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mostdivinemind

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Hello everyone ,

I will make my story short. I am 20-years old and currently running a smartphone and computer repair store. I am also pursuing a bachelors in computer science at my local university; however, I am currently on summer vacation and dedicating full time to my business.

As the fall semester quickly approaches, I am wondering what the smart and innovative people of this forum suggest that I do.

I need help determining whether I should continue to pursue my bachelors and focus more on school OR should I focus on expanding my business as well as exploring other businesses. Do you guys suggests that I drop out or stay in school and TRY to do both?

Some info to take into consideration:
- I currently have $12,000 saved that I can spend/invest on anything that I want.
- I make around $2,000-$2,500 per WEEK in actual profits that I split with my business partner 50/50.
- I graduated high school with a 4.2 weighted GPA but currently have a 2.3 GPA at my local university.
- I pay ALL of my universities' expenses with my money. No student loans. No scholarships. No debt.
- I have failed several of my college classes before due to the amount of time my business consumes.
- I currently work 7 days a week , and around 10 hours per day.
- I save 90% of my profits and only spend 10% on cell phone bill and car insurance.
- I am currently 20 and my goal is to make my first million by the age of 25.

ANY advice would be largely appreciated. Thank you in advance. Hoping to hear from you guys soon!
 
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2money

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get ur cs degree.it will give you something to fall on.also get ur GPA up. I see no reason why you should drop out unless ur making millions
 

The-J

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In your situation?

Save your money, save your time. Drop the college. YOU don't need it, YOU don't want it (as evidenced by your craptastic GPA: if you cared, you'd have at least a 3).

For others... let me elaborate.

You obviously have the drive to do something different with your life. You've found a formula that works. AND you know that this road is the one you want to take for the rest of your life.

I bet you're asking us because you're getting familial pressure to stay in school so you don't end up as one of those self-employed 'losers' who spend all their time working and making pennies (or whatever reason they give you).

I must thank you for outlining your situation as best as you can. Most people come in asking 'is college a good idea?' when they've not given any information as to what their situation is. There's no magic formula that works for everybody, even though society seems to think that the magic formula is go to college and you'll get somewhere.

Best of luck, man.
 

johnp

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When things get bad (which they will) you can't turn to the stranger next to you and ask them to make your decisions for you. Just remember that.....
 
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CommonCents

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Can you increase your business and hire a couple employees to do the work while you manage/supervise?
 

Open Access BPO

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As a matter of fact, Staff.com CEO Liam Martin also found himself in a similar confusing situation right after he graduated from grad school.

He finally decided to tutor online, mostly catering to pre-med students. As it turns out, his tutoring gig touched upon a less explored niche in the online sphere and the demands for his services exceeded his ability to provide them. A few months later, he started hiring his friends who then tapped their friends. Since then, the company grew until there were more than 100 tutors in the company, giving instructions and teaching students through Skype.

From there, Martin co-founded Staff.com, an easy to use platform that serves as broker between outsourced personnel and companies looking for services. He had 50 virtual employees who worked from their own preferred locations in nine different countries. Aside from this, he also co-founded TimeDoctor, a unique application that helps companies keep track of their outsourced employees. It is a useful tool that records a worker’s productivity and lessens the numbers of “distractions” (such as social media sites like Facebook and Twitter). He has over 20 employees that are working in eight countries.

Hope this helps!
 
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Vigilante

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Sir Ingenious

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You seem to live underneath other people's expectations of you. You ask others before you ask yourself.

Find out your dharma or 'truth' and ask yourself these questions based on who you are:

1) What should a 20 yr be?
2) What should a guy (or girl) be?
3) What should a son (or daughter) be?
4) What should a businessman be?
5) Etc.

Instead of doing, simply 'be'. Focus and have faith in today and life will sort itself out on its own.

Fulfill your role as a person and life will guide you if you let it. Be like a loose leaf that let the wind carry it in any direction. However, be and feel free like a loose leaf. And that loose leaf will be carried farther than anything as long as it has faith in the wind.

You seem to do too much, do less instead.

You seem to think too much, think less instead.

Unlearn everything you know and be blissfully unaware because you're just focusing on today and today only. Tomorrow will be a surprise and yesterday no longer exist. So, fulfill that action for today and today only and be done with it.

There's so many answers for you and yet, there's no answer for you. There's a life manual and yet there's no life manual.

Simply be, don't do.
 

andyredsox

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It's totally Okay to want to be a millionaire at 25 but you have to make decisions for yourself.

You can't go to university half heartedly especially if you're the one spending for it.

What I suggest? Hire another personnel who van HELP you especially during the times when you are not at the shop.

Find someone who you can hold accountable.

Finish UNI if you think this is something you NEED but if you think you can bring your business up the next level, leave it.

If I had the resources when I was younger, I don't think I'd finish UNI to.

The choice is always yours but remember to stick to your decision after you made them.
 

Vick

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isnt this something you should decide on your own?
 
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dknise

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D

DeletedUser2

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get ur cs degree.it will give you something to fall on.also get ur GPA up. I see no reason why you should drop out unless ur making millions
F*ck that

drop out and go make a mess, get shit done, dont have a fall back plan. it takes years to get a fall back to mediocrity plan. you can make do much better, than "falling back" to that

Z

go break some shit! then fix it.
 

Phillipbro

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Your choice really.

The people I'm meeting in college right now are making it worth it. A lot of people with the fastlane mindset, a lot of tech startups, and most importantly a lot of beautiful girls.
 
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Tony I

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I'm in a very similar situation.

I plan to take a leave of absence for the spring semester, so I have both the spring & summer to grow my business. If I increase my profits enough during this time, I'm out.

Is your business a physical store? Or an online platform?

Also, how much is tuition? This money could be used to further grow your business.


Just remember that you can always go back to school if you fail.
 

FastLearner

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I'm also a college student at the moment, not really taking classes towards my major. I've been dropping in on classes I find most useful to what I WANT to do.
You could take that route if you have parents that are really insistent on you getting an education, but you're an adult now so you can make this decision without consulting anyone. Yes, it's great to get advice and see different perspectives but ultimately, I would hope that wouldn't influence any kind of decision in your life. This choice is yours and yours alone. To me college isn't the code for everyone's success, it's 2013 and people are still buying into the college bullshit including my family. Which is fine. To each their own. You have a great start-up idea and you obviously have acquired the skills to run this gem. Do it. Stay in school if you want to but I just don't really see the point..
 

mostdivinemind

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isnt this something you should decide on your own?

It is but I felt that I should take into consideration the opinions of like-minded people. My parents never attended college nor are they wealthy so, to be honest, I really don't want to rely on them for advice.
 
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mostdivinemind

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Is your business a physical store? Or an online platform?

Also, how much is tuition? This money could be used to further grow your business.

My business is a physical location. We currently have a store and we also have another smaller location at a swap meet/flea market. (We as in my business partner and I).

I am spending about $3500 per semester. I enroll in a payment plan so it's even easier to pay it off. I still have "a lot" more money left over even though I am paying for school from my pocket.
 

QuickLanceFirms

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I always felt that college was such a ludicrous waste of my time and energy.
Maybe you don't.
You have to decide what's more important in your case.

Look at the people who have taken the entrepreneurial path (both successes and failures) and look at the people graduating from college and ask yourself who you rather be.
 

nausbot

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I'd say if you haven't already dropped out, see what you can do in a year outside of college. If you're not giving college 100% but you are elsewhere, shouldn't that be where you devote your energy?
 

botnickguy

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Things are quite the opposite at my community college haha, when I talk about fastlane tech and the like people are all "Huh?"

Can't wait to transfer to a dedicated uni, hopefully will meet more motivated human beings and get to network. Where do you go to school?

Your choice really.

The people I'm meeting in college right now are making it worth it. A lot of people with the fastlane mindset, a lot of tech startups, and most importantly a lot of beautiful girls.
 

Phillipbro

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Things are quite the opposite at my community college haha, when I talk about fastlane tech and the like people are all "Huh?"

Can't wait to transfer to a dedicated uni, hopefully will meet more motivated human beings and get to network. Where do you go to school?

One of the top business schools here in Toronto (Ted Rogers). There is the digital media zone club which helps tech start ups collaborate, find mentors and funding. They always have big CEOs coming in for speeches as well. Everyone and their grandma is developing a tech startup n Toronto, or it seems that way at least lol.
 
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Worldisyours

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Very interesting post here.

I would say STAY in school. The thing is you can make BOTH work. You just have to figure it out.
Just because doing both is extremely challenging, does not mean both can't be done. Fastlane is also being smart. Just because its looks slowlane, does not mean it is ;)

Figure out the opportunity cost of staying in school vs not staying in school.

Just because it does not add value to you at 20 tears old, does not mean it cannot add value to you.

My last thing to say is this. If it aint broke, dont fix it. Have patience. You'll have your freedom in 2 years, and you can do anything you want.

And using the reason that you are wasting 80k and going to school it will set you back financially, it a dangerous way to think.. A fasterlaner always makes money, and can always make money

I dropped out, So I know. Yes I am a fastlaner and am doing great, but I could have saved a few years indirectly if i finished school, can you believe it?
 

julien515

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finishing school just to come out with a crappy GPA probably would be a waste of time and money, having anything less than a 3.0 or at least a high 2.8-2.9 is going to be frowned upon by any employer. It sounds like your making enough off of your business to support yourself, in my opinion you should leave school and pursue your business fulltime. You can always go back to school but the business your running is not an opportunity that you can just put down and then pick back up whenever you want. Also have you considered just doing school part time? you can always just do 1 or 2 classes per semester so that way your at least getting a few credits out of the way w/o interfering with your business.
 

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