Home Base to World Base

So you have been working for your family business and now you are thinking how you could give tough competition to other applicants who have experience of working in Fortune 500 companies?

Applicants who have worked in a family business sometimes worry that their professional profile won't measure up when compared with other MBA hopefuls with more traditional employment paths. Nothing could be further from the truth. 

Working for your family business can help you stand out, as business schools try to diversify their classes. Most schools accept students who will go back to work for the family business. Business schools strive to constitute a cohort of diverse personalities and backgrounds to guarantee lively discussions. Every successful applicant’s experiences would likely add a unique perspective to the class.

Family business management has emerged as an important discipline at business and they have introduced courses and clubs on family business, founded centers dedicated to the subject or launched concentrations in this area.

How would you select a school? 

Your school selection research should partly focus on what types of resources and support for family businesses are offered by your target programs. For many applicants, a one-year MBA program is ideal since you won't need the internship and recruiting opportunities that job-switching students in two-year programs rely on.

Strategy to approach

As with any winning application, the strategy in this case is to show in detail how an MBA degree will help you further your professional goals. Explain with specifics what you need to learn in order to grow the family business.

Paint a clear picture of your vision for the company's future, and leave no doubt as to how an MBA will help you make an impact on the business after graduation. That way, the admissions committee understands why business school is the logical next step.

For your essays

Start brainstorming some of the challenges your business has faced, and come up with examples that show how you as a family worked to overcome those obstacles. Business schools place a high value on teamwork, and what better way to show commitment and follow-through than by demonstrating you know how to work well with others to achieve a common goal?

LOR from Mom/Dad/Uncle?

As many applicants know, the ideal recommender for an MBA application is the manager to whom you report directly. However, if your immediate supervisors are relatives, you'll need to get creative since you cannot have a family member write your recommendation letter.

Can you approach a supervisor or manager from a company you've previously worked for? Or have you worked closely with any clients or vendors that can speak to your managerial or leadership abilities?

Deepak had been working for the family business, a manufacturing company in Nanded, for three years after college.After brainstorming for recommenders he could approach outside the business, Deepak hit upon a retail vendor that had been supplied by his company for more than a decade with whom he'd built a strong relationship. Since this vendor was evaluating Deepak on many similar criteria as a direct supervisor and was an objective, outside source, he turned out to be the perfect choice.

In the end, Deepak’s family business-based application fared well next to candidates coming from a corporate background. 

If you're planning on pursuing an MBA to learn how to take your family business to the next level, take pride in your professional circumstances and know that business schools will value your accomplishments and responsibilities, whether acquired at a Fortune 500 company or under Mom and Dad's tutelage.