Its 8am on a Friday morning and I am just sitting down to my desk to get started for the day. The last day before another wonderful Ivey fundraiser party and then a week off… phew! Every few weeks I have one of those ‘aha’ moments when I feel truly blessed to be part of this program.
Those moments have been comprised of instances in which I’ve gained valuable insights in finance (for a person with a non-finance background), forged/grown wonderful relationships with my classmates and most recently completed a marketing business simulation exercise with four of my friends. I feel energized, confident and best of all, ready to take on running a business again after graduation.
My background is a little different from most of my classmates – which is why I decided to write this blog. Are you an entrepreneur and business owner that has been told that an MBA is only for those headed up the corporate ladder? I certainly had and despite all of that advice I came to Ivey. I cannot say enough about the breadth of knowledge inside and outside the classroom that I’ve picked up, which will inevitably help me run a better shop.
Let’s start at the beginning… I am not your typical MBA student. I completed a BSC in mathematics and statistics at a small university called Acadia in Nova Scotia. During that time I had the opportunity to purchase and run a College Pro Painters exterior painting franchise. For three years of my degree I juggled running a business with a full time course load and enjoyed the successes and downfalls of any new business person.
And I LOVED it. After graduation a position opened up in Toronto where I became a general manager with College Pro for the next two years. I felt really young for the role and it pushed me both personally and professionally farther than I had ever imagined. I then went on a short stint of designing, selling and drafting custom home cabinetry in Vancouver.
At that time I started to ask myself some hard questions. Was I happy in my career? Could I see myself in this job 5 years from now? Where could I be 5 years from now? How was I going to get there? Once I had taken a step back I realized that entrepreneurial or not, I had very little formal business training and wanted to be back in a role that challenged and pushed me.
I wrote my GMAT, applied, managed a College Pro Franchise for one last summer to make the money to pay tuition and here I am, six months in. Of course there are days when I ask myself, why I am taking an MBA when I could have already been running my dream business… and the other half of me chirps in that I am so much better off for having done this. Not only have I met a phenomenal group of people, I am also taking away a very broad understanding of ‘business’ and a multitude of tangible skills. Ok, time for a run.