Business Challenges Averted With Education

Heading back to school is one way for Hispanic business owners to gain the skills necessary to tackle the challenges that often come with entrepreneurship

On the surface it looks like Hispanic business owners are finally beginning to break into the U.S. economy. In its 2007 Survey of Business Owners, the U.S. Census Bureau reported that the number of Hispanic-owned businesses had increased to 2.3 million, up an astonishing 43.7 percent from the last survey in 2002, a rate much higher than the increase in the overall number of small businesses. These companies generated more than $345 billion in receipts, also up more than 55 percent from 2002. About 50 percent were in wholesale trade, construction and retail trade sectors. While many of these companies were in New Mexico, Florida, and Texas, Hispanic leaders are urging their fellow entrepreneurs across the country to take the leap and start a business. As a Hispanic entrepreneur the challenges to starting and running your own business may seem formidable. You must grapple with the day-to-day operations of a business, act as chief cheerleader and salesperson and be concerned with a variety of issues that may be unfamiliar–accounting, information technology, marketing, social media, Web creation, business law basics, contract law, human resources, business strategy and planning, networking, and a host of others. Fortunately help is available. Back to School Education can be a crucial component to starting your business. The Kauffman Foundation reports that 20 out of every 100 Hispanic men with some type of graduate education experience attempt to start some type of new business. But where can Hispanic entrepreneurs turn to obtain the knowledge they need to start a successful enterprise? Studying for an MBA degree is one way to obtain this knowledge. Lists of possible school options include, U.S. News and World Report’s 2013 list of top full-time and part-time MBA degree programs or the top online MBA programs. Other options you might want to consider include:

• Condensed Courses: If you want to get up and running faster than the traditional MBA route, many top schools such as Cornell University, Kellogg School of Management and Babson College offer condensed MBA programs that can be completed in one full year, often at a substantially lower cost than the traditional two-year programs.