Being the CEO of a the company PR worth a million dollars at the age of 26 and was once published by Inc. Voted one of the 25 most inspirational entrepreneurs of 2017, Richard Lorenzen says he got where he is today from homeschooling himself in high school.

In today's digital age, it's not too difficult for us to come across images of young entrepreneurs or founders in their twenties who own million-dollar companies. Richard Lorenzen is one of them. However, unlike the majority of people who mainly get rich through technology, Lorenzen's startup does not provide any new software or applications.

Lorenzen is the founder and CEO of Fifth Avenue Brands - a PR (public relations) agency based in New York. Although Lorenzen's business model, which is based on trust and relationships, may be considered "outdated" today, the 26-year-old businessman has been very successful in running his company. in the digital age. 

When sharing about his success, Lorenzen - who started a business when he was in 10th grade - said that it was self-study at home that pushed him to become the entrepreneur he is today. Reply CNBC Make It, the young CEO of Fifth Avenue Brands said: "No matter what environment you study in, you definitely have to always make an effort on your own."

It is known that Lorenzen was born on Long Island, New York, to a father who is a lieutenant of the City Fire Department and mother is a freelance writer. When Lorenzen was in 7th grade, his mother decided to teach both him and his sister at home, because she was confident she would do better than what the overcrowded public school on Long Island was doing. 

Contrary to his mother's determination, the boy Lorenzen was then 12 years old and when his younger sister heard about this, she only thought that this would be a great opportunity to be lazy. The now 26-year-old businessman recalls: When a kid hears the phrase "homeschooling," they interpret it as "great, I won't need to go to school anymore."

However, contrary to what the two children believed, the mother's decision to send her children to home school brought a completely different result. Number is, so far, Lorenzen's academic performance is not low. Now, however, suddenly Lorenzen had to take care of all of her learning and maintain her achievements without any help from any of the teachers. This forced the young Lorenzen then to discover that he had to be more responsible for his own education.

“Perhaps this is partly due to the fact that I have a Type A personality (a theory of personality put forward by Meyer Friedman and Ray Rosenman), but also partly due to the pressure of being on the job,” Lorenzen says. I have no one to blame anymore. I got caught up in the wheel and gradually discovered that I am really a good independent worker.”

The self-study process at home also led Lorenzen to many topics other than the curriculum, but specifically business. A few years later, at the age of 15, Lorenzen started a startup specializing in Internet marketing and ran everything from his bedroom every afternoon after finishing school.

Eleven years later, the homeschooled student's start-up has become a thriving million-dollar business with many major clients, including the United Nations, Meltwater and Expedia. Sharing about what he achieved, Lorenzen said that most of his success comes from 4 habits that he has cultivated from the days of self-study at home.

1. Wake up early

Since the age of 15, Lorenzen has learned to wake up at 4:30 every morning so that he can attend to both school and business. Due to waking up early and taking the initiative in the schedule, due to not having to wait for class changes and breaks like in high school, Lorenzen usually completed her schoolwork for that day by midday. The entire afternoon was spent by the 10th grader in business.

“Because I work with clients during office hours, no one thinks I’m a teenager in high school,” says Lorenzen. I made them think I was available all the time.”

2. Practice the habit of working every day

Waking up early is just one part of a series of daily routines that Lorenzen built and strictly followed, both on weekends and during holidays, since the days of starting homeschooling. Every morning, after waking up at 4:30, Lorenzen would spend 30 minutes reading and 15 minutes setting goals before meditating for 15 minutes. After that, he will exercise for 20 minutes and then come to the office at 7:00 am. Lorenzen goes to bed at 10 p.m. every night after reading and journaling for 45 minutes.

3. Dress well

When she first started her business at the age of 15, Lorenzen was determined to dress like people in the positions she wanted to be in the future. Therefore, every day, Lorenzen wears a suit at home, even though his workplace is just his own bedroom.

15 year old Richard Lorenzen and his sister. Photo: CNBC

“I want to be a CEO of the company I founded. So, I made up my mind when I wake up every day at 4:30 am, I put on my suit, tie my tie, and then go to work," Lorenzen recalls.

4. Read a lot of books

Homeschooling has helped Lorenzen realize that the best way to rise above your peers is to challenge conventional standards and invest in your own learning. So, since realizing this, Lorenzen has spent about 2 hours a day reading.

“Just studying at school, doing what is assigned and completing your homework is not enough, you need to do more. Going out of school and investing in self-knowledge is what helps successful people separate from the rest,” Lorenzen shared.

It is known that Lorenzen is a huge fan of Malcolm Gladwell's 10,000 hour rule. This rule says that if you want to become a master in a certain field, you need at least 10,000 hours of practice in that area. Lorenzen's favorite subject is business, so he spends his time reading numerous books on marketing, finance, law, as well as biographies of political leaders and CEOs.