Should You Skip College to Start a Business?

Pros and cons of skipping college to start a business

Like all life choices, deciding whether to skip college to pursue your entrepreneurship dreams has upsides and downsides. Consider the following pros and cons. 

Pros of skipping college to start a business

• Skipping college means no student loan debt: College is expensive, requiring many students to take out student loans to finance their education. Repaying these student loans while trying to handle new business startup costs can be challenging. You may also need to get a business loan from a bank to fund your business and balancing student and business loan debt may be untenable.
• Skipping college can give you a head start on your venture: Let’s say you discovered a need nobody in the market is currently addressing. Acting on this business idea immediately may bring you enormous success. However, postponing your business until you graduate college may mean missing your window for entrepreneurial success. 

Cons of skipping college to start a business

• Skipping college means learning less: You can learn business skills in the classroom and through hands-on experience. However, gaining entry into some fields is challenging. A college education may provide the only way to learn skills and gain inroads into industries and careers you want to pursue.
• Skipping college may mean missing out on key certifications: You may need an undergraduate degree to pursue industry certifications, such as information technology (IT) certifications and corporate training and development certifications, that can advance your knowledge and earn you greater prominence in your field. While exceptions exist, certifications can foster customer trust and respect and ultimately improve sales for your entrepreneurial adventure.
• Skipping college means missing out on networking opportunities: An alumni network can be a valuable source of business contacts, clients and potential partners. Skipping college means missing out on this valuable networking resource.

Going to school vs. skipping college

To help you decide whether or not to skip college to start a new business, here’s a quick breakdown of how your decision will affect crucial aspects of entrepreneurship:

What to consider when deciding whether to skip college to start a business

Your specific entrepreneurial venture and personal experiences will factor heavily in your decision to pursue or forego college. Ask yourself the following questions.

Will a college education help in your field? 

A college degree can be a significant benefit — or even necessary — in some industries and ventures. In more general terms, learning how business works and how to manage complex documents, projects and processes — whether through formal or informal channels — can be crucial knowledge for any business owner.

According to Lauren Grech, founder of and content creator for international event management firm LLG Events, getting a degree — or at least some form of higher education — can be extremely beneficial for the hard and soft skills budding entrepreneurs need. At the very least, college helps you hone valuable skills like accountability, time management, prioritizing and emotional maturity.

“[Getting a college education] may not be essential within certain career choices. However, it really helped me personally,” Grech shared. “My education helped me develop a proper business model, enabled me to understand certain law documents or tax laws by giving me the ability to think critically and analytically and provided the tools necessary to read through these documents thoroughly.”

Meanwhile, if your goal is to sell everyday products (like sustainable clothing) or offer essential services (like furniture assembly), you may do fine without a college degree. In these circumstances, clients likely won’t be asking for specific credentials. As you probably know from myriad tech mogul success stories, talent and self-education can go a long way. 

Do you have the entrepreneurial spirit and skills needed to succeed? 

Before diving into your startup, you must be sure it’s what you want to do. Starting a company is very different from working as an employee at someone else’s firm and many responsibilities and stressors come with the territory. If you are motivated and inspired to start, don’t doubt yourself. However, if you aren’t sure how you feel about it, don’t jump in too quickly.

“True entrepreneurship is a full-time, 24/7 job,” cautioned Tom Portesy, chair of the IFA Supplier Forum Advisory Board and a partner at CareerTopia Franchise Executive Search. “Are you ready for time away from friends [and] family? Are you ready for rejection, disappointment and failure? Are you prepared for countless sleepless nights — risking everything you’ve got? It can be immensely rewarding, but do you have the spirit to excel?”

Grech noted that entrepreneurs and small business owners must have patience and perseverance, even in the face of failure.

“If you’re someone who needs reliability and consistency, do not open a business,” Grech warned. “There are no guarantees when starting your own company. The highs are high and the lows are low and it’s important to maintain your patience when the business is not going in the direction you’re steering.”

Does your passion exceed your patience?

Sometimes, great ideas can’t wait and spending four years in college will result in missed opportunities. This was the case for Taso Du Val, founder and CEO of the global tech industry network Toptal.

“I wanted to go to MIT, but the thought of waiting four years before starting my career troubled me,” Du Val shared. “So, I started pursuing my passion for entrepreneurship at a young age and, years later, ended up fixing a problem I noticed in the IT outsourcing industry. It’s just something I had to do. I was not going to sit around for years, listening to information I would never need in my life.”

If you wholeheartedly believe you can’t wait to pursue your great business idea for four years, skipping college may be the right track. Many young entrepreneurs tackle their business ideas as passion projects while they attend college, but it’s crucial to identify at what point your business needs your full attention.

Do you have any real-world experience in the industry?

Hands-on experience in the industry you’re pursuing is helpful, giving you the knowledge to discover if you’re on the right track. If you’re unsure about starting a business without a degree, consider diving into your chosen industry to gain experience — perhaps working on your company as a side hustle before turning your idea into a full-time business.

Grech recommends volunteering with someone in the field before starting your own business to learn if you like the industry, people and hours. 

“This will help you decide if you like the career enough to dedicate the time to starting your own business and it will also help you assess your skills to know if you need further education to establish yourself as a professional in that field,” Grech explained.  

For Randy Wyner, founder and president of the restaurant franchise Chronic Tacos, there was no choice when it came to getting a college education. His responsibility to support his young son meant he had to get a job instead of going to school. After working up to a managerial position at Jiffy Lube in a few years, Wyner knew he had all the experience and drive he needed to become a business owner. He allowed himself time to develop his entrepreneurial spirit before starting his journey.

“Hands-on learning helped me understand how to manage a business quicker whereas college students learn mostly by memorization techniques and tricks,” Wyner said. “Following this path helped me grasp what to do and what not to do when running a business. Although college may educate you on business elements, you can’t learn how to run a business until you actually become an entrepreneur.”

Are you financially stable?

While college is an investment, so is your business. You’ll need to calculate your expenses, create a business budget and plan your timeline accordingly before dedicating your life to the project. 

“Understanding the total costs is crucial,” Portesy cautioned. “Before you pursue a new business opportunity, map out the total investment — purchase costs, opening inventory and how much working capital you will need before you break even.”

If you need a sustainable income to support your business, you might want to focus on school first and work in an industry for a few years or on the side to earn money to support your entrepreneurial journey. However, if you are currently in school and feel strongly about devoting all your time to testing or growing your business, check with your college about its leave of absence policy and online courses.

Do you have a strong support system?

Entrepreneurship benefits from a strong support network that may include friends, family, business partners, mentors, franchisors or other entrepreneurs.

Wyner acknowledged that his entrepreneurial success couldn’t have happened without the support of family and friends. “Surround yourself with savvy, educated people,” Wyner recommended. “I was very lucky to have some strong mentors in my corner. Having experienced, wise people there to guide and support you is critical.”

If you don’t have a strong personal support system of friends and family, consider joining community and online groups that cater to small business owners — you may even be able to find a mentor. Networking with others who are on a similar journey can be extremely helpful.

“Do your due diligence and connect with other small business owners who have succeeded and struggled,” Portesy advised. “Learn about the challenges overcome and welcome guidance and best practices.”

Do you have a good reason for starting a business without a degree?

This is perhaps the most important question: Is there a good enough reason for you to drop out of college (or forego college) and start your business? 

Matt Brown, co-founder and CEO of freelance management platform Bonsai, is also a volunteer advisor with the Thiel Fellowship mentor network. For the fellowship program, the Thiel Foundation selects and grants funding to high-achieving students who could do more good in the world by not attending college and instead focusing on research and innovation.

“Everyone should think critically about the value of investing four years and an incredible amount of money into a university education,” Brown said. “Is there somewhere else where you can be learning faster, meeting more interesting people and working on projects you care about? Do you want to drop out because you have a burning need to create something and being in school blocks or are you dropping out because it seems cool and the Facebook guys did it?” 

Which types of businesses fare better if you start them with a degree?

Entrepreneurs pursuing the following business types often find more success if they’ve earned a college degree: 

• Businesses that require certifications and credentials: In some industries, clients will expect specific academic achievements to validate your expertise. For example, you may be great at filing taxes and a whiz with numbers, but that’s likely not enough background to start an accounting business. You won’t be able to pursue accounting certifications, such as a certified management accountant (CMA) or certified public accountant (CPA), without a bachelor’s degree. As such, you’d be at a disadvantage, if not a complete dead end, when starting this type of business.
• Fields that require high skill levels: In some industries and fields, you may not need a college degree, but you may need some advanced, highly specialized education. For example, if you’re looking to start a medical billing or coding business, you’ll likely need at least a certificate. The good news is that you’ll probably need less than a year to obtain your certificate, but that still requires time and money.

Your entrepreneurial path may or may not include college

Aside from crippling student debt, going to college can’t hurt. It can help propel you further in your career — especially in fields that require a degree, including many business, tech and finance gigs. However, depending on the business you’d like to start, you might not need a college degree. You may be able to save time and money by pursuing entrepreneurship instead of going to college. Remember that if you change your mind, it’s never too late to get your degree.

Sammi Caramela contributed to this article.