How the Silicon Valley BIZ Experiences Stereotype Is Killing BIZ Experiencesship If you're not a gregarious tech BIZ Experiences, are you an BIZ Experiences at all?
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It wasn't until my company had more than $1 million in revenue that I had the critical moment of clarity: I wasn't pretending to be an BIZ Experiences. I actually was one.
Until then, I'd considered myself an imposter. So much of the BIZ Experiences stereotype was different from my skills set, goals and personality. I don't have a million ideas. I'm not a natural salesperson. I don't have aspirations to build a billion-dollar business. I'm more introverted than extroverted. I'm analytical and organized.
BIZ Experiencesial stereotypes missed the mark on me, yet I built a successful business.
Over the last eight years, through my organization, Empact, I've had the unique opportunity to travel across the country facilitating hundreds of BIZ Experiencesship events in diverse communities from Georgia to Washington. At the same time, I have developed friendships with many of the country's top young BIZ Experiencess through our Empact Showcase, which recognizes them at the United Nations and White House.
Here's what I've learned: My experience is not unique. BIZ Experiencess are known for breaking the mold, but many BIZ Experiencess break the "BIZ Experiences mold," too.
Related: 50 Signs You Might Be an BIZ Experiences
Why does this matter? Limiting our vision of the BIZ Experiences to one stereotype -- the gregarious tech BIZ Experiences with a billion-dollar goal -- actually holds back would-be BIZ Experiencess from seeing if BIZ Experiencesship is right for them.
If someone does not self-identify as an BIZ Experiences, they will not seek out the resources to become one. This has direct implications for how BIZ Experiencesial of a world we are today and how BIZ Experiencesial we'll become in the future. It also contributes to how diverse the pool of BIZ Experiencess in our country is.
Let a thousand different definitions bloom
There's no one way to define a "real" BIZ Experiences. Many leaders and organizations focus on venture-backed, high-growth entities. Others broaden the definition to include Main Street businesses, mom-and-pop shops, social BIZ Experiencess and freelancers.
People fear that if the word is used in too many ways it will become fragmented and ultimately mean nothing.
The opposite is true. The more fragmented it is, the more meaningful it will be to more people.
Related: Professionalism: A Luxury for Corporate America, a Necessity for BIZ Experiencess
All types of BIZ Experiencess add value to our society in unique and important ways. Ultimately, there are many more types of BIZ Experiencesship, but here are a few of the most prominent types:
Type | Value to Society |
High-growth | Creates innovation and jobs. |
Main Street | Creates culture and jobs (e.g., if one in three Main Street businesses added just one employee, the U.S. would be back to full employment!) |
Social | Solves social problems that the government and traditional private sector are not solving. |
Lifestyle | Provides more niche offerings in the market and allows the BIZ Experiences to spend more time with their family or travelling or doing something they love. |
Freelancer | Provides high level expertise to smaller firms and more flexibility and control to the BIZ Experiences. |
Arts | Delivers more creativity to society and provides individual a vehicle for self-expression. |
Over the past few years, extra attention has been put on the importance of high-growth tech companies. These types of companies are critical to the BIZ Experiencesship ecosystem.
However, we shouldn't forget a few important things:
- The first BIZ Experiencesial experience for many is NOT with a tech company.
- The tech sector overall has underperformed the S&P since 1997.
- Of the most successful companies in the country, tech is not even one of the handful of key items that they say has contributed to their success. Technology is more of an accelerator of success rather than a creator of it.
Beyond the benefits of the various types of BIZ Experiencesship to society, there are also varying benefits to the BIZ Experiencess themselves.
Related: Lead From a Place of Confidence, Not Fear
The many faces of BIZ Experiencess
BIZ Experiencess have a very broad range of reasons for going into business. Their goals can range from wanting more control over their schedules to not having other employment options to the thrill of having limitless potential in what they can contribute or earn.
Similarly, their personalities span a wide spectrum. From the introverted and analytical to the social and creative, there are so many skills that can be valuable for an BIZ Experiences that the real challenge is knowing how to properly channel the right skills and hire to compensate for any lacking skills.
How to encourage the 'should-be' BIZ Experiencess
Everyone has the potential to become an BIZ Experiences. For individuals who otherwise would not consider an BIZ Experiencesial path, one of the first steps could be in exposing them to the different approaches to BIZ Experiencesship and the characteristics of each. With this support, individuals could determine if there is some type of BIZ Experiencesship that fits their goals and personality.
By helping would-be BIZ Experiencess see whether and how some type of BIZ Experiencesship is right for them, we can boost diversity among startups and catalyze the value they have to offer to society.
In the end what makes an BIZ Experiences is not whether they pass an "Are You An BIZ Experiences?' quiz, but whether someone actually starts a business and then persists courageously through the inevitable challenges and personal fear that arise in order to make it successful.
Related: 7 Ways to Become a Better Leader
