Alternate MBA Manifestation: Asking For What I Want

I posted my manifesto, so now I’m going to post my list of requirements. As I said before, these are slightly flexible but largely not negotiable. I am not going to in any way injure the progress Marty and I have made here in the pursuit of this opportunity. (Don’t get me wrong—it’s an amazing opportunity. But I can make another one without too much trouble, so it’ll be okay.)

Here’s a great lesson in asking for what you want: Sometimes it’s really. Freaking. Scary. But you have to do it anyway, because most of the time, no one is going to do it for you. Buck up and get to it!

Here are the things I need to travel to New York for Seth’s !MBA:

• $2700 / month (bills at home, groceries wherever I am) for six months
  
• Flight round trip to NY for the interview (about $450 if prices hold)
  
• Flight round trip to NY from January through July for the program (most likely $450 or less)
  
• A place to stay, either with fellow attendees or by renting a room ($3000-$5000 additional funds)
  
• A reliable internet connection during off-hours and weekends
  
• A fridge and a some cooking/prep space, since I’d be buying groceries instead of eating out
  
• Reasonable proximity to transport (or walking distance to a high-quality co-op or grocery like Whole Foods)
  

I’ll be making most of this money one way or another anyway—almost all of it is stuff I’ll be paying for if I stay home, too. Only $1000 or so is additional, assuming I can find a place to stay for free. In order to make this happen, I’d have to know the money is there up front. The only difference between me and someone who CAN do it is that they have a savings account, or reliable, flexible income, or whathaveyou.

Not long ago in Triiibes, I listed some ways I could accomplish this:

• Pre-paid projects—an agreement to apply learned knowledge for X hours a month after program, for instance
  
• A design or writing agreement; for instance, a commitment to a blog column for a year, or design support, etc.
  
• Find a way to guarantee Marty good, well-paid illustration work for six months
  

I love these ideas, and I’m unwilling to commit to anything that would keep me from fully optimizing my participation in this program. (That mostly means that I won’t be working while I’m in New York, except to maintain the projects I have on evenings and weekends.) There’s no doubt that making this thing happen solves a ton more problems for me than just getting to participate in an amazing event. It’s hard to forget that it would give us six months margin for paying our bills, instead of the three week margin we’ve had in the past few months. So you can see one reason I’m so motivated!

I’ve identified the absolute best option, and I’ve done a pretty fantastic write-up. If you or your company are looking for my skills, Seth’s methods and a BIG CHANGE, you’ll want to read this.

Megan’s Alternative MBA: A Crazy Opportunity for Some Clever, Amazing People (That’s You)

PLEASE spread the word about this to your friends and colleagues. (And if you can help.) If you’ve been reading this blog for any length of time, you know that I want to help as many people as possible—and this will help me accomplish that. As soon as my application lens is posted, I’ll link you to that as well. Then you’ll have more information about who I am and what I do than anyone on the planet has ever had in the history of the universe. ;}

There’s more to come. I’ve nearly written a novel just in the last week. This is some of the best fun I’ve had in awhile, I’ll tell you. ;}

[Update: Holy cow, you people are incredible! Here is my Alternate MBA tally page. Thank you for everything you’ve done so far!]

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Tagged as: Alternative MBA, applications, business, business school, MBA, meganpreneurship, Seth Godin, support, triiibes