Entrepreneurship is for the privileged. The people who have some advantage in life, even if only temporary. I’m an entrepreneur, so what does that say about me?
As someone who hasn’t ever really considered themselves “privileged”—given my double minority identity as a Black woman, what does me being an entrepreneur say about my privilege? Where do I fall on the spectrum? I’m not a fan of blind spots, so here’s the list I’ve started to come up with: I was born in a first-world country, I grew up in a stable two-parent home, I’ve always had food in my stomach, clothes on my back, and shelter over my head, and English is my first language. This is by no means an exhaustive list, but I’m starting to get the picture of how I could have even had the opportunity to fall into the entrepreneurship life.
Entrepreneurship is a game, and a long game, at that. It’s somewhat about faking it until you make it, especially at the beginning. It’s quite possible that your first 3-5 years of business will be less than you’d hoped for in terms of revenue, profit, income, and most other quantitative metrics. I like to compare it to the expression “building the plane while you’re flying it”. You’re running trial and error marketing experiments, delivering on services, or building a product, all while chasing overdue invoices. You’re making a few mistakes– some expensive, others costly in other ways, all while the bills are still coming. They’re still due with the same frequency they were before you decided to become an entrepreneur.
People will tell you to have savings before you start a business, and I wholeheartedly agree. If I had to go back and start my entrepreneurship journey again, I’d prioritize having as much saved as possible to relieve some of the stress of needing to maintain my financial obligations while building revenue in a new business. I think this is especially true for a first-time entrepreneur. That being said, some of us are thrust into entrepreneurship out of necessity, or after a layoff, when it can unsuspectingly seem like the right time to finally “go for it”.
Despite my privileges, I think there’s one that really puts you at an advantage if you have it. A steady second household income. An income that’s going to make sure the bills are covered, even if you don’t make any money this month, or it’s not enough to cover all your usual expenses. It’s such a critical lifeline that trumps all other privileges one could have in entrepreneurship.
Other than the infamous “my father gave me a small loan of a million dollars”.