An American company SurePayroll has recently conducted a survey of entrepreneurs asking:

MBA Degree: Waste of Money for Would-Be Entrepreneurs?

Not surprisingly 70 percent of the small business owners who took part in the survey responded that an MBA degree isn’t a big factor in determining entrepreneurial success. What caught my eye however was this statement:

While the MBA degree did not get much love from survey respondents, the wrath was especially strong for Ivy League MBA degrees. 91 percent of the surveyed entrepreneurs said that those who get an MBA from an Ivy League school have no advantage over entrepreneurs who get an MBA from another school.

It’s an important distinction to draw as it seems to me that whenever anyone calls into question the value of an MBA for entrepreneurs quoting the cost and resulting return on investment they always quote the costs of Ivy League business schools (and the equivalent in the UK and Europe) not the run of the mill business school. Equally they assume that entrepreneurs would take the MBA on a full time basis instead of starting or running their business.

Personally I believe the MBA can provide the entrepreneur with valuable skills, but I’d suggest that entrepreneurs who choose to get one do so from a middle tier (i.e. good but affordable) business school and study for it part time / by distance learning, while running their business.

Alternatively perhaps it’s time I, or someone else turned the Business School in a Box idea into reality.

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