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During a student’s education, the time will come to declare a major. One of the most popular decisions is to earn a business degree, but those interested in business may also find economics to be a good choice for them. The main difference in the two degrees is that the business degree provides a broader general education, meaning graduates can work in a number of fields. Economics degree holders are a bit more limited when it comes to the scope of suitable workplaces.

Here are some things to consider when you are contemplating an economics vs. business major.

Economics vs. Business Major

There are significant differences between an economics and business major.

An economics program teaches you how to analyze and explain data. Therefore, the courses will require you to learn and apply mathematical theories and write papers explaining your findings. Calculus, statistics, micro- and macroeconomics, and econometrics are a few examples of courses that an economics major will need to complete. Additionally, an economics degree can help you understand how to make informed decisions to avoid unintended consequences.

A business program prepares you to work in fields like management and marketing, but the skills you gain can be applied to virtually any industry. You can even start your own business. Through a business program, you will need to take courses in areas such as management, accounting, finance, and economics. The addition of courses in business ethics, organizational behavior, and social interaction help you develop leadership skills so that you can effectively run an organization.

Joining the Workforce

The most obvious career path for an economics major is to become an economist in the private or public sectors. You may find work as an industrial, monetary, financial, labor, or international economist. As you gain more experience, you could also become a professor at a college or university. However, economics majors don’t always become economists. Some find work in finance or insurance as consultants, research assistants, or market analysts.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), economists earn a median annual salary of $104,340. Employment for economists is projected to increase 8% through 2028, which is about as fast as the average for all occupations.

With a business degree, however, there are more career opportunities available because of the broader background gained through a program. Management and marketing are a couple of the largest areas you can pursue a career in after earning your degree. In addition, business graduates are needed in fields such as government, international relations, nonprofit organizations, and health care. The possibilities are almost limitless.

Careers in business and finance are expected to grow 7% through 2028, according to the BLS, and the median wage is $68,350 per year. If you decide to pursue a management role, the prospects look a little brighter. While employment is projected to grow at the same pace as business and finance jobs, the BLS states that the median salary is $104,240 per year for management careers.

Get Your Degree in Business

It might be apparent by now that it is extremely practical to choose to study business. Because the professional job market consistently needs qualified, degree-holding professionals, business graduates will find enormous versatility when it comes to career options. Further, you may find the real-world experience you gain makes the school-to-career transition smoother than alternative degree programs.

Concordia University, St. Paul offers an online business degree. Designed for the busy adult student, our program focuses on core business principles that can help you excel in a variety of industries. In addition, the program’s flexible online format allows you to study at a time and place that works best for you.

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Marketing has invaded every part of our lives, but it developed relatively recently, not emerging until the late 19th and early 20th centuries. A lot has changed since then, with strategies shifting from outbound marketing that “interrupts the consumer” to inbound marketing, which is focused on understanding them. The market speaks, and it’s up to professionals to identify the needs of consumers — and then sell to them.

From the very first radio ad in 1922 to the age of the Internet, marketing has responded to consumer behavior and moved deftly from trend to trend. Take a look to see where marketing is now, as well as just how far it has come.

Print: 1450 to 1920

• 1450: Gutenberg invented movable type, enabling mass printing for the first time.
• 1741: The first American magazine was printed in Philadelphia.
• 1867: Posters were banned in London due to their rampant popularity and widespread libel.

Radio: 1920 to 1940

• 1922: Radio advertisements become the best way to reach consumers.
• 1933: 55.2% U.S. homes with a radio
• 1937: Fame & Fortune: American Tobacco Co. made a deal with several U.S. senators for their endorsement of Lucky Strike cigarettes.

Television: 1940 to 1980

• 1941: First recorded use of television advertising.
• 1950: Fame & Fortune: Procter & Gamble was the largest American advertiser, with $33.5 million in ad spending. (That’s $305M today!)
• 1954: TV ad revenue moved ahead of magazines and radio. Radio ad revenue dropped 9 percent.
• Apple introduced Macintosh with its “1984” Super Bowl commercial. It cost $900,000 to make and was directed by Ridley Scott.
• In 1995, Microsoft Corp. introduced Windows 95 with a memorable TV ad featuring the Rolling Stones’ “Start Me Up.”

Web: 1980 to 2005

• 1991: Fame & Fortune: “Intel Inside” launched with a campaign that redefined a market and built on of the first global brands.
• 1994: “The Year of the Internet.” – Ad Age
• 1997: The FDA relaxed regulations for direct-to-consumer TV advertising. Pharma ad spending increased to $1.2 billion in 1998 as a result.
• 2000: The dot-com bubble bursts and the Internet refocuses to engage consumers in new ways.
• 2003: Apple was named Marketer of the Year by Ad Age, based largely on the success of the iPod.

Marketing Today: 2005 to Present

• 2005: Fame & Fortune: Google analytics and personalized search results based on user history launched the rise of SEO Marketing.
• 2007: 54%: Households with broadband Internet.
• 2010: 90% of emails were spam.
• 2012: Over 88% of Internet users browsed products online.
• 2012: Mobile shoppers surpass 72 million, with almost 69 million consumers shopping from smartphones alone.

Interested in what the future of marketing holds? Become a part of it with Concordia University, St. Paul. We offer an online Bachelor of Science in Marketing degree that prepares you for careers on the cutting edge of this dynamic field. Learn more by visiting online.csp.edu.

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A surprisingly large portion of small business owners may be missing out on a relatively easy way to attract and retain customers. According to the CNBC/SurveyMonkey Small Business Survey, 45% of business owners said they don’t have a website for their business.

It’s a shocking statistic, given how common business websites are. “Having a website is like having a business card,” digital marketing expert said Antara Dutta in the report. A similar sentiment can be made for e-commerce functionality. After all, customers regularly shop online or check a store’s website to look at information for products. E-commerce for small business levels the playing field, helping smaller establishments compete with larger companies.

Thankfully, your small business can take advantage of e-commerce rather easily. By understanding the importance of implementing an online storefront and some of your options for inexpensive, easy-to-maintain e-commerce solutions, you can help your business take its next step as painlessly as possible.

Why Is E-commerce Right for Your Small Business?

Your small business may not need an e-commerce presence. But in the light of the evidence, it’s a fair assertion that it could.

First, it’s important to point out how much consumers like small businesses. Software company Salesforce found that 86% of people surveyed would pay a little more to work with a small business. Nearly as many people said that they would go out of their way to shop from locally-owned businesses often (47%) or sometimes (36%). And almost all people, once they found a small business they like, would either always (59%) or sometimes (36%) be likely to tell others about it.

Online shopping is also appealing to consumers. The data website Brizfeel surveyed more than 30,000 customers worldwide, and found that 57% prefer to shop online compared with 31% of consumers who would rather go to the store — 12% had no preference either way. Total retail sales in the United States reflect the move toward e-commerce. For 2019, consumers spent $601.75 billion online, based on figures from the U.S. Department of Commerce, which represented an increase of 14.9% from 2018. Note that the growth rate was higher than the difference from 2017 to 2018, at 13.6%.

In recent years, the advice has always been that online e-commerce is important for small businesses. And given how much consumers like small businesses and shopping online, giving your audience a way to purchase items online is a simple — and not optional — step. Your business needs to cater to online shoppers to accommodate your current and prospective audience. The results can easily make it worthwhile.

Small business insurance provider Insureon found that 43% of small businesses experienced significant revenue growth with their online sales. Eighty-one percent of small businesses said their online sales are important or very important to their success.

It’s important to note that your prospective online store isn’t a replacement for your physical store. If anything, e-commerce reinforces your physical store. Take the example of eyeglass retailer Warby Parker, which previously only sold online, but made headlines when it decided to make the switch to physical retail stores.

“Over 75 percent of our customers who have purchased in our stores have been to our website first,” company CEO Neil Blumenthal told CNBC. “They’re not going to the website just to look at the store address or the hours of operation. They’re actually learning about the brand; they’re browsing different products. The majority of retail in the U.S. — in the world — is done within the four walls of the store.”

Starting Your Online Storefront

The most important and obvious question when you commit to e-commerce for your small business is exactly how to proceed. What route should you go?

Thankfully, you don’t need to spend a lot of money upfront or undertake something complicated. If you’d like to invest money into an e-commerce site that truly meets your needs, then, by all means, you can get a professional solution that can catalyze your business. However, it’s not a strong option for most small businesses.

Years have passed since the custom-website-or-nothing answer. Instead of coding e-commerce capabilities onto a website, one solution is to, either for a new or existing WordPress website, add the WooCommerce plugin to integrate secure payment, shipping, and more. WooCommerce doesn’t require any payment upfront and costs 2.9% plus $.30 per transaction on U.S.-based credit cards. If you’re not familiar with WordPress, it’s the most popular content management system and an obvious choice for any website. You could easily purchase a WordPress theme to build or have a freelancer create a website. Those would be you only upfront costs in addition to your domain name and hosting fees.

If you’re not interested in anything remotely tech-savvy, Shopify is another primary option for small business owners. It’s a little bit different than something like WooCommerce because Shopify is a platform that integrates everything you need in one product. You get the website, e-commerce integration, hosting, security, and more with Shopify. The basic plan is $29 per month. Alternative all-in-one solutions include Squarespace, 3dcart, and BigCommerce.

Take some time to research your options based on your budget, time, and comfort level with technology. Remember that you can always upgrade in the future to get more control over your site and save on monthly fees for platform solutions. The most important part is to start your e-commerce store to benefit your small business.

Next Steps

Once the e-commerce part of your business is up for your small business, keep an eye on how well it’s doing. Monitor how well it’s doing from a revenue perspective and, especially, pay attention to how your customers are reacting. Ask them in person and on social media. Are they having technical issues? Does it help to shop online or at least browse your products before coming to the store?

Use metrics and feedback to make improvements to the store. As you learn more about how e-commerce specifically impacts your small business, you can think about updates or investing some of the profits back into the website. For instance, you might consider hiring a developer to make a WordPress site that will eventually save you money.

As you evaluate the e-commerce store, work on your marketing. Integrate social campaigns that drive people to your store. Do the same with email campaigns to create a presence that works seamlessly across your physical and digital stores. You could consider earning an online MBA to enhance your marketing knowledge and entrepreneurial skills, and, ultimately, help your small business thrive.

Earn one of the most sought-after degrees in a fully online format from Concordia University, St. Paul. There’s no GMAT or GRE score required, and you can transfer up to 50% of your graduate credits to CSP. Pursue your goals and learn from professors who have real-world experience.

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The Truth About Women and MBA Degrees

Despite huge strides in gender equality in recent decades — particularly in education — women are less likely to pursue an MBA than their male counterparts. What factors are behind this trend? Learn about what’s being done to ensure more women can take a seat at the boardroom table.

An Inherent Imbalance

Women are getting MBAs, but to a much lesser degree. Despite matching or exceeding men in both college attendance and graduation rates, women are less likely to pursue a master’s degree in business administration.

The number of U.S. women in higher education in 2015 reveals a distinct imbalance. ¹

• 60% of graduate degrees
• 57% of bachelor’s degrees
• 36% of MBA degrees

In the past 5 years, the number of female applicants for full-time MBA programs has plateaued. ²

Mismatched Math

No single reason is responsible for the trend, but women consider a variety of factors when deciding whether to pursue an MBA. Much of the decision depends on how well a program fits their educational, professional, and personal goals.

Hitting Financial Obstacles

Obtaining business school funding is a top challenge for: ³

• 30% of women
• 9% of men

Growing Wage Gaps

Even with an MBA, women could earn an average of 80 cents for every dollar a man makes. ⁴

Uneven Earnings

• Men
  • Immediately Post-MBA: $140,000
  • 6-8 Years Post-MBA: $175,000
• Women
  • Immediately Post-MBA: $98,000
  • 6-8 Years Post-MBA: $105,000

Exploring Other Programs

Women who find that the traditional MBA program doesn’t fit into their personal or professional plans may gravitate toward more flexible options. Gender parity exists across other master’s programs — with far more women earning the following degrees: ²

• Master of Marketing: 65%
• Master of Accounting: 61%
• Master of Management: 52%

Making Progress Toward Parity

Diversifying our MBA programs starts with removing the most common barriers to entry. Schools and businesses that have made efforts to include women and broaden their class offerings have seen a marked increase in female MBA applicants.

Offer More Options

Online programs and other flexible offerings are gaining popularity across a variety of master’s programs, including new MBA formats — attracting a higher percentage of female applicants than traditional full-time programs.

2016 Female MBA Applicants, By Program Type

• Flexible: 44%
• Online: 43%
• Part-time: 41%
• Full-time 2-year: 37%
• Executive: 36%
• Full-time 1-year: 33%

Remodel Recruitment

A 2015 worldwide survey of graduate management programs shows that many are actively changing their approaches to recruit female MBA applicants. ⁵

• Full-time 2-year MBA: 67%
• Executive MBA: 51%
• Full-time 1-year MBA: 42%
• Part-time MBA: 41%

Promote Diversity

Encouraging social accountability through mentoring programs and diversity task forces can increase female and minority representation in management.

5-Year Change in Female Managerial Representation

• College Recruitment
  • White Women: 10%
  • Black Women: 9%
  • Hispanic Women: 10%
  • Asian Women: 9%
• Mentoring
  • White Women: 12%
  • Black Women: 18%
  • Hispanic Women: 24%
  • Asian Women: 24%
• Diversity Task Forces
  • Black Women: 23%
  • Hispanic Women: 16%
  • Asian Women: 24%

Bolstering Gender Equality In The Workplace Starts With Promoting More Parity In Business School

By better understanding potential female enrollees’ interests and challenges, we can provide women with the necessary means to pursue the careers they want and achieve the business success they deserve. Learn more about our bachelor’s and master’s degree programs in business and begin advancing your career today.

Sources

1. “What Women Want: A Blueprint for Change in Business Education,” 2017, GMAC.
2. “Application Trends Survey Report,” 2016, GMAC.
3. “Global GME Segmenttion Study,” 2016, GMAC.
4. “The Real Payoff From an MBA is Different for Men and Women,” 2015, Bloomberg Businessweek.
5. “Application Rends Survey Report,” 2015, GMAC.
6. “Why Diversity Programs Fail,” 2016, Harvard Business Review.

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Human resources is a common department in large corporations; however, the small business owner rarely sees the immediate value of staffing a human resource generalist. In many cases, the small business owner takes on much of the human resource tasks themselves or delegates them to another non-departmental employee such as the accountant or administrative assistant. Some business owners will even outsource various functions to outside vendors such as an insurance broker and payroll specialist.

While these services often come with a hefty retainer fee, they limit the time business owners or other employees have to spend on human resource tasks and often come in at a far less cost than staffing a new employee. However, as small companies grow into large ones, managing these functions takes on new life. Here are some things to consider when your company is on the verge of hiring human resource staff.

Knowing When to Take the HR Plunge

Small business owners often handle internal business operations themselves as part of cost-saving measures designed to keep the business running lean. From cleaning up around the office and answering the company phone line to basic accounting and IT services, small business owners wear a lot of different hats to save money.

HR job functions often fall under that DIY umbrella for many small businesses. Owners will take on tasks like payroll, benefit management, hiring, training, and more in lieu of hiring a human resource generalist. However, as you take on more and more job responsibilities, other business processes and duties can suffer.

It is at that point when you should consider what your time is worth as a business owner, and, if you are delegating tasks to other team members, what their time is worth to the business. These unrelated tasks can add up and take valuable time away from the actual productivity and profitability of your business. If you start to see a notable dip in your productivity level or other employees aren’t able to keep up with the extra demands on time because of HR duties, it is probably time to consider hiring a human resource generalist.

Hiring a human resource generalist is also about employee numbers. As your business grows in services and in numbers, the need for an HR department will grow concurrently. Generally, you should hire a full-time human resource staff member when there are about 50 employees within the company.

For smaller workforces, you might consider transitioning a current employee into a full-time role as your business’ HR professional by offsetting tuition costs of an online HR degree. Doing so will save you time and money on training someone in the processes of your business while providing an excellent career opportunity for a current staff member. Concordia University’s program helps professionals learn the skills and knowledge needed to thrive in HR.

Designing the HR Generalist Position

Human resources serve an internal function for a company by helping to support positive relationships with your workforce. There are many different roles that an HR professional can serve from a narrow, specialized focus to a more general approach. Before you take the hiring plunge, it is important to have a clear understanding of how you wish to utilize human resources in your company and how you will structure the role, including its daily responsibilities, the organizational hierarchy, and what value they will add to your business.

The biggest questions when initially structuring this role is whether to focus on more administrative duties or specialized HR services. Smaller companies with level growth will likely benefit from a professional who is capable of serving in varied roles — otherwise known as a generalist. Businesses in a rapidly growing field with the need to hire and train new talent quickly will need a professional trained in recruitment and retention processes. Larger companies with robust benefit packages may consider hiring a professional with experience in compensation and benefit programs. It is important for you to come into the hiring process with a firm understanding of your business’ HR needs.

There is a range of general human resource tasks for any one employee to handle, including recruitment and retention efforts, training and professional development, payroll and benefits, company policy and procedure management, and more. Approach the hiring process for your HR professional with an understanding of the intrinsic value of a staff member focused on employees. Doing so can help raise employee satisfaction, productivity, and profits across the board.

Gain the Skills Needed for an HR Career

pWhether you are helping an employee earn their degree in human resources or you want to gain the skills needed to excel in an HR role, Concordia University’s programs can help you take the next step in your career. In addition to the bachelor’s-level HR degree online, CSP offers an HR master’s online. Both programs feature a convenient online format that allows you to study when it’s most convenient.

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How the Gig Economy Makes Having a Side Hustle Easier Than Ever

Anyone with a smartphone and a couple of seconds can easily hail a ride, book a room, schedule a chore — or to work. The gig economy has made it easier than ever for workers to set their own schedules and do business peer to peer, offering a level of convenience and flexibility that’s disrupting established industries. Read on for a look into the who, the what, and the why of this new work model.

The Giggers

From side hustlers to full-time freelancers, those working on digital platforms has grown to include nearly 1 in 4 Americans. 1

• 24% of giggers make money from the digital platform economy.

Committed vs. Casual

Among those who use digital gig apps, some rely on gigging as an essential source of income while others use it casually to earn extra cash. According to Pew Research Center, here’s a cross-section of who falls where:

Average Monthly Income

Want to know how much you stand to make per gig platform? Anonymized data from Earnest loan applicants shows earnings from some of the top companies: 2

• AirBNB: $924
• TaskRabbit: $380
• Lyft: $377
• Uber: $364
• DoorDash: $229
• Postmates: $174
• Etsy: $151
• Fiverr: $103
• Getaround: $98

The Industries

According to the Brookings Institute, the growth of gig employment in the transportation and accommodation industries is outpacing payroll employment by a longshot in cities across the United States. 3

The Ripples

As with many trending technologies, it’s difficult to predict how the gig economy will change the way we work, live, and get services. But what can we count on are the surprises along the way. Here are a few ripple effects of this still-new work model.

Unofficial Business

Gig workers don’t always fit neatly into traditional employment categories, making it a challenge to accurately capture data and report growth.

Gigging Out

A chain reaction of startups have seized the opportunity to support more established gig industries. 4

White Collar Gigs

Executive with managerial skills want in too, saying they’d ditch their full-time grind for the right leadership-level gig. 5

• Executives that have done contract work in the past
  • Yes: 56%
  • No: 44%
• Executives that would leave their full-time jobs if a contract opportunity arose
  • Yes: 63%
  • No: 37%

Gig work has made freelancing mainstream, side-hustles easy to come by, and everyday services just an app away.

Whether it will continue to outpace and eventually upend traditional employment remains to be seen — but for now, both workers and customers can’t seem to stop gigging.

Sources

1. “Gig Work, Online Selling and Home Sharing,” 2016, Pew Research Center.
2. “How Much Are People Making From the Sharing Economy?” 2017, Earnest.
3. “Tracking the Gig Economy: New Numbers,” 2017, Brookings Institute.
4. “Is the Gig Economy Working?” 2017, The New Yorker.
5. “The White-Collar Gig Economy,” 2017, Mavenlink.

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Viral content may seem random, but sometimes it is anything but. Marketing managers often plan campaigns very carefully, paying attention to every detail about a piece of content’s appeal, release and reach. So what makes content go viral?

Sharing is Caring

Metcalfe’s Law, in the context of content marketing, states that the value of a campaign is measured by the connections it makes. A single piece of content is useless unless it connects people and connects with people.

Often-shared content

Articles and blog posts

Interactive content, including quizzes and games

Video

Infographics

Memes

57%

Percentage of content on Facebook in 2017 that was the result of sharing

58%

Number of internet users who upload and share videos

Most shared video publishers of 2017

Daily Mail 11.13 million

CNN 7.51 million

NowThis 4.24 million

BBC News 2.77 million

Essential Elements

There are a few basics that every piece of viral content should and does have.

It triggers powerful emotions

Certain emotions—positive and negative—lead consumers to share content, including:

• Amusement
• Interest
• Outrage
• Surprise
• Joy
• Hope
• Affection
• Excitement
• Nostalgia
• Disgust

It serves a purpose

The top 9 reasons that people share content is…

• To connect with someone over a shared interest
• To socialize with friends offline
• To promote a product they believe is useful for others
• To promote a good cause
• To be involved in a current trend or event
• To demonstrate their own knowledge of or authority on a subject
• To start an online conversation
• To share something about themselves
• To gain opinions of friends

It’s practical

Many of the videos shared on social media are how-to demonstrations aimed at DIY projects or fixes.

84%

Percentage of DIYers who look for inspirational content all year round

It fits into an already popular space

Content that relates to something that is already popular—like a trend in fashion or pop culture—is almost guaranteed to be shared, so long as it is also original.

8 out of 10

Number of recently shared articles that are quizzes, one of the most popular forms of shared content

It uses a list

People love lists, especially if the number of items is given at the beginning. Countdowns are also effective at creating anticipation and excitement.

10

The “magic number” for lists and countdowns. Lists of 10 had four times the amount of shares than the second most popular number, 23.

It doesn’t over-sell something

Endless self-promotion is tiresome. Business names or products should fit seamlessly into the story you’re trying to tell.

Learn how to master the art of organizing and implementing viral marketing campaigns through Concordia University, St. Paul’s online B.S. in Marketing.