How to get an MBA in Enterprise

College programs give you an MBA in two years or less, but from observed experience it takes five years to earn an MBA in Enterprise. Only two out of every 10 enterprises survive their first year. Of those that survive their first year only 20% live to see their third year. In other words, less than 2% of enterprises started every year get to see their third year of existence. We are not even talking about whether they will be successful or not.

In the first year of business you have no idea of what you are going. You do things because you have been told they work. When they do work you are surprised and when they do not work you have no clue of what to do about why they are not working. Your first year is really a day to day hope against hope.

In the second year you are busy avoiding all the mistakes you made in the first year. You are so busy trying to stay afloat that where you are going does not matter as much as the fact that you are not sinking. Everyone is congratulating you for still being around, but deep down you have no idea how long you will survive because you have lost everything possible including your friends and possibly self respect. You will not have hit the bottom of the J curve yet, that is supposed to come in the third year but you are rapidly approaching your loan limits and your start up capital was exhausted long ago.

In the third year, you now know what you should be doing and begin to focus on it. All the excitement of startup is gone and you know that survival is a ruthless battle. At this point it is also clear to you that you can’t go back and you can’t get out and look for a job because nobody will hire you (they will want to know what you have been doing for the past three years). The truth is you have been doing a lot of things, but have nothing to show for it. You have burned your ships at sea and have lost everything that got you to where you are. If your business gets to year three you have no choice but to press on. Pressing on is the easier option. Congratulations you have hit the bottom of the J-curve But you do get some comfort from the new comers and greenhorns who believe you are an old hand.

Only in your fourth year of business do you have enough data for decision making. Only then can you sit down analyze the business cycles you have been through over the last three years. You can evaluate your performance, produce and process to draw up a plan, execute a budget and look forwards to a modest profit. At this point in your business, if you have maintained the discipline of not eating your working capital, you understand what it means to break even. Breaking even is getting to the point where you understand what you are doing and can begin to replicate your performance. Many enterprises never break even until their 5^th or 6^th year.

In the fifth year you have enough experience to have mastered the enterprise process in your chosen area and can now embark on developing mission statements, developing products and strategic plans. In your fifth year you will have developed a loyal customer base, learned a great deal about yourself and cultivated a niche market that regularly consumes your products. If you get there; you will have earned your MBA.

NGCL Team