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"   Going to university might seem like the right choice to make after sixth form or college. However, once you get there you might realise it isn&amp;#039;t for you.  THE BEST STUDY TECHNIQUES Katie Smith, a young entrepreneur, realised uni wasn&amp;#039;t for her. After leaving uni within the first term, Katie set up the business Tastes Marvellous. Tastes Marvellous allows expats to order their favourite British foods, to wherever they&amp;#039;ve moved in the world. The company is already turning over six-figure sums!  We caught up with Katie to find out how she did it.  Where did Tastes Marvellous originate? I have worked in my mum&amp;#039;s business, Cooking Marvellous, since I was nine and have watched it grow from a \u00A3100,000 turnover to a \u00A31,000,000 in just 8 years.  As I&amp;#039;ve always worked in the business in the summer, the summer of 2012 was no different! Except, this time I was working to earn some money for uni. It was during this time that I realised that there was money to be made in exporting British food. A woman living in Thailand ordered a cake tin from Cooking Marvellous and asked us if we could put some Bisto gravy granules in with her order. This scenario was in the back of my mind as I went off to uni.  I went to do a degree in Economics at Loughborough in September last year, but I felt that I was going through the motions of what was expected rather than doing what I actually wanted to do.  During my first week at university, I realised that I had so many business ideas floating around in my head that I did not want to wait for three years to get started. I decided to take the plunge and go straight in to the world of business.  I left uni on the Thursday and by the Tuesday I already had my first order: four jars of Marmite to America.  Why did you go to university to begin with? Like the rest of students leaving school, university was what was expected of me to do. You do your A-levels, you go to uni, and then you get a job. There didn&amp;#039;t seem to be any other option really. Your entire school life is built on the expectation that you will go off to university, so it just seemed like the right thing to do. Why did you leave? I wanted to be doing business rather than learning about it. I realised that having worked in my mum&amp;#039;s business from a young age I had already learned many of the skills needed to start up a new venture\u2026 so, I just left! WHAT SHOULD YOU WEAR TO WORK? WHATEVER THE INDUSTRY, WE&amp;#039;VE GOT THE ANSWERS Were you worried about leaving? I think I was more relieved that I had actually made a decision. I was actually really excited and looking forward to the immediate future, knowing that I could make things happen! How did your family respond? They were all incredibly supportive and let me make my decision myself with no real influence. I knew that they would all support my decision. After I had left uni they all started asking why any of us thought it was a good idea in the first place! What are the best and worst aspects about working for yourself? It&amp;#039;s highly addictive so I can quite easily stay up until midnight researching Marmite or Monster Munch. So, I suppose the fact it is addictive is kind of a bad thing but other than that I don&amp;#039;t see a downside. The best aspect is that you can drive any idea that springs to mind. If I have a new idea and a gut instinct that I think it will work I am able to just do it. What are the top five products you export? Minstrels, Bisto, Marmite, Digestives and Weetabix. Gravy is definitely a British thing then! What advice would you give Cosmo girls who want to become entrepreneurs? Just do it. The more you think, the more obstacles appear. If you&amp;#039;ve got a gut instinct, nine times out of 10 it&amp;#039;s right and if it&amp;#039;s wrong you&amp;#039;ll probably learn a whole lot from it! THE BEST UNIVERSITY APPS Any regrets at all about leaving university? Not one. However, I&amp;#039;ve just signed up for an Open University Business Degree, which I will be starting in September alongside my business activities. I am confident that this will be a positive step and will help the business grow. What&amp;#039;s your motto? It has always been &amp;#039;Don&amp;#039;t Think, Just Do it&amp;#039;. In my opinion, thinking and prevaricating can be your own worst enemy! Are you inspired by Katie&amp;#039;s story or have a similar tale? Let us know on Twitter @CosmoOnCampus. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.cosmopolitan.co.uk/worklife/careers/advice/a18820/alternatives-to-university-young-entrepreneur-katie-smith-quits-university-to-start-own-business-tastes-marvellous/>