Want to Keep Your Small Business? Get an MBA.

by Jessica Santina Groach
jessica.santina@careertrainingdirectory.com
Career Training Directory Columnist

According to a four-year study by the Small Business Administration, only 44% of new businesses survive beyond four years. Your entrepreneurial odds aren’t good, unless you have an MBA.

Why do so many businesses fail each year? While every business owner is different, the SBA cites the following as the primary reasons:

• lack of experience
• insufficient capital
• poor location
• poor inventory management
• over-investment in fixed assets
• poor credit arrangements
• personal use of business funds
• unexpected growth

SCORE, a non-profit volunteer organization affiliated with the SBA, which is dedicated to the formation, growth, and success of small businesses, found that the owners of failed businesses have the following similarities:

• 78% lack a well-developed business plan.
• 82% have poor cash flow management skills.
• 64% don’t understand the importance of marketing their business properly.
• 58% don’t have the ability to delegate properly.

Clearly there’s a lot more to opening a business than just a good idea. That’s why it’s a good idea to get an MBA.

Your MBA Program

An MBA program can teach you cash flow management skills; financial and strategic decision-making; the skills for conducting marketing analyses and managing a marketing plan; how to harness innovation and develop a prototype; how to procure capital; skills in inventory and supply-chain management; how to lead teams; how to develop and follow a business plan; and how to survive in today’s competitive global marketplace.

Your MBA will give you the tools you need to become a self-starter, a strong decision maker, a planner, an organizer, and a leader. An MBA program will prepare you for tough competition, and the financial challenges ahead, and your MBA will give your new business an edge over the odds. In short, an MBA program addresses all the reasons new businesses fail. If entrepreneurship is in your future, you should strongly consider an MBA.

Sources

“Must-Know Small-Biz Stats & Facts” by David R. Butcher, ThomasNet.com Industrial Market Trends
Small Business Administration
“Top Reasons Why Businesses Fail” - SCORE, Appleton, Wisconsin

About the Author

Jessica Groach-Santina is a freelance writer with a background in media and promotions. She also teaches first-year writing courses at the University of Nevada, Reno.