5 years after MBA after I look at myself and compare was I better off without an MBA?
LIFE HAS NO PLACE FOR IFS AND BUTS
So now I have to stay with the ‘degree’ next to my name for rest of my life..
While I was having a marathon run from pillar to post during my admissions for MBA never would I have imagined that I will be writing such an article after 5 years.
Not that I regret being an ‘MBA- Marketing’ for a simple reason that I enjoy marketing…. even reading makes me happy!!
But like any Marketing Post Graduate would feel; I do- ‘I didn’t do marketing for Sales…’
Sales is important for your life… it builds your character.. but when it blocks your doing-talking-marketing’ dream; it starts to choke.
SO what MBA did to me? Character? Perseverance? Grit? Knowledge? Dreams? Hopes? Happiness to my family? A yes to all of above..
But it also gave me an education loan, a no-one-achieves-targets job, dragging along with it a confidence killing feeling.
One would say what’s big deal with huge targets jobs? Its a phenomenon of jobs in India not just sales. Imagine a person who is not cut-out for sales? He has landed into sales to learn what happens at the ground level and then graduate into a marketing role enabling him to understand his work in a better way. Confidence KILLER…
Not that jobs was on my mind all the time.. But coming from a middle class family with parents retired from govt job, I was always expected to do a ‘service’ instead of a business.
However; my DNA was different. Being in std 7th had come up with a magazine along with my school friend Mandar. We both were deep drenched in cricket. We wrote articles, trivia, poems in the magazine.. With whatever resources we had we printed first edition black & white at my partner’s place and made photocopies of the same and sold it for Rs.10. The cost/copy was much more than that. We had to price it so low coz:
(a) We had to sell it to school children &
(b) We were competing with the high gloss finely color printed Sportstar and others in the league which were ranging between Rs. 10 & Rs.25.
With every copy sold we were ensuring a loss… But it gave immense satisfaction to do a loss making business… Serious happiness!!!!!
So did MBA teach me to learn doing business in a profitable way?? A big NO.
Your instinct never changes.. I again as time phased; started to look at options what good to get into. Had decided one thing; whatever it is; it has to be something to do with the consumer directly.. A consumer product or a service.
The idea cropped when I faced problem paying a my credit card offline as there were no payment centers in Kolhapur (that was the place where I started my career post MBA from Mumbai). An Offline bill payment service.. Its not rewarding as much and not as lucrative and easy as it sounds… I decided to continue pursuing the idea. I finally have reached a stage where I can say I am ready to start my business.
So did MBA give me the idea? OR MBA give me the problem which I felt to solve and think of a service which would ease bill payment problems of a customer?
NO
But the things MBA gave me (my education loan, and other family responsibilities… which come with time) were over powering my instinct.
MBA helped me have a structured thinking which you get on Google these days. Dont know what else I got coz of the degree..
One thing is for sure… MBA is not something for young entrepreneurs. You will be better off without it… Limit your liabilities. Limit expectations.. give more time to your dream..
Kapil Bhatia.
RODINHOOD (NOT MBA FOR A CHANGE)