Scott McOwen has been an entrepreneur for 50 years, and he has owned 25 businesses. Although Scott is busy with his business endeavors, he also mentors perspective entrepreneurs from Santa Ana and Saddleback Colleges, as well as UC, Irvine and community members. The following are his thoughts on preparing to become an entrepreneur.

How did you start as an entrepreneur?
I started by growing up on a small farm and selling strawberries at a roadside stand. I also worked at service stations and a tire shop, where I learned how to work, sell and manage money.

What do you like about having your own business?
I like the variety of activity. I am forced to understand a little bit about many areas of human behavior, and the variety of people and activities stimulates me.

What have you learned about entrepreneurship that would help students?
Students need to know how to “learn to learn.” They don’t necessarily need perfect grades, but students must learn how to find the information and knowledge that they will need in order to run an operation.

What coursework would be helpful?
Basic accounting, world history, and knowledge of current events are important. Coursework that requires creative thinking and analytical skills is helpful. A course and experience with business ethics would be good, because character counts in business! A general liberal arts education is important to learn about general and world topics.

What work experiences would help the students with entrepreneur skill sets?
Potential business owners should have experience understanding and analyzing the market for a product, and experience selling the product. The general ability of learning to work with people and developing customer service skills is very important. Business owners should know where they are financially, at all times, so accounting and finance knowledge is essential. When potential business owners understand the market, and make sales, they must learn to keep score, and continue to make adjustments for success.

How can educators and intern supervisors help potential entrepreneurs?
Encourage students to “learn how to learn.” Educators and internship supervisors can challenge students to do research on projects that the students know very little about. It is important to help direct students, not attempt to “spoon feed” them. Challenge students to learn about the communication process in a particular geographical area of the world. In today’s “flat world,” the business competition will be very acute, so they must know about business in diverse environments. Students must learn how to work hard, think, understand their environment, and produce either products or services that others will find of value.

I also encourage students to volunteer and give back to their community, since I’ve learned that there is more satisfaction in giving and helping others than focusing on reaping financial rewards.

For more information, contact Scott McOwen at scott@wheenk.com