Up-and-coming entrepreneurs, listen up. Picking up some programming skills will prove beneficial as you embark on your new startup, especially if it has any relation to technology. Aside from widening your personal marketability, there are advantages to programming that you can’t ignore.
You'll see work with a new outlook.
An entrepreneur should be a jack of all trades, and these days, programming should be on the roster. Not only will you have a practical new skill in your arsenal, you’ll find that programmers think differently. When working on a coding project, even a minor mistake can ruin the finished product. You’ll find yourself handling problems with a new approach: examine each of the smaller processes and their connection to the big picture.
You can cut costs by doing things yourself.
Naturally, you want to take advantage of anything that will save money in the early phases of a startup. Learning to code will allow you to forego hiring software engineers until you earn the capital to do so. Save yourself a thousand bucks and make your own website instead of commissioning a web designer. Investing time in coding skills can pay off; not only will you keep money in your pocket, but you can make a profit from building things like smartphone applications.
You'll earn the respect of your IT crew.
Establish rapport with your IT and software engineering employees by speaking their language. You’ll be able to understand just what they do all day—and gain a new appreciation for the trials of their work. Also, when it comes to the hiring process, you’ll be able to discern a quality candidate from a less proficient pool of applicants. This is where knowledge of programming is particularly useful for companies outside of the tech sector. If you’re looking for capable IT personnel, you should know the skills necessary of the job and will be able to examine interviewees accordingly.
Ready to start learning?
You need devote time to learning programming, and you won’t become a master overnight. You don’t need to enroll in a university computer science program in order to grow as a coder; between online resources and onsite coding “boot camps”, there are plenty of programs to choose from. With a full-time workload, programming boot camps are as intensive as the name implies. If you have the resources to put work on hold and pay for a roughly ten-week course, then entering such a course could be rewarding.
Remote learners have plenty of options as well. Code Academy provides free, interactive lessons in coding languages such as HTML, CSS, Javascript, Python, and more. Coding For Entrepreneurs has a monthly tuition of $25 but focuses on instructing users how to create products relevant to their startups. Treehouse offers two packages: a $25 monthly basic membership and a $49 monthly membership boasting additional content. As a member, you sign up for tracks that lead you towards proficiency in an area of your choosing, be it app building, web design, online business skills, and more.
