Q&A with Diana Rude, online MBA graduate

When I started in the safety industry, I could not have imagined myself in two such utterly different sectors. A friend of mine had started up a bridal store in Calgary several years earlier, and reached out to me to see if I would be interested in partnering with her in another location. Of course, I am always up for a challenge, and I loved the idea of doing something so opposite from my day-to-day as a safety consultant. We started looking at buildings within days and had a store up and running in less than four months.

It can be challenging to run multiple companies and be on the road with clients all the time. That is why it is so important to have reliable staff to help keep everything running smoothly. I don’t like to micro-manage anyone, and I always try and let everyone have their own input on how a job should be completed. I have excellent management teams at both companies and they are the key to my success as a small-business owner.

I think that if you are trying to push yourself further and are looking to learn practical management skills that you can implement in the workplace, the Athabasca University Faculty of Business’s MBA program is exactly what you should be looking at. The class schedules were very flexible, and everyone involved in the MBA program worked with me every step of the way to ensure that the course load matched up with my workload.

The project management course that I attended in Vancouver was definitely a highlight of the MBA program.  It was nice to meet several of the students that I had been taking courses with over the years, as I only knew them by their name from working on group projects together. This allowed me to put a face to a name, and get their insights on some of the papers and projects that we worked on together.  Not only that, but the presentation and course layout for the week was packed with useful information and practical hands-on learning.

The MBA program allowed me to take a step back and take a look at my companies structures like an outsider.  Every MBA course had aspects that I could take back and incorporate into our operations.  Not only that, but many of the papers I wrote, involved issues that I was dealing with at my companies, and between the instructor and other students I received feedback on how they would resolve them.  There was always a lot of input on how they had a similar situation and how they dealt with it.  The MBA program definitely made me realize that I can do better and work smarter.

I am always thinking about and researching new business ideas that interest me.  I love what I am doing now, but with today’s economy and fast-paced technological advances, you always have to look forward and keep learning to stay competitive. I am happy with where I am at today and look forward to what the future holds, and how I can put my MBA skills to good use!