The Portable MBA in Entrepreneurship

by William D. Bygrave (Editor)

This new and updated third edition equips real-world entrepreneurs with the same state-of-the-art business knowledge and information taught to MBA candidates in top business schools. Within this book you’ll find all the entrepreneurial advice you need to run a

Genres: Business, Entrepreneurship, Management, Reference, Nonfiction, Buisness, Economics

504 pages, Hardcover

First published December 31, 1993

Reviews

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Portable MBA for Entrepreneurship is in no way a complete replacement for an MBA course program, but it does help cover all the main areas that one would get in a full MBA program. The topics are all covered by experts and professors in their field of profession and study. Each chapter gives you an understanding of how the topic fits into a typical MBA curriculum and then explains all the main vocabulary that one would learn on the subject. For example, when discussing Financial Statements, the common words of account payables and receivables and balance sheet are all there to ensure that the main areas are covered. The only drawback to such a book, and it is understandable, is that the book does not include case studies, as this is the main dish of an MBA program. All MBA students are required to work on case studies 50% of their time in school along with the readings, which are in fact only supplemental to the case studies in solving the programs presented.

The book is broken down into the following areas.
Chapter 1. The Entrepreneurial Process
Chapter 2. Idea Generation
Chapter 3. Opportunity Recognition, Shaping and Reshaping
Chapter 4. Entrepreneurial Marketing
Chapter 5. Business Planning
Chapter 6. Building Your Pro Forma Financial Statements
Chapter 7. Equity Financing: Informal Investment, Venture Capital, and Harvesting
Chapter 8. Debt and other forms of Financing
Chapter 9. External Assistance for Start-Ups and Small Business
Chapter 10. Legal and Tax Issues
Chapter 11. Intellectual Property
Chapter 12. Selling in Entrepreneurial Context
Chapter 13. Beyond Start-up: Developing and Sustaining the Growing Organization
Chapter 14. Franchising
Chapter 15. Social Entrepreneurship

The Chapters are lengthy and cover all the main points that one would need to know when reading the material. In the current market conditions, many who are looking to get an MBA education, some have considered taking the self-taught route and are wondering, “If I read this book, will it be enough for me to know how to start-up my own company?” The answer is yes, the only thing you would lack is classroom experience covering case studies, which in translation means understanding how to approach problems that you will face and how to handle them. The other area you will lack opportunities in is networking events, but this can be off-set by going online and joining your local, regional, or state entrepreneurship organizations. The only downside to working on an unofficial self-taught MBA course is that you do not have the opportunity to ask questions to your professor and get real-world feedback. You can use the internet to ask questions and start your own online community of support which might off-set the classroom experience but it all depends on what you plan on getting out of the course work. It’s the same material just different motivation and opportunity levels. If you network and join groups and make contacts and start building relationships then you will have accomplished the same thing that undergrad and graduate level students do.

As one professor in the business school explained to me, business is 90% about making contacts and meeting people you will want to work with and start a company with. The rest of your time in school is spent reading what your professors expect you to know.

If you are unsure about getting into an MBA program, this is a good book to sit down with and study to find out if this is something you want to be learning for three years. It covers all you will need to know in a concise manner.

[Nayef Kazzaz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book, not for beginners though

I am considering going into business, after investing my time through my early 30s in education, so I can augment or switch my income. Books has extreme details but if you do not have some background in business, as in my case, some chapters will baffling. I am planning to get back to this book later once I formulated a business plan probably with the help of an MBA student in an incubator. To be honest even stupid me got to learn something such as the incubator existance and what basic help I need.

In short you will get from the book based on your level, if you are a beginner like me then you will get around 30 percent, if you are and expert you will know 50 percent of that stuff but will find the rest 50 percent quite interesting and will enjoy the myriad of sources and resources the book offers.

[Trinh Chau · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s an old time book but still good for those who want to learn back to basic about entrepreneurship at a whole.

[Buck · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great book, but needs updating like all of this series. A shame to see it abandoned.

[Courtney · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was assigned reading for a business class. The book is a great resource to aspiring entrepreneurs. There are great examples and explanations to each step of a venture creation. This is a great tool to new-venture creation.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

First chapter was engaging with just enough encouragement to make me not abandon entrepreneurial dreams...yet.

[Brimley]

What did I learn from this book..that I would love a job where I didn't need to have this book.

[Lori Grant · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must-read book on entrepreneurship for knowledge workers and aspiring entrepreneurs.