A friend recently came to me seeking advice on whether or not he should go to business school because he wants to start a business but doesn’t have confidence that he knows how.  He thought getting an MBA would be the answer.

While there are many entrepreneurially focused MBA programs out there today, including my favorite at Babson College, I had to tell him that I didn’t think going to get an MBA was the answer.  In fact, it might hurt more than it helps.

Why?

Because MBA programs still teach to those who are looking to get jobs at big companies (Yes, as much as it kills me, even you Babson!).  While getting an MBA, you will spend 1-2 years being flooded with all kinds of information that is completely useless when it comes to starting a business, and get a few nuggets of info that will be really worthwhile.  I have a good friend that got his MBA for the reason mentioned above and graduated more frightened than ever because he now realized how much there was to know and that he couldn’t possible know it all!

An MBA will teach you how to think, analyze a problem, present your ideas, etc.  These are all incredibly valuable when starting a business, but you don’t need the degree to get these skills.

So if you don’t go to business school to learn how to start a business, where do you go?

I think the best way to learn to start a business is to work in a start up or small company that is in the industry you are interested in, and take on as much responsibility as possible. 

The next best way is to just start one.

Morst importantly, you can do a lot to educate yourself before starting a business by reading many of the valuable books, magazines, and blogs that are out there covering the life of the entrepreneur.  While you are doing so, I would suggest that you make sure  you really understand the following concepts:

• Legal formation of companies - which legal structure to choose and why
• Norms regarding how to structure the equity of a company in terms of who gets what
• The differences between getting money from vc’s, angels, and banks - who they give money to and what they expect in return
• Cash flow - if you could only study one thing, study this
• Sales - learn how to sell

Now, of course there is no end to the number of things you could learn before you start your business, but the challenge is that you can’t just spend your life learning and not taking action.  Action is entrenpreneurship!

If you get a good handle on the topics above, then go ahead and start your business.  Put yourself on a path of continuous learning and learn the rest as you go.