You’ve probably seen the letters trailing after a name and assumed you knew the trajectory. JD, MBA. It usually screams "corporate ladder" or "Big Law partner." But Michelle Bliss JD MBA doesn't actually fit into that neat little box you've likely built in your head. Honestly, her path looks less like a straight line and more like a complex circuit board.
Most people looking her up are trying to figure out if she’s a lawyer who does business or a business person who knows the law.
The reality? She’s a hybrid. A bit of a "technical polymath" who spent her childhood fighting six brothers for the TV remote and her adulthood fighting for small business transparency.
The Grit Behind the Credentials
Let's talk about the degrees first, because that’s what everyone notices. She didn't just sleepwalk through a state school. Michelle Bliss earned her Juris Doctor (JD) from Taft Law School, graduating magna cum laude. That’s not a "participation trophy" achievement. It means she was likely obsessed with the details of estate planning and property law.
But she didn't stop at the bar exam prep.
She stacked an MBA in Strategic Management and a BS in Finance from Western Governors University on top of that. Why WGU? Because she was already running a business. She needed a model that let her work while she studied. It’s that pragmatic, "get it done" energy that defines her entire career.
If you're looking for a silver-spoon story, you're in the wrong place. She’s been working since she was 12.
From Radio Waves to Python Code
Kinda weirdly, her roots are in radio. She has an AS in Radio Broadcasting from the late 90s.
Back then, she realized that if you knew how to code, you didn't need a giant transmitter to reach people. You could just build your own platform. That realization sent her to night school to learn HTML and CSS. Fast forward to 2025, and she’s completing Stanford’s Code in Place program, building games like "ShipGrrr" in Python.
She isn't just a "suit" who hires developers. She’s the one looking at the source code of a client’s website to make sure it isn't a mess of templates and security holes.
What Michelle Bliss JD MBA Actually Does
If you hire her company, Bliss Business Development (BBDC), you aren't getting a generic consulting firm. You’re getting someone who looks for "unusual patterns."
She focuses on:
- Stakeholder Activism: Identifying market trends and supply chain snags.
- Fraud Detection: Using her legal and financial background to spot when things don't add up.
- Web Development: Building non-template, high-security sites using PHP and JavaScript.
- Cybersecurity: Helping small businesses avoid being sitting ducks for digital fraud.
She’s basically a private investigator for the digital age, but with the legal authority of a JD and the financial sense of an MBA.
The Sardine Lab? Yeah, It’s a Thing
One of the more surprising parts of her portfolio is the Sardine Factory and Laboratory Proposal.
It sounds like a joke, but it’s actually a serious research project under her nonprofit, Bliss Economic Development Corp. She’s interested in sustainable ecosystems, wildlife migration, and how AI can track marine life like sardines and blue-footed boobies.
It’s a weird niche, right? But it highlights her "autodidact" nature. She gets interested in a complex system—whether it's a legal framework or a marine ecosystem—and she deconstructs it.
Why Small Businesses Care About This
Most small business owners are drowning. They get bullied by big tech platforms or scammed by "growth hackers." Michelle Bliss positions herself as the shield.
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She’s written over 1,000 pieces on everything from real estate to cybersecurity. Her work has popped up on platforms like Thomson Reuters and Martindale-Hubbell. When she talks about professional integrity, she isn't just using a buzzword. She’s talking about the "due diligence" that prevents a business from falling into a catastrophic legal pit.
"A collective effort to raise awareness can play a significant role in promoting growth."
That’s her mantra. She’s big on the idea that if small businesses share info about fraud and cyberbullying, they won't get picked off one by one.
Misconceptions to Clear Up
People often confuse different "Michelle Blisses" on LinkedIn.
There's a Michelle Bliss who is a property accountant in New York (a Bryant & Stratton alumna). There's another Bliss with a background from Wharton and Lewis & Clark. Our Michelle Bliss JD MBA—the one from Taft and WGU—is the Utah-based founder of BBDC who focuses on tech-driven business development and research.
Make sure you're looking at the right one before you send a pitch.
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Actionable Steps for Business Owners
If you’re trying to emulate the "Bliss" approach to business integrity and security, here’s how to start:
- Audit Your Source Code: Don't just trust a WordPress template. Have a professional (or learn yourself) check for bloat and vulnerabilities that could expose your customer data.
- Verify Your Stakeholders: Use tools like SEC EDGAR or PACER to do actual due diligence on partners. Don't take a LinkedIn profile at face value.
- Learn Basic Python: You don't need to be a software engineer, but understanding how data is manipulated can save you from being lied to by "data analysts."
- Join Advocacy Groups: Look into organizations like ACAMS (which Michelle is certified by) to stay ahead of money laundering and fraud trends that affect your industry.
Michelle Bliss JD MBA is a reminder that you don't have to pick a "lane." You can be the person who writes the contract, balances the books, and codes the website. It’s a lot of work, but it’s also the ultimate form of professional self-reliance.