Distance learning, entrepreneurship, and the power of self-responsibility – A personal account of the Bachelor's degree program in Business Administration

„Cobbler, stick to your last.“ I've never taken this well-intentioned advice to heart in my professional or private life. The world is simply too big, too diverse, and too interesting for that. There's too much to discover to limit oneself exclusively to a small excerpt.

My name is Sadok Erz. I grew up on a farm in the Swabian Jura. After completing my secondary education, I faced the question: which professional path should I take? My favorites included humanities, law, and business administration. I chose Business administration. Next, the next question arose: traditional full-time study or dual study program?

While full-time studies offered low tuition fees, they seemed impractical to me. A dual study program promised more practical experience but came with a high attendance requirement. The Allensbach University opened up a third way: a flexible Distance learning, which could be combined with professional and entrepreneurial activities – and the tuition fees could be well compensated by flexible job sharing.

The distance learning program allowed me to build my own company in agricultural and construction machinery trading concurrently, and later invest in residential real estate. I found it particularly valuable that it also gave me the opportunity to put the study content to the test immediately in practice. Many concepts did not remain theoretical models on paper but became tools for real decisions. At the same time, this freedom demanded personal responsibility. The university provided the content and first-class support – however, each student must apply it to their own situation. For me, this was precisely one of the biggest challenges and at the same time one of the greatest benefits of the program. An example of this is the interplay of different disciplines as a sole proprietor. You are a project manager, a strategist, responsible for logistics, accounting, and you are the controller – all content that is taught in isolation during the studies but must be brought together as an entrepreneur. And I had to walk this path alone.

Looking back, the decision to pursue distance learning was the right one for me. Ralph Waldo Emerson once wrote:

„The scholar is that man who must take into himself all the abilities of his time, all the contributions of the past, and all the hopes of the future. He must be a university of knowledge. In the right state, he is Man Thinking. In a degenerate state, when he is the victim of society, he tends to become a mere thinker, or, even worse, the parrot of other men's thinking.“

As early as the 19th century, Emerson criticized the increasing specialization and mere scholarly pursuits. His ideal was not the subject specialist who merely manages existing knowledge, but a person who thinks independently, recognizes connections, and translates knowledge into action. I would like to add another level to this: inspiring others to do the same. This is precisely where I see the true value of any study. Most professions require training. Education, however, can and should be more. It means critically questioning knowledge, applying it independently, and further developing it through practical experience.

Distance learning requires a high degree of self-organization, discipline, and perseverance. Through my independent study, I realized that consistency is often more important than perfection. In the first two years of my.

Taking Emerson to heart, it's secondary whether you choose in-person, dual, or distance learning; those willing to take responsibility for their own learning path and consistently combine theory with practice will benefit in the long run. And then it's irrelevant how long it takes. My advice to prospective students is therefore: use the freedom that distance learning offers you. Don't understand study content as material to be memorized, but as tools for practice. If you succeed in connecting theory with reality, a learning success will emerge that goes far beyond exams and grades, and that is satisfying.

My thanks go to the staff of Allensbach University: the student support for their personal and warm guidance, the lecturers for their competent teaching and delivery of content, and the examination office. It is an honor and a pleasure for me to be an alumnus of Allensbach University.