MBA in Entrepreneurship and Reasons for Aspiring Entrepreneurs to Pursue an MBA

MBA in Entrepreneurship and Reasons for Aspiring Entrepreneurs to Pursue an MBA

Are you aware that 20% of the students who pursue their MBA end up launching their own start-ups?

Hard to believe?

Well, we hope you know about the business tycoons like Ratan Tata (Chairman Emeritus of TATA SONS), Kumar Manglam Birla (Chairman of Birla Group), Ananda Mahindra (Chairman & MD of Mahindra & Mahindra), T. V. Srinivasan (MD of TVS Motors Company), Richa Kar (Founder and CEO of Zivame), and many more.

Yes, that’s right. They are all established and successful entrepreneurs who hold the prestigious MBA degree! So, why has an MBA become a necessity for entrepreneurial journeys these days?

That’s because developing an entrepreneurial mind-set is mandatory to be a successful business leader. In the current scenario, entrepreneurs have become the pillars that support the financial and social conditions of countries across the globe. Entrepreneurs are visionary, zealous, and motivated when it comes to business ventures. Successful entrepreneurs are capable of analysing the possibilities of a business' success or failure even before the actual business commences.

Some people are naturally good at being entrepreneurs, and these people are willing to give their venture ideas all they have got, but still, nothing can replace the skills and education required to run a business successfully. Many people harbouring entrepreneurial aspirations are undertaking educational courses that help them expand their horizon of knowledge and put an edge on their skills. MBA in Entrepreneurship is a perfect and contemporary degree to cater to these specific educational needs.

Introduction to MBA in Entrepreneurship

MBA in Entrepreneurship is a post-graduate degree program of two years spread across four semesters that enables students to acquire the required knowledge, skills, and professional networks to become entrepreneurs. Being a multidisciplinary area of concentration, an MBA in Entrepreneurship is designed to prepare students with entrepreneurial aspirations to bring to reality their own businesses. The program aids students in learning through regular classes, case studies, and project-based assignments. MBA in Entrepreneurship is designed to inculcate in students the capability of generating business ideas, transforming these ideas into products and services, and then coming up with a commercial plan to establish the very idea into the market. The core skills that an individual learns through the program are making strategies, action-oriented approach, embracing opportunities, pro-activeness, innovation, learning the ability to take risks, self-discipline, integrity, decisiveness, logical reasoning, analyzation skills, and evaluation skills.

If you are someone who has a natural flair for being an entrepreneur, you would of course want more than anything to start your venture; in case you do not own a family business. To attain success, you would require strong entrepreneurial or business skills to transform your business plan into reality and be a strong competitor in the market, that is where an MBA in Entrepreneurship can come to your aid. The program helps you discover every aspect of running a successful business through targeted coursework.

Reasons to Pursue MBA in Entrepreneurship

• Skill Development at Core Level: Without the necessary skills, your business will die a slow death eventually. Be it operational processes or managerial ones, you would require to know how to handle your business right from the conceptualization to the formulation. If you plan to run the whole show single-handedly, it is advisable to develop the required skills. To be an entrepreneur, you need to have a core understanding of business principles, the latest market trends, and practices. An MBA in Entrepreneurship can equip you with these skills. The degree will help you in acquiring technical skills, strategizing your finances, and becoming familiar with every aspect of business management like advertising, sales, administration, and customer retention. An MBA in Entrepreneurship will make you ready to face the challenges that entrepreneurs are exposed to while transforming a business plan into a thriving business. You will learn how to manage expansion, secure capital, monetize things, conduct market research, and measure the social impact.
• Overall Personality Development: An entrepreneur single-handedly starts a venture, but to run it successfully in the long run, it becomes mandatory to include other people. As an entrepreneur, you will have to deal and interact with too many people. It will be required of you to have good interpersonal skills, leadership qualities, and an easy-going attitude. An MBA in Entrepreneurship can teach you teamwork, networking, leadership skills, and confident decision making. These qualities will be very much helpful for launching your start-up and running it successfully.
• Hands-On Experience: An MBA in Entrepreneurship offers you the opportunity to receive a hands-on learning experience. These experiences are earned alongside the coursework when students work on industry-based projects. The program helps students explore and polish their entrepreneurial skills through several mock situations and scenarios. Pursuing an MBA in Entrepreneurship refrains students from making various mistakes that new entrepreneurs often make. Some of the institutions even hire industry experts as visiting faculties so that they share their experiences with students and show them a much clearer picture.

Entrepreneurial Mind-set: Characteristics and development

Entrepreneurs are like the black sheep of the business world. Why? That’s because they decide not to be bound by the shackles of financial security of a 9-to-5 job and take the road not taken by the majority.

Unlike the traditional path that you might undertake in your career or the organisation where you will work, there is no blueprint for entrepreneurs to follow. The reason for this is that entrepreneurship is a lifestyle choice, not a career. Entrepreneurs aren’t looking to work but are paving the way for others to build their careers at their start-up or business. This so-called entrepreneurial spirit is what experts refer to as the "entrepreneurial mindset." Today, we shall discuss the most important characteristics that shape the mindset of budding entrepreneurs.

• Core Determination: You need to accept failures more than you can accept success. If you lose your patience and become undermined, then setbacks are bound to happen. Therefore, you must train your mind to avoid negativity and focus on solutions.
• Focused Approach: Entrepreneurs rarely allow distractions to take their minds off matters at hand. This is a quality that MBA students can develop in college, as they will be required to balance school with the responsibilities of work and family.
• Innovation and Creativity: Entrepreneurs are the epitome of innovation because they bring something unique or unconventional to the table. You must learn to perceive things differently and come up with a start-up idea that is going to change or make an impact on society.
• Strong-minded: As you are heading an entrepreneurial venture, all the responsibility and accountability fall on you. Since time is money, you must be capable of making rational decisions within a desired time frame to avoid regretful thoughts and actions.
• Independent mind-set: Though networking plays a big part in sharing ideas and gaining perspective, entrepreneurs should be able to take matters into their own hands. One of the primary reasons a person leaves a regular job to start their own business is to break from the standard norms and be able to do what they want.
• Desire to Learn: Entrepreneurs should be naturally inquisitive, and everything around them should arouse curiosity in them, as this is how they will get new ideas and take their business to the next level. Therefore, one must not think that they have already reached the pinnacle of knowledge and be willing to learn and unlearn every day to bring new ideas to life.

Different types of Entrepreneurship

There are different kinds of entrepreneurship depending on your goals, the nature of the business, and your motivation. Come, let’s explore the different kinds of entrepreneurship prevalent in the corporate world:

• Small Business Entrepreneurship: This type of entrepreneurship is very common and involves creating and managing small-scale enterprises where the owners are responsible for handling day-to-day operations.
• Social Entrepreneurship: Social entrepreneurship is all about building businesses with the objective of addressing social or environmental issues while generating sustainable revenue.
• Corporate Entrepreneurship: Corporate entrepreneurship, also known as intrapreneurship, refers to the entrepreneurial activities taking place within established corporations or organisations. To put it into simple words, the appointed leaders of the organisation, also known as intrapreneurs, drive innovation and revenue and develop new strategies to add business units within the existing corporate structure.
• Serial Entrepreneurship: Serial entrepreneurship is the process of developing and managing multiple businesses by a single individual or entity over the course of their career. They move on to new projects or ventures once they have stabilised the existing ones.
• Family Entrepreneurship: Family entrepreneurs are individuals who are heavily involved in the management and maintenance of businesses within a family unit. These businesses are often passed down through generations, maintaining a family legacy.
• Green Entrepreneurship: Green entrepreneurship refers to creating businesses with a sole focus on sustainability and environmental responsibility. These entrepreneurs promote resource conservation and develop eco-friendly products or services to inculcate sustainability practises in society.
• Cultural Entrepreneurship: Cultural entrepreneurs are professionals who create businesses focused on cultural products, arts, or heritage. They may establish art galleries, music labels, cultural festivals, or museums, fostering cultural preservation and appreciation while pursuing economic viability.

Different Phases of Entrepreneurial Journey

As an entrepreneurial journey is not linear, an entrepreneur may go through different phases to establish their business properly. We have summarised the various phases of an entrepreneurial journey that any entrepreneur is likely to go through:

• Ideation: This is the first stop of the journey where an entrepreneur generates ideas for their business ventures. They identify the existing problems, plausible solutions, existing opportunities, or gaps in the market and develop innovative solutions to bring new business ideas to the table.
• Validation: Once an idea is generated, entrepreneurs move into the second step, i.e., the validation phase. Here, they test the viability and market potential of their idea to determine whether it has the potential to become a profitable business in the future.
• Launch: Here comes the third phase, the launch phase, where the entrepreneurs transform their validated idea into an operational business. This phase is all about creating a business plan, having financial backup, organising a legal framework, and initiating the core activities of the business to finally launch the venture fully.
• Growth: The growth phase comprises strategies and steps taken to expand the business to the next level. This is done by refining the business model, optimising the process, and introducing new strategies to target customer expansion, scale up operations, and drive revenue for the organisation.
• Maturity: By this time, the business would have achieved a stable and established position in the market with a solid customer base, predictable revenue streams, and well-defined processes. Therefore, in this phase, an entrepreneur focuses on maintaining this profitability while optimising operations and exploring opportunities for further growth and expansion.
• Innovation and Adaptation: Entrepreneurship is a never-ending journey, and that’s where this phase comes into the picture to test the true spirit of entrepreneurs. This is the phase where successful entrepreneurs continuously innovate, identify new opportunities, and adapt to market changes to beat the competition and stay relevant in the market.
• Exit or Succession: At some point, entrepreneurs may either consider exiting their business by selling it, merging with another company, or planning for succession, where they hand over the responsibility to the next successor (possibly their offspring, kin, or appointed individuals).

Financial Management for Entrepreneurs

Financial management is important for entrepreneurs to maintain the financial health and success of their businesses. We have listed some of the vital aspects of financial management that every entrepreneur should consider:

• Budgeting: You must come up with a feasible budget that can cover all the projected expenses and revenue. This can be done by setting practical financial goals and allocating resources accordingly.
• Risk Management: Risks are an inevitable component of any business and can impact it negatively, especially if they are unforeseen. So, you must take the necessary steps to identify and mitigate such financial risks by managing credit risk, market risk, operational risk, and regulatory compliance with appropriate diversification and contingency planning.
• Cash Flow Management: If you are running a business, the most significant part of it is to ensure that you have sufficient funds to cover operational expenses, manage short-term obligations, and seize growth opportunities. The best way to do this is to keep a check on the cash flow and manage it properly.
• Capital Structure and Financing: As an entrepreneur, you must seek a healthy balance between debt and equity to minimise financial risk. You can do this by exploring different funding sources, such as loans, investors, grants, crowdfunding, etc.
• Financial Analysis: You can use financial ratios and other key performance indicators (KPIs) to conduct regular financial analysis to assess the performance and profitability of your business. This will help you identify revenue leakages, optimise your financial status, and make informed decisions. You can also consult with a financial advisor or accountant, who will guide you through complex financial matters.
• Financial Forecasting: When you step into entrepreneurship, you must develop the skills to forecast financial liabilities with respect to future revenues, expenses, and cash flow. These forecasts will assist you in planning and decision-making, thereby helping you anticipate potential financial challenges and opportunities.
• Tax Planning and Compliance: As an entrepreneur, you must possess sound knowledge of the tax obligations and regulations relevant to your business. You can either devise your own or seek external help to develop a tax strategy that maximises tax efficiency while ensuring that it is compliant with the tax laws.

Marketing and Sales for Entrepreneurs

Every entrepreneur wants to dominate the marketplace and make a big name for the brand that they have built with years of hard work and sacrifice. This can be achieved by bringing in huge sales and revenue, for which a solid marketing strategy is required to promote their products or services, attract customers, and drive revenue. Here are key aspects of marketing and sales that entrepreneurs should consider:

• Target Market and Customer Research: You cannot hit the customer base blindly without understanding what they are in need of in the first place. Imagine you own a beauty brand, but your strategies target an audience that is interested in kitchenware. Irrelevant, right? Therefore, you must identify your target market and understand their needs, preferences, and behaviours to tailor your marketing and sales strategies effectively.
• Branding and positioning: You must develop a strong brand identity that will differentiate your product or service from the other competitors in the market. You can do this by creating a compelling logo, brand story, and visual elements that fit well with your audience.
• Marketing Strategy and Planning: There are different components of a marketing strategy that can bring in the results that you desire. Therefore, you must channel your efforts into developing a comprehensive marketing strategy that outlines your goals, target market, positioning, messaging, and tactics.
• Online Presence and Digital Marketing: As we become more digitised with each passing day, it is recommended that businesses establish a strong online presence through a well-designed website and an active presence on relevant social media platforms. You can do this by introducing digital marketing techniques such as search pay-per-click (PPC) advertising, search engine optimisation (SEO), content marketing, social media marketing, and email marketing to generate leads, drive traffic, and build brand awareness.
• Sales Techniques and Conversion: It is very important that you train your sales team (if applicable) on effective sales techniques and objection handling. You can implement compelling and persuasive scripts, presentations, and materials that highlight the benefits of your products or services.

Business Plan Development and Implementation

A business plan is a dynamic process that evolves in accordance with market trends and needs. Therefore, developing and implementing a business plan is a very important step for entrepreneurs to establish a roadmap for their business and secure resources. Come, let’s explore some significant aspects to consider when developing and implementing a business plan:

• Executive Summary: An executive summary furnishes an overview of your business and highlights its mission, vision, objectives, and unique value proposition. This section should effectively capture the essence of your business plan and entice readers to explore it further.
• Company Description: Your business plan must provide a detailed description of your company, properly stating its history, background, legal structure, and ownership. You must also explain the products or services you offer, your target market, and the competitive landscape.
• Organisational Structure and Management: The kind of team and management you have onboard reflects your confidence in your team's ability to execute the business plan successfully. Therefore, you must clearly define the roles, hierarchy, qualifications, and experience to demonstrate each of their unique skill sets and domain experience.
• Implementation and Milestones: As an entrepreneur, you should define key milestones and implementation steps to execute your business plan. You can do this by breaking down major tasks, setting deadlines, assigning responsibilities to team members, and establishing performance metrics to monitor progress.

Legal Aspects for Entrepreneurs

There could be different legal aspects that an entrepreneur must be aware of so that they can protect their business interests and comply with relevant laws and regulations. The following are some of the most critical legal considerations that entrepreneurs must consider:

• Business Structure: The first and foremost thing that you must do as an entrepreneur is to choose the appropriate legal structure for your business, i.e., whether you want to opt for a sole proprietorship, partnership, limited liability company (LLC), or corporation, because the type of structure that you select will determine the respective legal and tax implications.
• Intellectual Property (IP) Protection: This is the most crucial step that any entrepreneur should take, i.e., to safeguard their intellectual property, such as copyrights, trademarks, patents, and trade secrets. You can also use non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) to protect trade secrets and confidential information.
• Contracts and Agreements: When you launch your own business, it is inevitable that you will meet several people, such as your clients, vendors, contractors, partners, employees, etc., with whom you need to establish clear and enforceable contracts. These contracts must outline the terms and conditions of the agreement, including payment terms, deliverables, responsibilities, and dispute resolution mechanisms.
• Consumer Protection: It is advisable to comply with consumer protection laws so that you can initiate fair and transparent business practises. For this, you must provide clear information about your products or services, accurate pricing, and transparent refund or return policies. You must also refrain from false advertising or deceptive practises that could result in drastic legal consequences.
• Employment Law: Since you shall be hiring and managing employees after a certain period of time, it is high time that you familiarise yourself with employment laws to understand the legal requirements related to wages, working hours, employment contracts, benefits, discrimination, harassment, and termination.
• Privacy and Data Protection: Any business, irrespective of size, produces a considerable amount of data containing personal information about its customers and employees. Therefore, it is your responsibility to comply with data protection and privacy laws as applicable to your country or region and implement appropriate security measures and privacy policies to prevent misuse of data.

Networking and Partnership Building for Entrepreneurs

We never know who comes in handy at what time, so networking is very important in entrepreneurship! Finding ways to connect with people across different industries can expand your network of possible clients, leads, and influencers who can help you increase your revenue. We have listed some of the networking tips that can help you in your entrepreneurial journey!

• Expand beyond known circle: It’s always great to meet people not just in our known circle but also beyond that. You can do this by connecting with people on social media or by joining niche community groups or associations that will help you build long-lasting connections with a diverse range of people.
• Build Genuine Relationships: You see, networking is not just a platform to exchange business cards. You must add volume to the relationship and focus on building long-term connections based on trust, mutual respect, and shared interests. You can do this by participating in volunteer activities, collaborative projects, etc.
• Offer Value Partnerships: Anything in this world should be a two-way process. You cannot expect yourself to always be on the receiving end, or vice versa. This is applicable to networking too, which is a two-way street. You can find ways to provide value to your connections and potential partners by providing your expertise, sharing resources, or making introductions to help others achieve their goals.
• Seek mentorship: Experienced people can bring more value than you can imagine. Therefore, you can try to connect with experienced entrepreneurs, business incubators, or industry experts who can mentor and guide you in your entrepreneurial journey.

An MBA with a concentration in Entrepreneurship can help you form a vast and powerful network of business-minded people and make contact with guest lecturers who are industry experts, professors, and other entrepreneurs. They can help you connect with investors and business partners in the future. Many institutions conduct seminars and guest lectures, enabling students to gain access to experienced people and their guidance. Many students form long-term professional relationships with their peers. You never know, you might get into business with someone you have met through the degree program!

Entrepreneurial Failure and Lessons Learned

Success and failure are two sides of the same coin, so as an entrepreneur, if one is willing to reap the fruits of success, then they must also be willing to accept the failures that come along the way. So, it is okay to normalise entrepreneurial failure, as this is a common part of the entrepreneurial journey, and while it can be disheartening, it also provides valuable lessons and insights. We have curated some common lessons learned for budding entrepreneurs if they encounter failures during their journey:

• Treat failure as an opportunity for growth: You must learn to embrace failure as a learning experience, learn from our mistakes, and reflect to become better at what we do and how we do it!
• Give importance to thorough market research: We don’t really give this much importance, and some of us even skip it, but insufficient market research and analysis can be a major contributing factor to entrepreneurial failure. It is very important to understand your target market, customer needs, competition, and industry dynamics thoroughly to make informed business decisions.
• Be more adaptable and flexible: You should be open to not just feedback from everyone but also understand the changing market dynamics and be able to adapt to them as needed. You can do this by being flexible and willing to iterate, which will help you navigate challenges and increase your chances of success.
• Proper financial management is essential: A lot of entrepreneurs succumb to failure because they have not mastered the art of financial management. You should understand that having adequate financial resources can help you break even, so you should maintain accurate financial records, monitor cash flow, devise effective financial strategies, and have a clear understanding of your financial position.

International Entrepreneurship

International entrepreneurship is the process of creating, developing, and managing entrepreneurial ventures that operate across national borders. It consists of business activities that transcend domestic markets and extend into a wider global arena. International entrepreneurs utilise their domain knowledge, skills, and expertise to recognise and grab opportunities in foreign markets with the aim of building successful ventures with a global reach.

Benefits of international entrepreneurship:

• Allows entrepreneurs to tap into larger markets
• Provides access to diverse customer bases.
• Capitalises on international trends and innovations
• Enables the acquisition of valuable knowledge and insights from different cultures and business environments.
• Facilitates the expansion of networks and partnerships
• Creates opportunities for international collaboration and growth

Entrepreneurs who want to expand their business in international markets must conduct thorough market research and analysis, identify target markets, and develop appropriate strategies to intervene in those markets and beat the competition. They need to consider factors such as political factors, geographical constraints, cultural sensitivity, international marketing, distribution channels, and global pricing to mitigate risks and gain a deeper understanding of foreign markets.

Impact of Entrepreneurship on Society and Economy

Entrepreneurship has a crucial impact on both society and the economy of a place or country at large. Curious to know how? Let’s explore the reasons:

• Job creation: As entrepreneurs are the driving force behind new business ventures, it is quite imperative that these businesses create ample job opportunities for society. Therefore, it is justifiable to say that entrepreneurship can definitely reduce unemployment rates, thereby improving living standards and promoting individual and national economic growth.
• Innovation and technological advancement: Entrepreneurs are known to be farsighted and can predict what will happen in the future, so they introduce new products, services, and processes that disrupt existing industries or create entirely new markets. This entrepreneurial innovation will not only bring in more innovation but will also stimulate technological advancement, benefiting society as a whole.
• Economic growth and competitiveness: Entrepreneurs contribute immensely to economic growth by increasing productivity, generating revenue, and paying taxes. They stimulate competition in markets, which leads to efficiency improvements and enhanced consumer choice.
• Social Impact and problem solving: Social entrepreneurship, which is a component of entrepreneurship, produces ventures that are social and environmental conscious, addressing issues such as poverty, inequality, lack of access to education, healthcare, education, and environmental sustainability.
• Inspiration for the younger generation: There are some entrepreneurs who can become role models for the youth, inspiring others to pursue their own entrepreneurial aspirations. Their success stories and journeys can motivate individuals to think outside the box and take risks to bring economic growth and related benefits to society.

About CMS Business School

Students belonging to a business-oriented family or having a business plan in mind are most likely to benefit the most from MBA in Entrepreneurship and Family Business Management offered by CMS Business School, JAIN (Deemed-to-be University). The program helps students to lead new start-ups, already established businesses, and other social undertakings. The program also supports budding entrepreneurs of the future with incubation facilities and seed funding.