The Miseducation of the Black Entrepreneur

At some point, my friend turned adversary began yelling at the top of his lungs. “Are you saying my MBA is worthless? It cost me $80k and you don’t even have one! How can you say you know more than me?” my friend shouted as he stood up and pointed his finger inches from my face…

I find fault in the mentality of seeking professional validation as a black entrepreneur. I take issue with the perspective that we should wait for someone to assign value to our efforts before we feel empowered to tell our own stories profitably. But above all, I am enraged when I realize that the same power structures that demand we accept their proof of life also profit from that endeavor.  This model of my “Paying someone to tell me how great I am” will no longer feed off of my energy, and I beg you, the reader to consider the following:

1.  How often do you tell yourself you can’t do something?
2. The foundations of most industries are similar with the exception of the words they use to describe their activities…
3. You have a talent or skill right now that someone is willing to pay for if you can communicate the value…

The Assumption of Greatness

As my friend shouted in my face, we’ll call him “Captain Ironic,” I felt my fight or flight instincts kicking in and I was almost visibly shaking. I bounced erratically between loosely preparing for a quick response and a tenseness rooted in self-restraint. At that moment I realized, for Captain Ironic, I had challenged decades of programming and personal sacrifice. It had the impact of trying to tell a southern baptist pastor there is no God on the first Sunday. 

There is a deeply rooted belief, especially where education is concerned, that we simply don’t know enough. Furthermore, the actions I see within my community daily, speak to a notion that we cannot do the things we already do at a higher level until a trusted source gives us permission. That source typically has no direct benefit from our success, yet these entities are given permission to validate us. Why? 

Although Captain Ironic was Ghanaian and I’m American, I realized this man probably encountered the same conditioning as me. Since the days I began bringing home grades for approval (survival), my mother demanded two things. Go to church and go to school. Within the African diaspora, these two concepts rule our activities, finances, and self-concept on a daily basis. But why? 

Why do we so often exclude ourselves from greatness? What black mind have we given the globally accepted title of genius in the past 5 years? Why is that the first person to tell us “No” is that little voice in our own heads? The challenge I present is to assume you have the capacity for greatness until you are proven wrong. Trust that your current knowledge base, network, and readily available information give you the power to take the next step! The resting state of our collective minds MUST say, “I can achieve “x” and these are the tools I need.”

The truth we often forget is that a degree without work experience moves you ahead in line, but it does not close the deal. Building your network to include access to opportunities you desire and being able to articulate your experience in a way that is relevant IS what takes you across the finish line. Everything else supports those functions. So while most people want to show what other people say about them; I show people how what I have done successfully will be valuable for BOTH OF US. Consulting since 2014 has taught me, I hire my client and not the other way around…

The Fault Within Our Stars

For the last 30 years, Black people, in particular, have mistakenly engaged with the brand marketing of universities and the propaganda from a multi-billion dollar educational system for success and progress in our social lives. 

Education, in particular, is a ceiling we set upon ourselves that separates us from the cosmos. We constantly say internally, “When I get my degree, I’ll be ready, when I get this certification, I’m set.” However, someone telling you that you know something has no true value in the long run. Yes, a degree opens doors, but the majority of skill sets needed for actual success outweigh the value of that validation. Mastering elements like personal branding, soft skills, and confidence are the cake that your educational background rests upon. How many graduates do we know looking for work? How many graduates do we know that have jobs that have nothing to do with their certification? How many graduates do we know who are underemployed? 

As we wave our degrees in the air for anyone who will take a look, ask yourself this. Did you ask any of the last five people to pay you where their money came from? Or did you accept the money and move on with life? Regarding attracting a job, a customer, or a client, once I prove I can do the work that is needed at a higher level than my competition, do you really care where I learned how to do it? 

This logic does not apply to certain areas as my doctor should have proof. However, generally, we too often spend more time convincing people we are someone than we actually do being that person. When I was approached by Ingressive Advisory (2017), as part of a live competency quiz of sorts, I was asked about APIs. I had no clue what it was, but we thank God that 4G allows you to browse as you chat. After reading the definition, I was still fuzzy, but the general idea was the same thing I did as a teenager in restaurants across the US. 

Mise en Place is a French term for restaurant kitchen organization that means “Everything in its place.” It is the process of having all the tools and ingredients needed to deliver what is on the restaurant’s menu. An API (Application Programming Interface) allows different programs to talk to each other.  It is a set of routines, protocols, and tools for building software applications. With that understanding and my confidence, I realized I had 15 years of hands-on experience building APIs but in a different context. The result was landing the role as COO for my internal MBA program, Ingressive Advisory. 

The moral of the story is that most businesses operate on a very similar set of rules and guidelines. The software development space now creating “overnight” billionaires is based on principles from one of the oldest professions known to man, construction. While being exceptional and taking your craft to the highest level is always a plus. We must remember that sometimes the only thing that separates one business from another is the words they use to describe their activities. Not knowing a particular set of words does not mean you can not do the work. It just means you have to find a creative way to connect the dots for the person in question.

Love & Packaging

Although I struggle with religion (not God and spirituality, just the set of rules around it) and all of its trappings, the teachings of Jesus taught me how to love. Agape love. This is love in spite of everything, not love because of something. It was a major step to apply a love that exists regardless of your transgressions to my black people. But my life changed when I applied it to myself. I decided my life was not a constant comparison to those around me, but a consistent expression of self-love. Even in relationships, showing how well you value and take care of yourself is attractive to the ones you desire. So if I am the source of my truth and if I live in that truth, no human can make me a liar. That’s the energy which continues to turn the corners of my mouth upwards amongst those who would use my endeavors as kindling for their fire. You cannot tell me you don’t think I’m capable, you can only make me aware that you don’t see my gifts or that they’re not a good fit for you. That is what people find when they remove the wrappings of my presence. A gift. 

People pay those who add value to their life. People pay for honesty, integrity, and objectivity. Social media and the internet have allowed those big and small to package their truth and provide insight into that truth in a way that generates value. Confidently having these encounters face to face increases your impact exponentially. Experience is the best teacher and lessons taught by this matriarch outweigh anything achieved through external validation. References open doors, but when someone wants to know why you? What do you have to say? That is typically a conversation about goals and vision alignment, something deeper than the lessons you acquired. It’s asks why? And what do YOU want to achieve in your life and how does that benefit ME!

I hire people who have personal goals. I know they will eventually leave, but I also know I’ll have the best when they are with me. I look for people who have aspirations that align with mine. In that space, our work is mutually beneficial. When perusing resumes, pitch decks, and proposals; I look for a common spark. Most investors, employers and consultants do this whether they know it or not. Many of us are looking for different versions ourselves in others. Some go so far as to even say every person you meet in this life is a reflection of you…

There is an inherent irony in a “more degreed” person with a lower socio-economic status telling me to go pay for proof of education in a world replete with free resources. I refuse to participate in this multi-billion dollar industry that requires I pay someone to receive my gifts. Me and anyone requiring my services are engaging in a mutually beneficial trade of value, that is inherently different than acceptance.

Again, I must say that this is not a tirade against education. This is my own personal realisation that many make the same mistake early founders do with building technology that we do with education. One of the things I constantly tell my clients building products is that technology is an enabler that lays on top of a solid business strategy. In much the same way, a degree or certification is a layer on top of what should be a disciplined mindset committed to a focus on value-adding execution. Without the latter, education will open doors that will allow you to present your flawed character in the biggest moments.

As an entrepreneur, the assumption is that you are filling a gap, innovating an existing product/service, and/or disrupting an existing business model. Those are often uncharted territories with no rule books, case studies, or use cases. If your approach is to wash, rinse, and repeat examples from over-priced curriculums, then you will either doom yourself to mediocrity or be dependent on hope.

Structured education is an amazing way to access information, position yourself in interactive environments and feedback loops, and align with like-minded people aka – Network. However, it is not the only place/way to achieve these results. Understanding how YOU learn, WHAT you want to learn, HOW you want to use it, and WHO you need to progress your goals as an individual SHOULD be the foundation on which that education rests. It will add depth and colour to your educational journey. It will make you an asset within the halls of learning. I’ll end this by saying the best way to learn is by doing and practice makes perfect.

I believe learning is forever and I would challenge anyone from any educational, socio-economic, and professional status to do a quick self-audit on the following:

1. The vision you have for yourself personally, professionally, and otherwise.
2. The skills to vision match of what it takes to achieve at a high-level within your timeframe.
3. The ways you learn and retain information the best (video, books, repetition, etc.)
4. The documentation and organization system you have in place for the knowledge you seek.
5. The list of people you need in your life to reach your goals (relationship matrix).
6. Review what you have done and need to do that aligns with your vision of the future (projects, positions, outcomes).

I went out of my way to find statistics, quotes, and other trusted sources that would make you believe that the words that I write are true. The things that tie pretty little bows around our self-depleting thoughts. I wanted to substantiate my perspective by aligning my statements with accepted world views. But in the spirit of this article, I will let my words stand alone. I would hope that what I say is not accepted because your reading convinced you. I want you to do your own homework until the voice that speaks to you when no one is around to realize we share the same frequency and say “I agree.” 

“People Believe What Fits Their World View…” 

Joe Goldman