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I am an entrepreneur who just failed in my own startup. Should I apply for an MBA at a top university to sharpen my skills for my next try?

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En mi opinión, no es necesario Juan. Siempre es bueno pulir tus habilidades y mejorarlas. Desde esa perspectiva por supuesto que es una buena idea ir por un MBA o cualquier otro grado. Sin embargo, para que un negocio pueda tener un buen inicio y mantenerse, se requieren habilidades como la disciplina, la correcta estructura para el diseño del negocio, el aceptar que uno solo no tiene todas las habilidades para manejarlo y aceptar la ayuda de otras personas. No querer hacer todo uno mismo (finanzas, contabilidad, ventas, producción, recursos humanos, etc) es básico para crecer.

Report Oscar's answer

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Some people share how unnecessary it is to have an MBA to create a small business, frequently citing tycoons who did not have MBAs, and how the funds used to pay for business school could have been used as start-up capital, instead. Owning a small business also may not be for everybody due to the risk and investment required, but it is a path to consider.

So, what then does an entrepreneur gain from an MBA?

1) A Strategic View Learning about the rise and fall of industries, companies and products, as well as the market forces that drive them, will help you gain a big-picture look of business and allow you to better determine the feasibility of your ideas. It will also equip you with a general range of probabilities for your success, while also keeping you conscious of both the upside and downside of your venture. Having some awareness of broad industry and economic trends – while keeping an eye out for disruptive technologies or events – could help you spot opportunities and risks.

Key concepts on managing finances and operations, such as the trade-off between debt and equity or between stock-outs and spoilage (or obsolescence), are important takeaways from an MBA that will help save you money in the long run, or even be the difference between the life and death of your enterprise.

2) Recognition of Human Factors During the first month of my MBA program, I was filled with stories of how giant companies – reputable ones filled with the smartest people – made errors that a rational person would not have committed. The reason? Organizational politics, silo mentalities, misalignment of incentives, or just plain misplaced egos!

Being aware of these human factors can help an entrepreneur build a strong organizational culture that is able to implement strategies and processes sustainably, while also creating a healthy work environment that encourages accountability and growth throughout.

Learning about these human factors will also help you deal with outside organizations – including clients, suppliers and service providers – in the future. Being able to negotiate and effectively manage your relationships with these key stakeholders will be as critical to your success as any business activity.

3) A Rise in Self-Awareness Decisions, decisions and more decisions! You have craved to have more independence and to be able to do things your way; the hierarchy, multiple levels of approval and authority limits that frustrated you before is no longer there. What you have now as an entrepreneur is the responsibility to make decisions (both large and small) that directly affect your business, your employees and your family.

The classes and group exercises at business school will allow you to become more aware of your biases, strengths and limitations, both intellectually and emotionally. Being aware of these should better inform you when it comes time to consult with others, delegate projects, and pull the trigger on tough decisions. Having an idea of the potential impact of your choices should also be able to guide you as to the time and energy you should allocate for these.

To conclude, getting an MBA is not a necessary condition for entrepreneurs or a guarantee for business success, but it does improve your probabilities of getting it right! At the very least, it should also help provide you with a safety net and an option to go back to the corporate life if you later choose to do so.

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Report Edison's answer

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Thank you, Edison Cu

Report Kenneth's answer

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It's not really about taking the MBA, to start up the business. Some skills develop with experience but most importantly, different kinds of businesses thrive differently given the location and the taste of people for that given product. So you need to research and find out if the business you had started was really in the right location

Report Akello's answer

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I succeeded at 10 startups and failed at another 100. You need to work on your skills every day no matter what are your goals but an MBA would take you to long. If you want to be an entrepreneur you get to your next startup and learn while at it

Report Adrian's answer

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I think it depends on why your business failed. There is no magic formula on how to nurture and grow a startup. Think about it Steve Jobs and others dropped out of college before even getting an under graduate degree. Starting your own business is more about great idea, persistence, and the ability to stick it out - even when others would have given up. Passion is the key word! Get an MBA if you really think you should, but remember those $$ could be invested in yourself to start the next business that could grow into a mega business.

Report Michael's answer

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Juan hi. You should do a detailed postmortem evaluation of your recent business failure, learn from there and educate yourself in a continuous basis. Internet offers a lot of (free, mainly) opportunities and resources where you can get quality business knowledge, in terms of techniques, strategies, management, planning, research, markets, products, services, ideas, and so on. A formal MBA is not a must; save that money for your next commercial venture. And keep in mind that risk and failure are part of the entrepreneurial experience. Good luck to you.

Report Miguel 's answer

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Being an entrepreneur is more inborn than trained. However training may help to sharpen but if you are not a natural at times you struggle. Not everyone is supposed to be an entrepreneur. Natural entrepreneurs know that you fall many times and rise..... You grow through consistance not by designing your outputs and measure success through that. The recepient of your idea or startup may respond differently and you have to keep searching the right way to get it to move

Report Tichaona's answer

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Hello Juan, taking an MBA is not a cheap investment and it will not guarantee success in the business. If you have resources to do it, you can , however this will take some time to complete.

Many successful people failed in the past, so they could succeed in the future. It's good to reassess and analyze why the business failed, so you can learn from that, avoid the same mistakes, and create a better strategy and plan. You can still learn a lot from variety of sources and free resources, and at the same time run a business.

Report Marzena's answer

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I feel MBA will give you skills of sure, but 360 degree self assesment is very much importent to know what made you fail!

Report Asha's answer

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You should know that failure is also part of the process. Will getting an MBA make you not to fail again you should ask yourself.

You fail on your start up, it's normal, do you know how many times mark zuckerberg fail before creating facebook, what about the guys that built the first plan?

My advice: Go back to your drawing board and identify the reasons for the failures, strategize again but this time seek advice from those who have succeeded in this same kind of your start up and you will reduce the rate of failing.

Never be scared to fail, fail as many times as possible and get it right. I believe this help, thanks

Report Paul's answer

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In evaluating one's knowledge, skills and abilities, I may pose the question - was your startup's failure attributed to you or the perhaps they were forces beyond your control?

A MBA may help, although I hold the view that formal schooling in today's vastly accessible bodies of knowledge can be separated from education. That is, learning doesn't have the parameters of a start-finish - it simply never ends.

Education - from targeted certificates, courses, meetups, business chapters, and simply persisting in failure and the rituals of self-reflection - go a long way in one's success.

Good luck, Gord

Report Gordon's answer

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Academics qualifications doesn't determine your success as an entrepreneur

What you need is skills

Learn about marketing, learn copywriting, sales and closure, build funnel learn about positioning

Entrepreneurial focus on self development growth and trust me sales will eventually come

Thanks

Report 𝐃𝐀𝐍𝐈𝐄𝐋's answer

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