Today is a first, my friends–today, we have our first guest blogger (*ooo, ahhh, wowie!*)!!
LAB ’01 was a senior at Sweet Briar when I was a freshman, so for a brief year our times at Sweet Briar crossed. I thought, at the time, this was incredibly neat since we both claim our home state to be the fabulous Commonwealth of Massachusetts–when you’re ten hours away from home, finding folks that come from your little corner of the world was, and still is, important and comforting.
Today LAB is running a successful Web 2.0 business in the Boston area, in addition to being a champion of Sweet Briar. I highly encourage you to check out her business, Task Rabbit, and her blog to she where she’s been, where she’s at, and where she’s going.
But without further ado, LAB’s take on Entrepreneurship and the Liberal Arts 
I have been wanting to blog about the awesome and exciting things happening at my alma mater, Sweet Briar College, ever since I made it down for their first annual Conference on Entrepreneurship and the Liberal Arts, back in April. The conference was organized and run by the students and faculty of the fairly new Business Administration program. Professor Tom Scott, as chair of the department, is explicitly moving the focus of the 6 year old program into the direction of entrepreneurship. SBC is already known for its strong Liberal Arts programs, and focusing their Business degree on entrepreneurship just makes a whole lot of sense.
At SBC you are expected to be good at many things. Dance majors are also applied Mathematicians, and Biochemists are also concert pianists. As an entrepreneur, I’ve learned you also have to be good at a multitude of things. You can’t just be a programmer ofr a marketer, its good to have an interest and even in excel in many areas. When I left IBM I was an engineer-a simple role to convey. Two years later, I would say I’m part engineer, part marketer, part saleswomen, part business strategist, part fundraiser, part communicator, full time janitor, part community advocate….the list just goes on and on. Here’s the kicker…I love it all (sometimes even the janitor part)! As I build a team, I look for others that can do it all and enjoy thriving in an environment where there are minimal boundaries and innovation and independence in encouraged.
I believe a strong Liberal Arts education leads to well rounded, smart and savvy, contributors to our world. A focus on entrepreneurship in this environment is the perfect compliment, and I am thrilled to see the generation of women going through this program come out with the confidence and skills they need to succeed as a leader-perhaps even founding their own business ideas and companies.
***
I’d love your feedback, Dear Bleaders! Do you love/not love the guest blogger concept? Who would you love to hear from? Do you have questions for LAB? Leave a comment!
