Can you have a sucessful business without going to college first or getting a degree?

I was talking to my niece the other day, and she said school just wasn't for her (College).Which I completely understand, but she really wants to get into having her own business, my mother has her own shop so could probably give her the little push that she needs, but can she truly be successful and if so how can she start about doing this? If theres anyway I can help her, I would love too. So thats why I need your help, anybody have there own successful shop or resturaunt or some sort of business they started, without having a degree, and what steps did you take? Thanks so much to everybody who is helping us out!

It's absolutely possible and has been done on numerous occasions (Bill Gates of Microsoft never got a college degree) but the downside is that she will have to learn everything along the way instead of going into that business with the knowledge that college can provide. She may have to re-make the mistakes that others have made rather than being able to see potential problems and avoid them, but at the same time, no one says that you have to go to college to read about entrepreneurs and learn about mistake to avoid either.

Well, yes. Maybe not just as easy. You can do it though. It's nt impossiable but, you might have an easier chance if you go to college. Maybe college isn't for you but, at least try junior college.

It's definitely possible.
If your niece has the passion and drive to be successful, that's all she needs.
I'm 25 years old and run my own business, working from home and I love it! I did go to university, but found that I couldn't find the work I wanted when I finished my degree, so I'm now my own boss and work the hours I want.
If your niece wants to chat, let her know she's more than welcome to email me. :)
Marian.

Hey,
Anything in life is possible but its always better to have a plan and be prepared. I'll tell you from experience that starting a business is not easy at all. There is a lot you have to know; you have to understand basic book keeping, you have to know how to write well, especially documents such as proposals or business plans which also means you need to understand marketing. You have to understand sales, I'm not talking about pushing product alone but how exaclty you aquire products, transport them (shipping), store them (warehouse), and then on top of that everything has to be timed out. You have to understand equations such as "Sales per man hour," or "Sales per square inch" and you have to know what the cashflow of your business is so that you can update your business plan every year. You have to plan out what products your going to get and when before your business even starts so that you dont get halloween shipments after christmas and not have the wrong stuff shelved at the wrong time. You have to understand how a organization is managed and set up some kind of organization so that you're not doing all the work alone.

This is where having upper level management experience and a business degree will be beneficial. In the work force you have two levels, labor and conception. Labor would include all the lower level workers, manufacturers, shipping guys or gals and your sales persons and or supervisors. Your conception level includes management and above. As a business owner you are on the conceptual level meaning that you own, plan and operate the business from high up. You determine what the future will be like, how much money everyone earns, benefit packages if any, and what things you'll be buying and selling as well as branding your business. YOU NEED A DEGREE, otherwise you'll be paying thousands of dollars out to consultants to tell you everything. You'll be completely clueless! You'll look at your accounting ledgers and be thinking "WTF" and not even notice that your losses are way too high or that you're putting too many on a shift and its draining your budget. Theres a lot to know and it is possible to have a ground breaking business without college but you will be busting your ***, literally and you will be stressed out all the time and spend all your time at work trying to figure your way out of problems so that the store can stay open another day.