Many people dream of owning their own business, but one Ball State University student is ahead of the game.
David Bowden is a junior criminal justice major and the owner of two of his own software and computer businesses. Bowden started the computer business when he was 13 years old, which is also the age he started college.
Bowden, 19, was always ahead in school, starting a year before everyone else. Going through grade school, Bowden tried very little, he said, but had some of the best grades in his classes. He thought he should be able to skip a grade or two, but the school district he lived in wouldn't allow it. After five or six weeks in middle school, he said he was "bored as can be" in school, which motivated him to get ahead.
He decided to take the entrance exam, the COMPASS Assessment testing, at Ivy Tech Community College to see if he could get in. He scored really well, with one of the top scores they've ever had, he said.
"I got in with flying colors," Bowden said.
After scoring so well on the COMPASS test, Bowden took classes at Ivy Tech for eight or nine weeks, he said, until he was temporarily suspended for being so young.
With no desire to return to middle school, Bowden spent the next two years building up his computer business. As soon as he turned 16, Bowden returned to Ivy Tech for two years, then transferred to Ball State for the Fall 2009 semester.
Wavefront Computers, Bowden's computer business, originally used Craigslist to list some of its products. His business now operates purely on word-of-mouth advertising from friends and satisfied customers.
For his second business, which focuses on electronics retail, Bowden buys up various electronics, like iPhones and game systems, decks them out and sells them back for a profit.
Rob Mathews, instructor of marketing and management, said a person of this age with a business, or any college student for that matter, is pretty rare. He said it takes a lot of maturity to start a business and few distractions, which many students can't avoid. In the end, it all comes down to resources, he said.
"It varies so much because I think it's opportunity-driven," Mathews said. "Sometimes that opportunity comes out of hardship. It's all about taking advantage of the opportunities."
There are small businesses in other countries, Bowden said, but America is the best place for entrepreneurial businesses to flourish.
"Here, more so than anywhere else in the world, we have an attitude that it's your responsibility to succeed and no one else's," Bowden said.
Bowden's philosophy is similar when it comes to his businesses as well as life in general. Although he owns two businesses, Bowden does not consider himself more well off than most college students, he said.
"I don't make a ton of money," Bowden said. "I make a lot more than someone working minimum wage at McDonald's, but I'm not rich by any means."
Because his college education is paid for through various grants, these businesses help pay for other things, such as his car and cell phone.
"I've always had to pay for that stuff my whole life," Bowden said.
Bowden's girlfriend, Olga Brewbaker, an Ivy Tech freshman majoring in physical therapy, said even though she thinks he needs to take more breaks, she feels Bowden's business and his self-sufficiency makes him different.
"Most guys his age, they don't have that," Brewbaker said. "I think that makes him just more mature than other guys."
Bowden's self-sufficiency also played a role in his adjustment into college at a young age. He never really had any friends, and because of his age, he couldn't go out and drink with friends. While he's a self-described loner, he said that doesn't bother him.
"He's never really relied on anyone else. He's always been making his own way," Sara Lewis, Bowden's good friend, said.
The people around Bowden said they know he's smart, and they feel he could be doing more with his life than a bachelor's in criminology.
"I get told by people all the time that I should be a physicist or a scientist or I should be trying to cure cancer," Bowden said.
The people close to him don't see him as a genius, though.
"I know he's smart, but I don't treat him any different than any of my other friends," Brewbaker said.
To reinforce this, Bowden said he doesn't necessarily want classmates knowing that he started college when he was 13.
"I really don't go around advertising the fact that I started college when I was 13," Bowden said. "If that's all someone knows about me, they immediately assume that I'm conceited and I'm a little Doogie Howser and all I care about is school and books, which is completely not the case."
Bowden said he enjoys working on cars and working to make a living with his businesses. He currently owns a sports car, a 1986 Fiero GT, which he has had for two months. Since getting the car, he has put in more than 100 hours of work into it.
"Being passionate about something and wanting to learn is the easiest way to learn about something rather than sitting in classes and having someone lecture to you," Bowden said.
With two more years left in school for Bowden and much of his education self-taught, Lewis said Bowden has a great deal in front of him.
"Ever since I've known him, he's been incredibly innovative," Lewis said. "He's got a good thing going."
Read More
Three Air Jam teams take home the win
October 12, 2012Nineteen teams shimmied, shook and flipped for a sold out John R. Emens Auditorium on Thursday night during the 25th annual Air Jam.
Bill Clinton Speaks at North Central High School
October 12, 2012Former President's Speech Could Have Effect on State Senate Race
