How many times were you told to make
sure you worked hard in high school so you could go to college and get a
good career job? Okay, maybe not all of you got nagged about it, but
probably a good portion of today’s generation of adults did. It’s natural to wonder whether
college is really necessary. A college degree, as many have
found, is no guarantee of a good career. On the
flipside, there are many successful entrepreneurs who didn’t need their
college education and become millionaires anyway. Here are fifteen of
them, both contemporary and from the past, in alphabetical order.
Mary Kay Ash.
The founder of Mary Kay Inc. started a cosmetics business. While she
didn’t have a college
education or any training, she successfully created a brand known
throughout the world. To date, nearly half a million women have started
Mary Kay businesses, selling cosmetics. Their appreciation for Mary Kay Ash
is unwavering.
Richard Branson. Richard
Branson is best known for his thrill seeking spirit and outrageous
business tactics. He dropped out at the age of 16 and started his first
successful business venture, Student Magazine. He is the owner
of the Virgin brand and its 360
companies. His companies include Virgin Megastore and Virgin
Atlantic Airway.
Coco Chanel. An orphan for
many years, Gabrielle CocoChanel trained as a seamstress.
Determined to invent herself, she threw out the ideas that the fashion
world deemed feminine, boldly using fabric and styles normally reserved
for men. A perfume bearing her name, Chanel No. 5 kept her name famous.
Simon Cowell. SimonCowell started in a
mailroom for a music publishing company. He has since become an Artist
and Repertoire (A&R) executive for Sony BMG in the UK, and a
television producer and judge for major television talent contests
including American Idol.
Michael Dell. With $1,000,
dedication and desire, Michael
Dell dropped out of college at age 19 to start PC’s Limited, later
named Dell, Inc. Dell became the
most profitable PC manufacturer in the world. In 1996, The Michael and
Susan Dell Foundation offered a $50 million grant to The University of
Texas at Austin to be used for children’s health and education in the
city.
Barry Diller. Fox
Broadcasting Company was started by a college dropout, BarryDiller. Diller
is now chairman of Expedia, and CEO of of IAC/InterActiveCorp which
includes Home Shopping Network and Ticketmaster.
Walt Disney. Having dropped
out of high school at 16, Walt Disney’s career and accomplishments are
astounding. The most influential animator, Disney holds the
record for the most awards and nominations. Disney’s imagination
included cartoons and theme parks. The Walt Disney Company now has
annual revenue of $30 billion.
Debbi Fields. As a young, 20
year old housewife with no business experience, Debbi Fields started
Mrs. Fields Chocolate Chippery. With a recipe for chocolate chip
cookies, this young woman became the most successful cookie
company owner. She later renamed, franchised, then sold Mrs.
Field’s Cookies.
Henry Ford. At 16, Henry Ford
left home to apprentice as a machinist. He later started Ford Motor
Company to manufacture
automobiles. Ford’s first major success, the Model T, allowed Ford
to open a large factory and later start the assembly line production,
revolutionalizing the auto-making industry.
Bill Gates. Ranked as the
world’s richest person from 1995-2006, Bill Gates was a college drop
out. He started the largest computer software company, Microsoft
Corporation. Gates and his wife are philanthropists, starting The Bill & Melinda Gates
Foundation with a focus on global health and learning.
Milton Hershey. With only a
fourth grade education, Milton Hershey started his own chocolate
company. Hershey’s
Milk Chocolate became the first nationally marketed chocolate.
Hershey also focused on building a wonderful community for his workers,
known as Hershey, Pennsylvania.
Steve Jobs. After attending
one semester of college, SteveJobs worked for Atari
before co-founding Apple
Computers. Now without the “Computers” in their name, Apple includes
innovative products such as the iPod, iTunes, and most recently the
iPhone. Steve Jobs was also the CEO and co-founder of Pixar before it
merged with Walt Disney.
Rachael Ray. Despite having
no formal training in culinary arts, Rachel Ray has made a name for
herself in the food industry. With numerous shows on the Food
Network, a talk show
and cookbooks, high-energy Rachael doesn’t slow down. She has also
appeared in magazines as well has having her own magazine debut in 2006.
She knew she was a success when a website dedicated to bashing her was
created.
Ty Warner. Sole owner, CEO,
and Chairman of Ty, Inc., Ty Warner is a savvy, yet private business
man. Ty, Inc., made $700 million in a single year with the Beanie Babies
craze without spending money on advertising! He has since expanded to
include Ty Girlz dolls, directly competing with Bratz dolls.
Frank Lloyd Wright. Having
never attended high school, Frank Lloyd Wright surpassed all odds when
he became the most
influential architect of the twentieth century. Wright designed
more than 1,100 projects with about half actually being built. His
designs have inspired numerous architects to look at the beauty around
them and add to it.
Of course, just because these
people made it; does not mean that most people can do without a college
degree. If you’ve got an entrepreneurial spirit, the degree is
just a backup.
"SPIRIT
IS KEY
DEGREE IS KEY RING"
KEY RING IMPROVES VISIBILITY OF KEY ;
And
DON'T
LET IT LOST EASILY.
IT PROVIDES
GRACE TO KEY.
BUT - 'WITHOUT KEY, NOTHING
POSSIBLE'
"SO, KEEP YOUR SPIRIT ALIVE
&
PROVIDE
AS MUCH GRACE AS MUCH YOU CAN "
"BE AWARE - MAKE AWARE" "BE THE CHANGE - SEE THE CHANGE"