An article in the Economist examines the softening of demand for MBA degrees. It argues that MBA’s curricula must be kept current and relevant. I can testify first hand the wheels of academia spin a little too slowly sometimes. The economy has been in a fundamental transformation that has take many twists and turns over the past 10-15 years, but what is clear is that this is now an entrepreneurial economy in terms of expansion and growth. Most MBA programs are just starting to reflect these changes.
What we have done for years here at Belmont is to require a course on Entrepreneurship in our MBA core courses. We don’t teach them how to be entrepreneurs–that is for another course. Instead, we teach them about entrepreneurship so they can better understand the driver of the current economic expansion. They will buy from entrepreneurs, sell to entrepreneurs, compete with entrepreneurs, and many will work for entrepreneurial companies, so they need to understand that these companies are different than the corporate giants that most typical graduate classes tend to focus on. Happily, I have found that many of my colleagues here do talk about entrepreneurial businesses in many of the classes they teach to MBA’s. Graduate programs need to focus even more on this perspective if they want to remain relevant.
Rob over at BusinessPundit gives an interesting reflection on his experience at the University of Kentucky. That is where I got my MBA, but my degree is about a quarter century old now…I sure hope things have changed in the UK MBA program since then!
Capitalism Meets Conservation
John Wamsley passionately believes in two things: the need to preserve native species in his homeland of Australia and the power of free enterprise. I stumbled across his story one day while I was reading a National Geographic story about him and the company he founded called Earth Sanctuaries, LTD.
Wamsley did not believe that government and charitable conservation was working. So he raised money in a public offering to create a company that would make a profit in the process of securing areas that would be free of non-native species, such as feral cats, rabbits, and so forth. He also created various means of revenue generation to create his business, including a ecotourism, lodging, a snack bar, selling non-threatened plants and animals, and so forth.
The start-up was tough, as many are, and Wamsley got some real life lessons about the power of markets to make or break your dreams as seen in the 2002 interview from abc.net:
?The Government conservation doesn’t work, and charitable conservation doesn’t work, and in fact, I still believe that it is the only hope our wildlife has, the only hope our environment has, is to commercialise it but there’s a long way to go and Earth Sanctuaries is the first experiment of this type and it hasn’t failed yet.
?I mean, I don’t give up that easy.
?But it’s hard and it’s going to be harder before we get there.?
By 2003 it became clear that changes had to be made if Earth Sanctuaries was to survive. Wamsley was a better conservationist than business person, so he hired professional management. The company is projected to breakeven in 2004, while still expanding its conservations efforts by buying more land to set up protected preserves.
The examples of non-profits trying to pretend to be entrepreneurs is everywhere, but this is one of the only examples I have even seen of a man with a vision that is usually assumed to be the domain of the subsidized non-profits trying to make it in the market of free enterprise.
I found examples on the web of media writers being critical of his efforts, ready to count him out at every stumble. But entrepreneurs do, and always will stumble. But, Wamsley already has succeeded. He has created many new areas that will conserve Australian species, created many new jobs, and shown that capitalism can be an effective mechanism to achieve conservation. In spite of his many early setbacks, he has been an effective entrepreneur and may yet also succeed in terms of his financial goals.
New Model Bank Program for Start-ups
The National Dialogue on Entrepreneurship has a report on a new bank program that could be a model for many communities:
“Traditionally, banks have been somewhat stingy about backing start-ups. But, a new program from Kalamazoo, Michigan may begin to change this perception. Southwest Michigan First, an economic development organization based in Kalamazoo has organized the Kalamazoo Bank Consortium for Innovation. Eleven banks have joined the Consortium, and they have all agreed to work more cooperatively with local start-ups, especially those focused on the life sciences. The banks will work with these firms to provide financing, to review business plans and marketing strategies, and to link new start-ups with business leads and other partnering opportunities. While this effort is quite new, it may offer a model for other communities seeking to expand financing options for entrepreneurial businesses.”
The web site for this program can be found here. This program is a very targeted initiative for the life sciences, but it could be applied to other settings and local economic environments.
Carnival of the Capitalists
I’m back from Boston and the Carnival of the Capitalists is up and running for the week. It is at start-up skills.com this week.
Small Business Trends
The NFIB has released a very bullish report on small business trends for May 2004. The employment outlook, capital expenditures, and general optimism about the near future are all continuing to increase with small business owners. This is more support for the robustness of this entrepreneurially driven economic expansion.
Does it have legs?
A question I often ask entrepreneurs about ideas they present to me is, “But, does it have legs?” It is too much risk and pain to start up a business that will only last a short period of time. I also believe that there are some serious ethical issues with get rich quick business ideas. Many of those who help you get rich don’t get much benefit out of the deal, such as employees, the local community, and sometimes even investors. This article from Entrepreneur.com examines what makes something a trend versus simply a fad. If you are going to go through all the trouble of starting a business, pick something that can be around for a while making you and those who support your efforts some decent returns.
Teach your children well
The SBA recently launched a web site that is aimed toward educating teens about entrepreneurship and free enterprise. It serves as a gateway to many good sites that educate young people about managing money and starting up businesses.
What’s in a name?
Deciding on a name for a new venture can be more difficult than one might think. Here is an article that discusses this challenge in today’s world of branding.
April Employment Data
A report on State and Regional employment data for April has just been released.
Some of the highlights:
Highlights:
* “Over the past year, the unemployment rate has fallen in 47 states.
* “Non-farm payroll employment increased in 45 states in April.
* “Over the past year, employment has increased in 44 states.
“The latest state-by-state data are consistent with recent job growth nationwide. In the past 8 months, over 1.1 million new payroll jobs have been created. Over 800,000 new jobs have been created in 2004 alone. If the current pace of job growth for 2004 continues, over 2.6 million jobs will be created this year. In addition, the current unemployment rate is 5.6 percent, well below its recent peak of 6.3 percent and below the average unemployment rates of the 1970?s, 1980?s, and 1990?s.”
Student CEO’s
More and more students across the country are starting businesses while attending college. Many of these are much more than simple side businesses. This article illustrates how wide spread this phenomenon is becoming. We recognized nineteen such students here at Belmont this past spring.