A young woman who dropped out of uni during lockdown is now making $10,000 AUD a day from her business.
In 2021, Chloe Zhu, from Sydney, Australia, was studying for her bachelor's degree in finance/computer science.
But the then 19-year-old quickly realised that it wasn't really for her, and she didn't see where she would go with it. So she decided to drop out.
“I couldn’t help but feel extremely lost with the direction I was going down in my career with my uni degree,” she told 7Life.
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“After changing my degree twice and still feeling like I wasn’t in the right place, I knew that university wasn’t quite right for me so I dropped out.
“I didn’t tell my family about dropping out of university for about eight months."
And when she finally did, Chloe said that they weren't exactly over the moon.
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“They definitely weren’t happy at first and were trying to convince me out of the decision, even suggesting I take a break on my business to finish my studies first," Chloe recalled.
“But I knew that I would be able to make them proud and stay true to myself in my own way, and they eventually came around.”
It's safe to say that the gamble has well and truly paid off, no doubt much to the delight of her mum and dad.
Having always dreamed of setting up her own beauty range, Chloe finally took the plunge in December 2021.
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After seeing countless salons forced to close across the country as a result of the pandemic, Chloe came up with her own press-on nail brand, called Glowie.
Off the back of a viral video, the business proved to be a huge success, and now, just 21, Chloe is raking it in.
Though it's not always been easy.
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“I felt very lonely starting my business, and often couldn’t go out with friends because I was so busy with the business.
“I’ve also struggled with burnout. Earlier this year, there came a point where it felt like I didn’t want to wake up in the morning because I was so exhausted from working months on end without any break."
But she's glad she took the leap to follow her dreams and build something of her own.
She added: “My life looks completely different and I’m still in shock at how you can change your career path in such a short amount of time.
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“Now I’m in a job that uses so many different skills that are analytical, creative, and technical all at once - from building the website, optimising our SEO, and of course, designing our product launches - and I couldn’t ask for a more fulfilling job."
Dominic Smithers