MBA2688 Is Business Harder for People of Color?

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I had a strange last name. People didn't know what I was. Am I Mexican? Am I Indian? You know, they just had no idea. And always something I had to explain to people before they can even get to know me. Even as a child, this has been a, you know, a challenge as a person of color. But today I'm going to go there. I'm talking about business. And is it harder for people of color to be in business and to grow and be successful in business? And yes, it is. And I'm going to prove it to you. But I'm also going to explain why I'm okay with that. I'm okay with the fact that it is harder. Let's Get into it. Welcome Back to the $100 MBA Show. I'm your host Omar Zenholm, where I deliver practical business lessons three times a week, Monday, Wednesday and Friday to help you start, grow and scale your business. Before we jump in, can I get 30 seconds of your time? We love guiding you on your business journey and we want to help even more people dream businesses and lives. So if you could hit the Follow button on this podcast app, it would be greatly appreciated. It's completely free and it helps us out more than you know. Thanks. I want to start by saying that I debated if I should do this episode, but I felt compelled to because I've never talked about this topic. I really haven't shared my thoughts on this idea, but it's been a part of my life, all my life. Being a minority, being a person of color, being a person of a different culture other than being white. And I know that a lot of my listeners can resonate with that. I know that people that are not a person of color can also resonate with this and understand and kind of see both sides and their allies in this conversation. So I want to start with that. I want to start with the fact that this is my own personal experience, but it's also the experience of millions of people that are in business. Next, I let's just deal with the hard truth. Business is harder for people of color, and it's not always what you think, okay? It's not just about blatant racism, though, that exists. Okay. It's about the things that you have to overcome just to be on the same playing field as people that are not people of color. Let's start with capital. You need some capital to start a business, right? And the data is absolutely clear. This is facts, okay? This is not somebody's opinion. Venture capital, loans, friends and family funding all are disproportionately harder to get if you are not white. In the US less than 2% of venture capital goes to black founders. Less than 1% go to Latino founders. That's not a random error. That is just reality. And we all have to agree the fact that that's just how it is. It's just harder for them to get funding. It's not just only a stat, it's a signal. And it means a slower start, more bootstrapping, longer runways, to the same results as other people. Number two, fewer introductions. They say your network is your net worth, but if you're not already in the circle or have people that you know that you can count on. It takes about 10 times more effort to break through. When your last name, when your accent, when your background doesn't sound familiar to the gatekeepers or to other people that have the ability to help you out, those doors don't swing open fast. You need to get over all that stuff. Whether people want to admit it or not. We all make judgments based on what we see, what we hear, and whether we like it or not. Those judgments affect people's opportunities versus somebody that doesn't have to explain themselves, where their accent's from, what their last name's all about. You know, they don't have to go through all these hurdles before even just, hey, this is what I do. Let's talk about double standards. People of color are often judged by different standards. There's less room for error. That's just how it is. There's more skepticism. There's assumption about being less experienced or less professional. And until you prove otherwise, I'm going to give you an example in a moment. Okay? It's that feeling that you have to over explain yourself, that you deserve success. We all deserve success, regardless of what you look like or where you're from. Okay. We shouldn't have to recite our CV every five minutes. Let me give an example. If you're not a person of color or not a minority, have you ever been asked this question? Wow, you're really articulate. Where'd you learn how to speak English like that? I got asked this question countless times in my life, even to today. Why are they asking this question? Because they see the color of my skin, they see my name, and they just assume I'm uneducated, I can't speak English. They don't know that I grew up in the us they don't know that I, you know, went to university. They don't know all that stuff. Right, but they just assume I don't. I shouldn't be able to speak English properly. So that tells you that not all people. Of course I'm not talking about all people, but enough people are assuming you are starting below them, that you shouldn't be articulate. And that's why they're surprised.

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There's also an invisible psychological weight. We need to talk about this. When you're the only one in the room, like the only woman of color or the only woman or the only black founder or the only person with an accent, your brain is doing two jobs. You're running your business and being a successful entrepreneur. That's one job. But you're also doing the job of managing other people's perceptions of you. It's very, very taxing. You're filtering your tone, your body language, your confidence. You're wondering if the feedback they're getting is fair. You're translating your culture or your values to fit in. That's energy. You are not spending on creativity, on growth, on strategy, because you're trying to manage other people's expectations. And that's the tax, that's the code switching costs of being somebody different. But if you're still with me, I want to show you the flip side. I want to share with you my experience. And I want to say something loud and clear. Being a person of color in business is not just a disadvantage to me, it's also your superpower. I embrace it. I embrace the challenge. I embrace being different because one, I can't change it who I am. Number two, I don't want to change it. And number three, I want to be successful regardless of whatever circumstance I'm in. Because when you've had to hustle without resources, solve problems with zero help from others, earn every ounce of credibility without a head start, your build muscles to build things that others don't have. You have the ability to solve problems that other people just have never solved before, have never had to even consider having to solve. You're scrappy, you're creative, you're empathetic, you're resilient. You speak multiple languages, professional and cultural languages. You see blind spots others can't. You serve communities that others overlook. You're not just in the business world, you are expanding it. Let me share with you a quick story. This is a story about Will Smith. Yes. The actor. Yep. I know. He slapped Chris Rock, and that was really bad. And he shouldn't have done that, and that's horrible. But we can still learn from this story. In the early 2000s, Hollywood studios believed that black leading men and women couldn't carry international box offices, couldn't sell the tickets that they wanted. They said that movies with black stars don't translate. Will Smith said, cool. Watch me. He Studied what makes a global blockbuster, what sells tickets. He realized there's a lot of commonalities, aliens, action, love and some comedy. And he reverse engineered his career and picked up roles like Independence Day, Men in Black, Irobot, ali. And in 2008, he was the world's most bankable superstar on the screen. What's the lesson here? He didn't just beat the system and show them right. He understood it better than anyone and built something bigger. He made the system better. That's what people of color do in business too. We create our own lanes. We serve people that are underserved, we resonate with markets that have been neglected, and we help everybody. People of color, non people of color. And at the same time, we are an inspiration for those that are underdogs. So what can you take from this? If you're a person of color trying to build a business, number one, you gotta play the long game. You might start with fewer connections or fewer hand me downs, less capital, maybe some more doubt and having to explain yourself. But if you're building with intention and you stay consistent, you're going to outlast them. You're going to be all right. This is a marathon, not a sprint. Number two, find your people. I can't stress this enough. Don't build in isolation. Look for founders like you and founders and not like you, allies that are people that understand that this has to change with us all working together. DM people join communities, go to niche conferences, listen to podcasts made to help you get through the journey. Number three, use what makes you different. You know your culture, you know your community, your people. You see what others miss. Okay? That's your insight, that's empathy that you can leverage, that you can use because you understand what it's like to not have what you need and have to work for it. Serve people that you understand better than anyone else and you'll be able to serve people outside that scope as well. That's how you become a category King. Okay, or queen. I embrace my difference. For example, my name is Omar Zenholm. Not a lot of people ever heard of this last name before. It's a very different and unique last name in the Western world. It's a very common last name in Egypt. Right. It's well known. There's lots of actors and famous people with my last name. But in the context of business, in the context of online business, if you write my name in Google, I AM the number one result for about 20 pages. Okay? Now, compared to my good friend from transistor, FM and person. I absolutely love what they're doing. Justin Jackson. Justin Jackson's got a very common name. Justin Jackson's name is the same as many pro athletes, so it's very hard for him to show up in search results. So my difference is my power, and I'm not afraid to use that difference as my power. Number four, build in public. This is not only a great marketing strategy, but it's also a good place to get ideas and also feel that you belong in the arena. Visibility builds trust, and the more people that see you winning, the more doors open for the next person. Because sometimes you've got to be the proof, okay? You gotta be the example that this can be done. I'll be honest. When I was growing up and going on this journey of becoming a better person and becoming an entrepreneur, one of my heroes is and was Tony Robbins. Tony Robbins is incredible to me. But, you know, he looks nothing like me, sounds like me. The background is different. I just felt like, is it possible for somebody to look like me to be successful? I didn't have that role model like everybody else that might have looked at Tony and resonated with who he is. And then one day I decided, okay, maybe there isn't somebody that looks like me. Maybe I could be that person for others or at least aspire to. And that's what I try to do every day with what we do at the hundred mba. So, yes, business can be harder for people of color, but harder doesn't mean impossible. It just means different. It means you gotta be a little bit more strategic. You're not behind. You're just building in a different way. Your journey, our journey will mean more when it's all said and done. And that's how I feel even as I'm going through the journey right now. You know, whether I'm halfway through my journey or whatever, I look back and say, I'm so proud of all the things I have overcome to have whatever successes I've had. And remember your story, the grind, the pride, the perspective. It's the advantage no one else can copy. Okay? You have a unique story and brand now because of these challenges. So do whatever you're doing anyway, do it better, do it louder. Do it with culture. Do it with your own essence, with your own excellence, with your own swagger. Because while some people were handed some advantages that you don't have, you're building your own thing, your own house, your own journey, your own, you know, empire. And I'm a big believer in not focusing on what you can't change. You can't change what people's preconceived notions are based on what you look like. You can't change it. Okay, this is what I love, that book, Let Them Theory by Mel Robbins. Right. You just have to accept the reality of the situation and work around it. Okay. And I know it's a little bit harder, but you can do this. I'm living proof. Before I go, I want to leave you with this. This was a little bit of an offbeat episode. It was something that I wanted to discuss, something I wanted to share, hopefully resonated with you, regardless if you're a person of color or not. I also want to say I have a lot of friends that are not people of color, and they're wonderful friends, and they're great, and they're not my, you know, nemesis. Of course not. They're people that understand that the world's a complicated place. And I love the fact that they accept me as I am, and we're good friends and we enjoy each other's company. And you have to not see this as a us versus them thing. Yes, there are people that are not like that and are, you know, racist or biased and all that kind of stuff, but in my experience, most people are not. But you need to understand that if you want to build a successful career as an entrepreneur, you need all the help you can get, including people that are not like you, people that have it easier than you. You gotta make sure that you learn from people, regardless of what they look like or where they're from or what their experience in life has been. If you found today's episode helpful and you want more practical business lessons to help you start, grow, and scale your business, the best thing you could do is subscribe to this podcast. Hit subscribe or follow on your favorite podcast app, the one that you're using right now, whether it's Apple or Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts, by hitting subscribe, you get our next episode automatically. And it's the best way to support the show. It's absolutely free, and it's a way for you to commit to. To growing your business. And now that you've subscribed, I'll check you in the next episode.

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