How the Bath MBA transformed my entrepreneurial skills
MBA student Gilan, from Indonesia, talks about why she chose Bath for her MBA, and how she’ll apply what she’s learned to running her own restaurant business.
Deciding to do an MBA
I worked as a tax consultant at a big consultancy firm in Indonesia for almost 11 years and I was also involved in my family business from the age of 15. I helped my mum to develop the business and since then I’ve been passionate about the food and beverage industry.
In 2020, I launched my own restaurant, and I was quite confident that it could become a success. However, I found there were a lot of obstacles and challenges, especially around managing people and matching my expectations to what they knew. It was also difficult to find the right marketing or business strategy, maybe because I hadn’t done market research before. That’s why I thought it was very important for me to do an MBA.
Aside from my business, I also worked as a tax consultant, so I’ll go back there after I finish my studies. The MBA is a good balance for both my entrepreneurial journey and my career as a consultant. Initially, I thought the two roles were very different, but I realised with the MBA, I can apply the knowledge to both.
Developing entrepreneurship skills
The Bath MBA perfectly fits with my ambitions because it doesn’t just focus on one area. For example, we have the Multi Project Suite, which has enabled me to gain experience in different areas like entrepreneurship and consulting.
I also joined the Enterprise Lab and that’s a really good community here. They have a lot of workshops for entrepreneurship, so it’s been really helpful to get additional insight besides what we get from the class.
The MBA is about more than just the course content. It’s about the experience of meeting people from different countries and backgrounds so I can improve my soft skills too.
Feeling a sense of belonging
I still remember the first time I spoke to someone at the Bath School of Management. It was a pre-interview during my application and the interviewer was very kind and informative. I felt like I would belong at Bath when I spoke to her, and I realised I’d be very happy if I was accepted. I was one hundred percent sure Bath was right for me.
For me, I think it’s very important that the MBA is about more than just the course content. It’s about the experience of meeting people from different countries and backgrounds so I can improve my soft skills too. With my classmates, I feel like we have some of the same challenges. Some of us are far away from home and we have the same motivation so we feel close, and we can help each other.
Looking to the future
The programme has really changed my mindset about business. With the knowledge that I have from the MBA, I’m now more confident to go back to Indonesia and run my business. I keep evaluating myself and now know what I should have done differently. I’ve become a fast learner, so I know I can overcome the challenges.