Hi
I need abit of advice
I started my own online business last June and it's 6 months old now and I'm earning about 6k a month from it. It all started as abit of fun but things have really taken off. I started not expecting much but all off a sudden orders increased and we started building a strong client base. Now I want to expand and get a good PR team behind me and improve my marketing techniques to build my brand properly.
My plan this year is to expand our business three fold and hopefully be selling about 20k worth of items a month by this time next year and sell across mulitple channels with online marketing aimed at customers all over the world particularly Canada, Australia & USA .
The progress I've made allows me to know this is 100% possible, if I can be bothered to sell more and I'm ready to expland and a company is willing to invest quite alot into us to take the next step but there is just one thing in my way...........UNI. Right now I am literally running the business myself out of my uni room but it's getting very hard as I'm finding it almost IMPOSSIBLE to juggle the two and there is NO WAY I can expand and do the two.
I'm currently a 1st year student and as said before I started the business not expecting it to grow so big so fast and I can't see myself building my brand fully whilst still at uni.
I have lost all interest for my course now as I am currently earning double now from my business as I dreamed to get from a graduate job and if I continue to further my brand I will keep earning more and more, also I enjoy owning my own company it's become my passion and I want to fight for it to grow, the classic graduate and find a job thing isn't really for me anymore. I have a passion for my brand and customers, not really for my course anymore.
All the money I earn I've been saving I've saved about 25k within the last few months alone, I'm not lavish and most of my friends don't know how lucrative it and how much I can pay myself.
Over Christmas I told my mum I'm considering dropping out of uni and she went MAD her theory is if we go bust of something I'll regret it and she doesn't think I'm ready.
I've been reading alot of books for guidance and it appears most of the most successful people dropped out of uni when they saw their business ventures growing (bill gates, steve jobs, mark zuchenburger) it was a huge risk but it paid off.
At the moment the annual salary I'm able to pay myself will 68,000 after tax. I'm only 18 and eventhough its abit like WOAH (I was hoping to get a 25k job when I graduate)! my parents are both accountants and help me take care of it, I still buy value and my freinds don't know I'm making that much. I know I can make this something more but I don't know whether I should drop out of uni and take the risk.
If you were in my position what would you honestly do? Drop out and grow the business or stay at uni?
Thanks a lot in advance