FA+
Shop
The value of a college degree for an entrepreneur?
12 years ago
I'll be graduating high school in just a few months, and college is on the horizon. My straight-A years in high school and high ACT/SAT scores have paid off - I've applied and been accepted to NCSU (my first choice college) for fashion and textile management, my degree program of choice. All of that said, you would think it would be a no-brainer that I would want to go to school. However, ever since I even started filling out applications, I have been questioning whether or not this is the right path for me.
Over the last several years, I have been discovering that what I really want to do is continue what I am doing now - entrepreneurship. I'm running three businesses out of my house and most of the time, it doesn't even feel like work. Of course, it isn't easy, and sometimes it is emotionally taxing, but it is my passion and it's what I love to do - it is more rewarding than any other position that I can think of. Based on how things have been going lately, I think it is entirely feasible that I could make enough to live on. Granted, I wouldn't be living in luxury or anything, but it would be enough that I would be comfortable.
I struggle to see myself in the kind of executive job that having a fashion and textile management degree would probably get me; I like getting to work on just about every aspect of a business and the freedom and flexibility that comes with business ownership. I'm also scared that if I went to college, I'd have to stop my entrepreneurial activities because there simply wouldn't be time with all of the coursework I would have to do. If that were to happen, I don't know that I would have much of a business to come back to when I finished college.
However, there is always the chance that I'm wrong and my businesses can't support me. This is the reason why I am struggling so much to make a choice. I don't know if I would be screwing myself over by not going to college in the event that Wolfeh Works/FursuitSupplies.com/The Plushery all fail - would my real-world work experiences with these businesses be enough to get another job, or would I be lucky to be able to work at McDonald's if I don't have a degree? It's also scary to question what I've always been told - you HAVE to go to college or you're guaranteed to fail - even though I'm not so sure that it's true. It's also scary to question my parents, who are very adamant that I should go.
This is a major life decision for me and there are pros and cons to both options. I am posting this here because I would really appreciate opinions from people who are unbiased about my situation. I'm really just wondering what the value of a college degree is for someone wanting to take an entrepreneurial path in life, and whether or not someone without a degree but with a good amount of real-life business experience is employable in the event that things don't work out. I'd love to hear opinions from full-time fursuit makers and other business owners about the value of a college degree in this career path.
Over the last several years, I have been discovering that what I really want to do is continue what I am doing now - entrepreneurship. I'm running three businesses out of my house and most of the time, it doesn't even feel like work. Of course, it isn't easy, and sometimes it is emotionally taxing, but it is my passion and it's what I love to do - it is more rewarding than any other position that I can think of. Based on how things have been going lately, I think it is entirely feasible that I could make enough to live on. Granted, I wouldn't be living in luxury or anything, but it would be enough that I would be comfortable.
I struggle to see myself in the kind of executive job that having a fashion and textile management degree would probably get me; I like getting to work on just about every aspect of a business and the freedom and flexibility that comes with business ownership. I'm also scared that if I went to college, I'd have to stop my entrepreneurial activities because there simply wouldn't be time with all of the coursework I would have to do. If that were to happen, I don't know that I would have much of a business to come back to when I finished college.
However, there is always the chance that I'm wrong and my businesses can't support me. This is the reason why I am struggling so much to make a choice. I don't know if I would be screwing myself over by not going to college in the event that Wolfeh Works/FursuitSupplies.com/The Plushery all fail - would my real-world work experiences with these businesses be enough to get another job, or would I be lucky to be able to work at McDonald's if I don't have a degree? It's also scary to question what I've always been told - you HAVE to go to college or you're guaranteed to fail - even though I'm not so sure that it's true. It's also scary to question my parents, who are very adamant that I should go.
This is a major life decision for me and there are pros and cons to both options. I am posting this here because I would really appreciate opinions from people who are unbiased about my situation. I'm really just wondering what the value of a college degree is for someone wanting to take an entrepreneurial path in life, and whether or not someone without a degree but with a good amount of real-life business experience is employable in the event that things don't work out. I'd love to hear opinions from full-time fursuit makers and other business owners about the value of a college degree in this career path.
You could take a year off and see what living off your makings will be like. Its not like if you don't go to school it won't still be there later. You can always decide to go later.
Of course this is looked down on as something to do.
Another thing to look at is how much is the college. Will you be taking out loans? How in debt will you be after college? Because that is really the issue right now, people being in debt and not being able to get a job.
Also if you go to college, 100% you will have no time at all for anything outside of school work.
I was a full time student with a rigorous courseload, and I graduated with a 3.7 GPA (I carried a 4.0 my first two years) and managed to keep my business afloat, albeit with turnaround times that were not as quick as they are now. Still, it was enough that it was still waiting for me and I have pretty much a full queue at all times despite that few years of slowed down time.
I just wanted to mention this as it is from the perspective from someone that did just what you are considering to do.
I don't regret my degree at all. I have a BA in Literature and I loved college, it was a wonderful, freeing time of my life that I got to spend exploring a subject I am infatuated with. I now also have the option of pursuing higher degrees and though I have no intention of closing my business, it is nice to know that I have several possibilities available to me should I even just change my mind about what I would like to do -- and they are all things that I love. I don't at all feel as though I will ever have to have a job that I hate.
It probably depends on the person.
I know with what I was doing I tend to fully focus on one thing at a time so I really didn't have much time for things outside of school work. I have a friend who also can not achieve any personal work outside of her school work.
Thats just my experience I suppose.
But with your experience I guess it really just depends on how well your time management is.
People do have different ways of going about things, I forgot to take that into account *nods*
The college is an in-state public university, so comparatively the expenses aren't terrible, and I'm up for a couple of scholarships (though I have not actually been awarded them yet, I am a finalist for a few). Though cost is certainly a factor, I guess I'm more worried about the time college will take and likely having to halt or at least slow considerably business activity than the money it will cost to go.
As someone pointed out to me in my previous comment, it really depends on the type of work ethic you have.
In my experience I did not have much time for outside work. I took commissions during college but my production was severely slowed down to a point that I did not enjoy.
But you could have better time management or faster turnaround, so it is possible to be able to do both.
It is definitely better to have some type of degree under your belt. If you ever decide to stop the work you're doing, in the future a degree would be helpful to you.
I know I said taking a year off wouldn't hurt. But since school cost isn't a huge worry here, going to school for a year to see how you can handle things wouldn't hurt much either.
Instead of looking at this as an either-or thing, try approaching your degree and studies as a way to learn how to make your businesses even more efficient and successful, and possibly even look into something like a business minor to really solidify that skill set. Most of what you will be learning will not only be interesting to you (a novel concept after the force-fed nature of public school, ha) but it will be applicable as well. After school you will have a degree or even degrees that will help you in finding a job or, more likely, give you a very solid foundation for taking your own businesses to the next level and trying out being self-employed. Should that not end up being as lucrative as you thought, well, you already have the degrees and years of applied experience as a strong resume to go find a paying job while continuing your own businesses on the side.
About the time thing--yeah, college will keep you busy. But I worked all throughout school as well as had plenty of time to socialize and have fun, so there will be leftover time to keep your businesses running. True, you might not be able to keep up with your current levels of output, but I doubt it would be a huge drop. The fact that you are staying local is a huge plus, too (and going to a super-incredibly-awesome school, if I might say so :P).
All in all I think that the degree will end up being a huge boon for you and totally worth the time, and I predict that you will be able to get so much more out of the experience because you have a great work ethic and some solid goals already in mind (unlike many students who take 2-3 years to get to that point). Congrats on getting in to NC State, and I hope this helped! :)
as for me i want to run my own mobile entertainment business, but i don't know much about owning a business, expanding, advertising, and getting like $30-40k worth of equipment so i can actually do it :/
NCSU is also super cheap so no worries on this being a bad financial decision.
As for the value of the degree itself, it kind of depends on a lot of things. I got way more out of the experiences and networking that I made in college than that piece of paper ever did for me. Those experiences and friendships that I've made in college are so valuable.
I truly love the site, it's a great idea and I personally think it should stay! There are A LOT of fursuit makers in the fandom nowadays so the site is so simple and easy to use and buy what is needed. I also love The Plushery and Wolfeh Works even though I've never really bought anything from your two other businesses (except the fat husky among other goodies at FWA).
I guess I'll throw in my two cents and say do what YOU love and what makes YOU happy. We only live once for a brief period. You deserve to have a job that makes you happy.