What does an entrepreneur look like? Are they young? Are they old? What are their traits? How do they dress? How do they speak? What's the image that first comes to mind when you hear the word "entrepreneur"?
Take a second, close your eyes, and conjure the image of the first person that comes to mind when you think of an entrepreneur. Did you think of Oprah, Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk, Sara Blakely, one of the Kardashians, Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Vera Wang, Melinda Gates, Martha Stewart, Rihanna, Beyonce...? If you did, great! Those are all some bada$$ entrepreneurs, but what if those images were only part of the equation? What if I asked you to take whatever image you had in your mind associated to an entreprenuer and obliterate it? Now, read on...
Visualizing what an entrepreneur is supposed to look like is something I've struggled to understand for years. I had heard the term entrepreneur many times. As an adult, I heard it typically referencing successful business owners. A word reserved for individuals that had founded companies that went on to make millions, billions, etc. Individuals that adorned the covers of Time magazine and were celebrated on TV, from the BBC to CNN. They had created companies that were changing the world. Changing our lives. Changing the way we think, shop and live. From Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon, to Oprah with her yearly list of Oprah's Favorite Things and empire. The word entrepreneur, I thought was a catch-all term reserved for only individuals of such caliber, the millionaires, the billionaires. Everyone else who started a business, was simply the owner of a small business. A hustler. A dreamer. How could they too be considered an entrepreneur? That's the exact misconception I aim to change. The truth is is that ANYONE who has an idea and has been able to monetize it, even if they made just a single penny, is an entrepreneur. They create something and someone wants and buys it. It's as simple as that.
There are no set standards on what an entrepreneur looks like. Entrepreneurship has no age, gender, race or ethnicity. There are no standards. No rules. No set form. They cannot be boxed and neatly categorized. There are no specific guidelines on the traits, characteristics, personalities required to be become a successful entrepreneur. Yes, studies have shown that there are some traits that can increase ones likelihood of success, such as a strong drive, risk tolerant, outgoing and if you're a white male, even better! However, I do believe that many entrepreneurs were born from a single need. A need to survive. A need to be seen. A need for redemption.
Recently, I ordered takeout from my favorite Chinese restaurant in Westchester. It's a small, family owned business. It's relatively unassuming from the outside, but they make the best Chinese food I've ever had! It's worth crossing the Hudson river from New Jersey to New York to enjoy their perfectly steamed chicken dumplings, boneless spare ribs and General Tso tofu. However, this last visit was different.
As I walked up to pick-up my order, there were two children sitting outside. Bundled up in their winter coats. They had a makeshift table, made out of a piece of cardboard placed on top of an upside down plastic crate. They had one chair, which clearly appeared to be from inside of the restaurant. The boy was probably seven years old and the girl maybe a year or so younger. I don't know if they were brother and sister or if they were related at all.
As I started to approach the restaurant, the boy calls out, "Hi. Do you want some noodles or ginger ale?" Of course I do! I walk over to their little table. Neatly arranged, there are eight small Chinese bags, four filled with soup noodles and the other four I presume are fortune cookies. Next to the bags, there are three cans of ginger ale.
"What do you have here?" I ask as I bend over to take a closer look at their table.
"Noodles, Ginger Ale and Fortune Cookies," the boy says proudly.
"Are you selling these?"
"Yes," he says with an enthusiastic smile and points to a little handwritten piece of paper.
As I lean over, I see a small piece of paper taped to the back wall. It may have been the back of a napkin. On the white paper, someone has written in blue ink: Noodles $0.80, Ginger Ale $1.00 and Fortune $0.50 in both English and Chinese.
"I'll have a noodle and a fortune," I say.
"That'll be $1.30," the boy responds in seconds.
Wow! That was quick! I was shocked as to how fast he added up my two items, since honestly I hadn't even done the math. The little girl who was sitting, eagerly jumps out from her chair, and hands me a bag of noodles and fortune.
I open my purse and realize I have exactly $8 in cash. I hand the little boy all three of my singles.
He looks down at the three dollar bills and says, "No, only two." He starts to open a small coin purse he was wearing around his neck, getting ready to give me change, while simultaneously trying to hand me back a dollar bill.
"No, keep it. It's a tip. You guys are working hard," I say as a throw my new purchase of noodles and fortunes into my bag.
The boy smiles and hands $1 to the little girl. "I'll see you guys in a little bit. I'm just going in there," gesturing to inside of the restaurant.
As I walk into the restaurant to pick-up my food, my heart is full. I tell the lady at the counter how cute they are and how amazing that they're out there selling cookies. The woman then explains that she has to bring them to work with her on the weekends. That they get bored and want her to play with them, which she can't, becuase she needs to work. Since she doesn't want them just watching tv or playing on screens, she told them, "okay, go do something." Our exchange brought to the forefront the struggles of owning a small business, especially one that's in the food industry. A business that in order to make a profit, needs to keep its variable costs low and the most expensive cost is labor. So, they become tethered to the restaurant. Not just the owner, but the entire family. Being a business owner in the food & beverage industry is not for the faint of heart. It's rough. It's exhausting. It's draining. It's fickle.
I pay for my order, thank the woman and grab my two bags of food. (Yes! I ordered enough food for 3 days worth of eating - don't judge!). As I turn to leave, I see the two kids giddy with excitement. Then, I remember I still have a $5 bill. As I exit the door, I grab the $5 bill and hand it to the boy. "No, no. This is too much...." Before he can continue, I smile and say, "Keep up the good work!" and start walking away. I can hear him and the little girl chatting with excitement.
Of course I didn't need to buy anything from these two kids, but honestly it wouldn't have mattered what they were selling. I would've bought it any ways. It wasn't about the product. It's about supporting the hustle. It's about providing encouragement to the future generations. To the future hustlers. To the future entrepreneurs.
As I get back to my car, I see several people walk past these two kids. The little boy, enthusiastically approaches them, but the strangers keep walking. One, two, three, four people walk by, but no one stops. I can see a couple of people smile, as they walk past the duo, probably thinking they're cute, but they can't be bothered to stop and chat with them. Why? Are they too busy to stop, take a moment and indulge these two kids? I don't know, but all I know, is that at that moment, I realized that entrepreneurship is sooooo much more than what we perceive. Entrepreneurs come in every shape, size and form. They're young. They're old. There are no set rules or visuals on what consists of an entrepreneur. Forget preconceived notions, open your mind and look around. Entrepreneurs are everywhere. They're all around us. Actually, there's an entrepreneur inside each of us, including YOU, if you just dare to set it free.
So, the next time you see kids selling ANYTHING, please stop. Stop by their table, lemonade stand, whatever it is, take a moment. Talk to them. Buy something if you can, because you're not just buying what they're selling, you're encouraging them to keep going. To keep setting up that table, to keep going out of their comfort zone. To know that they can do anything. To keep dreaming. To keep showing up.
These kids won't remember all of the people who were too busy to stop. The people who ignored them. NO, they'll remember those moments when they made a sale. That moment. That feeling. That endorphin. That elation of having someone see value in something they're selling. That'll keep them going, showing up, wanting to set-up that makeshift table on the outside of their parent's restaurant, as a way to keep busy. Their parents and their future entreprenuer-self will thank you. Cheers to the hustlers, the budding entrepreneurs (big & small), the dreamers and the makers. Keep showing up! I see you.
Love,
Your biggest fan ~ Jen
PS: If you ever want to enjoy the BEST Chinese food EVER, send me a message and I'll point you to it!
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