Kelly Massey, Instructor

Which classes do you teach online?

MAN 5806c – Small Business Management Consulting

What do you want students to learn in your classes? What is the expected outcome?

At the conclusion of the Small Business Management Consulting course, the successful student shall be able to:

• Identify the challenges in starting, owning and managing a small business
• Demonstrate sufficient written and oral communication skills and critical thinking skills
• Demonstrate small business knowledge through live case analysis with a real business

Why did you start teaching?

Henderson State University asked, and I thought it would be a good outlet for me to share my knowledge and experience with others who want to learn.

What's the best advice that you have ever received?

Work smart, not just hard. Hire for attitude and train for skills. Earn it, don't expect things to be handed to you.

What's the best advice you could give to online students?

Carve out time each day to work on your classes with no distractions. Keep to the schedule. If you don't understand something, just ask. Don't procrastinate. In group projects, be the person who is outworking the others.

What qualities make someone particularly successful in entrepreneurship?

Plan for the worst and hope for the best. Entrepreneurs who succeed take calculated risks but also plan for bumps as well as growth.

What do you think is the biggest challenge that people in business face today?

I think the three biggest problems in our society today are victim mentality, call-out culture and outrage culture. Some are quick to play the victim while quickly pointing out mistakes (differences) of others. They escalate a non-issue when they could have just had a conversation with the person to understand their point of view.

What is the one book you think everyone should read?

Read about what you’re passionate about. Take time for yourself to always keep learning or just to unwind.

Tell us something interesting about yourself that your students might not know about you.

I am the only SBA national award-winning SBDC consultant in history. The SBA only presented this award the one year that I won it. I also love cats!