Published on March 5, 2007
Progress: 10%I've mostly, about 90%, made up my mind to go pursue further education. But one major problem exists: where am I going to get $40-50k (USD)?! I've never been in debt before, and while I know debt-management is important for a company (takes money to make money), I'm sure not going into debt unless I 100% have to. And I certainly don't have quite that much money just sitting in the bank account, so I figure it is time to do some planning.
The first obvious question is: where can I get that kind of money? Order of acceptability:
- Earn it.
- Beg online for it. Maybe pretend to eat a kitten, take cute picture.
- Get a big scholarship.
- Kidnap somebody rich.
- Ask my parents.
I'm mostly joking about the kidnap part, but I'll use that as a segue into a story. When I was 15, or so, I kept hearing from my friends: "if you parents are divorced, make sure you have the parent who makes less money file you as a dependent -- that way you can use them for your financial aid." I told my dad about this, well, you can guess what his response was... "...unethical, dishonest, even shady blah blah blah" that's all I heard, but I got the gist of what he said. What he said next took me a little by surprise: "you shouldn't claim any financial aid anyways." "What?!" His reasons, at the time, seemed ludicrous to me. He mentioned that he would help me for the first few years if I went to a state school, but furthermore, that there were people out there that needed aid more than me. At the time I was disappointed, but looking back, he was right. For the first few years he helped me (I had a budget that solely covered school+food+lodging, thus instilling in me the ability to be frugal), and as I progressed through university I gathered the savings, skills, experience and knowledge to finance the later years (and even start my traveling!)
My life is quite comfortable now. I get to eat great food, travel, and life isn't too stressful. But all goals require work, especially saving up 50k for an MBA. So, without further adieu, here's my plan.
Kelvin's MBA Financing Plan
If it isn't obvious, I do I.T. Luckily that lends well to making money, or at least, it has the potential to. This will be the obvious initial avenue. The following projects are purposefully vague, and are in the rough order of implementation. I don't expect to ear millions of dollars. In fact, I expect to fail. But even if I fail at 80% of them, that 20% is where the money might come from.
- WebApp Idea 1: A Blog Catalog - A solo project. Revenue Model... Adwords.
- WebApp Idea 2: College Revenue Site, A joint project with an old-time friend. Revenue Model... Service.
- WebApp Idea 3: A Confession Site - A joint project with a friend from Portland. Revenue Model... Adwords.
- WebApp Idea 4: Increase Company Efficiency - A solo project. Revenue Model... Service.
- Site Idea 5: A Travelogue-Style Site - A solo/joint project. Revenue Model... Service.
Some of the above ideas, when looking at the details, are extremely unique. Other ideas aren't that unique, but I believe have enough uniqueness in the details to either form their own niche, or provide enough competitive edge to bit into the market.
Either way, I'm enjoying the process of coming up with the ideas, and starting to work on them. Do you have any tips, comments or encouragement to offer? Please do! I'd love you to add a comment to this page or even send me an email!
Tagged As: Notes on Life | Moving Onward
10:36 a.m.
3:53 a.m.
Thanks sis! For the next three months I'll be doing some freelance web stuff, developing webapps ($$$ I hope), and studying for the GMAT. Wish me luck!
12:02 p.m.
Kelvin, I have known you a long time. You can do anything you put your mind to. You have obviously put your mind to this so without any doubt in my mind it will be accomplished. If anyone deserves knowledge it is you, I wish the best of luck although I know that will have little to do with it.
oh yeah one last thing, were gonna be millionaires in a just a bit so don't worry =P
Peace!
9:44 p.m.
Hi Kelvin, well you would always agree with 3 simple words:
Knowledge is power.
And it says it all, pursue your interests and your passion and you would truly be happy.
Best of luck and remember, you AREN'T alone.
Anything can happen.
11:50 p.m.
I'm sure the web stuff will work out mate! With any luck I'll need to hire some programmers in a few months too :D
11:36 p.m.
Kelvin as usual you never cease to amaze me in all your brilliance. You can achieve anything, and I mean anything you put your mind to. It sounds to me like you have already made up your mind as to what you want to do. Follow what your passionate about and you will find happiness. Look how far your passion has taken you already, it can only take you further. Congratulations on going back to school ;) I couldn't be prouder of you and your accomplishments. XOXOX Molly
8:15 p.m.
AARGH! I know just what you mean about "blah blah blah" that turns out to be right!
You probably already know this, but student loans are one of the last great deals. You can get really low interest rates, with no collateral. Of course, it would be better to have the money in hand, but make sure to explore all your options.
Love always,
A.
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About This Page
This entry is from my journal and was written about on March 5, 2007. It's been tagged with Notes on Life and Moving Onward. There have been 7 comments so far.
Looks as if you are committed to your goal of an MBA. Good for you! And I know that you will work out the financing brilliantly! Keep working on your plan. Looks GREAT! xoxo