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Despite having an ambition of starting their startup or company endeavor, most business graduates end up working in high-paying but service-oriented employment for the rest of their lives. If your family already owns a fully operational business, you'll never need to work for anybody else.
Getting into an MBA school when you come from a family business background poses a few challenges. Many are concerned that their "unconventional" background may jeopardize their MBA admissions prospects while competing against applicants from typical blue-chip organizations. Well, this is a common misperception that top B-schools prefer non-family business applicants; this is not the case; applicants with a family business provide a unique perspective and experiences to the schools, which one should emphasize in your MBA application.
This article is all about the challenges and advantages that an applicant faces during the application process; this article is a myth buster and will clear most applicants' doubts.
Here is a snapshot of the article:
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-Why does someone with business experience have a competitive advantage over other applicants?
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-The advantages and Challenges of a Family Business MBA Candidate
Introduction
Over 70% of the world's businesses are thought to be family-owned. Family-controlled businesses account for 30%. Now the Issues in family business systems are sometimes complex and sensitive. The complicated intricacies of a family business environment may be devastating when a business is managed improperly.
Family businesses typically prefer the traditional business style; productivity suffers from just this one aspect. As technology and innovative ways advance, these businesses fall behind in some ways. This is where an MBA in family business comes in and helps them understand several paths. Business schools think their most valuable personal and professional resources are one another. Their programs emphasize personal conversations, long-term partnerships, and stewardship.
Why pursue an MBA in family business?
The MBA in Family Business program aims to help family-owned enterprises grasp the changing dynamics of competition and organization caused by liberalization, privatization, and globalization. MBA in Family Business Management is a program developed for those who want to be a part of their family business and want to expand, diversify, and manage it and those with entrepreneurial aspirations. This course also prepares you to be an entrepreneur and prepares you for management positions in commercial enterprises.
When a business degree holder takes over the reins of their business, they will undoubtedly make some significant cuts and adjustments, which may be extremely difficult for organizations with centralized processes. This is when having a business degree comes in helpful.
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-An MBA degree provides you with the necessary knowledge and abilities. You need to solve issues, make decisions, think strategically, and more. An MBA will broaden students' understanding of the fundamentals of business and management.
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-An MBA in family business will teach you how to implement current approaches to maximize revenue while minimizing capital.
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-MBA programs will also educate you on communication skills that may be utilized effectively in marketing, particularly when presenting your company strategy to investors.
Who should study for an MBA in Family Business?
MBA in Family Business is a curriculum established specifically for
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-Owners/successors of next-generation family businesses
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-Founders of startups
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-Aspiring Business Owners
Criteria for eligibility
-The candidate must hold an undergraduate degree.
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-Many B-schools also require applicants to have at least two years of work experience. Some may not require job experience, but experts believe it might offer you an edge, so keep that in mind.
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-Applicants who want to study MBA in Family Business overseas must submit GMAT/GRE scores, IELTS/TOEFL/PTE scores, and SOP and LORs.
Why does someone with business experience have a competitive advantage over other applicants?
Real-world experience- Because of the nature of graduate education, most MBA schools need applicants to have job experience, particularly those that depend on case studies and classroom engagement. Work experience enables you to integrate business theory and ideas with an actual application you have been professionally involved in. Furthermore, you learn from your peers' practical experiences. This blend of business theory and real-world experience distinguishes graduate education from undergraduate education.
Increased chances of admission to an MBA program.-Prior business experience, in addition to your academic achievements, GMAT score, extracurricular activities, and personal accomplishments, is an essential factor in improving your chances of admission to an MBA school.
A more defined professional path - Some applicants apply for MBA programs immediately after completing their bachelor's degree or getting a small amount of job experience, and here is where they fall short. However, having business experience will undoubtedly set you apart from the crowd, as it demonstrates that you are enthusiastic about what you want to learn, whereas non-traditional backgrounds have less experience and ground experience, which gives applicants an advantage over other applicants
How do you prove your professional experience?
The ability to market yourself, your skills, and what you will offer to the MBA program is essential for every successful MBA application. "The candidate must convince the admissions committee that they would have been just as productive in a business that their family did not control; an applicant should emphasize how working for the family business offered them with more possibilities and challenges than you could have attained anywhere; else." After all, working for a family company is not simple. There is significantly more pressure, and the most significant thing you can do as an MBA applicant is to concentrate on your areas of development and value.
The challenge today is how an applicant may demonstrate their professional experience, given that a family recommendation or experience is not regarded in the application.
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-How far did you contribute to the company's growth throughout your tenure?
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-What corporate objectives did you meet?
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-How did your leadership help the business grow?
Now, the answers to these questions may differ from person to person but bear in mind that these are the questions that one should keep in mind while considering how to verify their experience.
Advantages and challenges
Advantages:
-Realistic Future career objectives -Family business applicants have a significant edge in this regard. If they make a compelling case for an MBA, they should have no issue-defining goals that an admissions committee will accept.
-Experience – while family business applicants have more financial and management responsibilities than the applicant pool as a whole. While this undoubtedly applies to the CEO of the family business, it also often applies to anybody who has worked at their family business. After two or more years of work, the speed of their progress is evident in virtually all situations. This usually signifies that the family business applicant has little trouble demonstrating significant accomplishments in their resume, essays, and interviews. but they have extensive work experience.
Challenges:
-Creating goals that are both attention-getting and dynamic- While it is relatively easy for family business applicants to make their objectives believable, developing goals that are intriguing to the reader might be more challenging.
-Experience connected to team members - Few applicants will not have problems articulating team member experience. However, on the other side, some have had little exposure to not being the leader, which can be challenging to explain.
-Letter of Recommendations - Like many MBA applicants, family business applicants sometimes struggle to obtain recommendations. Because family members are not seen as objective enough, having your grandfather, father, mother, uncle, aunt, and so on writing your recommendation is not an option. Many family businesses do not have supervisor recommenders; instead, they seek recommendations from senior non-family member colleagues who do not report to them, clients, business partners, and outside consultants. Family business candidates with prior or current non-family company expertise are less likely to encounter this issue, at least not with all of their recommenders.
Best MBA programs for family businesses
- The Kellogg Center for Family Enterprises
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-Harvard Business School (HBS) Family Business Club
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-Columbia's Family Business Program
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-MIT Sloan Family Enterprise Programs
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-Wharton Global Family Alliance
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-Cornell Johnson's Smith Family Business Initiative
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-Olin's Koch Center for Family Business
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-UNC's Family Enterprise Center
How to Explain Your Work Experience in an Essay?
-Explaining your job experience is something you must do so that it reflects the attributes that a school seeks in your profile. Because most applicants' families own businesses, it is difficult to make the work experience on paper credible.
For starters
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-Don't ask your family to suggest you: Your father's, mother's, uncle's, or aunt's letter of reference will not go down well with the adcom, so avoid asking them to suggest you in the first place, rather you can obtain a certificate on official corporate paper stating your job in the firm and the period, which can be certified by any senior officer or manager. If your family business is not registered correctly, your certificate and work experience will be invalid.
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It might be challenging to express your job experience on paper when you work for a family-owned business. However, there are a few methods you can include your experience in the essay.
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- Demonstrate your leadership abilities by citing instances or decisions that positively influenced the company and its employees.
-While this is for all applicants, it is especially true for those with family businesses: evaluating your achievements boosts your credibility - and telling the adcoms about your success while working for the firm provides you an edge. However, the point here is how you would establish trust;
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let us explain this with an example; if you got new clients for your business through connections, social media, or any other channel, state how many and how long it took you to win their trust.
The point we're trying to make is that communicating in generalizations has a negative impact and will harm your credibility. be detailed with figures and statistics
- In most family businesses, there is a lack of long-term planning, especially if it is a startup, family difficulties such as health or family conflicts may interfere with the firm, and so on. You may give an example of a time when you successfully overcome a similar challenge. Perhaps you used your influence to persuade others in positions of authority to create a business strategy to address the challenges and conflicts.
Pursuing an MBA with family business experience gives you an advantage over regular MBA candidates. However, it also comes with problems, such as completing an MBA application and understanding where and how to place the experience and necessary information. And here is where our MBA and beyond experts come in; we helped candidates with family experience get through the rigorous process, so help us to help you get to the top B-school of your choice, schedule a call with our experts and find out where you stand right now.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Should I do MBA if I have a family business?
The MBA in Family Business program seeks to assist family-owned businesses in understanding the changing dynamics of competition and organization brought about by liberalization, privatization, and globalization. MBA in Family Business Management is a program designed for people who want to be a part of their family business and help it grow, diversify, and manage, as well as those who want to start their own business
2. Does family business count as work experience for GMAT?
Work experience for the GMAT is likewise heavily weighted toward small family firms. Candidates with appropriate talents would always outperform in the yes of the B-schools. Yes, top business schools and Ivy leagues accept family business work experience. They feel that a student from such a background may contribute various perspectives and ideas to the classroom.
3. How do you put a family business background on a resume?
You should mention your family business on your resume if (1) it has relevant experience to the position you're going for and (2) it was your most recent employment. Or (3) you've only been in the workforce for a few years and want to show that you've worked for numerous years.
