[collegeconfused]

Hello all,

Longtime reader, firsttime poster.

Lest you think I have posted in the wrong forum, I believe the following question/dilemma I am facing is extremely relevant (or will be at least intriguing) to most people in this forum.

I am 19 years old and have owned two busineses for over four years. I have accumulated $1.8 million in wealth so far, and right now it looks to only be getting better. As in, I will probably make about $2.5 million over the next 12 months alone. I have been fanatically protective of my success, and as of today have never even done a newspaper interview or really let anyone outside of my close family know about what I've done. This is the reason I am not giving out my name. In other words, the last thing I need is to invite more competition in the businesses I'm already in.

Cutting to the chase, here's my question: everyone my age is going to college, but why the hell should I even apply? I always "liked" school, but mostly because (little did I realize at the time), I was analyzing the inner-workings of the school management, overall educational system, etc. The actual "knowledge" I was supposed to be accumulating went in one ear and right out the other.....my accountants are actually astounded at how little math I really know. Clearly I never really loved school, as in learning. It was all the superficial, more business-oriented aspects of the environment that really captivated me.

Which begs the question: even though I have successful businesses, should I go to college to gain more knowledge? Will it truly help me?

Or would those 4 years be better spent starting another business? I have a couple ideas I have whittled down from about 60 that I think are very, very viable and could make me much more than I'm earning now (when you hit the #'s I have, all of a sudden they actually don't seem like that much, amazingly enough). But money isn't everything (I may be in the wrong forum to say something like that?) On the flipside, if money isn't everything, that still doesn't justify college: I could take $300k and do a massive 4 year trip around the world or something. I think you could argue I would learn a lot from that, if not more from that than college.

I am mostly interested in opinions from people here who are currently in college or who have recently graduated. If you had been in my position, what would you have done?

I'm not sure about how to proceed. And the fact that the value of a college degree seems to be waning makes me even more concerned. After having made so much over the past 4 years, 4 years seems like a VERY long time to me. I think most teenagers don't look at it that way, and I think it's the inherent flaw in many people's early growth: you have the most energy when you're young, so why the hell not channel it now instead of when you're middle aged and much more tired?

4 years is worth millions....I've proven that. It certainly raises the stakes in my situation.

Any advice would be welcome from all of you motivated people who (even if you haven't made a cent yet) clearly are extraordinarily smart. Thank you!

[Bscivolette]

First off, if you have accumulated almost 2 million in net income why won't you let it be known? I find it hard to believe that the market you have chosen is that unknown, I am sure there are competitors. A good businessman uses his success to fuel PR and create more income.

Secondly, college may not be useful to you since you have already broken the one million dollar barrier. I suggest attending college if you feel the experience would be worth it. I personally love college, I never went but I do enjoy the parties and the experience. If I could go back, although the education may not prove useful, the experience is one nobody should go without. And who says you cannot run a business while in college? Go to school, take your courses and run your business. The real question is does your business run by itself with little help from you or do you support the day to day activities?

[collegeconfused]

Thank you for your response. Regarding the competition issue, keep in mind that I said I did not want to invite more competition. That does not mean I do not already have competition. It's pretty simple: I've weighed the benefits of PR against not attracting more competition, and one of them has won out for the moment. It would be naive to think that I can maintain my current success as these businesses are still quite young.

The most interesting thing you have brought up is the $1 million mark being some kind of psychological treshold for the decision. That is the kind of comment I was looking for.......an opinion on essentially when you have made enough money that you can effectively just shut the door on college.

Anyone else have an angle on what the income level is where you can basically say "no" to college solely on the grounds of earning power? At the end of the day, I think that is the issue I'm dealing with.

Thank you again for your reponse; it is appreciated.

[collegeconfused]

Just re-read your post and I do not understand this statement:

"I personally love college, I never went".....

Are you currently in college?

Just curious because I see you have a couple of businesses, and if you are in college then you have essentially implemented the exact strategy you mentioned at the end of your post, of doing both at the same time.

My issue is not with running my two current businesses while in college......I could handle that......it's would the time be better spent developing new, hopefully more successful businesses, but completely shortchanging the college experience.

[nado]

I'm very secretive and protective of my ideas, almost in a paranoid way, which I guess is the same for most entrepreneurs with great ideas. But I agree with Bscivolette, if there is already competition, then you may as well go public with your business and do interviews etc to boost your PR and hopefully boost your business to overtake your competitors. Though I guess it comes down to how 'new' and untapped the industry is that you are pursuing... copy-cats always tend to pop-up when they find out how well something/someone is going.

With that said, I'd like to know what industry you're in. Physical business or online or both?

I think unless you need more knowledge/information regarding business, then it may be a good idea to do a college/uni course. But if you feel you have all the knowledge and tools to tackle all the problems that will pop-up in the next few years, then just skip college, you have the money and capital to grow or startup more businesses. Though, yeah you'll miss the experience.

Having very little finances to my name, next year I'm currently planning to do a double degree in a Bachelor of Commerce/Bachelor of Engineering (Computer), which will hopefully provide me with the knowledge and perhaps the ticket to startup and grow successful businesses. And hopefully in the time after our final exams this year (Year 12), I will have the foundations for some profitable businesses setup which I can then develop through uni/college.

cheers
nathan

[collegeconfused]

Thanks for your comments Nathan. And, before I forget, best of luck with your startups....I've found that at the end of the day grit and determination is really all you need......you just need endless mountains of it. Whatever comes your way, just keep pushing.

My two businesses are a fusion of both online and physical. I have always felt that, by far, the biggest mistake young entpreneurs make is to rely on the internet too much. The appeal of selling nontangible goods is blinding people because it is so "easy". The reality is that it is much more profitable (even though the upfront and startup margins paint a different picture) to sell physical goods. At the end of the day, the human condition tends to lean to the more superficial end of the spectrum.....there's nothing like physically holding something and sensing that you own it.....and that you would like more.....

"But if you feel you have all the knowledge and tools to tackle all the problems that will pop-up in the next few years, then just skip college"

This is the most useful comment anyone I have asked about this (and I have asked many outside of this forum) has put forward. This is the key problem: there is no way to know if you will have the tools to deal with problems down the road. There are problems that people without MBA's can handle with much more deftness than people with them. Do you think an experienced MBA-er could successfully run Apple? Most people would argue not nearly as well as Steve Jobs. On the other hand, the knowledge gained through an MBA program gives you power to handle more routine threats that someone lacking an MBA could be more likely to completely hit the wall with.

This is the key issue, and I think it's relevant to everyone here, no matter how little or much education you have.

[insomnia]

College is an interesting experience, really nothing like it. You can have the time of your life, meet fun new people, it can really change you. You have a lifetime to pursue money, why not look at college?

[Steve]

Hi there,

I had the same debate myself 2 years ago. It was in a forum similiar to yours.


You have to isolate it to this level and it will make the decision easy.

College:

1. If I would go to college, the purpose of me going would be?

To experience life, to make friends. To party. To get away from home. To get security and experience so I can land a safe job.

2. If I went to college would I concentrate on it?


No College:

1. Would I be disappointed if I missed the college atmosphere?

10 years down the road, from a social stand point would you regret not going to college?

2. If I decided college wasn't for me would I go back in three years.

3. Do I have the internal drive to learn, without college, more than my peers?


Putting it into this perspective. I personally decided, my only purpose for college was to make friends and experience the atmosphere. You can still attend college parties, you can still have fun. From a business standpoint I had 3-4 opportuinities that I felt in 4 years would put me WAY ahead of 4 years of college. I also knew that I learn on my own and am heavily motivated to read and chase knowledge on my own time. When a teacher pushes me to do I am less effective than it is from my own will.

This is what made it easy. Draw out your options and map out where option 1 will lead you in 4 years, option 2 and so on. I decided that non-college I would be 4 years ahead of going to college, because of the opporutinities i currently have.

If you want more specific information I would be happy to communicate via email steve@livetronix.com.

[marbalizer99]

I too am a current reader and first time poster but here is my opinion on your situation. I am a sophmore in college majoring in Mechanical Engineering currently in AFROTC. However, I have been trying to organize/come up with new business idea's everyday and if I come up with something that I think will work, I would be willing to leave college in order to pursue the business.

Here is what I think about your situation:
Look at this curriculum for Business Management at NCSU:
Curriculum

From what you have wrote so far, it seems that you are a very proficient speaker, and have already established the essentials of running a business. Now look at the first TWO YEARS of courses your going to be taking in something like Business Management:

ACAD WRITING RSCH
ADVANCED WRITING
COMMUNICATION
HISTORY
LITERATURE
ETHICS
INTRO TO PSYCH
HUMANITIES/SOCIAL SCIENCE
FOREIGN LANGUAGE 201
EC 201 - INTRO ECON
PRINC OF MACROECON

It seems to me that colleges are adding more and more "filler" classes into their curriculums and less classes that have an emphasis on the major the student is pursuing.

So, if you want to spend the next two years "learning" the above topics, that is your choice. BUT remember, there is a reason people transfer from engineering into business, and its not because they think they can learn more in business. A business major in college is a ticket to attractive women and a lot of partying, not much more. Like I said above, if I come up with a business plan soon, I'm leaving college and pursuing it because I believe that you can teach yourself just as much as you can learn in college.

Good luck in whatever you choose to do. However, I too and am 19 and wish I could be in your situation, and if I was, I wouldn't go to college. If your making 2.5 million just next year, build/buy a house in a college town and you can have or go to all the parties you want to because that's all your missing out on in my opinion.

[collegeconfused]

Thanks for all your responses.

Steve - it's so great to get an opinion from someone who decided to forego college altogether to pursue business opportunities. I'm sure you're aware that you are far from a dime-a-dozen, so your opinion truly holds weight in my mind. I can't commend you enough for sticking with your gut intuition; that takes more stamina and drive than most people seem to think. I also can't agree with you enough in regard to your “when a teacher pushes me to do I am less effective than it is from my own will”. That describes me in a nutshell.

marbalizer99 - I really appreciate your opinions. I think the most revealing thing you mentioned is your reference to partying. I have to admit that with at least half the people I've talked to about college and, inevitably, how much they "loved" it, I always have this sneaking suspicion that they're really just thinking back on anything and everything that didn't have to do with academics. That if college had consisted solely of (heaven forbid) just studying, I think they would have eventually just dropped out, or certainly not looked back on it wistfully as the "good old days".

Here's another question for you all: what if I had not already made $1 million+ and came to you asking the same questions? What if my businesses were currently a wreck or in a downturn? Should things like that affect my decision? Business is still business......I could wake up tomorrow and everything could crumble. I have invested most of the money I've earned, so personal solvency isn't a concern.....it's more the principle of the college decision. Should it be tied directly to my business performance?

All of your responses have easily been some of the best I've received out of anyone I've talked to. This place is a phenomenal resource.