Week 47: Is entrepreneurship for you?

Week 47: April 12, 2025

Is entrepreneurship for you?

Andrea,

When I started business school, I was exclusively focused on my chosen career path and had no intention of starting my own business.

However, just over five years after graduating, I surprised myself by choosing the entrepreneur route. Many classmates ended up choosing to do the same.

In Week 37, we recommended some resources for entrepreneurship and this week, we'd like to talk a little bit about how entrepreneurship might fit into your career plans, no matter how you're feeling about it!

The 100 Week Sprint team

To-do's this week

Got 5 minutes? Consider one entrepreneurial idea or startup company you're interested in. Identify three top things that push you to move forward, and the barriers that may be holding you back from exploring your interests.

Got 30 minutes? Beyond creating your business plan, begin to identify the resources and ideas that will support your entrepreneurial efforts.

Got an hour? Find out more about the specific programs your school offers. (Not starting a company now? Get some business cards or create an LLC in case you change your mind later!)

Putting entrepreneurial plans into action

Studies indicate that the number of students who strike out on their own after completing their MBAs has been on the rise for the past few years. If you find yourself passionate about a new business idea, there are many great ways that your MBA can support you as you move forward with your plans to start your business. We've got some tips for you as you pursue your entrepreneurial plans!

1. Consider an internship: you may have had plans to pour yourself into your business over the summer, but consider this: the time you have now can provide a unique opportunity to investigate the inner workings of a startup organization. Getting behind the scenes of a fledgling company may provide amazing perspective regarding what to do - and what not to do - as your company gets off the ground. Are you considering a startup environment but not sure what you might get paid, or concerned about finding the right fit? There are several resources that can help.

Click here for more tips on how to get your entrepreneurial plans rolling.

Not sure about entrepreneurship?

You might not have found what you're looking for yet. Starting your own business is a way to continue learning and build skills that will make you more employable in the long-run. One of my classmates opened a juice shop when his big-3 consulting job evaporated; he parlayed skills learned at that shop into an executive role at a startup that went public. If you find yourself focusing on the idea of life as an entrepreneur, do the following:

1. Talk to your classmates: ask around and see if any of your classmates are starting anything. Remember, you don't have to be the first with the idea, and you don't have to be the CEO: every business needs people who are enthusiastic about helping and willing to commit the time to get things done. This doesn't have to be a major commitment - you could always donate a few hours of your time to an interesting idea to see if it is right for you.

Read on for more things you can do as you explore entrepreneurship!

Not interested in entrepreneurship?

Of course, you may feel that none of this applies to you at all, and that's okay! It's still worth visiting your school's entrepreneurship center to learn a little about what it takes to run your own business. Not only does this provide extraordinary insight into the overall process of how a business is run, but it could come in handy in the future. You may meet a classmate who will invite you to join his or her company several years down the road, practice viewing a company through the perspective of a VC investor, learn about ways to grow a business that can benefit even the most mature organization, or even go back to what you learned years later when you decide - against all odds - that you do, in fact, want to start your own business!

Missed a week or two? Click here for our article archives.

Having trouble viewing this email? Open it in a new window.

Explore more on 100weeksprint.com