Everyone has different reasons for starting a business. For some, it is the best avenue to pursue their passion or create generational wealth. Commerce is thought to have begun five thousand years ago in Mesopotamia.
Today, this field has taken a revolutionary turn that addresses the needs of modern customers: the capacity to find and buy practically anything online!
How Do Commerce and e-Business Compare?
Wondering what makes a job in the field of Commerce different from an e-Business career track? Whichever business career track you choose, it pays to know the basics!
Check out the must-know details on Commerce and e-Business:
| Commerce | e-Business | |
| Average Salary | Business and financial worker: $76,850 | e-Business specialist: $70,652 |
| Job Growth | 911,400 openings annually (2022-2032) | 450,000 openings yearly (2016-2026) |
| Basic Duties | * Create a business plan * Uncover and be on the lookout for opportunities * Keep track of finances and accounting * Manage marketing and sales * Handle legal compliances * Identify hiring needs * Oversee everyday operations | * Optimize e-commerce operations * Launch online marketing strategies and ads * Improve website functionality and ensure user experience * Organize logistics and delivery system * Process orders * Manage inventories * List products * Process online payments |
What is Commerce?
Commerce is the exchange of products or services between two or more people. This activity is done for the sole purpose of generating profits or a good deal after the transaction. The products can either be raw or processed, and they are exchanged for cash or other means of payment.
Traditional Commerce involves the use of brick-and-mortar stores and physical offices where the trade takes part.
In the widest sense, governments are responsible for overseeing international trade in a way that creates jobs and results in the production of products and services that benefit their population.
Commerce Education Requirements and Career Path
While it’s true you can be an entrepreneur without going to college, earning a degree is an invaluable investment for this career path!
As a Commerce major, you gain a broader sense of how to make money in competitive industries. An Associate degree in Commerce or a Bachelor’s in Business Administration, for example, introduces you to the basics of commerce.
Equally important is to find internships for relevant experience purposes, which undergraduate students in Marketing and Business Administration are required to do.
To advance your knowledge of the essential components, economic processes, and activities integral to commerce, earn a Master’s in Commerce degree!
Take it a step further with a doctorate, which allows you to qualify for higher positions in many industries that require your expertise in the field. Doctor of Commerce graduates also teach in universities.
Specializations Available:
- Business Management
- Finance
- International Business
- Marketing
- Operations Management
- Human Resource
Regardless of this, your entrepreneur requires imagination, ingenuity, and a well-thought-out plan of action.
A career in Commerce is for you if:
- You like taking risks. Starting a physical business is a make-or-break endeavor, and you will have to know the risks involved before launching your business.
- You like to be your boss. Running a business means you don’t have to report to anyone else but yourself.
- You are consistent. Initially, new business owners are motivated, but when that motivation wanes, they become frustrated. You need to be consistent in your motivation to pursue Commerce.
A career in Commerce is not a great fit if:
- You don’t like conducting surveys or market research. As a business owner, you have to gain more feedback by conducting surveys and speaking directly to your target customers.
- You prefer to be safe all the time. As mentioned, pursuing Commerce comes with profits and losses, so you shouldn’t expect everything to be smooth always.
- You don’t like to invest time and money. Building a successful business requires time and money. A strong marketing plan will also help you promote your business.
What is e-Business?
If you’re ready to join the bandwagon of modern business, you’d go into e-Business instead. The advent of e-commerce altered the nature of trade. In the past, both the buyer and the seller faced logistical challenges with imports and exports. Export clients could only help larger businesses with economies of scale.
Small company entrepreneurs now have the opportunity to market to and fulfill orders from clients throughout the globe, thanks to the growth of e-commerce. Any sale of products and services that is completed through an online transaction is referred to as e-commerce.
This is the best alternative to transactions that happen in physical stores only. Nowadays, a lot of businesses provide their clients the option to buy online using their gadgets.
e-Business Education Requirements and Career Path
As doing business online has become the trend, it makes sense that this discipline is gaining interest from more and more students! With an associate or a bachelor’s degree in e-commerce, you can become part of an e-Business company or become equipped to start your own!
e-Business programs at the undergraduate level introduce students to the many facets of marketing, selling, and buying online. Importantly, the courses cover computer systems that are integral to e-Business operations. Students in this program also learn about the basic principles of business, management, and marketing.
Specializations Available:
- Entrepreneurship
- Drop shipping
- Communications
- Search Engine Optimization
- Database Management
Graduate programs in e-Business feature advanced levels of business and operational knowledge. Obtaining a Business Analytics or Entrepreneurship and Technology degree can take you closer to this goal. You can also enroll in MBA programs from the country’s top schools with an intensive focus on e-Business.
A Career in e-Business is for you if:
- You like to be constantly online. The potential for scalability in e-commerce makes it highly profitable but you must conduct all activities online.
- You won’t mind investing in marketing strategies and conducting promotional activities during the launch.
- You are organized and not easily overwhelmed with the process of helping an e-Business grow or build your own.
A Career in e-Business is not a great fit if:
- You don’t want to take risks.
- You don’t have time to commit to the time-consuming process of laying the groundwork of an e-Business operation.
- You are not confident with your business idea.
Whether you want to contribute to a company, make a mark in the Commerce industry, or run your own business, attending business-focused and startup-friendly colleges puts you on the right track.
You need to keep up with industry trends as well. Take lifelong learning opportunities seriously by enrolling in paid and free business courses that can help enhance your competence in the field!
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