I Got My MBA Today...

OK - not really. We've got one more semester to do this spring... then we'll officially have our MBAs... but today... we earned our stripes today!

New Venture Creation has been one of my favorite classes in the program. In this course we've taken just about everything we've been learning for the last year and a half... Marketing, Finance, Branding, Accounting, Law... seriously, ALL of it, and in a mere 6 weeks have applied it by creating a business from scratch... then today we pitched that plan to a panel of judges and potential investors for feedback.

Holy $#$%^. We've done A LOT of presentations and public speaking throughout this program, but this assignment was like fighting for your life. These panelists didn't hold back in their critiques so we had to come prepared to NAIL it. Throughout the course of this class we've had other professionals and entrepreneurs provide us with feedback as we've developed our pitches. From this it seems that 1/2 the lesson has been to stay open and flexible to this professional feedback and make adjustments as needed; the business plan my team and I pitched today was very different from that first pitch we did in the beginning - you know... back when we simply had a "good idea". In the interim, my hardworking teammates, Britni McCotter and Gabe Maldonado and I reshaped this mere good idea into a viable business plan with high earning potential.

Congrats to my dMBA cohort - it was a blast celebrating w/ you this evening on a job well done!

dMBA - There's an App For That

Last week we wrapped up our 1st fall term in Year 2 (Y2) of the dMBA program. With classes in Business Law & Ethics, Project Management and Applied Digital Convergence (ADC), its exciting to observe how Y2 builds on Year 1 (Y1).

Y1 was all about the "nuts and bolts" of business, you know, the theories and science of business - accounting, finance, marketing - the foundation of a solid business education. Now, if Y1 was all about the science of business, Y2 is unfolding to be about the art. The rich class discussions in Law and ADC require critical and creative thinking as these areas are more finessed and not so black-and-white as most of the courses from Y1 - but these Y2 discussions wouldn't be possible without the foundation of Y1. Perhaps more importantly though, is that Y2 is allowing for the application of the principles we studied in Y1 and putting them into practice with new courses like Project Management and New Venture Creation.

My favorite application, however, is happening outside the classroom. I am currently producing a short animated film and am having a blast! Working on this film has put me back in touch with my creativity and I am loving it! From directing the voice actors to collaborating with the illustrator and animators, this creative outlet is just what I need to balance out all of my studying!

Just as rewarding, however, as the creative outlet, this production has helped me see how much I've learned since beginning the dMBA program. Perhaps if I hadn't produced anything before, I wouldn't notice what all I've been learning. With this film, my 1st since starting the program, I notice that I'm thinking about, and managing, the project in a more holistic way. From our HR courses to Accounting to Interactive Technology & E-Commerce to Law, I am now instinctively applying what we're learning in the classroom to the production process.

I'm thrilled to be returning to my creative roots, but am even more thrilled to apply to the creative process all that I've been learning!

* The above illustrations are an early storyboard from my current film illustrated by Zara Steadman.

Looking Back, Looking Ahead

Since starting this blog about my experience of St. Eds' dMBA program, I've had prospective and future students send me questions about it. The most common questions have been about how to best prepare for the program.

My answer is pretty simple: come academically prepared and have an effective stress coping strategy.

To academically prepare, 1st, check out the list of required courses and look for your weakest areas. This will, of course, be different for everyone depending on your work and undergraduate experience. For example, I've worked in Marketing pretty extensively, and in undergrad I was a Sociology major, so I felt pretty comfortable with Marketing and Statistics. Because I have written copiously in my career and, as an undergrad, took way more writing component courses than were required and completed an independent study research project, writing and Marketing Research weren't an issue. My areas of weakness however, were Accounting and Finance and that's where I had to work the hardest.

2nd, upon identifying areas to strengthen from the list of required courses, begin to fill in any knowledge gaps now. You can do this by taking a course at your local community college, or, at the very least, pick up a "For Dummies" type of book to familiarize yourself with key concepts - trust me, your future self will thank you! Before starting the program, I took Accounting at Austin Community College, and boy, am I SUPER glad that I did!

An effective stress coping strategy is just as critical to the program. I can't emphasize enough how quickly this program moves - 3 new classes every 7 weeks. But don't be fooled, that doesn't mean the curriculum is watered down - we're being prepared for the national MBA Major Field Test (in 2 days - wish me luck!). Throughout it all, my favorite stress release has been training in Krav Maga at Fit and Fearless (2 blocks from campus!) 3 - 4 nights a week. There's nothing quite as physically and mentally refreshing as punching the heck out of a bag for an hour.

On the eve of starting my 1st year, the best advice given to me came from a dMBA graduate who advised, "Its not rocket science, you just gotta do the work." That summation became my mantra, reminding me that I CAN do it and that, if it was easy, everyone would be doing it. So, as I reflect on my successes and perhaps, even more importantly, my challenges over this 1st year, I'm grateful for the how well the dMBA program has been preparing me to continue forward to pursue my passions.

KO'ing Accounting

What's the deal with me getting giddy every time I write a budget lately? I've been absolutely euphoric as I work on my final accounting project. Seriously.

The project, to create the budget and financial statements for an event, is based on the Austin Regional Golden Gloves Tournament that I recently attended.

The tournament promoter, Art Cardenas, graciously took the time to sit down with me to discuss the expenses and revenue streams associated with the event. I arrived early for our meeting so I waited while he wrapped up training. I didn't mind waiting however, as I got to watch him work. I've spent a good part of my life in gyms and around fighters of all sorts so the smell of sweat and atmosphere of hard work made me feel right at home.

When Art wrapped up his coaching we got down to business. The best part of it though was that our financial conversation was punctuated with talk of boxing and the walloping rhythm of pugilists on the speed bag. So there I was, around people I love, talking about things I love, doing something I love. OK, technically, accounting in-and-of-itself isn't something I love - in fact, sometimes the homework feels something akin to my fingernails slowly being pulled out with pliers. But I'm in this program to better leverage business functions because I firmly believe that:

Accounting + Financial Knowledge = The Power to Make Things Happen

So my budget-induced-euphoria was caused by putting my newly enhanced accounting skills to use for something I care about. And why do I respect boxers so much? Because when I see them put their heart into their training, it reminds me that when things get tough I gotta, as my old boxing instructor used to say, "Suck it up." This dMBA program is challenging, but if my heroes can climb into the ring and repeatedly get punched in the face, I can do a little accounting homework.

Who Said, "Grad School Isn't The Real World"?

OK, so maybe the unexpected craziness of our recent mid-term exams doesn't have the consequences of the "real world". But with looming deadlines and demands to perform with grace in the face of ambiguity, yesterday certainly required the coping strategies and flexibility of many "real world" scenarios.

Scene: Austin Texas, a place known for its relatively mild winters making it rather unprepared for snow or ice.

On the morning of 2 mid-term exams, Austin was hit with freezing rain, leaving traffic snarled and many schools and organizations opening late. Our Accounting professor, bless her, sent us an early morning email warning us off the roads and instructions on taking the mid-term online. Now, if there's one thing I learned in the 2 years I worked in IT, its that technology is great only when it works. There were many false starts and issues in setting up the online test, keeping our poor professor on the phone most of the morning with tech support. By the time it was fixed, we had just over an hour to start the exam before running off to our Information Systems (IS) mid-term.

The IS test. How do I describe it? It was a KILLER. My brain was numb when it was over. Perfect state of mind to dash home and wrap up the Accounting test before the deadline. Except the online test was still having issues, including not saving the answers from completed problems! Seriously. The answers were G.O.N.E. So once again, our beleaguered Accounting professor was on the phone with tech support and all there was to do was sit and wait. Oh yeah, and pray the answers it took me an hour to come up with could be retrieved.

As I waited, I watched the clock as it ticked closer and closer into early evening (had I really been doing this all day ?) and towards the time for my regular Wednesday night Krav Maga class. After such a harried day, I knew an hour of punching the heavy bag was exactly what I needed. But with the clock counting down, I began to doubt that I would make it. So I waited. And waited. And then I did what any reasonable person would do. I CRANKED up my iTunes and started dancing. Why not? I was already fully prepared for the test, so I could have spent that time fretfully watching the clock, or dancing.

I chose dancing.

That's when I decided I was going to Krav no matter what. I took off to class and got in a great workout - thank you guys at Fit and Fearless, you've helped keep me grounded after more exasperating days than this!

By the time I got home from class, the test was up and ready to go. But me, I went to bed. A fresh start was what I needed to complete that albatross of a test!

That, dear friends, is a day in the life of a graduate student. And you know what? It wasn't so bad. I actually kind of thrive on pressure (why else would I sign up for a program that goes for 2 years at a summer-school-pace?). Plus, at some point it dawned on me, all this was really, was an inconvenience. Nobody wrecked their car on the ice and we're all here to slog it out another day.

Function in disaster, finish in style. (Jean Harris)

Right Brain, Meet Left Brain.

I got the giggles in my Managerial Accounting class yesterday. Since giving up Winter Break's relaxing pace for grad school's frenetic race, it can get too easy to lose sight of why I entered the dMBA program in the first place. Its like not seeing the forest for all the trees - the trees being the abundance of homework! But as I sat in Accounting yesterday, I remembered why I'm here and so, despite the crazy workload, I felt really happy!

Happiness induced by Accounting?!?! Yes! I'm sure many people will scratch their heads on that one! You see, this week we are studying the budgeting process. Now, I'm sure I will be mocked mercilessly when my friends hear me say this, but I LOVE making budgets! In fact, last week, I did a sales budget for fun (seriously!) for my friend, Robyn, who is updating the business model for her Spirit of Africa Adventure tours. Now, I've created and managed budgets in my corporate experience, but it was while writing a film budget for a grant proposal that I recognized how much I love each stage of the filmmaking process. I had initially gotten into filmmaking because of the creativity of the production phase; but while writing the proposal, I realized that I relish the business elements, from budgeting to distribution, just as much. From this discovery, I concluded that I didn't want to specialize in shooting or editing, but rather, I wanted to be the producer so I could have a hand in each step from start to finish!

Despite my nerdly enjoyment of working in Excel however, upon wrapping up my Accounting homework, I find my right brain jonesing for a creative fix! And that's why this dMBA program is such a perfect fit - it encourages our artistic pursuits as well. So when I need a break from our traditional business classes, I find time to edit Grandmother Storyteller and polish up a short script that I hope to have animated by MacBoy (production meeting this Thursday!).

But for now, I'm off to research my Information Systems project - building a video editing workstation from the ground up! Did I mention this dMBA program is eclectic?!