I dropped out the week the shop hit profit

A side project printing tote bags from my dorm room turned into rent money, then full-time money. The hardest call was telling my father.

The path, in milestones.

1. 2022

   A heat press in a shared room

   Bought the press with NYSC stipend money. My roommate hated the smell. We sold the first hundred bags to classmates in two weeks.

   Lesson: Constraints make you ruthless about what to ship.
2. 2023

   The week rent paid itself

   April 2023 we cleared rent, materials, and a small profit in the same week. I realised the degree was now the side project.

   Lesson: Watch what the numbers want, not what your plan wants.
3. 2023

   Telling my father

   He didn't shout. He asked me to show him the books. He asked questions for an hour. At the end he said: 'Then run it like a business, not a hobby.'

   Lesson: The people you fear judging you often just want evidence you're serious.