Teaching Entrepreneurship

I taught classes for many years, starting as an ESL teacher in Europe and Canada while in my early twenties. I discovered valuable, practical lessons teaching ESL—that we learn through hands-on, practical experience, and that it is easier to do something new and potentially scary when we feel supported and we’re having fun!

To teach English to new immigrants I used the art of play, street theater and shared humor to help students deal with a new environment, develop trust, and face their fears related to using a language. Together we learned about culture and language out loud and in full view of each other, developing a classroom based on trust. Students took their new knowledge and courageously put it into practice on the bus as they went home.

Established and emerging entrepreneurs also deal with an unknown environment and many fears. They are often wedged between the fantasy of what they hope will happen with their enterprises and the reality of money, management, and marketing. This can be exciting and scary.

When teaching business owners, it was also helpful to use a hands-on approach and involve the whole class or cohort in the process. Humor was key, as well as helping to foster excitement about learning together. Teaching entrepreneurship is not just about lecturing (although content and theory is important), it is a doing process. Students need to take what they learned in class, collaborate with others, apply it, and see what works.

Business workshops or classes can introduce business skills, demonstrate social media and traditional marketing techniques, and present critical and real world financial projections. However, it is also important for students to get out into the real world themselves. They need to test their assumptions. Then they can use the classroom for sharing, reporting back, and group problem-solving sessions with actual business models. The class became an important learning community, collaborative environment, and support system.

When I taught small business classes, students researched how their business idea fit in the marketplace with face-to-face interviews. They exposed their ideas to the reality of the numbers by doing rigorous financial analysis, and then they developed a practical, realistic plan of action that they could test week by week. This plan had to be adjusted in the marketplace and then their own level of confidence and excitement revealed the right directions, with the class support there to help.

The focus was on empowerment and building confidence as well as teaching entrepreneurial skills. Small business owners needed to tap into their passion and also have the ability to mitigate risks. It is important for business owners to continually cultivate the right balance of business skills and intuition.

By guiding students through an engaging curriculum, giving them access to resources and mentors, and providing direction related to good management practices, we helped entrepreneurs launch and sustain many, many successful venture. The process was fun and richly rewarding for both student and teacher, because in the best learning environment, the teacher is learning from the students, too. I learned a lot teaching every class and working with each student.