Introduction to an Ivey Entrepreneur

I took a deep breath and clicked on the email with the subject title “Important Information from Ivey”. Why don’t they just tell you in the subject line? I clicked, closed my eyes and prepared myself for the worst. “Dear Adwoa, Congratulations!”

I am not a typical MBA student and I was accepted into what I would soon discover is not your typical MBA program. I was 26 years old with a successful track record in Human Resources but I had already hit a brick wall in my professional life. I found my work uninspiring and monotonous and I felt myself growing miserable with the direction my life was taking. Like many other twenty-something’s I was struggling to figure out what I wanted to do “when I grew up”. And I was making little progress, fast. Something had to give.

My dad encouraged me to go back to school. I wasn’t quite sure that sitting in a classroom was the solution to my problem. I was looking for an answer that was a little more – let’s say – exhilarating. I was ready to conquer the world. I wanted an exciting career that would be fulfilling and meaningful. I wanted to work with intelligent and creative individuals who aspired to not only do something, but be something. I wanted to create value. I wanted to run the show. Finally, I wanted to be surrounded by people who did not look at me strangely when I said these things out loud.

I began my business school journey by planning for my future. I took stock of where I had been, where I was and where I wanted to go. I thought about my values and my competencies and envisioned what the ideal job for me would be. I was not going after someone else’s idea of what a “perfect” job would be. Only I could define that for myself. I loved working with people and being in charge. I wanted room for creativity and unlimited learning opportunities. I wanted freedom to set my own agenda and excel. My work ethic is second to none and I wanted to be challenged daily.

I did not want a structured corporate environment with narrowly defined work. I flushed out the ideas of what I wanted to achieve from an MBA program and what my next step would be. I wasn’t interested in living and working by someone else’s rules. I wanted to create my own. I had always wanted to take an entrepreneurial path but thought that would happen sometime after I had 20 years experience under my belt. It was during this time that I made the decision to leave the corporation where I worked and started my own HR consulting company. It was the best decision I ever made.

I knew my focus would be entrepreneurship in business school. This goal would lead me to one place. The Richard Ivey School of Business. First, it’s Ivey; one of the best business programs in the world with an unbelievable reputation in Canada and globally. Second, it’s one year. I would be out in a blink of an eye. Third, the case study method was incredibly appealing. I needed practical and experiential learning that I could use as an aspiring entrepreneur. Finally, Ivey has the Pierre L. Morrissette Institute for Entrepreneurship so was the place to go to make my dream come true.

My name is Adwoa, I am originally from Ghana, West Africa and I moved to Canada in 1996 for my undergraduate studies at McMaster University. I worked in Human Resources for 7 years before I started working on my own. I chose to return to school to pursue Entrepreneurship and it has been a life changing experience.

For aspiring entrepreneurs, I truly believe the key to success is the desire and willingness to learn and this is a lifelong process. I also do not believe that it matters where this learning comes from - in the classroom, on the job, on the streets, in the school of hard knocks or from an experienced mentor.

For me, I chose to return to school. I simply do not have the time to learn all that I need to know through trial and error or on my own. I wanted to study the inner workings of successful businesses (I do this everyday with our cases), I wanted to study under the guidance of experienced mentors (our incomparable faculty give me access to insight and years of research) and I wanted to connect with like minded individuals (Ivey’s exceptional alumni base provides me with a network that is second to none).

Over the next few months, I will blog about my experiences here at Ivey as an entrepreneur and the extraordinary opportunities offered by the Institute for Entrepreneurship. I will share my learning from the courses offered, the 3x5 dinners, the New Venture Project, the IBK Business Plan Competition, the Ivey Women’s Entrepreneur Events, their Scholarship Program as well as all the various opportunities for learning, growth and support available in this incredible community.

Please do not hesitate to contact me (.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)) if you have questions or comments. I welcome them and happy to help out in any way I can.

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