{"id":58445,"date":"2023-08-11T05:31:04","date_gmt":"2023-08-11T12:31:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/2023\/08\/tips-to-help-you-make-the-most-of-the-b-school-experience\/"},"modified":"2023-10-30T07:08:55","modified_gmt":"2023-10-30T14:08:55","slug":"tips-to-help-you-make-the-most-of-the-b-school-experience","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/tips-to-help-you-make-the-most-of-the-b-school-experience\/","title":{"rendered":"Tips to Help You Make the Most of the B-School Experience"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Stacy Blackman and Chandler Arnold Share Their Lasting Lessons<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Is an MBA in your immediate future, or still on the horizon? Either way, you won\u2019t want to miss the sage advice shared by Stacy Blackman and SBC consultant\u00a0Chandler Arnold<\/a>. Both are serial entrepreneurs who continually tap into lessons learned during business school with each new venture they launch. Whether you have entrepreneurial ambitions or just want to make the most of your time in business school, don\u2019t sleep on these nuggets of wisdom from their recent conversation on our B-Schooled<\/em> podcast<\/a>.<\/p>\n

But first, here\u2019s a thumbnail sketch of these successful innovators.<\/p>\n

Stacy started her eponymous MBA consulting firm in 2001 and has since built SBC into an industry leader in the admissions consultancy space. A few years ago, she wanted to scratch a new entrepreneurial itch\u2014a passion project in consumer-packaged goods. Along with two partners, one of whom is a board-certified pediatric dermatologist, Stacy launched\u00a0Stryke Club<\/a>, a skincare line for teen boys. Stryke Club exploded onto the market and is now sold in Target, Walmart, Urban Outfitters, and beyond.<\/span><\/p>\n

Chandler co-hosts <\/span>B-Schooled<\/em> and has focused his purpose-driven career on scaling international social enterprises in both the private and public sectors. For over a decade, Chandler served as the COO of First Book, an international nonprofit that has distributed 185 million new books (valued at $1.5B) to needy children. A marketing innovator, Chandler has also developed multimillion-dollar public-private marketing campaigns with Disney, Pizza Hut, Penguin Random House, Target, and other Fortune 500 companies. He holds an MBA from Stanford GSB.<\/span><\/p>\n

And now, onto the good stuff!<\/span><\/p>\n

Curious about your chances of getting into a top B-school?\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>Contact us<\/em><\/strong><\/a>\u00a0to talk strategy with a free 15-minute advising session with an SBC Principal Consultant.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"entrepreneurs\"<\/p>\n

What specific lesson did you learn in B-school and have held onto in your entrepreneurial work?<\/span><\/h3>\n

Stacy:<\/strong>\u00a0A lot of times, entrepreneurs can get paralyzed by perfection. Something I picked up early on from a professor was the idea of \u201ctest and learn.\u201d He said, \u201cthrow it out there, see what sticks. Do it quickly, do it imperfectly, and iterate.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

You can hypothesize and plan all you want. But you only know if you have a good idea, if it will resonate, once you throw it out there. I\u2019m a big fan of challenging myself to push something out and get honest feedback to see what works and pivot if needed. That would be my first entrepreneurial lesson: to test and learn.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Chandler:\u00a0<\/strong>I remember a professor talking to us about \u201cunexploited domain\u201d\u2026 what\u2019s the thing that no one is paying attention to? What\u2019s the gap in the market? Maybe that\u2019s funeral homes, sewer systems, or clean water\u2014anything that might seem unsexy or that people have ignored.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

When my friends and I launched\u00a0Go There Wines<\/a>, we looked at the market and saw gazillions of wine companies and clubs. But I\u2019m a member of the queer community. My colleague Rose is big on women entrepreneurs. We were very interested in wines from people of color. But it\u2019s super hard to find wines made by this new era of winemakers: women, people of color, refugees, members of the queer community. It wasn\u2019t that those wines didn\u2019t exist\u2014it was just hard to find them in the United States. For us, that was our unexploited domain.<\/p>\n

I always encourage entrepreneurs to think about not running to the thing that everyone else is doing. Instead, listen to your heart, your head, and look at the market to see where the need is.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

What are your thoughts on networking for entrepreneurs?\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

Stacy:<\/strong>\u00a0I tend to be more introverted. I\u2019m a fan of hunkering down, doing the work, and pushing things forward. I didn\u2019t \u201cwaste time\u201d networking with people I didn\u2019t know or have a conversation with people I would never see again. But my early business partners and later my husband are the opposite of that. They pushed me to have those conversations with intelligent people who\u2019ve had interesting experiences and have broad networks themselves.<\/span><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve found over the years that, whether\u00a0<\/span>in the moment or later, all these contacts become the fabric of your broader business and personal life. Everyone has something to bring to the table. You never know where people might be helpful or where you can help them.<\/p>\n

Also, many people will advise you to hold back your ideas when starting a new company. Keep it a secret. You don\u2019t want to share, or someone might steal your idea. And I have come to not believe in that.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I say, tell people your ideas! They\u2019re going to build on it, introduce you to someone, or tell you about some website that\u2019s important for you to know. Networking is so valuable, even when it\u2019s not obvious why you\u2019re connecting with persons A, B, and C. All those contacts come to have interesting outcomes over time.<\/span><\/p>\n

The other lesson from school that I think is relevant to any founder is about trusting yourself\u2014especially when other people doubt you.<\/span><\/p>\n

When you reflect on your time in business school or your ventures, are there things you wish you\u2019d done differently?\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n
\n

Stacy:<\/strong>\u00a0Business school truly was a life-changing experience for me professionally and personally, which is why I\u2019m such a fan and have devoted my career to helping others interested in that path.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

One thing I wish I had been more aware of relates to networking. Every time I go back to a reunion, I have great conversations with people I didn\u2019t know well in business school. (There were about 600 people in my class.) Sure, I made amazing friends and have had incredible relationships with friends from business school to today.<\/p>\n

But I go back to my reunions, talk to these classmates, and think, \u201cWow, I wish I\u2019d gotten to know you as well.\u201d I wish I had made more of an effort to break out of my obvious circles because it was such an incredibly diverse group of amazing people. And for me, it really is the people that are the lasting benefit of business school.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Chandler:\u00a0<\/strong>I couldn\u2019t agree more. I wish I had stepped out of my comfort zone more and done it earlier in my MBA experience. As I mentioned, I came from a nonprofit background. It was 2002, and I had just come out of the closet. So, I quickly made many friends from the education and nonprofit worlds and the queer community. And those were all great because they gave me a safe group of friends I trusted quickly and felt very comfortable with.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But in the second year, I wish I\u2019d pushed myself and made more friends from the corporate finance world or more friends doing completely different things socially, personally, or professionally.<\/span><\/p>\n

Knowing that, what would you advise an incoming MBA student?<\/span><\/h3>\n

Chandler<\/strong>: Business school is this magic time when you can go up to anyone in your class and say, \u201cHey, do you want to grab a cup of coffee? I loved what you said in class, and I\u2019d like to talk more.\u201d And everyone is in this great head space so that 99 times out of a hundred, they will say, \u201cYes, let\u2019s do it.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s just not that way in the real world, as much as we would like it to be. There\u2019s a very low bar to reach out and meet new people. And it\u2019s easier than any other time in your professional life. So, take the opportunity to push yourself outside your comfort zone because you can easily develop new networks in different categories, sectors, and industries there in school.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"entrepreneurs\"<\/p>\n

Also, I\u2019ll say I honestly don\u2019t remember what grades I got in most classes. But I do remember the way I spent my time with friends.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I remember my second year, I was deciding between spending a lot of extra time in this regression class or doing the business school show at Stanford. I ended up in a super silly play with a bunch of people I\u2019d never met before, and I\u2019m in touch with all those people now. Could I run a regression? Yeah, I could do it. But which has been more helpful? For the course of my life over the last 20 years, it was doing the show and meeting this new group of people.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Is there something that you have a new perspective about now as you look back?\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

Stacy:<\/strong>\u00a0None of us, on some level, really know what we\u2019re doing, especially in an entrepreneurial environment. People haven\u2019t done this before, so you\u2019re operating in uncertainty. That\u2019s what it means to be an entrepreneur. You\u2019re building something that doesn\u2019t exist, and it\u2019s okay not to know what you\u2019re doing.<\/span><\/p>\n

When I was younger, I had so many insecurities and fear about not impressing the VC, not saying the right thing, or appearing inexperienced in the presentation. And that just made my journey unnecessarily stressful. I wish I could have just owned it and been okay with not knowing what I was doing and proceeded anyway without fear.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
Feel the fear and do it anyway. Own that inexperience and run with it.\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n
\n

That\u2019s what I\u2019ve done now with Stryke Club. I had no idea what I was doing initially, but by that point, I was like, that\u2019s okay. I\u2019m intelligent. I can learn about manufacturing potions and putting them in bottles. That comfort with uncertainty and the lack of knowledge made the ride smoother for me. So yeah, I wish I had had that peace with uncertainty and lack of knowledge earlier.<\/p>\n

Chandler:<\/strong>\u00a0I had a lot of regrets in business school about what I wasn\u2019t doing when I was studying. I was worried that I wasn\u2019t out meeting classmates. And when I was out meeting classmates, I was worried that I wasn\u2019t prepping for my summer interviews. While preparing for summer interviews, I worried that I wasn\u2019t getting to know San Francisco or whatever it might have been.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

And the truth is, business school is drinking from a fire hose. There are too many things to be able to do everything by a long shot. I wish I\u2019d come to peace about that earlier on and hadn\u2019t struggled to do everything. What\u2019s most important is finding a balance that includes time to rest, sleep, and occasionally recharge.<\/span><\/p>\n

Do you have any parting advice for readers?<\/span><\/h3>\n

Stacy:<\/strong>\u00a0When you\u2019re building a new business, it\u2019s a long haul. It can be years from the time you start to the time you launch to the time you see success. There will be many ups and downs and wrong turns along the way. So instead of focusing so much on that endpoint, focus on taking little steps every day. Everything counts. Keep pushing forward. If you can wake up in the morning and take two or three steps, whatever it is, you\u2019re making progress.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Even if that progress is a wrong turn and you realize it\u2019s wrong and correct it, that\u2019s progress! You\u2019re learning from your mistakes. On this journey, the only wrong action is becoming frozen because you\u2019re trying to do it all right. Or getting intimidated by how much there is to do. So, keep your head down and make a goal to take a couple of steps every day.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

My favorite quote is from my hero, Yoda. He says, \u201cDo or do not. There is no try.\u201d I really take that to heart in my life. When you ask someone, \u201cCan you come over Thursday night?\u201d And they say, \u201cYeah, I\u2019ll try to stop by.\u201d You pretty much know that that\u2019s a no.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

If you want to do something, you\u2019re going to do it. So, do or do not. There is no try. Those are my words of wisdom.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
***<\/div>\n
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We hope you\u2019ve enjoyed these excerpts from Stacy and Chandler\u2019s conversation about business school and the entrepreneurial journey. To hear their complete conversation, listen to\u00a0B-Schooled\u00a0#150\u00a0here<\/a>\u00a0or wherever you get your podcasts.<\/p>\n

Stacy Blackman Consulting offers multiple services to meet your MBA application needs, from our\u00a0All-In Partnership<\/a>\u00a0to test prep to hourly help with targeted tasks. Contact us today for a\u00a0free 15-minute advising session<\/a>\u00a0to talk strategy with a Principal SBC consultant.\u00a0Here\u2019s a snapshot of the caliber of expertise on\u00a0our SBC team<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The post Tips to Help You Make the Most of the B-School Experience<\/a> appeared first on Stacy Blackman Consulting - MBA Admissions Consulting<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Stacy Blackman and Chandler Arnold Share Their Lasting Lessons Is an MBA in your immediate future, or still on the horizon? Either way, you won\u2019t want to miss the sage…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":122,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,749,775,243],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-58445","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-mba","category-stacy-blackman","category-admission-consultants","category-blog","entry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58445","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/122"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=58445"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58445\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":59662,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58445\/revisions\/59662"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=58445"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=58445"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=58445"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}