Ford recently honored young business leaders in the 2009 Ford HBCU Business Classic. Some of the nations top students submitted business plans for expert review and judging. Held at Clark Atlanta University, the contest showcased the best and brightest minds from Historically Black Colleges and Universities around the country. Student teams from Florida A&M University and Howard University won $100,000 in scholarship prizes for their innovative business plans.

The Competition

The students’ business plans were evaluated on the viability of their business model, as well as presentation and the business plan’s potential benefit to the community. 

“As an HBCU graduate I know firsthand the impact that programs such as the Ford HBCU Business Classic can have on students,” said Crystal Worthem, Multicultural Marketing Manager, Ford Brand. “The real-world solutions presented during the competition are extremely timely and will have huge positive implications on communities and businesses nationwide. We are excited to pave the way for this next generation of business leaders, and gain their perspective about the current economic situation and solutions for the domestic auto industry.”

The teams had 25 minutes to present their business plans to the judges and prove that their plan can be converted into a viable business strategy. Plans were judged by a panel of judges that included influential entrepreneurs from the business community.

“This is my second year participating in the Ford HBCU Business Classic and the students continue to impress me with the level of professional dedication that they put into their business plans,” said Dr. Randal Pinkett. “They are presenting timely real-world solutions and business models for a number of industries, including real estate, automotive, manufacturing, technology and the environment. These finalists are poised to become the business leaders of tomorrow.”

Florida A&M and Howard Take Top Prizes

Students from Florida A& M University in Tallahassee, FL, received the grand prize for their business plan for VMed LLC. This life changing company is planned to utilize technology to simplify people’s health care needs. As the grand prize winning team, the students from Florida A&M received a total of $50,000 in scholarship funds.

Howard University students presented a plan for AutoCard, a student printing company with licensing rights to incorporate university logos on student business cards. They received $30,000 in scholarships. Hajj Media, also from Howard University, took home second place honors for a plan to offer multitier marketing solution for local small businesses.

Students from Lincoln University also placed in the finals with their strategic plan for an architectural firm dealing with industrial, commercial and residential services in Philadelphia.

Got a Great Business Idea?

It’s too late for this year, but bookmark www.FordHBCU.com and plant to enter the competition next year.

Looking for a great international business program at a public school? The Moore School of Business at the University of South Carolina has been recognized as the top international MBA program at any public university in the United States. This is the result of the U.S. News & World Report’s America’s Best Graduate Schools 2010.

A History of Excellence

Moore has been ranked among the top two in the category for the past twenty years. This year, in terms of international business, they beat out all these heavy hitters:

• University of Pennsylvania (Wharton)
• University of Michigan-Ann Arbor (Ross)
• Columbia University
• Duke University (Fuqua)
• New York University (Stern)
• Harvard Business School
• University of Southern California (Marshall)
• University of California-Berkeley (Haas)

In addition to the top marks for their international business program, the Moore School also moved into the Top 25 among the top business schools at the nation’s public universities.

New International Programs at Moore

The latest ranking comes on the heels of the Moore’s announcement of two new international business programs for the fall.

The Master of International Business (MIB)
This a unique one-year graduate program will be offered jointly with the political science department and the School of Law to provide students with an advanced understanding of the interaction between business, government and society. Courses are approached from an interdisciplinary view so that students gain practice in applying socio-cultural, political and economic perspectives to a rich variety of international management issues including overseas trade and investment and the operation and role of multinational firms in the global economy.

International Business and Chinese Enterprise (IBCE)
This collaborative program partners with the Chinese University of Hong Kong for undergraduates and includes two years of study in Hong Kong, along with intensive language and cultural training.

“These new offerings are continuing evidence of the Moore School’s innovative leadership in international business education,” said Moore School Dean Hildy Teegen. “We are pleased that this leadership is further recognized by U.S. News and we look forward to building on this position with the development of new international programs in the future.”About The Moore School of Business

The Moore School of Business is a comprehensive business school with more than 4,200 students in its undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral programs, and 38,000 living alumni around the world. The Executive Education program last year provided approximately 90 programs for 2,500 executives and government leaders. The Moore School’s undergraduate program in International Business is ranked #1 by U.S. News & World Report and, in the category of “international experience,” the School’s MBA program is ranked second among all business schools globally and first in the U.S. by the Financial Times.

If you plan to take the GMAT any time soon, you’ll want the very latest study guide. The Official Guide for GMAT Review is published by the people who bring you the GMAT, the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC). It contains exclusive content and is the only guide to the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) with past questions from the exam. And lucky for you there are hundreds of them.  

This 12th edition of The Official Guide for GMAT Review will run you $36.95 in stores, but only just over $24 on Amazon. That’s a no brainer for prospective business students.

Do You Really Need to Study For the GMAT?

A lot of people like to ‘wing it’ in a variety of situations. It might be a test, a job interview, or an important sales pitch. While this works exceptionally well for some people, they are most likely the exception and not the rule.

Most people do well with an adequate amount of preparation. And methodically proceeding through an organized study guide can provide that preparation. Remember that successful test taking involves a lot of strategy that has nothing whatsoever to do with the content of the test.

So I say yes, study for the GMAT!

Study for the GMAT with Real Questions

There’s not much value in my opinion to any study guide that does not contain actual test questions. This edition of The Official Guide for GMAT Review has been thoroughly revised and updated to include 300 GMAT questions never before released to the public.

 These never before available questions are among the 800 verbal and quantitative questions from the GMAT that don’t appear in any other study materials. In my opinion there is nothing better than practicing on actual test questions.

But Wait, There’s More!

The nice thing about the Official Guide for GMAT Review is that it includes a diagnostic tool to help you pinpoint exactly where to focus your precious study time. This type of feedback is invaluable in two ways.

First, it builds confidence in those areas which you are strong. Second, it reveals your weaknesses accurately so that you can proceed with a study plan that you know is going to yield results. There are also complete explanations for the answers to every GMAT question that appears in the book.

More practical features include sections that focus on the essay-writing section of the GMAT and common myths about the exam.

Click here to buy The Official Guide for GMAT Review now.

Whether you’ve lost your job, or just graduated with a Bachelor’s in business, the thought of looking for work right now might make you want to cry like you did over that fourth year statistics exam. Staying in school, or going back might seem comforting, and there are plenty of good reasons to get an MBA. Just make sure you’re pursuing more business education for the right reasons.

Everyone Wants an MBA

According to the the Graduate Management Admissions Council, the numbers are up. A record number of over a quarter million people took the Graduate Management Admissions Test (GMAT) in 2008. And more than 75% of full-time graduate business programs report that applications are on the rise. All this translates to stiffer competition to get into business school right now.

It also proves you’re not alone. And all those people can’t be wrong, right?

An MBA is Not a Back-Up Plan

While your motivation to go back to school may in fact be driven by your current circumstances, you can’t let those who review your application know that. Never let decision makers think you’re just trying to escape the bleak job market. The application materials must paint your quest for the MBA as part of an intentional career path strategy. Don’t forget those compelling reasons why you want an MBA, why you want to study in the particular program you’re applying to, and a clear explanation of your career goals.

Taking Advantage of the Part-Time MBA

If you still have a job, but you’re concerned about the future, you may want to complete an evening, weekend, or part time MBA program. These can be completed while still employed and help you accomplish several things:

Improve standing with your current employer.
If the time comes when your company is forced to start laying people off, do you want to be the slacker who checks out a five o’clock or the go getter who’s studying business at night and on weekends? And the beauty of online MBA programs is that you can complete a lot of your work at work on your lunch hour.

Gain valuable skills.
Not only will studying for your MBA make you look good to your superiors, if you choose the right one you will actually learn skills that you can apply right away at work, increasing your value to the organization and decreasing the likelihood that you’ll catch the ax any time soon.

Get your education subsidized.
Many employers offer tuition reimbursement programs that can significantly reduce your out of pocket costs for obtaining an MBA. Especially if you know you need the degree to advance your career, you may as well get started while you still have a job and this valuable benefit to take advantage of.

Prepare for the future.
In the worst case scenario you actually lose your job. Having more education will only help you in your search for a new one.

If you want an MBA, and you can afford it – both in time and money – go for it. You certainly won’t be lonely!

The latest advice to entrepreneurs from the finest minds in academia: stop worrying about your business plan and get to work on your business!

The Role of Business Plans in VC Decisions

According to a study by the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business, a business plan has no value as a fundraising tool. Researchers suggest that would-be moguls spend time perfecting their business rather than its representation on paper.

“Spending time and energy tweaking your business plan is a waste of resources,” said researcher David Kirsch, associate professor of management and entrepreneurship. “It’s a limited-use document that will in no way substitute for the hard work of actually building a business. You’re better off investing in your idea, your social network, finding potential investors, potential customers — the intangibles around your business that are going to make it more likely you succeed. Invest your time in any other business-building activity but working on your business plan.”

Kirsch and others pored over the business plans of more than 700 dot-com companies from the late-1990s to early-2000s boom era. They compared objective characteristics of each business plan such as its contents, team make-up and business model, and whether or not the plan ultimately received venture capital funding. This research, “Form or Substance? The Role of Business Plans in Venture Capital Decision Making,” appears in the May 2009 issue of Strategic Management Journal.

What Kirsch and his colleagues founds was that the content of the business plans didn’t predict which businesses got funded. They don’t actually recommend scrapping the business plan completely because it has value as and organizing tool. But they warn that there is no evidence that either the content or presentation of the plan influences venture capital funding decisions.

The Business Plan: Not Quite Useless

Just because the business plan won’t determine your business’ success or failure at raising start-up funds, you still have to have something to show the venture capitalists. Why?

“I think VCs like the plans because they skim them to see what people are doing — to get a sense of what entrepreneurial activity is happening,” Goldfarb said. “But an interested VC will learn the details of a business whether it is in the plan or not.”

This is bad news for all the perfectionists out there who just know if it looks pretty, it must be good. But it’s great news for the real entrepreneurs, the men and women who just want to get out there and dive into their passion. This research confirms that hard work, intuition, and a good dose of luck beats out perfect-on-paper any day.

Knock Out Your Business Plan in a Weekend

Want to get your whole business plan down on paper in a single weekend? You can do that and more at a Startup Weekendevent. This unique business environment is ‘no talk, all action’. Startup Weekend recruits a highly motivated group of developers, business managers, startup enthusiasts, marketing gurus, graphic artists and more to a 54-hour event that builds communities, companies and projects.

Founded in 2007 by Andrew Hyde, the weekend is a concept of a conference focusing on learning by creating. It is known for its quick decisions, unique facilitation technique, and letting business founders show off their talents. There have been events in Boulder, Toronto, New York, Hamburg, Houston, West Lafayette, Boston, DC and on June 5-7 they’re coming to a city near you. If your town isn’t on the list, you can start your own.

When you attend a Startup Weekend you decide what you want to work on over the weekend and come out at the end with several developed companies or projects. Can you start? It’s worth a weekend to find out!

Startup Weekend World #2 Challenge from Andrew on Vimeo.