Choosing which school to go to is one of the biggest decisions you may ever make, but deciding your field can be just as difficult. An MBA in entrepreneurship could set you on the track to working for yourself and owning your own business. Is it the right path for you? Here are five things you should know before enrolling in an MBA program.
Research Everything
Combing through the dozens of schools that offer entrepreneurship programs can be daunting. How do you know which “top” lists actually feature the best of the best? Before you set your heart on one specific school or a set of universities, you should research everything you can about the program. Some things you need to consider are the graduation rates, the success rate of the alumni, and the ranking of the school from a reputable website like U.S. News.
Find a Mentor
Enrolling in an MBA requires you to find a mentor that will help you through your learning journey. It’s important that you develop a healthy relationship with your mentor because this is the person that will help you find pitfalls that could ruin a business, show you how to keep the business running when something goes wrong, and much more. Plus, a mentor can open doors to a new network of people that could later be potential investors in your business.
Create an Idea
You’ve done your research, but do you have an idea for your business? Enrolling into an MBA in the field of entrepreneurship isn’t just about the numbers. It’s also about the curriculum and professors. Coming into an MBA program with an idea requires you to find a program that will encourage your particular focus. Maybe you have a specific product or service you’d like to launch, and if that’s the case, you should find a program that is tightly designed to your point of view to give you the most support possible.
Maintain Focus
Enrolling into an MBA program introduces you to a whole new world of people. While in school, it can be easy to take a job at another firm just for the comfort of having a full-time job to fall back on. Starting up your own business while working at another can be very time-consuming and could hurt you in the long run if there’s a non-compete clause in your employment contract. Maintaining focus on the end goal can be one of the hardest things for a student in an MBA program. It’s up to you to figure out what direction you want to take.
Pitch to Everyone
One of the biggest advantages of an MBA program is that you meet plenty of people who genuinely want to hear your idea. Faculty, classmates, lawyers, and angel investors can listen to your idea and give you tips on how to improve it. So why not pitch to everyone? The more ears, the more advice. It can be hard to hear criticism, but you can use this feedback to strengthen your business plan. After a few weeks of pitching and hearing responses, you may notice weak spots in your model or product. Take this advice and mold your idea to be more successful.
