Successful entrepreneur ditches college degree for 'hands-on experience'

You don't need college to be successful, according to one entrepreneur who acquired her skills on the job.

"I just kind of knew I had that feeling of like, I need to do something on my own, have my own business, make my own success." Floor Coverings International owner Krista Farney shared during Wednesday's "The Big Money Show."

"I started early on. My mom was what I would say is like a serial entrepreneur. She did everything, you know, [in the] early 80s. So she was selling clothes and kitchen machines, Tupperware, all the things. So she was always busy with her own business of some sort and growing that network."

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Farney said after high school, she started working for a number of small businesses where she learned how to use tools such as QuickBooks, make orders and handle public interactions and forayed into the cellular industry. 

"I went into cellular for a long time, got to learn a lot there, a lot of hands-on experience."  

From there, Farney "stepped into the world of entrepreneurship," with the goal of succeeding without higher education. 

The cost of a college degree comes with the hefty price tag. According to a research report from the Education Data Initiative, the average cost of attending college is $36,436 per year, with an annual growth rate of 2% over the last decade. 

When Farney was asked about the toll of student loan forgiveness, she said: "There's a lot that goes into it." 

"All of those loans are being forgiven or are getting paid somehow, whether it's through the backs of the small businesses that are already opened or the taxpayers everywhere around the country," she said. "That also makes it more difficult for us to get loans if we need them for our businesses that we are running today."

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She went on to explain the challenges faced by operating her own business and how much harder it is now than when she had started.  

"This is what I have dreamed of for years, and the things that it's allowed me to do with my family is huge. You know, there's a lot of things that we don't think about, the taxes and everything else that goes with businesses and all the underlying things that you have to know and do." 

"We need to find a way to make that easier because it's worth it, owning your own business and being this great," she added. 

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