‘Why wait till I’m 18?’: Teen makes 30k a year while finishing school

A Year 11 student who wants to follow in his father’s footsteps as a businessman has shared how he makes $30,000 a year while finishing school.

A Year 11 student, Maverick Valle from Melbourne chooses to homeschool as he dives head-first into the world of entrepreneurship and is making about $30k a year at just 16.

Maverick Valle says he isn’t going to “bum around” in classrooms until he’s 18.

Instead, the Year 11 student from Melbourne choose to homeschool as he dives headfirst into the world of entrepreneurship.

Maverick is making about $30k a year at just 16, doing marketing and sales for his dad’s Bells Surf Wax business and his IT company, Techtify.

And he hasn’t dropped out of school to do it.

A 16-year-old Melbourne student, Maverick Valle, is earning $30k/year while homeschooling.

Maverick opened up about the often stigmatised decision to homeschool.

“I love learning about business and how it’s done, and obviously, making decent money at my age is great too,” Maverick said.

“I know I want to work in dad’s businesses full time when I finish school, but I thought, why wait till I’m 18 and bum around in a classroom for another couple of years? Why not start now?”

Maverick said his mum and dad had supported his decision, and it was an excellent alternative to dropping out altogether.

“I’d definitely recommend it to any other teenagers who are thinking about dropping out of school.”

He is working on marketing and sales for, Brent, his dad’s businesses: Bells Surf Wax and Techtify.

His father, Brent, revealed it had paid dividends for him too, allowing him to save on school fees, be closer to his son, and gain business capital.

“It’s saving me thousands of dollars in school fees too – maybe 20 grand,” he said.

“More than that though, I love teaching Maverick some real-life and business skills that he simply wouldn’t get in a mainstream school.

“We also get to spend a lot of quality time together.

“The other day, I said, “let’s knock off early and go surfing” and then we went to the Red Hot Chili Peppers concert.

“You can’t do that when you’re waiting for them to get home from school.”

He is not dropping out of school, but homeschooling to learn about business and gain vocational training.

Maverick’s homeschooling is facilitated by Euka, a full-time Australian education provider for kids from Kinder through to Year 12.

Euka CEO Jarryd Van Poppel said Maverick is an excellent example of what he describes as “deliberate homeschooling” for flexibility and lifestyle reasons.

“Historically, homeschooling has been for kids who might be disengaged in the mainstream system, and they’re called “accidental homeschoolers,” he explained.

“But parents are now seeing a real benefit to educating their children themselves, and in this case, give Maverick some vocational training as well.

His homeschooling is facilitated by Euka, a full-time Australian education provider.

“Maverick would probably thrive in a mainstream school. He’s just decided, with his parents of course, that homeschooling can give him more than what he’d get in a classroom.”

According to Maverick and Brent, the youngster spends about 25 hours a week on the job and 15 hours on schooling, allowing him to graduate with his Victorian Certificate of Education next year – not to mention more time in the surf and a headstart on a professional career.

“I’m able to get my VCE, which is still important to me, but it also gives me the flexibility to go to the office and do my job,” Maverick said.

“I liked school and wasn’t one of those kids who was always in trouble. I just didn’t think I’d learn what I wanted there anymore.”

Maverick from Melbourne chooses to homeschool is making about $30k a year at just 16.

Right now, there are about 2340 students enrolled in Euka in Victoria.

It’s estimated around 22,000 Australian kids are registered for home education.