OC METRO CALENDAR

  • September 2010
    SuMoTuWeThFrSa
    2930311234
    567891011
    12131415161718
    19202122232425
    262728293012
    3456789
Add an event

Cover Story
Untitled Page Published: October 01, 2009



ANIL PURI
Dean, Mihaylo School of Business
Cal State University, Fullerton

An entrepreneur’s critical thinking and planning skills dictate success or failure

In a tough economy, there are more advantages to start or maintain a small business: low cost of capital to start a company, the ability to hire great talent cheap, low loan rates if you have good credit, etc. However, what sets apart winners from losers in a recession
depends on the level of their flexibility and critical thinking skills. Do they have the ability to break into a new market, and do they have a recession contingency plan?
   
A deep recession like the one we are in will cause major changes in people’s buying patterns and in business operations. What worked before may not work in the future. Expected changes in financing, for example, are likely to affect buying habits and business expansion. Business people must have contingency plans to protect them from the downside of the recession and to take advantage of the inevitable upside that is likely to occur sometime next year.
   
That’s why I think an MBA is a vital tool for any entrepreneur or small business owner. It may be true that you can’t really teach someone how to be an entrepreneur, but you can help to augment their critical thinking skills so that they can be proactive – and not reactive – to a financial crisis.