Rich Martin’s path to an MBA at Southern Oregon University reflects a career shaped by diverse experience and a deliberate decision to chart a new course.
With a background spanning healthcare, education, and military service, Rich built a professional foundation that was anything but traditional. But like many professionals with wide-ranging experience, he reached a point where he wanted something different: the opportunity to create, build, and take ownership of his future.
Rather than staying in a field that no longer aligned with his long-term goals, Rich made the intentional choice to pivot. He enrolled in the Master of Business Administration program at Southern Oregon University, focusing on marketing and accounting to gain the tools needed to turn ideas into reality. “…I went back to school for business and chose marketing and accounting because I wanted to get my vision out into the world,” Rich said.
During the program, Rich didn’t just study business: he put it into practice. Applying coursework directly to entrepreneurial projects, he developed Three Little Peppers Sauce Company—a hot sauce brand named in tribute to his three children—and launched Rogue Media Solutions to support long-term growth.
Today, he is also the organizer behind the Rogue Valley Business Collective, working to support and strengthen the local economy. His journey is a reminder that an unconventional background isn’t a barrier—it’s often the foundation for building something new. With the right support, changing career paths can become a powerful step forward. At SOU, Rich found a program that made that transition possible and purposeful.
What Rich learned in the MBA proved to be practical in his entrepreneurial pursuits. “While in that program, I wasn’t working in a traditional role, so I turned my passion for hot sauce—something I was already making for friends and family—into a business and essentially used the MBA program as a live framework to build it,” he said. “As I got further into the program, I realized that to make the company viable, I needed to scale, and that’s where Rogue Media Solutions came in.”
Support Every Step of the Way
While completing the program, Rich navigated personal challenges connected to his prior military service. He credits the flexibility and support of the Southern Oregon University faculty and advisors with helping him stay on track and succeed. “Whether they followed regular policy or went above and beyond, it sure felt like they did whatever was necessary to make sure I could succeed,” he said. This support was invaluable to Rich as he navigated his coursework.
Initially, Rich wasn’t sure what to expect from working with fellow students, but the experience quickly exceeded his expectations. “Collaborating with a group, especially on large assignments, can feel daunting because you never know who’s going to pull their weight,” he said. “Either I got lucky, or the way the program is built naturally attracts self-motivated people, because it consistently turned out to be good experiences and sometimes genuinely fun ones.” One of his favorite projects was a business strategy game assignment. “I still text the people I was in that group with. We even created a logo for our team, Fervor Footwear, and we ended up winning. I still get emails asking if I want to play again, not even as a student. If I had the time, I would.”
Online learning was another aspect of the program Rich grew to appreciate. “[It’s] something that requires discipline but allows integration. Instead of separating school and work, I merged them,” he said. “I could work when it made sense, involve my family when I needed input (my wife was invaluable on the business side), and it made the learning more efficient and more durable. I could actually use what I was learning in real time.” His experience with his advisors was similar. When he needed them, they were there to provide support.
When it comes to advice for prospective students, Rich is enthusiastic. “Use the program while you’re building something, even if that something is just your resume or your sense of self,” he said. “If you treat what you’re learning as pure theory, you’ll forget it. If you apply it immediately, it compounds. And don’t just focus on completing tasks. Understand the systems you’re operating within. That’s where the real leverage is.”
Earn Your MBA Online
The online MBA program at Southern Oregon University is designed to give you real-world, relevant skills in a flexible, 100 percent online format. You can tailor the degree to meet your professional goals with eight quality options designed to prepare business leaders in high-demand fields. Deepen a diverse array of general business skills or focus your studies with one of our dynamic MBA concentrations.
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With Southern Oregon University’s online MBA, you can make your career dreams a reality. Learn more and apply today!
