What curse?

For the first time in 86 years, the Red Socks have won the world seriers. They've finally broken the curse of the bambino. Congratulations to all Sox fans.

My wife and I are out in Seattle watching my aunt's son. She was headed down to Mexico for her birthday and she couldn't find anyone she trusted to watch him for the week, so she imported my wife and I. It works out well because she gets a great baby sitter (my wife), and we get a free vacation out of the deal.

I spent a good deal of last night talking with her husband about his business. He is an entrepreneur and runs the largest property management company in Washington state. I always find it interesting to get the perspective of entrepreneurs on an MBA. My aunt seemed a little down on the prospect, using her husband as an example of someone who was successful without one. He of course wondered how many less mistakes he would have made if him or one of his partners had an MBA.

He also told me that the number one problem for all small businesses is capital. With a name brand MBA, he said I would have better luck raising capital and a have strong network to utilize. Not to mention the business education to build a properly functioning organization. In short he was in favor of an MBA from a top institution, but thought that if I didn't get a name brand MBA, the opportunity cost was too high.

I've been having the same thoughts, realizing that getting an MBA commits me to approximately a six year course of time. One year until the program starts, two years in school, three years paying off the loans. Of course, based on the BW payment calculator, it takes an average of 3.2 years to pay off the student loan and recover the foregone income. Choosing a field like investment banking or management consulting should reduce that timeframe some. At that point though I should have some significant seed capital to start a business and have a good network to draw upon. Once again, I've had the value of an MBA confirmed to me through talking with someone that has gone down the career path I wish to follow. That has to be a good sign.