How Your MBA Degree Will Give You An Edge Over Other Entrepreneurs

There isn’t a single sure-shot key to starting a successful venture. In today’s fast-paced digital era, the technology changes by the minute and demand increases by the second.

With the world transforming into a global village, starting your own business has become the norm. With entrepreneurs sprouting in every nook and corner, an obvious question that would pop in your mind if you want to start your venture is – Does MBA give me an edge over other entrepreneurs?

Just like life cannot be compartmentalized into black or white, the answer to the above question can neither be a straight yes or a straight no. Through this article, we help you look into the grey areas, and the greener pastures that your MBA degree will provide you if you become an entrepreneur.

I’ll be sharing with you how your MBA Degree will give you an edge over other entrepreneurs using the 10 Cs concept:

1. Communication

The quintessential quality that helps you stand out is communication. It is the key to success in any sphere of life. Effective communication is the essence of an MBA degree which comes handy when you start as an entrepreneur. Learning about effective communication not only means to be able to express your ideas to peers and stakeholders but listening to the feedback and consuming the constructive or negative criticism that comes your way. All MBA programs have courses on topics like business communication, managerial communication, and business ethics. As a student, you get the opportunity to learn the nitty-gritty of communication, take part in role plays, mock business pitches, etc. It is like testing a prototype before launching the actual product in the market. An MBA definitely helps you polish your communication and presentation skills.

2. Case Studies & Content Clarity

One of the advantages of studying an MBA is getting to go through a well-defined curriculum. You get to learn about the core concepts of management education which eventually help you understand the many facets of the organization you plan to build – finance, human resource, logistics & supply chain, organization structure, sales & marketing, and business ethics. This gives you an advantage over the rest as you don’t need to go around guessing how to put your company in place. You enter the ground with an idea of what is primarily required of you as a business leader.

Also, you get to carefully study some of the best case studies from the likes of Harvard. The chance to explore and learn from real-world cases and examples not only helps you be better prepared but enables you to steer in the right direction. You get to consider all that goes behind successful ventures, the failures, bottlenecks, and prospects. It is merely a way that ensures you don’t end up making the same mistake or the possible solutions if you are in a similar dilemma or doubt.

3. Contemporize

With the current demanding times, it is essential to be up to date with all that’s happening on the technological and market front. With the ever-evolving changes in the field of management, there is a lot of competition amongst B-schools trying to provide the latest to the students.

Those with entrepreneurial dreams specifically benefit from a continuously fine-tuned curriculum that is taught to them. With so much competition and everybody trying the serve the best, it’s the students who gain in the equation. Students get to learn about contemporary concepts like machine learning, data analytics, artificial intelligence, digital and online marketing, and social media. Your MBA degree will give you an edge over peer entrepreneurs as you get to learn and understand these concepts before you enter the real world.

4. Consistency

“Success doesn’t come from what you occasionally do. It comes from what you do consistently.” If nothing, but one thing that an MBA degree provides you, if you want to be an efficient entrepreneur, i.e., Consistency.

When you study an MBA or PGDM course from a reputed college, you get to study a regular and a structured curriculum. This not only helps you build a strong foundation for the core management fundamentals, but the truckloads of assignments and projects make you work consistently. With stringent timelines, you are always on your toes and multi-tasking becomes a way of life. These are some of the elements that you get to live and experience before you start your venture and take the path to be a successful entrepreneur.

5. Capability Display

While pursuing an MBA degree, you get to display and market yourself to a much wider audience. Most business schools today have incubation cells that help you breed and grow your entrepreneurial idea and provide you a stage to market it. You get the chance to display your capability as a prospective entrepreneur to the right set of customers and carve a niche for yourself.

6. Collaboration

A good team is one of the essential building blocks of your entrepreneurial venture. Establishing a new business is not a one-person show. While pursuing an MBA degree, you get to meet peers, seniors, alumni, and professors who help you collaborate and team up with like-minded people. You also get a chance to meet people who come from a different school of thought. Such a mixed bag of human interaction only prepares you to deal with what the real world has to offer you.  With so many activities and events that you get to take part in your management school, teamwork becomes an integral part of you.

7. Circle of Trust

While pursuing an MBA degree, the constant interaction with peers and professors helps you build a circle of trust where you can share your ideas without any inhibition. It could just be the place where you find the core team that helps you convert your dream project into a reality. The suitable environment, backing, and mentorship that you can get while pursuing your MBA could be the foundation of your entrepreneurial venture.

8. Courage

It’s a common saying, “higher the risk, bigger the return.” An MBA degree from the right college surely gives you the courage to take calculated risks. A budding entrepreneur with backing and base from a B-school is more comfortable in taking risks. You get to study and implement various techniques to assess and mitigate potential risks and helps you make critical decisions with a better understanding.

9. Credibility

While studying for an MBA, you get an edge that helps you understand the credibility and feasibility of your idea. Not all good ideas can transform into a prospective business. With an exposure that you get in a B-school, it is easier to gauge the prospect of the idea that you want to work on. Coupled with proper guidance from professors and industry-experts that you can meet with through your college, you can translate your idea into a fool-proof business plan.

10. Credentials

An MBA degree is definitely worth the financial sacrifice (you will hear someone say this to you) you make as it opens the door of many opportunities. An entrepreneur with proper academic credentials and global exposure will be an obvious choice for potential investors, customers, and other stakeholders. There are many colleges and universities around the world these days that offer MBA and PGDM courses on entrepreneurship along with centers of excellence built only to run pilots on potential start-up ideas.

There is no one way to reach your goal. Also, it’s not necessary that you will get instant success. But having a clear vision topped with a strong education foundation like MBA will surely help you get an edge over other entrepreneurs. Economies today not only bank upon employees but employment generators like you – the entrepreneurs.