Entrepreneurship often attracts people with ideas, drive and ambition. But these qualities alone won’t be enough to achieve lasting business success. That requires a specific, learnable set of skills, which is exactly what a structured entrepreneurship degree is designed to deliver. Such a degree will provide you with a concrete toolkit for building and leading a business effectively.
Lamar University’s online Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) in Entrepreneurship program is built around helping graduates develop these skills. Importantly, the program has both Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) accreditation and a curriculum that spans accounting, finance, marketing, data analysis and strategic management. It’s an ideal next program for people with a desire to successfully scale their own business.
What Business Fundamentals Does an Entrepreneurship Degree Cover?
Before launching a venture, entrepreneurs need more than just an idea. While a good idea is important, it is even more critical for business owners to be fluent in accounting, finance, economics and management — key competencies that inform every business decision.
Core courses in Lamar University’s program, including Principles of Finance, Intro to Financial Accounting, Principles of Management and Principles of Marketing, equip students with a crucial understanding of business fundamentals before they move on to entrepreneurship-specific coursework. Such comprehensive education is what separates entrepreneurship degree holders from self-taught founders.
How Does an Entrepreneurship Degree Build Skills for Starting a Business?
Entrepreneurship programs, such as the one offered by Lamar University, walk students through the new venture creation process: opportunity recognition, resource gathering, business planning and market analysis. According to the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), a business plan is important because investors “want to feel confident they’ll see a return on their investment. Your business plan is the tool you’ll use to convince people that working with you — or investing in your company — is a smart choice.”
Understanding how to build a plan that investors and lenders will take seriously is a skill that requires structured learning. Lamar University’s BBA program hones this skill through its courses Seminar on Entrepreneurship and Entrepreneurial Market Opportunities, which focus on recognizing and capitalizing on market trends — a key aspect of any good business plan.
What Skills Do Entrepreneurs Need to Be Successful?
The National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) states that critical thinking, communication, technology and professionalism are all important frameworks that employers use to assess graduates. These skills are relevant in almost every business scenario, whether a graduate decides to launch their own business or pursue a leadership role in an existing organization or start-up.
Lamar University’s BBA program is specifically designed to develop these skills. The course Business Analysis I builds both quantitative and data analysis skills and the courses Introduction to Business Technologies and Principles of MIS include training in SAP enterprise resource planning, which is an important technical skill that most entrepreneurship programs don’t offer at the undergraduate level. And because the program is AACSB-accredited, future hiring managers and investors can be assured these skills are taught according to rigorous, internationally recognized standards.
What Careers Can You Pursue With an Entrepreneurship Degree?
In addition to preparing entrepreneurs to launch and scale a business, the skills developed in an entrepreneurship program open doors to multiple career paths such as business consultant, market research analyst, strategic manager or innovation leader within an existing company. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) notes that market research analysts — one possible career path that draws directly on this combination of skills — can expect to earn a median annual salary of $76,950 per year, as of May 2024.
According to Plaky by Cake.com, 72% of entrepreneurs (in 2025) said they’re somewhat or very happy with their business ventures and 77% said they expected their businesses to survive. Ultimately, the combination of foundational business skills, entrepreneurship-specific training and SAP proficiency developed in Lamar University’s BBA program position graduates to successfully compete across industries, whether they are looking to thrive as a business owner or within an organization.
Learn more about Lamar University’s online BBA in Entrepreneurship program.
