Do entrepreneurs need an MBA?
I have read this question and variants of this question so many times. After attaining my MBA and working in a couple of entrepreneurial ventures I think that I have found the answer to the question. So… what is it? It depends on you.
Is there an advantage to having an MBA? Yes, I believe there is. You will receive a very broad set of business knowledge when you complete your coursework. You’ll cover accounting, finance, marketing, and many other necessary topics. It will provide you with a pretty firm foundation to move forward from. It will allow you to learn some lessons that other people have already learned without having to go through the same hoops they did. It will broaden your scope from where you currently are to a lot of different disciplines. As the technology director at your company have you really dealt with journal entries before?
Will it prepare you to run your own business? No. School never fully prepares you for the next step. When you got that degree in your chosen field, were you ready for your first job? No. You learned an immense amount that first month and year. You probably even said ‘I learned more in my first week on the job than my entire time in college’. Simply put school is designed to lay a foundation not to train you on the job/business specifics. The foundation allows you to deal with the specifics.
Now… do you need an MBA to be an entrepreneur? No. There are large numbers of very successful entrepreneurs that don’t have MBAs, in fact many didn’t go to undergraduate, or for that matter some didn’t finish high school. The degrees do not necessarily define the amount of success you will have in business. They define the foundations you will work from.
I think the answer to this question is simple. It depends on you. If you would like to have a broader foundation and maybe learn some things that will potentially smooth out some of the bumps – an MBA may be a good option. If you would prefer to learn the lessons via the school of hard-knocks, then go to it without any further schooling.
To me the simple fact is that knowledge is power. How you decide to gain that knowledge is going to be defined by you.
Is an MBA really a waste of time? Is it really much more valuable than I have described? Is there another degree that is more important? Let me know….
Be daring…be creative!
Jeremy
Jeremy Lattimore is the creative problem solving guru behind RefocusingTechnology.com and Borea Systems. Currently, he’s obsessed with business automation/efficiency and social networks. His question to you is: “How is your technology making you more efficient TODAY?”.
9 Comments
“To me the simple fact is that knowledge is power. How you decide to gain that knowledge is going to be defined by you.”
I agree with this statement. It all depends on the person. Everyone will acquire this knowledge in a different way. If a person is determined, hard working, curious, and has the will to succeed then they will gain that knowledge. It’s not the college you go to, it’s the person that decides whether he is succesful or not. However, some school’s do provide you with more knowledge than others. That doesnt mean if you don’t go to one of these high ranked schools that you cant be succesful. Just go out and strive for success.
On Emerging Tiro Dennis Freed posted a page to his chapter called Who Cares What College You Went To? It is very similiar, you may like it. http://www.emergingtiro.com/?p=80
Hey Ryan, thanks for the comment. That article you shared was very similar and I think that he made some excellent points. It really is true that many are people are seeking the “right” answer to these types of questions and the “right” answer is: ‘it depends’. It all depends on you.
Alright, that’s kind of funny. One of my emails this morning contained a link to an economist article about MBA entrepreneurs: http://www.economist.com/businessfinance/businesseducation/displaystory.cfm?story_id=14027008. Hope you enjoy!
Good article Jeremy. I don’t have an MBA but I feel it would make running a business easier.
Mark, thanks for stopping by and leaving your feedback. I do believe that the information you gain is helpful. One way or another you have to learn much of the information if you’re running a business.
What are some business consulting type jobs that could be run as a small business?
Getting involved in an MBA program can be an extremely beneficial move for an individual, and can help better them in their career. There are so many different MBA programs to choose from, and making sure you choose one from an accredited school is important. Adelphi University offers a great amMBA program, which allows the student to take their course in the morning hours, so that they can still be in the workforce full time. To learn more information about the amMBA program, you can visit http://www.adelphi.edu/amMBA/ .
Oh ya !! I totally agree with you ! This is the age of degree so i think MBA is the good path to make bright future.thanks
Hi, I think Many people have misconceptions about the MBA degree, thinking that it consists of majors or concentrations that give you in depth training in a specific field. The degree Master of Business Administration is not the same as Master of Science. Thank you.
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