Why Bad Students Make Good Entrepreneurs

School and a formal education hasn’t always been my thing. As I entered high school, I began slacking off more and that could clearly be seen through the grades I was earning.

As I come across entrepreneurs through networking, volunteering and mentoring, I’ve seen a fairly consistent trend. I’ve noticed that the best students don’t always make the best entrepreneurs. In fact, I’ve noticed much of the opposite.

More often than not, most entrepreneurs I come in contact with say that they weren’t very good at school. Bill Gates famously says, “I failed in some subjects in exam, but my friend passed in all. Now he is an engineer in Microsoft and I am the owner of Microsoft.”

Here are some reasons why bad students make good entrepreneurs:

Disruptive Behavior

In school, I was often cited by my teachers for my disruptive behavior. I didn’t really know what it meant growing up aside from the fact that I was doing something wrong and I got in trouble for it. As an entrepreneur now, it makes all the sense in the world.

I wasn’t always disrupting for the better in school, but I was doing something out of the norm. As an entrepreneur, you’re goal is to disrupt a market or industry for the better through your innovations. Students who are naturally used to going up against the norm have a head start as entrepreneurs.

In order to disrupt, you have to take risks and do things out of the ordinary. 90% of kids in my class weren’t disruptive or breaking the rules. The best part about entrepreneurship is that you get to break the rules.

Thinking Outside The Box

In school, I had a tough time following directions. My teacher would tell me to do ABC, but I’d do DEF. It wasn’t that I was stupid, I just thought my way was better. If I could be creative and do things on my own, why shouldn’t I?

As entrepreneurs, this behavior is highly promoted. You’re constantly challenged to think outside the box and deviate from the plans others have. Great employees are ones who can carry out orders, but great entrepreneurs create their own plans.

If you’re creative or have an innate ability to think outside the box, you definitely have one of the stronger attributes necessary to be successful as an entrepreneur. Forget what your teachers told you about following the directions, create your own direction.

Risks Come Natural

Ditching class or breaking the rules almost always involves some kind of risk. The reward is a good time, but the risk is a consequence or punishment. Entrepreneurship is much of the same.

With every risk comes an equally great reward. Many people never end up getting out of the wantrepreneur phase because they are too fearful of taking a risk. Students who are causing mayhem in school are accustomed to taking risks.

It may not always be the best risk, but they have the courage to do it anyway. As an entrepreneur, you’re going to have to take many risks. I’ve taken a year off from college while taking numerous risks throughout the process. Some have paid off, while others haven’t.

However, what’s important is that I took these risks. Without taking these risks I wouldn’t be where I am today. By taking risks progressively throughout my life, it wasn’t a skill I had to acquire. I had been doing it for quite some time, I was now going to do it in a better way.

Ability To Adapt

School doesn’t teach you how to adapt to change. Charles Darwin said it best, “It’s not the strongest or most intelligent that survives. It is the one who is most adaptable to change.” Schools are structured in a way where the individuals who respect order tend to thrive and succeed.

Entrepreneurship isn’t about reading a book and implementing from it. Knowledge is great to have, but you have to use that wisdom to create your own path. With entrepreneurship, shit changes fast and very often.

By being an “A” student, you’re only prepared for scheduled tests. What happens in the event of a pop quiz? Those “A” students become “C”, “D” or “F” students. When life throws lemons at you, you make lemonade and get 5 other people to operate a lemonade stand under you.

After you graduate from school, people aren’t going to respect you based on your college GPA. It’s all about drive and persistence to be successful in the world. Your report card becomes irrelevant the moment you step into the real world.

Conclusion

As an entrepreneur, I can truly say that my bad habits as a student has a had a positive impact on my life. This article was talking about some of the reasons why bad students make good entrepreneurs.