The most difficult concept for most starving entrepreneurs to grasp is the idea of training versus education. There is a massive difference between these learning techniques.
Eventually, as an entrepreneur, you’ll find yourself in new territory where no one else has traveled. If you don’t understand the difference, you will find yourself lost in the jungle one day.
No one can train you because no one else has been where you have been. You will have to rely on education to create your own next step. Welcome to entrepreneurship.
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Welcome back to the Becoming an Entrepreneur Series (Part #1, Part #2, Part #3), where we figure out how to guide ourselves to the next level.
What are training and education? The military does an excellent job of separating these two concepts. In fact, the Marine Corps has two distinct commands—Education Command and Training Command.
Education is the root or foundation of the learning process. It is the “why” in our day-to-day actions. We can increase our education by reading books, solving hypothetical questions, and discussing amongst a group.
Training is the manual process we use to accomplish a mission. It is a specific technique we receive to accomplish a particular task. We typically must re-train ourselves every 3-5 years to stay current on our equipment or software.
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Why are training and education vital to entrepreneurship? As an entrepreneur, you must rigorously comprehend the difference between these two concepts.
As an entrepreneur, education is more important than training. As an employee, it’s the opposite. Let’s say I open a local brewery in Pensacola, Florida.
I can receive training on operating equipment, cleaning my machines, making great beer, and hiring employees.
However, how can I get customers into my brewery? How do I compete with local breweries without jumping into a price war? How do I distinguish myself as a unique value proposition amongst a sea of breweries? What can I add that makes me different from the rest?
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Education comes from gaining experience, taking risks, and making mistakes. Luckily, you can read books to help you avoid many mistakes. You can also hire mentors to assist you.
Education lets you maneuver through the unknown. If you are a great entrepreneur, you will create something truly new and unique.
However, this means no one has traveled the same road you built. You must rely on education, or your gut instincts, to make the next step.
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People who focus on training will suffer from analysis paralysis at this stage. They want to build a business from something like low-content books (blank-lined journals, etc.).
They may focus on creating great covers, finding low-competition keywords, or branding their products. However, their books don’t sell. Why?
Because training can only get you so far. Their books may be perfect, but they positioned them in the wrong market. They may need to start a Facebook Group to drive traffic to their products.
Education gives you the context for your training. As an entrepreneur, you can provide training to someone to help offload this specific work from yourself.
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However, this person cannot, in turn, run your company. They may grow to replace you as CEO, but you are the founding entrepreneur. What you learned from this low-content book business will carry over to your dog park business—its education.
The best education in the world. If you want to see the divide between training and education, join the debate about Robert Kiyosaki.
For me, Robert Kiyosaki is the most incredible author of all time. He takes the most complex concepts and puts them within reach of the average person.
His books only serve as education; he gives no specific investing or real estate advice. Why? Because it’s up to every individual to find their sweet spot between employee, self-employed, business person, and investor.
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However, everyone takes his books as training. They believe he tells everyone to own fifty homes, use maximum leverage, become an inside trader, avoid taxes, and become entrepreneurs.
Understand your own life. To comprehend any book, you must put it into the context of your life—this is part of the education process.
I don’t like to take unnecessary risks, nor do I want to over-leverage myself. Therefore, I can read Robert Kiyosaki’s books and understand his intent—you must control an asset.
As employees, we do not own the process. We cannot give ourselves raises, take time off, hire our children, or add new products to the line-up.
Create.
Mr. Kiyosaki says you need to become an insider. The closer you are to the decision-maker, the more money you will make.
Therefore, starting a business makes the most money because you are the decision-maker. Let’s take my book business, for example.
If I want to give myself a raise, I can increase the cost of my books by $1. I can bundle multiple books together and sell them at a discount. I can start a subscription service or a Patreon—I am in control.
People think the word “insider” means that you should engage in illegal insider trading. Or you should compromise your morals or standards for a quick buck.
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An entrepreneur will not survive long if they don’t add value. Robert Kiyosaki’s books keep selling because they add tremendous value to the world. The education his books provide is second to none.
Think like an entrepreneur. If you are going to grow as an entrepreneur, you have to wipe the employee mindset from your brain entirely.
Employees live in fear, take everything literally, and, most importantly, find a way to say “no” or “I can’t.”
Let’s say an employee receives training in the Microsoft Office suite of applications. This employee is the top MS EXCEL producer in the shop.
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However, the entrepreneur-in-charge moves the company to the Google Office suite for better pricing and online collaboration. The new employee quits because they would need to re-learn something new.
Adapting on the fly. I spent the first two years creating book covers and getting my artwork through Pixlr. However, Pixlr shuttered its stock photo application, and all the others were over $150 per month (versus the $20 I was paying).
I moved to Canva because the pricing was very reasonable, and the photos were even better. However, their process is entirely different.
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They don’t give you a library of stock photos to download at your leisure (which I loved). It’s more of a clip art setup, where you drag artwork and images into your canvas.
I had to learn on the fly; here is my first video using Canva. I forced myself to learn something new because I had the education to understand the process.
I comprehend the process of compounding. I knew it would take a few hours to get the hang of Canva. There is no need to get worked up or freak out; I just need to take my time.
It all worked out, and I love Canva. My training was in Pixlr, and now it’s with Canva. However, my education helped me quickly make the switch.
Most people want to stay at the training stage. They learn something and want to hunker down around it. They don’t like to know the bigger picture or concepts.
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Conclusion. Entrepreneurs start at the education level. They eventually create processes that they can train an employee to take over. However, the entrepreneur still has the big picture.
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You will struggle if you attempt to become an entrepreneur with just the training (like dog walking). I recommend you read at least five Robert Kiyosaki books to start the education process; you’ll build a better context for creating a business. Good Luck!
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