Everyone knows that the best MBA programs are really expensive. Your Family Finances has looked at a number of creative ways to pay for schooling, but how can students be sure they’re really getting their money’s worth once enrolled? Emma Collins works for a website that profiles the best MBA programs of 2012, and today she looks at some of the benefits of preparing for college learning well in advance, particularly when it comes to business education and entrepreneurial savvy.
Entrepreneurial Kids Prepare for the Best MBA Programs
As the economy begins the slow recovery process after five years of crippling recession, many business analysts have attributed the upturn to the widespread success of small startup firms. Academic experts have also weighed in, arguing that entrepreneurial skills are fundamental to professional success for many young people – and for this reason, business creation should be emphasized at all levels of public education.
According to a 2010 report by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, current job growth in the U.S. is “entirely driven” by entrepreneurial ventures. While new companies are responsible for 3 million new jobs in their first year alone, older, more established firms lose 1 million jobs annually. While both startups and large organizations are “pro-cyclical,” the latter have exhibited more “cyclical variance” pertaining to job creation and loss, particularly during periods of economic instability. “These findings imply that America should be thinking differently about the standard employment policy paradigm,” said Robert E. Litan, Kauffman’s vice president of Research and Policy. “Policymakers tend to focus on changes in the national or state unemployment rate, or on layoffs by existing companies. But the data from this report suggest that growth would be best boosted by supporting startup firms.” According to another Kauffman study from the previous year, the general public agrees with Litan’s assertions; out of 2,000 survey respondents, 63 percent supported business creation policies while 79 percent believed entrepreneurs were “critically important to job creation.”
This widespread support for entrepreneurship has led many academic experts to argue that topics like business creation and startup management should be taught in public schools. Harvard Business School Professor Noam Wasserman explained to The Wall Street Journal that educating students about entrepreneurship is akin to teaching business management, in that the most effective strategies combine case studies and anecdotal evidence with algorithms, formulas and other quantifiable analyses.
However, other experts argue that education alone will not adequately prepare entrepreneurs for success. Venture capital manager Victor W. Hwang told WSJ that, while business management programs educate students about finance and risk, critical entrepreneurial skills like communication, leadership, and teamwork can only be learned, not taught. Successfully launching a startup, Hwang says, “demands a deep understanding of people that can only come from real-world experience.”
Key Skills for Success as an Entrepreneurial MBA
In a recent article for The Huffington Post, author Stacie Nevadomski Berdan notes that business management students can prepare for an entrepreneurial career by building skills inside and outside the classroom. One key competency, she writes, is resilience; the experience of managing a company will contain periods of instability and uncertainty, and keeping one’s emotions in check effectively mitigates these negative stages. She also argues that the corporate world operates on a global level. For this reason, a world-oriented mindset, supplemented with foreign language skills, will enable entrepreneurs to take their company to the international level. Finally, she adds that “innovation and creativity” are crucial for entrepreneurs because these qualities allow them to develop positive solutions for the myriad of problems that may arise.
In addition, Wall Street Journal contributor Kelly Spors notes that parents and teachers can take an active role in promoting entrepreneurship among young people. Schools nationwide have adopted programs for children of all ages that encourage leadership and teamwork using various games, role-playing scenarios and other activities. These programs also educate children about the fundamentals of business, such as financial literacy and problem solving, using age-appropriate strategies. While educational practices have historically pushed students toward ‘traditional’ career paths like medicine and law, Spors argues that the current state of the economy necessitates an emphasis on entrepreneurial skills. “To really spawn a new entrepreneurial movement in the U.S. and give kids the skills to compete in a rapidly changing and beleaguered world economy, we need to frame their minds early on – perhaps similar to why it’s best to take piano lessons or learn a foreign language long before adulthood,” she wrote. “They need to know entrepreneurship is an option and what it’s all about.”
The economic recession and subsequent recovery have proven that startup creation is crucial to our nation’s prosperity. For this reason, entrepreneurial education is on the rise in American public schools, and experts predict this trend will continue in the years to come.
See Also:
- Choosing an Online College
- College Savings Accounts
- Teaching Your Kids Money Management Skills
- How To Develop Winning Money Management Skills
Resources from Amazon:
- Top MBA Programs W/CD-ROM: Finding the Best Business School for You
- How to Get Into the Top MBA Programs, 5th Edition
- MBA Admissions Strategy: From Profile Building to Essay Writing
- Secrets to Getting into Business School: 100 Proven Admissions Strategies to Get You Accepted at the MBA Program of Your Dreams
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