I don’t have a business degree or an MBA. Actually, I don’t even have a high school diploma. I never had any formal training in how to start, own or operate a business. I just dove in and learned as I went, figuring things out through trial and error. Sometimes it’s worked out for the better; sometimes for worse.
Apparently, this means that I was an early iteration of a “new collar worker”: someone who acquires skills on the job instead of learning them in school. The term was originally used in the tech space to describe people who had to learn on the job because a degree didn’t exist for those careers at the time. Now, you can find new collar workers across all industries — especially in franchising.
O2E Brands
An Educated Guess
I’m a firm believer that for certain careers, a formal education is totally unnecessary. Of course, if you’re a liver transplant surgeon like my dad, you need extensive schooling and training. But to run a business? I don’t think you do.
This hit me hard when I was in business school. Yes, I did try the traditional route of pursuing a degree – but I was also already running 1-800-GOT-JUNK? on the side as a way to pay for college… and learning more on the job than I ever did in the classroom. Sure, I was being taught how to write a business plan and create a budget — but I already had a thriving business that was giving me a crash course in the hard skills I truly needed to succeed.
Eventually I dropped out of college because I valued the hands-on experience more than textbook learning. It’s the skills you can’t teach — like passion, hunger and integrity — that will help you succeed. Everything else will come with focus, faith and effort!
Franchising: No Experience Required
The reason I decided to franchise 1-800-GOT-JUNK? wasn’t only to grow our brand. That was part of it, but I also wanted to give other aspiring entrepreneurs the opportunity to own a business. I know firsthand how hard and scary it can be to go it alone. Giving people the chance to join our family is a way to lower the barrier to entry for business ownership.
Over our 30+ years of experience, our company has also learned that those with little-to-no entrepreneurial experience actually make some of our best Franchise Partners. To me, a degree doesn’t make someone more qualified to own a business (that would be pretty hypocritical). If they have heart, and if they’re willing to put in the hard work to build their own future, then I believe they’ll be successful.
The same goes for our frontline team members and our employees at head office. Many of them didn’t have a load of technical experience before they joined our team — but they were ready to learn on the job and grow with the business.
Like Jeff Gontovnik, who started out on the 1-800-GOT-JUNK? trucks, and now runs our whole inbound sales team. Or Michel Falcon, who started in our call centre, and credits his time with our company as his MBA – Michel now has his own business advising billion-dollar brands. In some ways, I guess you could say we’ve created a mini business school. We give people the hands-on learning opportunities they need to succeed.
Imagine if a university degree was required to start a business. The world would be a very different (and darker) place. Not everyone is cut out for classroom learning (both hands up!) and a lot of us learn better by doing than by listening or watching.
Becoming an entrepreneur was my way to create a viable career (and future) for myself without a formal education. In a way I earned a ‘Personal MBA’, and it completely changed my life — maybe it could change yours.
I’d love to know what you think. Leave me a comment on this post and share your thoughts!
