero understanding of business and we were marvelling that we made any money at all.

We learnt these things by doing it ourselves and failing more often than I'd liked to admit. We were in a unique position that we could take some chances and learn from the mistakes, so that's exactly what we did. That in itself has proven to be far more valuable than any other form of education. University provides theories & frame works that hold incredible value, but do not prepare you for a more real-world experience.

Starting by yourself means you have to self-learn everything from branding to a good grasp on managerial accountancy. You become a jack of all trades and a master of none (Or specifically, one or two). Real experience teaches you far more about sales & how people interpret your product/service, compared to how a single lecturer may view your theoretical organisation.

On top on this, you don't learn how to wake up every morning and self-motivate yourself to keep on going. People often call this 'grit' and is a difficult & intrinsic part of those taking that entrepreneurial step.

The greatest question will never a clear answer. I'd argue in my situation, it was certainly worth starting & will certainly completing. The value I have gained from this, even in the first year, is monumental.

However, you need to be sure you can manage (timewise), at least a part-time degree & that your chosen degree is actually necessary for your career path. Have no doubt in your mind the workload is large, personally I work on it a little bit every day to ensure I learn the most I can in bursts. This also has the benefit of allowing plenty of personal time for family & friends.