Would-Be Entrepreneurs Need Big Biz Experience
What’s the Latest Development?
One of Jeff Haden’s BNET colleagues recently recommended that college grads should aim to make their first job in a start-up. But he disagrees, saying if you want to one day start your own business, first get a grounding in a big company. “My first post-college job was with a Fortune 500 company. Starting and running a business would have been much harder without the skill and experience I gained in a corporate environment.”
What’s the Big Idea?
Haden’s reasons for tasting the corporate world first? Entrepreneurs are sometimes crazy, not in a good way; training is not a distant dream; mentors are everywhere; checks and balances limit extreme behavior; “my way” tends to hit the highway; discipline and follow-through are expected; large companies assign a variety of projects; and, most importantly, you’ll learn what not to do.
