First, a brief thank you note to
Stratus Prep for being the most responsive member of the "profile evaluation" community here. I only wanted to post once--unsure if cross-posting is allowed here--so I wanted to choose the most responsive expert.
Work Experience:I own and operate two businesses--one local and one web-based. The first, and the one that provides most of my income, is a local business providing private event DJs for weddings and private events and audio/visual solutions for weddings, conferences, rallies, panel discussions, etc. I've grown the business from just myself, $1000 worth of equipment and $30,000 of annual revenue to 5 part time employees, $200,000+ worth of equipment and over $300,000 in annual revenue in just 5 years. I also operate a blog about frequent flier miles and points monetized by affiliate marketing and individual consulting services. In the past 24 months, I've taken more than 10 intercontinental trips--all in first or business class--using points or miles, and advise others on how to do the same.
GRE (Yes, I also see the irony of choosing to take the GRE and posting on GMATclub): I'll be taking it next week and anticipate scoring somewhere in the 85-95 percentile. I've always been a good test taker (1480 SAT) and while practice test scoring is an inexact science, I believe I'm in the ~90th percentile neighborhood.
UndergradMy undergraduate track record is spotty/unusual. I attended College of Charleston for 4 years ultimately suspended for poor academic performance. After starting my business and using that as a catalyst for success elsewhere in life, I attended some community college classes to get my GPA up and will graduate from University of Virginia this Spring with a ~3.25 GPA and business concentration.
OtherObviously my focus will be on a maturation process and turnaround inspired by my successful business coupled with my demonstrated ability as a business owner and manager. My primary reasons for wanting to attend b school:
1) To refine management skills and understand the other side of the experience/learning approach to management.
2) To build a network of other like-minded people and potentially business partners in entrepreneurship.
3) Transition -- the event business is not one that offers "family-friendly" hours--often working all weekend--so I'd like to open some more doors in the corporate world if I decide to go that way.
Also, my capstone project at UVA is a comparison between the business climates in Shanghai and Hong Kong for SMEs. It's an ~80 page project and I'll be sending a copy to the admissions committees to hopefully demonstrate aptitude and interest for business.
I also believe I'm a very personable individual and will be a unique interview. One of my best skills is as a "people person"--indeed it's often one of the most important ingredients for local businesses--so it's another asset I'd like to highlight in that I deal with 20-30 "end-user type" customers per week which is an experience many coming from a consulting, banking, etc background will not have.
My absolute first choice school is UVA/Darden. I love their teaching style and I know it's the place where I can be most successful. I'm also likely applying to UCLA, Texas, UNC, Duke and Southern California.
How do you like my chances and approach?
ETA: I am a 28 year old male (would be 29 by fall enrollment)