As you consider an MBA or starting a business, there are a few things you might consider. What kind of job do you have now? What kind of job or business do you want to have in the future? Are you a corporate type or an entrepreneurial personality? Do you have a business idea or are you looking for one? Are you a leader or a follower? Do you thrive in a start up environment or do you need something more established? Are you a doer or a creator? Do you have $100,000 to $150,000 lying around for an education or as start up fees? These are all questions you must ask yourself as you are considering an MBA.
I decided more than one time to start a business instead of attending an MBA. What I learned, is that one way or another, you ALWAYS pay. Always. You pay with credit cards, sleepless nights, rejection, successes, client loyalty and disloyalty, and endless hours of time that you spend doing tasks you don’t do well to save a few dollars and get it done. You are learning on the job about every aspect of running a business, from business development to customer service, to finance to contract writing, to product and service design and implementation and on and on. While you may not be in a classroom, there are endless networking events, educational luncheons and more that teach you something.
On the flip side, if you go to an MBA, you pay by way of tuition, time, and endless studying. You are networking, just like in business, and will often times get exposed to opportunities unique to your university and their network that are impossible to access any other way. It just depends how you want to learn about business, but either way you will.