“Should I Go to Acton?”

We often hear this question from entrepreneurs and aspiring entrepreneurs who are trying to decide if getting an MBA, or getting one from Acton is the right next step. Acton alumnus and guest writer Chase Pattillo (’12) comments on the question and explains the value that Acton presents beyond a...

Lessons Learned: Live Intentionally and Take More Chances

At Acton, we know that life and business are filled with choices and hard decisions. Sometimes not taking a leap can be the riskier and more expensive choice. Acton alumnus Brad Holden (’12) shares a personal lesson and how it helped him decide he should take time off from his...

So Your Business Needs a Reboot. Now What?

The Realization You’ve already launched and established your business. You’ve got customers and employees who understand your operations and how to succeed. You cover your bills, including your compensation most months if not all. Essentially, you’re leading a sustainable business that you built yourself. But then you realize that...

Are Taxes Important to Entrepreneurs?

When entrepreneurs sit down to build a business and a company, how much focus should they place on taxes? It’s clear that all business owners must register their business appropriately, understand their tax guidelines, and file and pay any respective taxes on time and on schedule. However, business owners...

Lessons Learned: Learning To Love Failure

Success rarely happens in a vacuum and failure often leads to success. Guest contributor Adam Boyd (’08) weighs in on how he continues to relearn how to view failures, particularly in regards to selling. Learning To Love Failure Jeff Carpenter (former CEO of PeopleAdmin, current Chairman of AcademicWorks) once shared with me...

Lessons Learned: Ask Hard Questions and Be Tough On Opportunities

It’s often easy to get excited by a new business opportunity, and all the potential that awaits. But it’s also the perfect time to try ripping the opportunity apart. Acton alumnus Robert Conley (’06) shares a lesson he learned about the importance of asking yourself the hardest questions, even...

Five Easy Steps to Creating a Successful Business

At the core of every business there are five things that an entrepreneur or leader has to get right. Usually some are more right than others, but if you can get the business opportunity, people, sales process, operations, and finance correct, then you have a strong shot at a...

Lessons Learned: In Email Marketing, Your Subscribers are Your Customers

With success, it can be easy to focus on your company’s wants, needs and desires. But this is often done at the expense of your customers. Is that really the best strategy? Nathanael Yellis (’09) shares the positive experience his non-profit organization had when he chose to think about what...

So You Love Finance but Not Big Banks. Now What?

Realization You’ve always loved working with numbers. You like to calculate hypothetical interest rates in your spare time. You build pro forma cash flows in your sleep. You’re a quant and you know it. But you also know you don’t want to work in a place that’s so big...

Are You an Entrepreneur or Self-Employed? What’s the Difference?

Throughout the United States, you will find more than 3 million hard-working business owners. They are their own bosses, experts in their fields, and important members of their communities. Most of them even started their own business, or took it over from a family member. But they are not...