This essay appeared on Businessweek.com in March 2011.

1

So you got great grades and earned your bachelor’s degree? Congratulations. You may have been better off failing college and then starting a venture and figuring out why you didn’t pass your classroom tests.

2

Being successful in business is absolutely not contingent on having a bachelor’s degree—or any other type of degree, for that matter. A do-or-die work ethic, passion, unwavering persistence, and vision mean more than anything that can be taught in a classroom. How many college professors who teach business have actually started a business?

3

I am the sole owner of the top independent rock record label (according to Nielsen-published market share). Historically, the music industry is thought of as residing in New York City, Los Angeles, and Nashville. But I have blazed my own trail, segregating my business in its own petri dish here in Chicago. I started the business as a part-time venture in 1989 with $800 in seed capital. In 2009, Victory Records grossed $20 million. We’ve released more than 500 albums, including platinum-selling records for the groups Taking Back Sunday and Hawthorne Heights.

4

Because I never went to college and didn’t automatically have industry contacts, I had to learn all of the business fundamentals through trial and error when I started my own company. The skills I learned on my own have carried me through 20 years of business. Making mistakes forces one to learn.

5

If you have a brand that people care about and loyal, hard-working employees coupled with a robust network of smart financial advisers, fellow entrepreneurs, and good legal backup, you will excel. There are plenty of people with degrees and MBAs who could read the books and earn their diplomas but cannot apply what they learned to building a successful enterprise.

Study the image that opens this chapter. What argument could it suggest about the issue of whether a college education is worth the money?