A new way for entrepreneurs to get an education

Ever since the Federal Reserve began adjusting interest rates, proponents have predicted the economy could slip into recession. With headlines of an economic slowdown making headlines, younger generations continue to consider options as they begin their career journeys. For some, starting your own business requires you to take control of your destiny with a self-directed experience.

The application process for new businesses shows an interesting trend exacerbated by the pandemic. Between 2017 and 2019, the average number of new business applications was about 3.5 million per year. In 2020 and 2021, this number has increased to 4.38 million and 5.4 million respectively. Also, more people are searching online for ‘how to start a business’ than ‘how to get a job’.

Getting a business degree is expensive and starting a business is easier said than done. It is a challenging journey for those just starting out or those with experience. This choice adds uncertainty for dealing with recessions and other economic and social stressors.

According to Daniel Javor, there is nothing wrong with starting a business in a recession. “There is no wrong time to start the right business. Many successful businesses today were born out of recession and chaos. It’s about knowing what to do to run a business, and you can learn everything you need without a formal business education.”

Javor is a serial entrepreneur. He is CEO of Deep Blue Ventures, a digital media holding company. He now runs Step By Step Business, an entrepreneurial education platform, providing in-depth education on starting an LLC, running, running and scaling a business, as well as helpful tips for entrepreneurs.

This reporter talked about his time as an entrepreneur and the lessons, challenges, successes, and failures he’s learned. Additionally, Jabor examines the reasons behind his decision to develop an entrepreneurial education model and his advice to his owners of budding businesses.

Choice of entrepreneurship

Rod Berger: Why start a business in the first place? Was it what you always wanted, or was it more contextual?

Daniel Javer: If anything, it was genetic. My father was a passionate entrepreneur, so it passed on seamlessly. I am basically the product of my parents. My father was an entrepreneur and my mother was a traveling artist. So my perspective and personality is an amalgamation of what I learned from them. And I started implementing it early, and he was 13 when he started his first hustle.

Burger: What was your first entry into business or entrepreneurship?

Hubble: At the time we were living in Austria and reselling trading cards on eBay. I have dabbled in several other ventures since my teenage years. Success or not, all of them have brought me here.

Burger: You seem to have moved quite a bit for your business venture. Expand these globe-trotting trends if you want.

Hubble: [Laughs] I may have got it from my mother. I have never hesitated to move for business opportunities. I was only 17 when I moved to Israel and opened a retail store. Eventually, I started an affiliate business selling financial and insurance products.

A few years later, in 2015, we shifted the focus of our affiliate business to the solar energy sector, providing residential leads to US solar companies under an affiliate model. My current main ventures are Deep Blue Ventures and Step By Step Business.

Deep Blue Ventures is aligned with the portfolio of online publications it acquired from an operational and scaling perspective. Step By Step Business is an educational hub for current and future entrepreneurs.

Establishment of an educational venture

Burger: Let’s talk about your education business. Why did you decide to launch an entrepreneurial platform? How successful has it been, especially compared to going out and getting a formal business education?

Hubble: Looking back on my entrepreneurial journey, it felt like something I had to do. The importance of guidance can never be underestimated. Guidance like the one Step By Step Business currently offers would have been helpful. Ultimately, it’s a solid educational opportunity for anyone looking to start a business in a niche.

The website covers everything from averaging startup costs to creating a business plan to industry trends state by state. There are blocks of detailed knowledge that can help you create a brand name, form an LLC, obtain a bank account and insurance, apply for the proper licenses, and other services. I see it as my way of lending a hand to help climb the entrepreneurial ladder.

We never take it lightly to get a degree from an accredited institution. It will always be in its place, but the amount of knowledge available today creates a powerful alternative to earning a formal degree. I think we can.

mistakes and lessons

Burger: It hints that your mistakes and lessons learned challenged you to establish a platform for entrepreneurial education. What is the most important lesson every aspiring entrepreneur should know?

Hubble: One of the best lessons I’ve learned is that failure is guaranteed. It happens at some point in your journey. One of my biggest failures was my 2009 Near Field Communication (NFC) startup. NFC is a multi-billion dollar industry today, representing approximately 2 billion phones and devices worldwide. However, in 2009 the market was not yet ready. We continued to pour resources into it for two years before, of course, we pulled out of the business. There are many things that can be taught, but some things can only be learned by making mistakes.

My experience in the NFC field also taught me to always follow market conditions and timing. I stuck with this business because Target liked the promise of the product while completely ignoring what the user and market conditions demanded. A successful business is one that responds to the needs of the market, not to the tastes of its owner. I wouldn’t set up a new car dealership when purchasing power is down in a recession, but a used car dealership might make sense.

Following trends and entering an already booming market does not guarantee success. If you don’t have a business foundation in place, trying to jump on hot trends and business waves when you can’t surf the web can be a disaster. Ultimately, it takes more education, whether it’s formal schooling or customized education platforms, to do things that have never been done before.

it’s never the wrong time

Burger: Many young entrepreneurs are waiting for the right moment. How does timing affect the conversation of starting a business?

Hubble: Perhaps one of the best pieces of wisdom I can impart to young entrepreneurs is that there is never a wrong time to start the right business, even in a recession. Look at giants like Facebook, Amazon, Twitter, Netflix, Square, Airbnb. These businesses were born out of the ashes of the dot-com bubble and his 2008 recession.

Because of their financial and operational agility, start-ups often thrive in downturns, helping to eliminate high overhead costs and provide consumers with cheaper alternatives to products and services.

It’s not about recession, but rather about leadership choices. Good leadership makes good cash flow decisions. We often find deals on the acquisition of capital assets that keep the business pivot flexible and outsource some of the growth responsibilities to external sources while other companies try to scale back. Also, most companies lay off employees during a recession. In other words, it’s time to maximize the talent pool.

For the younger generation, flexibility is the name of the game. An environment that provides work-life balance and sustainable goals is part of the picture as they carve out a career path. Faced with the uncertain economy of the market, more and more people are considering starting their own business. Javor summarizes the process of derivative educational experience. As he says, “Business education is the first step to job security. So if you want job security, start a business.”

Education remains an essential component, but according to Daniel Javor, not everyone can afford or need training provided by formal institutions. As a serial entrepreneur, he believes the business school route isn’t always necessary for a given startup and may overlap. A well-guided entrepreneurial education platform can offer a streamlined, in-depth alternative to business education along the entrepreneurial path.

Even Javor believes that formal education shapes learning efforts, even if they can hone their entrepreneurial spirit on an outside platform. So the question is, how can the education and human capital management industries support the global Daniel Javers approach? Integrating with experts including on-ramp and off-ramp allows you to blend the two worlds.

Interviews have been edited and condensed for clarity.