How do you study to be an entrepreneur? Do you have to study at all? Well, there's a long list of people like Bill Gates, who dropped out of college after one year to start a software company and become the richest man in the world.

Entrepreneurs will often say that having an aggressive, risk-loving personality is more important than education. But many of them will also tell you that they have often been held back because they did not have the right training in finance, marketing and key communication skills to bring their companies to they high levels they hoped for.

Many entrepreneurs are people who've already spent time working for other companies and don't have time to go to business school full-time before they start their own enterprises. There are a wide variety of executive degree programs that allow part time study on weekends, and some of them are from the most highly respected business schools. Other colleges are building compact degree programs that focus very specifically on becoming an entrepreneur. Babson College, for example, has started a program for undergraduates that teaches students to create a money-making business, grow it quickly and ultimately sell it to other investors for a large profit.

Another important tool for hopeful entrepreneurs is an online degree program</a>. Elearning schools have long specialized in building programs for adults who don't have time to really go to school full time. They make it possible to get certificates and specific areas with just a few courses, or even for an entrepreneur to take just a specific course or two without even leaving home.

Basics If you're not the kind of entrepreneur who's out to build the next Microsoft, but would just like to make a living working for yourself, many online and offline schools can teach you skills like financial planning, graphic design for the web or technology skills that can allow you to get started with a small base of your own clients and earn for yourself. A couple of great places to look for advice on this are the U.S. Small Business Administration, a government agency, and a private group for entrepreneurs called The National Foundation For Teaching Entrepreneurship