Even Entrepreneurs Need an MBA

This article comes courtesy of University of Birmingham’s Online MBA Program, designed for professionals who want to enhance their strategic management skills.

It’s the entrepreneurial dream: anyone can be successful in business on his or her own smarts and merits.

All it takes is a great idea and a lot of grit. Even college dropouts can go on to build the world’s most powerful companies—no business degree required. Unfortunately, not everyone is a natural born Bill Gates. And while business instinct and a spirit of innovation can’t be taught, adding to your innate skillset and growing your network can only increase your odds of success—even if you are set on paving your own path as an entrepreneur.

Now, business schools are working to tailor their offerings to support those on this path. Given the lifestyle of an entrepreneur can mean a chaotic schedule with little room for education, some schools are developing more extensive online offerings than ever before.

The University of Birmingham in the UK is one of those schools, offering the only 100% Online MBA that is fully accredited by the Association of MBAs. With 59% of program participants coming from outside of the UK, this web-based business education can allow entrepreneurs from all over the world to hone their skills without abandoning their main pursuits.

Munyaradzi Chikwanda is a solution architect who now runs his own training company. While he knew more than enough about the information technology industry, he was aware that he needed to develop a new skillset that would allow him to actually run and manage a business on his own.

“I decided to pursue an MBA in order to sharpen my business acumen so that I may be able to identify opportunities and successfully exploit and translate them into profitable business offerings.  This will benefit my clients , and help me in my endeavor to establish and grow my own business,” he tells Ivy Exec.

Chikwanda is now on schedule to earn his MBA from the University of Birmingham by 2018—even while remaining in his hometown of Johannesburg, South Africa. He says that the flexibility of the program made it a clear choice for someone like him who already had to manage his work-life balance. What’s more, he feels that the program does not sacrifice on the educational experience to allow for remote learning.

“The connect sessions are as good as classroom-based courses because we are able to make use of technology to simulate a classroom environment. The discussion forums also provide a rich interaction platform because everyone contributes, as opposed to a classroom environment where shy students do not necessarily express themselves – even if they have good ideas,” he explains. “The course modules such as Organisational Behaviour and Operations Management have been very beneficial to me as they have given me the ability to organize, guide and influence a group of individuals to perform the tasks necessary to realize a vision as well as apply process thinking to improve inefficiency within my organization.”

The University of Birmingham also offers an advanced strategy module to help entrepreneurs develop their ability to create effective, thoughtful plans for their businesses.

One of Chikwanda’s classmates, Florence Britton, is also an entrepreneur who founded Rainbow Care Solutions in 2005. The company aims to bring personalized home health care to people living with illnesses. Even after more than a decade at the helm of her own business, Britton knew she needed to grow her skillset to continue the company’s success. Starting in 2016, she began studying online at the University of Birmingham. She appreciated that the structure of the program allowed her to run her company while also earning her MBA.

“Choosing to study for an MBA came after deep reflection and knowing that an MBA would give me a chance to step back, get away from my daily routine and view the world from a much larger perspective,” Britton says. “I decided to pursue it in order to acquire the newest management techniques that I could utilize to run my company more effectively. I also wanted to equip myself with the newest problem solving skills…Studying online gives me the benefit of developing my career and business without having to sacrifice my responsibilities of managing my company.”

Since initiating her studies at Birmingham, Britton says the school’s advanced strategy and marketing modules inspired her to overhaul her company’s current strategy and redesign its marketing plan.

“For every module I have studied, I have done something to improve my business,” she says.

Now, having just completed the program’s operations management module, she is using the knowledge gained to redesign Rainbow Care Solutions’ operations to better serve its customers. It’s exactly this type of real-world application that the University of Birmingham encourages in its Online MBA program. The school often provides real-life case studies that students can immediately apply in their working lives. And, to mimic the interactivity of an in-person MBA, students enjoy dynamic online exercises, video lectures and even social connection tools to put classmates in contact with each other as well as with their professors and tutors. In short, the program is built on a design that’s as innovative as the entrepreneurs it seeks to attract.

Read more about the University of Birmingham’s fully-accredited Online MBA program here.