The sixth undesirable trait that Gandhi cautions us about is politics without principle. No, we are not entering into the minefield of the current state of American politics! What this trait speaks to, which is applicable to the study of entrepreneurship, is the dangers of creating a public persona that bears little resemblance to one’s authentic self.
We all create façades. We may interact with our parents one way, our friends another way, and our colleagues in the workplace a third way. A well-adjusted person is able to adapt his or her modes of interaction, based upon with whom he or she is interacting, without uprooting foundational beliefs or core principles.
The phenomena of Facebook is a good example. Some believe that Facebook is an invasion of privacy, in that the creator of a Facebook page is allowing either certain groups, or the entire world, to learn certain information about him/her. But another way of looking at Facebook is that a person may also create an image that they wish the world to see. In fact, some of these images may be so far from the truth that they may be disingenuous! Similar to some profiles on dating sites, what we are seeing may be less an invasion of privacy and more hyperbole.
In the world of entrepreneurship, we see many examples where the successful business owner may adapt or create a “business personality” suitable for success in his realm. Consider the following examples.
You are a brilliant graphic artist. Better still, you have kick-ass computer skills and can set up cool websites. You’ve done some for your friends and for yourself. But for your day job, you find yourself stocking shelves at a local big box discount store. You’re 19 years old, and trying to figure out if college is right for you. Your grades in high school look like a graph of low and high tide for the Bay of Fundy. You aced anything art or computer related. English or social science? You skated by because your teachers felt sorry for you.
You heard all the stories. Facebook created by people not much older than you. Tweens creating and then selling websites for lots of bucks. You have talent. Why not start a business combining your artistic skills with your computer expertise?
Your neurons fire faster as you process this idea. A computer/art type of business is perfect for a young woman such as yourself. In addition to being brilliant, you are hard-working, and very even keeled. And you feel this type of business may be perfect for someone as painfully shy as you are. After all, the only way you’re going to be communicating with others is through a keyboard. No sales calls for you.
You find that while it is true in today’s connected-society that much communication is digital, you still need to create a “hard copy” of yourself from time to time. Maybe a customer wants to speak with you in person before committing several thousand dollars to a project. Maybe you find a good way to get customers is to teach adult continuing education classes at the local high school. Maybe you will need funding for your business, and the local banker or venture capitalist is not going to wire money into your account based upon an e-mail you sent them.
The true story here is that while certain businesses may be more suited to introverts, it is hard to be the classic introvert and succeed as an entrepreneur. I should know. I am the classic introvert! But I have started and run several businesses in my lifetime (so far-and I am sure there are more to come), most of them successfully. How did a shy boy such as myself make this work?
I am not a psychologist nor am I a coach on overcoming shyness. What I can say worked for myself is a one-word answer: acting. When I am giving a presentation before a group of 150 people, teaching a class at a local community college, or introducing myself at a cocktail party at a conference, I am playing a role.
Interestingly enough, I have a long time friend who works in the movie business. He is not in front of the camera, but is behind the scenes, and does interact on a daily basis with the actors and actresses who grace the silver screen. A significant number of those actors and actresses are actually quite shy when the camera is not peering upon them. When the lights go on and the director screams “action” (I don’t really know if the director screams that, but it sounds good), all those people in the scene magically become someone else.
This is what worked for me. When the lights come on — whether I’m on stage presenting or simply trying to read someone’s name tag while not spilling my drink on them — I play someone else.
Please don’t misunderstand me. This doesn’t mean that I am being inauthentic or lying to others or to myself. It’s really creating another persona, as authentic as the shy one who would rather be home quietly reading a book.
If acting is not for you, or if you find no other method that successfully helps you become more extroverted, then being an entrepreneur may be more a difficult path for you.
Or, sometimes a different issue forces a new image upon a budding entrepreneur. This is a subtle one. We all believe we make our own choices when it comes to how we present our personal image to the world. The entrepreneur element in our DNA creates a bit of an individualistic streak within us. Sometimes, however, the type of business imposes values upon us which we might not already possess.
Jerome was an attorney with 10 years of experience, primarily in a real estate practice. Personally, he felt most comfortable living a less auspicious lifestyle. He had small children, and wanted to sock away money for their college education. He had no problem wearing suits that perhaps were less expensive or less fashionable, nor driving a car that was several years old.
His practice made him money, but he was frustrated in that he seemed to have a difficult time attracting and keeping good clients and referral sources. Desperate to find an answer, he retained the services of a marketing consultant to offer him some ideas for building his revenue stream to the next level.
The consultant had many ideas for how to increase revenues. One category for revenue enhancement that surprised Jerome was a suggestion that he enhance his image.
The consultant’s theory was that clients and referral sources want to deal with an attorney who appears prosperous. Therefore, Jerome needed a new wardrobe of more expensive suits, shirts, ties and shoes. He also needed to lease a new luxury model automobile. The public areas of Jerome’s office needed an upgrade as well. The reception area, the conference room, and the hall which led back to the conference room should be more luxuriously appointed.
This problem is a real one for many small business owners, particularly those who engage in what are commonly known as the “professions.” An added expense to maintaining a business is additional expenses to one’s personal lifestyle. This is sometimes known as “the golden handcuffs.” A professional needs to maintain a certain image to attract business, and then has to chase increasing amounts of dollars to pay for that image. If at some point the professional wants to take a step back and simplify his or her life, the golden handcuffs make it difficult to do so.
The entrepreneurial life is an interesting one isn’t it? At one end, you can have a guy strolling barefoot down his hallway to his home office clad only in his cartoon character sweat pants and a white T-shirt. At the other, you have a guy who needs a closet full of $2000 suits in order to create and maintain what he deems to be the appropriate image for his business.
Will the business you want to create push you into an expensive image to maintain? Or, will you be forced to act out a role that is too far from your authentic self? At what point is the persona that you believe is required to succeed in your business so far from the true “you” that it becomes less of an adaptation and more of a “Sybill-like” problem?
[Adapted from Seventy Reasons Not to be an Entrepreneur (and why I wouldn’t do anything else), by Michael A. Babiarz, copyright 2013, all rights reserved]