Workforce analysts predict that by 2018, more than half of American small businesses will be run by women.
Just let that soak in for a moment…
Actually, next month, October, is Women’s History Month in my country of Canada and it celebrates the storied accomplishments of women in Canadian history. Successful women have played a vital role in shaping the course of life in Canada and America and around the world, and that role is only growing with time.
The numbers speak for themselves.
As of 2015, 9.4 million firms were owned by women, and those firms employed almost 8 million people.
Women play multiple roles; mother and career woman are no longer mutually exclusive. In fact, a 2013 Pew study showed that in 40 percent of households with children, the mother is the primary breadwinner.
The times they are a changin’…
So if your dreams are of leadership, maybe even an MBA, but you are currently working full time, making this dream feel like an impossibility, let me crush some myths.
GETTING AN MBA HAS NEVER BEEN MORE ACCESSIBLE TO US WOMEN.
And if you don’t know where to look or how to begin, allow me to help.
There’s no question about it: earning a degree while working full-time is no easy task. But choosing an online MBA program definitely helps as it provides you with a more flexible schedule.
When I connected recently with leaders from New England College of Business, they shared some tips to help make earning your MBA degree online as pain-free as possible:
Utilize Your Spare Time
Have a 20-minute lunch break? Do 20 minutes of reading. One of the biggest benefits of earning your MBA online is that you can do your work on your time — whenever you have it. It could be before work, after work or even during your breaks at work. Whenever it is, manage your spare time wisely and don’t let it go to waste.
Make a Schedule
Write down all your obligations and block out time for them in your calendar. Create daily and weekly routines that include time for your schoolwork. This way, instead of trying to find time, you have it already carved out. When your routine becomes a habit, it will make getting your school assignments completed on time much easier.
Set Goals
Set goals, both big and small, and hold yourself accountable. Sometimes, your targets may seem distant, and this can be discouraging. Achieving the smaller goals will help keep you motivated and will encourage you to accomplish more, getting you all the way to the completion of your online MBA program — and graduation day!
Gather a Support Team
We know that support for women is key. Both at work and at home, surround yourself with people who support you and want to see you achieve your goals. Foster supportive relationships with your classmates and encourage each other. Inevitably, there will be times that are hard, and you will be appreciative that you have these people to lean on.
Take Care of Yourself
You have a lot of competing priorities: work, school, family commitments and more. Don’t forget to include yourself on that list. Eat healthy foods, get enough sleep and exercise regularly. Though it may seem difficult to find the time to do this in the short run, you will be much more productive if you do.
You have seen Virginia College and Brightwood College on the blog, so I’m excited to showcase New England College of Business today. When I see the business school options available for us women today, it excites me. Because the truth is, it’s never too late to be another awesome female statistic I stated above, at any stage in the game.
It’s no secret I bombed my GMATs and didn’t get into Business school. I thankfully became an entrepreneur nevertheless, but if I had program opportunities like the ones offered at New England College of Business (NECB) back then, that could have been a saving grace. I could have completed my degree while starting my first company!
After partnering with NECB, I learned that their female graduates have gone on to work as Chief Compliance Officers, business development executives and even started their own businesses.
As an example, NECB’s Janine Jacques, an associate professor and program chair, personifies this idea. In addition to having earned multiple degrees, including her doctorate, and working at NECB full-time, Janine is a mother, an author and the founder of a nonprofit.
Females have an advantage, she thinks, in being better natural multi-taskers. But she emphasizes that women should be judged on an equal playing field to men – solely on their abilities. Women in business should not be celebrated for being women; they should be celebrated for being successful.
I couldn’t agree more.
Earning your MBA degree online while working is not easy, but it pays great dividends. Find out how to get started on your online MBA at New England College of Business today.
And if you want more insights from New England College of Business, follow them on Facebook, network with them on LinkedIn or join the conversation with @NECBedu on Twitter! You can also follow them on Instagram.
I truly hope today’s post planted a seed in your mind, and perhaps showed you that business is a viable option for every woman.
Lots of love and success,
