Real Skills Learned in Management Consulting & Entrepreneurship
I am in between accepting an offer from a management consulting firm and starting a venture on my own.This decision is killing me because everybody tells me to start a business AFTER working in consulting for a couple of years. Yet, I find this very unrealistic because I think a couple years down the road I might have family and will not be in the mood to take the risk to start a company.
OK, here are my questions. After 2-3 years in consulting, what are the top 5 skills you learn? Are they worth the time investment and do they help with founding a company?





Major flaw in your post =
Major flaw in your post = worried about having a family.
Could you disregard my
Could you disregard my rationale and answer the questions please?
honestly it seems like you
honestly it seems like you don't have enough faith in your business idea if you can't choose between one or the other. if you strongly believe the business is going to be successful why would you go work your ass off at some consulting firm that pays you $40/hr (less if you work over 40+ hours/week) and charges them $100+/hr for your hardwork?
bottom line if you strongly believe ur company is gonna be successful now then start it up
if you're on the fence, try applying to the jobs that have less hours (i.e. government consulting) and start the company up on the side
if you have no faith in the company accept the job and hopefully you'll think of a new business or have more confidence in your business 2-3 years down the road
Hmm, can we get back to the
Hmm, can we get back to the specific skills people get out of consulting. Anybody? All I always hear is really broad stuff such as "understanding different industries", but I can get this by reading WSJ....
I'll respond assuming your
I'll respond assuming your offer is to a top-tier firm.
On the obvious end of the spectrum: Excel, Powerpoint, time management, general project management, etc.
Perhaps more relevant to you: business finance, marketing, organization (business, not personal), influencing, ability to work hard, structured thinking and communication, etc.
There are dozens of skills and areas of knowledge that you can develop with a management consulting firm. Many, if not most, are very relevant to being able to start your own business. That being said, I think uPhone is right on the money. If you are really confident in your business then this really shouldn't even be a question. There is no set definition of the skillset that makes a successful entrepreneur and I would say that you'd get a lot further by actually going and starting a company than by consulting established large corporations.