Significant Life Crossroads...

[-SD-]

Well if your BBA is not very good i can see going for MBA. Otherwise i say just get on with life because you arent some 21 year old with no brain or experience that needs that extra sheepskin. 5 years after going into business for yourself you will wonder why you bothered with an MBA i think.

 

[bigpokey]

watch the movie the corporation bro for real anyone with a business degree should

 

[jiggagold]

I'd rather watch the Association

 

[calveless wonder]

I'd rather watch Fievel Goes West

 

[bigpokey]

i mean nothing really compares to fievel its pretty good tho

 

[nefertiti]

very true man, that is a big thing. it'd be MUCH harder to take this risk several years down the road because who knows what's going to happen as far as marriage, etc. my life circumstances might be significantly than, and it'd be a lot harder to create a startup than it would be getting my MBA ( a lot of working professionals get their MBA while still working).

you give good advice sometimes bro lol

This was going to be my advice. Much easier to take the risk now and do school later than school now and risk later.

Any time you start your own business there is going to be a lot of question marks. I don't know you well, but from what I do know of you I think you have that genuine entrepreneur spirit. An MBA will open doors, but those doors it opens will make it much harder to step away and be willing to live in the instability of a budding business again. Not saying you couldn't manage that....but I do think right now is the perfect time in your life to make this kind of choice if this is something you believe in.

As samoth said, the work experience will often help your admissions anyway if you decide to go back that route. Take the GMAT, then take the leap. My .02.

 

[Sub-Zero]

I'm facing a major life decision soon and I always appreciate the input from (certain) peeps here.

I'm about to graduate and I basically have a choice between two major commitments. I can either go get my MBA (1 year if i stay at UF, 2 year if i go somewhere else) or I can start the business I have been sitting on for 3 years, but only now have the partners/accessible capital resources and investors to start.

Given my GPA, undergrad school,work history, and practice GMAT scores (obviously i need to get the real GMAT done before anything), I feel pretty confident in being able to get into a top 10 MBA program.

On the other hand, me and my good friend (who is now my partner in this venture) sat down last summer and discussed this business.
We basically launched the first phase/entity of this and it's about to open in the next week or two. He spearheaded almost all of this project because i was in school and have been busy as hell, and we agreed that when i graduated we'd launch the 2nd phase (which is our primary way we're going to make income).
I don't want to divulge the business this prematurely,although a few of you already know, but the first entity opening now is to create an initial buzz and brand.

The business idea and model is rock solid, and it's really an under served market. We'd probably need 3-4 locations throughout florida to really make serious bank, but i think that'd be feasible within a few years. This is something that we could eventually launch in dozens of different markets once we grow. We'd be bootstrapping at first to an extent to make the most of our capital, but once we get things going we'll be able to focus more on business development.



So i'm not sure what to do. Obviously i need to take my GMATs first, but i'm very confident i can land in a top 10 program. I'm thinking my scores will be good for 5 years,so i could take them now while i'm still in study mode. If this business doesn't work for some reason, i could still have those scores and go to grad school. But if harvard/stanford grad school came knocking now for example, it might be pretty hard to turn down.

But realistically, this business will mean cutting back personal expenses BIG time and working 14-15 hours a day for awhile. There's also a bunch of stuff i've had to learn that we're using outside people for, and eventually need to be able to do/teach ourselves. The amount of work it would take is almost overwhelming, but if we stuck with it for a few years it could blow up into something huge.


I'm at a stalemate, but fortunately i have some time to think about it, and both are good options. i'll know more when i take my GMATs, but this is all stuff i need to think about now.

step 1) bolded
step 2) listen to your heart
a) provided you are into it mentally, the 13-14 hours will be your life, but enjoyable
b) this can also work against you
step 3) emotional profit
a) life is made of feeling, which one will "fullfill you" the most
b) sometimes even the hardest journey can be the most exciting, and if you are truly passionate, the success and hours in will be the new reward system of your brain, but if you do it just to get it done, you will not succeed

hope this helps, even though you already know what you are going to do and what feels like the best path for you..we will be here to cheer on whatever decision you go for

 

[-SD-]

"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat."

Will you enter the Arena or go for the safety net MBA rob?

 

[nangiggles]

I'd go to school, as you said it would just be 1 or 2 years and you would have an excellent degree to fall back on, the longer you wait the harder it is to go back to school,I can tell you that out of experience bro, if you launch your business and it doesnt succeed you might not have the drive or means to go back to school, or if the business is only mildly successful just to pay the bills you will stick with it thinking it will take off any time now and will delay going back to school, no one can take education from you, tome it's always the #1 option, I slept just like 4 hours a day or less while going to get my PhD because Ialso worked and I dont regret it, but despite the potential it has for me I havent found the push to finish my thesis because I know it will take me bard tests and 2000 hours to maybe get accredited here in FL... what I'm trying to say is we will always find ways to procrastinate, so you should get it done now....

 

[jackangel]

Your heart says go for the business, your head says MBA. That's a simplification, but I'm simple-minded, so I'll go with it.

If I believe anything about you, it's that you want this kind of life, and also that you want to take this leap now.
You can feel it, almost taste it. The vision in your head will drive you, and putting in the work won't be a problem.
You've done it before, and for lesser reasons than this.

You want to go for it now, but it's the prudent part of you that considers his alternatives carefully. Despite the additional advantages an MBA could
provide, you're already in a good place to kick things off, right? Better than others have been in when starting their ventures, perhaps?

As others have said, time is valuable. Carpe diem and all that shit.

You already know that you're taking the exam, and that's fine. Once you've got the results, I'd focus on only two questions:

1. Is the MBA opportunity something you can't pass up (or something that very few others in your place would pass up)?
2. Are there significant unresolved doubts or barriers to the startup route that give you pause, beyond general uncertainty and
the risk associated with such ventures (which will always be there)?

If the answer to these questions is no, then just do it.

Can you PM me with the details of the idea and plan (whatever you're willing to share)? I don't think you've told me about it.