Seventy percent of the small business owners who participated in the survey indicated that an MBA degree isn't a big factor in determining entrepreneurial success.

SurePayroll President Michael Alter says that the survey results are not surprising.

"That's the beauty of entrepreneurship," said Alter. "Anybody can go into business regardless of their education. A person's level of education is isn't a big determinant of success. The things that matter are having a good business plan, finding a niche, being passionate about what you do, and working hard and smart to achieve your business goals."

The entrepreneurs who were surveyed clearly agree that formal education is not an essential ingredient for entrepreneurial success. Only 44 percent said that formal education is very important in preparing entrepreneurs for success. 51 percent said that education is only somewhat important and 5 percent said that education is not important. In a ranking of entrepreneurial success factors, formal education came in last.

The respondents indicated that having an undergraduate degree is much more important than having an MBA. Fifty-seven percent of respondents agreed that people who get a college degree will have more success as entrepreneurs than people who do not.

While the MBA degree did not get much love from survey respondents, the wrath was especially strong for Ivy League MBA degrees. Ninety-one percent of the surveyed entrepreneurs said that those who get an MBA from an Ivy League school have no advantage over entrepreneurs who get an MBA from another school.

So if formal education isn't a big contributor to entrepreneurial success, what is? Drive and ambition appears to be the biggest factor, cited by 27 percent of respondents, followed by the passion for a specific business venture" (15 percent), hands-on experience in the industry (14 percent), easy access to capital to start a business (13 percent), personal connections  (12 percent), family members who are entrepreneurs (10 percent) and formal education (10 percent).

When asked what educational advice they would give to a high school student who is an aspiring to be an entrepreneur, a large percentage answered that they would benefit from classes that help them learn how to think logically and solve problems, such as math and engineering. Additionally, many entrepreneurs said they recommend reading self-help books, studying successful business leaders and getting experience in the field they'd like to enter.