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During the same time, he and friend Eric Poppler (MSU-Mankato alumni, 2010) connected over their mutual dislike for the coffee served at church. The conversation lead to regular coffee roasting sessions, purely for their own use. Then when Christmas time rolled around, a friend of Sharkey asked if they would be willing to sell a bag of their roasted beans to give as a gift. This changed everything.

From this opportunity to sell a $10 bag of coffee came a lot of unforeseen challenges which resulted in the two coffee fanatics beginning their entrepreneurial coffee journey. After they realized there was a market for fresh, home-roasted coffee and people were willing to buy it, new roasting supplies became a necessity. Sharkey and Poppler upgraded to a grill from the popcorn popper and began selling their coffee at the Mankato Farmers Market.

Now that Beans had a following, they created a website for people to start ordering online, moved the business into a true roastery and started showing up in local coffee shops, co-ops and grocery stores. For those who ordered online, Beans delivers their freshly roasted coffee beans to residents around the Mankato area, and ships the coffee to further distances around the United States.

As a new business, there came growing pains and unexpected obstacles. From figuring out where to source the coffee from and bags to hold the coffee to what should be on the labels and how to take credit cards, each day came with a new challenge. Sharkey noted he’s “excited to see how the skills [he] learns through the MBA program at Minnesota State University, Mankato will provide knowledge about how to think through problems and capitalize on opportunities." 

In addition to being a co-owner of Beans and an MBA student in the College of Business, Sharkey also works a full-time job and has a wife and two young children at home. He realized he had the entrepreneurship bug a few years into his career and knew he wanted to create something of his own. There is no plan in the near future to run Beans full-time, but with the organic growth through community support, it’s definitely not out of the question.

Clay’s advice to current and future MBA students is “don’t let it intimidate you because it isn’t the ‘right time.’ If you wait for the right time, you will never do it. The projects will seem overwhelming when they are assigned, but once completed are no big deal. Remember to take it one step at a time. You don’t get an MBA overnight, so there’s no need to worry as if that’s the case.”

TOEFL.org is the official website for the test of English as a foreign language and includes all the pertinent information you should need in both preparing for and taking the exam.

For TOEFL site:

• If you would like to test in India, China, or Taiwan there are special instructions on this page. For all other countries, click on the location of your interest.
• Follow the instructions on the website to check for cities, and time availability.

What are the admissions requirements for international students?

All students, domestic and international must first apply through the College of Graduate Studies and Research. International students are advised to check the College of Graduate Studies and Research website for specific instructions. Please note, your application will not be forwarded to the MBA program until you have been accepted by the College of Graduate Studies and Research.

I am an international student, but I received my undergraduate degree from a U.S. college or university. Do I still need to take the TOEFL exam?

No, students who have received degrees (undergraduate or graduate) from U.S. institution do not need to take the TOEFL exam.

Scores from the GMAT and TOEFL exams will be considered valid for five years. 

A student may take up to 8 semester credits of 600 level MBA courses without being admitted to the MBA program. A student, however, must be admitted to the graduate college and have earned a bachelor’s degree. *permission of the Director required