'Shark Tank' Robert Herjavec: How My English Degree Helped Me

There's an old joke that goes, "You can't get a job with an English degree." Good thing the "Shark Tank" star ignored the naysayers.

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Multi-millionaire Robert Herjavec tells CNBC Make It that his English degree has helped him "quite a bit" in his career as an entrepreneur.

Herjavec, who is also the founder and CEO of cybersecurity firm Herjavec Group, says he graduated from the University of Toronto in 1984 with dual degrees in political science and English literature.

For Herjavec, the biggest benefit of being an English major was that it bolstered his reading, writing and speaking skills.

"One of the fundamental keys in life is communication," he says. "You can have the best ideas in the world, but if you can't get somebody else to listen to you, you're never going to get ahead."

In fact, improving his communications skills turned out to be extremely important in his business career, Herjavec says. Communication is a key part of selling something — whether you're selling a product, a business or even selling yourself to a potential employer — and it's a fundamental skill for every entrepreneur.

"Everything in life is about selling something." Herjavec says. "Sales is the art of getting somebody else to see things your way and buy something from you. That something could even be you."

Herjavec gives numerous examples of how mastering the art of selling can come in handy, from asking your boss for a raise to convincing your professor that you deserve a better grade.

"Everything in life is about sales," Herjavec says. "You have to master sales."

Herjavec had to rely on his own skills in his 20s, when he was hired by a startup called Logiquest to sell IBM products. (Herjavec has even said he had try hard to sell himself just to get that job, considering he didn't have much experience working with computers at the time). In 1990, he started an internet security business called BRAK Systems that he would later sell for over $30 million CAD (or, about $20 million US at that time) to AT&T Canada a decade later.

Now, as a star of "Shark Tank," Herjavec says he and his fellow investors on the show will often decide whether to invest in a business based on how impressive the entrepreneurs are at pitching their product, rather than whether or not they like the actual product.

"A great entrepreneur can take a so-so product and make a great business out of it. A bad entrepreneur can take a great product and run it into the ground," he says. "Bet on the jockey, not on the horse."

About CNBC Make It.: CNBC Make It. is a new section of CNBC dedicated to making you smarter about managing your business, career, and money.

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Robert Herjavec says his liberal arts degree taught him this very important business skill | CNBC Make It.