Should aspiring entrepreneurs pursue M.B.A.s? There’s been a long-brewing debate among academics and entrepreneurial minds over whether business school is worth the hefty price tag for those looking to go into business for themselves.
British entrepreneur Anita Roddick wrote recently that entrepreneurs “are people who imagine things as they might be, not as they are, and have the drive to change the world. Those are qualities that business schools do not teach.”
Going to business school, she adds, may even squelch “what entrepreneurial flair you have as they force you into the template called an M.B.A. pass.” Instead of flocking to business school, she urges aspiring entrepreneurs to focus on building their creative energies and learning to evaluate risks.
Plenty of others disagree, claiming M.B.A.s give prospective entrepreneurs a chance to learn the ins-and-outs of running a business in a classroom environment without the high price of failure you’d get in the real world.
Photo by charlottecountryday.org.
Jon West on August 7th, 2007 at 10:51 am
I believe a lot of important aspects of entrepreneurship can be taught while other certain intangibles can be cultivated. Coming into a program with those intangibles being intrinsic is something that cannot be taught though, obviously. Luckily there are schools around the nation that have the foresight to realize that entrepreneurship education is a real possibility.
For example, my alma mater now has a whole program devoted to starting your own business headed up by a great mentor, Bryan Toney:
http://entrepreneurship.appstate.edu/
-Jon West
reash on August 7th, 2007 at 12:37 pm
Well, I guess there are also several advantages if you go to business school first and then finally engage yourself into the real world. For me, the school gives the theoretical aspect and the real world provides the application/hands-on aspect, so it’s better to have both.
James on August 7th, 2007 at 12:55 pm
What’s with the Physics lesson photo? Was Newton a business expert, and I never knew it!?!
Scott on August 7th, 2007 at 1:17 pm
Lets be clear here - Entrepreneurship, Business classes and MBA’s are all good things and given the chance i urge anybody to do them, but what really makes an entrepreneur is what they achieve from an idea, and maybe with no money to a successful business or even an empire.
Most entrepreneurs i speak to and interview have achieved it through hard work, and more hard work!
Scott
UKpreneur.co.uk
Entrepreneurs Best Friend
nneka okekearu on August 29th, 2007 at 4:40 am
Going to a business school isn’t such a bad idea if the theory taught can be successfully translated to the business.entrepreneurship is all about taking your idea from an idea to a product or service.this can only be done with passion,hardwork and committment-traits that the business school dont have as modules!