Small Business MBA Concentration
Own, manage, and grow a family company, franchise, agency, or local business: cash flow, hiring, marketing, and operations — taught 1-on-1 and built around the business you actually run.
The Small Business MBA is a concentration within the Elton 1-on-1 MBA for people who own, run, or are about to take over a small or medium-sized business. You work 1-on-1 with expert professors and a business coach who build your curriculum around your actual company, whether that is a family business, a franchise, an agency, or a local shop, then help you apply it directly to the decisions you are already making.
No GMAT. Start Immediately. $22,000 Total Tuition.
- No GMAT Required
- 1-on-1 Expert Professors
- Built Around Your Business
- 100% Remote & Flexible
- Start Immediately
A Business Education Built Around the Business You Already Run
Small businesses make up more than 99% of all U.S. companies, yet most MBA case studies are written for venture-backed startups or Fortune 500 teams, not a family company, a franchise, or a local agency. The Small Business MBA does the opposite. Every lesson in finance, hiring, marketing, and operations is grounded in the realities of running a small or medium-sized business: tight cash flow, a small team, and a founder or owner who wears every hat.
Instead of a fixed cohort moving through a shared syllabus, your professors and coach design your Small Business MBA around your actual company, whatever stage it's in: just getting off the ground, steadily growing, or being handed down to you.
No GMAT required. Start immediately. Full refund within your first 30 days.
Talk to an Admissions OfficerBuilt for the People Who Run the Business, Not Just Study It
The Family Business Owner
You run, or will soon run, a company that has been in your family for a generation or more. You want the finance, operations, and leadership skills to grow it, and a plan for handing it down well.
The Franchise Owner
You own or want to buy a franchise. You need to master unit economics, operations playbooks, and the skills to scale from one location to several.
The Local Service Business Owner
You run an agency, a clinic, a firm, or a shop. You want to build systems and a team so the business depends less on you working every hour it is open.
The First-Time Business Buyer
You are buying, or plan to buy, an existing small business rather than starting from scratch. Your curriculum covers deal evaluation, financing, and your first 100 days as the new owner.
The Solo Operator Ready to Hire
You have built the business on your own and are ready to bring on your first real employees. You build the hiring, management, and culture skills to grow a team for the first time.
The Second-Generation Successor
You are stepping into leadership of a business someone else built. You build the credibility, financial fluency, and strategic judgment to lead it on your own terms.
The Six Domains of Running a Small Business Well
Your professors teach the same six domains every Elton 1-on-1 MBA student masters — business systems, strategy, technology, marketing, team dynamics, and personal mastery — through the lens of an owner-operated business, plus the disciplines unique to this concentration:
- Cash Flow & Small Business Finance — managing cash flow, controlling costs, and financing growth without venture capital
- Hiring & Team Building — writing job descriptions, hiring your first employees, and building culture without an HR department
- Owner-Led & Local Marketing — building and keeping a customer base without a national ad budget
- Operations & Systems — turning work that depends on you into processes that run without you
- Succession & Exit Planning — transferring, selling, or passing a business down well
- Franchise & Multi-Unit Economics — unit economics, operating playbooks, and scaling across locations
From Your Business to a Finished Small Business MBA
Start with your business
Tell your admissions officer about the business you run, are buying, or are about to take over, and what you need most right now.
Meet your team
We build a team of expert professors and a professional coach around your business, with direct experience running or advising small and family companies.
Learn and apply 1-on-1
Each week you work 1-on-1 on the finance, hiring, marketing, and operations skills your business needs next, then apply them directly in your company.
Earn your MBA
Progress toward the Graduate Certificate in Business Administration, then continue into the full 1-on-1 MBA with a Small Business concentration whenever you are ready.
A Real MBA Built for Your Business, Not Someone Else's
A business coach or consultant gives you advice. A traditional MBA gives you case studies written for a different kind of company. Elton gives you both, built around the business you actually run.
A Small Business Coach or Consultant
Gives you advice and accountability from one person, focused on your business. You finish with progress on specific problems and no degree.
A Traditional MBA
Delivers a strong general business foundation as a full-time, on-campus, one- or two-year cohort program costing $45,000-$200,000, built mostly around startups and large corporations.
Elton's Small Business MBA
Gives you 1-on-1 expert professors, a coach, and a curriculum built specifically around your business — for $22,000 total, no GMAT, and a start date whenever you are ready.
Eligibility
To enroll in a master's program or graduate certificate, you need one of the following:
- A bachelor's degree, or
- Some college and 5 years of relevant work experience, or
- Proof of your ability to engage in master's-level study.
No standardized tests are required: no GRE, no GMAT.
Same Tuition as the Full 1-on-1 MBA: $22,000
The Small Business concentration is part of the Elton 1-on-1 MBA, so it shares the same tuition, financial aid, and timeline as the full program: $22,000 total, with most students also receiving financial aid, and a path to a Graduate Certificate in Business Administration in as few as a few months.
- Start Immediately — other programs require you wait until September or January to start. With Elton, you can start immediately.
- No Risk First Month — if during the first month you or Elton decide this is not a fit, you receive a full refund.
- No GMAT or GRE — admission is based on your business and experience, not a standardized test score.
