College Dropout Kanye West Now Regrets Decision

  From our partners, at ejbelton.com

 

“I lost the money because I did not have the knowledge of how to do it the right way.”

These words from America’s favorite College Dropout, Kanye West.  Do you think he wishes he had finished college now?  

West has made millions, true.  But now that he has arrived, he is looking to make the next step – the one that will set up his children and his children’s children with not just cash he earned but, also, with a legacy and an empire that they can carry on and continue to build.  The once conscious rapper who expounded the struggle of working in the mall and admitted his own insecurities of performing without fresh gear is finding that it is not as easy to win as it used to be.  He has reached a glass ceiling in his career.  And what is the key to breaking through a glass ceiling?  Knowledge!

Kanye admits that he should of stayed in college. During a 2005 visit to Santa Monica (CA) High School West said

"It is true you can be successful without [college], but this is a hard world, a real world, and you want every advantage you can have. I would suggest to people to do all that you can. When … I wasn't successful and Columbia said, 'We'll call you,' I had to go back and work a telemarketing job, go back to the real world, and that's how life is. Life is hard. Take advantage of your opportunities."

It wouldn’t be until 2009  that West would find out exactly how hard this world could be.  He tried to start his own clothing line, investing, according to him, $13 million dollars of his own money over several years.  But the designs were not appealing enough to attract major retailer attention.  Who would want such things as fur backpacks?  Or leather jogging pants?  Maybe a few more years in art school would have given Kanye a little more insight into market trends. 

Or maybe it was his (lack of) business savvy costing him respect from major designers.  Louis Vuitton wouldn’t find time to spend with Kanye last month resulting in him calling for a boycott of the designer until after the holidays.  It didn't work - most of Vutton's upper-tier clients (you know, the ones who matter) had never heard of West or his imposed embargo.   So, besides his lack of good ideas, Kanye’s mouth has kept him separated from his dream.  College  would have helped him learn how to talk to business people in a way that would make him more appealing as a person.  Kanye’s arrogance is a direct consequence of thinking that he knows everything.  Any college graduate will attest to the fact that the more they learn, the more they realize they do not know.  
 

Ego is an amazing thing.  Four years of studying liberal arts would have exposed Kanye to the fact that the world is bigger than just entertainers. New York City is full of wealthy people.  Not just famous people, but wealthy people.  REAL wealthy people.  Bernie Maddoff rips em off - type wealthy people.  I dare Kanye West, or any other “celebrity” to take a walk through downtown NYC during business hours and see how much attention they get.  You will quickly find out: selling out arenas does not make you bigger than life.  Other people with money are focusing on keeping it and on getting more; they are not impressed with the fact that you spent three months in Paris.  

Kanye has failed in all of his fashion ventures thus far. And I don't think he knows how to deal with that failure. I think he is angry about it. Angry because he has had to resort to begging Nike and Prada and Vutton to invest in him.  Whereas if he had the correct business and social acumen people would be calling him.  Kanye has launched a few independent clothing lines: Pastelle launched in 2006, but then shut down in 2009 without producing a single item. And there was Kanye West, or DW depending on who you ask, a line which he showed in Paris – twice. Most recently is DONDA, a vague “creative agnecy” named after his late mother with goals beyond fashion.  But he is having trouble finding financial backers.  A business degree, or even a few classes could have helped Kanye better outline his vision and mission in a way major financiers could understand.  

The lesson for all young people contemplating college: No matter how much money you make, there will always be a next level.  And when you are ready to go there, you will need skills and knowledge. 

But all is not lost for Kanye, or anyone else who skipped that degree.  We have a World Wide Web of free information; go ahead, open a new tab and learn as much as you can.  Or, if you have the opportunity, go back to school and finish up!

Real wealth does not come overnight.  Sometimes it takes generations.  You got to keep building. And Kanye, if you read this, don't be angry. It's like your mentor Jay Z said: 
"You got to learn to live with regrets”.