You don't want to work for someone else anymore. You believe that you have both good ideas and an eye for opportunities, and are not afraid of going out to sell. Maybe you already secretly have a project that you think would be a great success ... if you could only devote yourself to it.
If this is your situation, you have several paths ahead.
First option: "Learn as you go"
You take your first steps, determined to learn "on the fly". You understand that you will make mistakes and you begin by working with the resources and knowledge you already possess. In this scenario, you should look out for mentors, workshops and courses, and help from incubators; you should ask for advice from people with more experience than you, and you should read, read, read. You also know that your learning curve will probably be long.
Second option: An MBA degree
In this scenario, you know you want to become an entrepreneur, but you also want a career "parachute" in case everything fails. If you attend an MBA programme in a business school that is strong on entrepreneurship, you will acquire knowledge, skills and vision (ideas!) that would take you a long time to acquire on your own, while also obtaining an internationally recognised credential that will help you if you decide to return to the workforce.
The best MBA programmes for entrepreneurship are in the US, UK and Europe. Most of these will ask for a GMAT, GRE, TOEFL IBT and/or IELTS score, and the admissions process at the more famous schools will be very competitive. However, the networks, prestige and learning that you will acquire will be world class.
Some lists of good MBA programmes that are strong in entrepreneurship:
- Best Business Schools for Entrepreneurship
- MBA Rankings: Top Schools for Entrepreneurship
Third option: A Master's degree in Entrepreneurship
Here, instead of an MBA degree, you want something that is totally focused from the beginning. While in an MBA programme you would have to cover subjects involving the needs and operation of large corporations, in a Master's programme in Entrepreneurship, everything would be about how to design, fund, execute, and even sell, new companies.
The requirements in this type of programme will also be considerable - check in each case if they require a GRE, GMAT, TOEFL IBT, or IELTS score - but your acceptance will be easier than in MBA programs.
For Master's degrees in Entrepreneurship, review http://www.best-masters.com/ranking-master-entrepreneurship.html or even Google the term "Master's in Entrepreneurship".
Any path you choose, there will be a price - in money or learning curve - to pay. However, real entrepreneurs should also become good at evaluating and making courageous decisions.
And finally, if you opt for the path of an MBA or a Master's degree in Entrepreneurship, and you're located in Mexico, consider talking to us. Over the last ten years, we have advised and prepared hundreds of professionals and - yes, current and future entrepreneurs - to choose, apply to, join, and pay for the best graduate programmes in the world.
See Top 5 Entrepreneurs with MBA Degrees
Check out this video advice from Richard Branson:
This article was provided to PrepAdviser by Jaime Martínez Bowness. He is an MBA graduate, a Managing Partner and a Senior Coach at Test Point, Mexico.
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