Earning money while starting a business

I am deciding on leaving university to carry on with a business idea if it is as successful as I believe.

However, as I am currently in uni, and also need to concentrate on studies for the time being, I was wondering, should I take my chances and drop out now, is there a way of earning money while I solely concentrate on my business idea and create it?

I guess what I'm really saying is how can/do people earn money while solely creating a business product

Solo Entrepreneur Money

asked Jan 9 '13 at 09:37

Adam Carter
123 points

2 Answers

I am deciding on leaving university to carry on with a business idea
if it is as successful as I believe.

Consider staying in school. Many startups fail, and while money may not be a primary consideration, the glorified version of a successful startup only taking 12 months of your time is a mirage.

answered Jan 9 '13 at 10:43

Jim Galley
9,952 points

If you leave school, you lose a massive support network - friends, professors, alumni, etc - that you won't otherwise have. Also, many many many startups are founded by partners who went to college together. Unless you have significant cash rolling in *now* I would suggest sticking around. – Casey Software 12 years ago

In terms of time, this is no different than starting a business while employed full-time. Many founders choose to maintain their day jobs while working on their startup, so I believe you can do the same with school.

However, there are differences between the two:

You will learn a lot of valuable skills while in college. Those of us that went through college were able to take these important lessons with us as an employee and as a startup founder. If you drop out, you will miss out on some of these lessons/experiences. As @CaseySoftware points out in his comment, this includes building a support network.
You probably have very little in savings compared to those that work full-time for a few years before founding a startup. That brings us to your question:

how can/do people earn money while solely creating a business product?

You either have to work to earn money, or get someone else to support you. Unless of course you've worked for several years and have enough savings to support yourself.

In your case you could get a part-time job, or get your parents or the government to support you.

answered Jan 9 '13 at 12:29

Zuly Gonzalez
9,194 points

Not only that, staying in school will help you land a job if/when your startup fails. – Randy E 12 years ago