Social media has enabled many to become overnight entrepreneurs, with immediate success. It gives their supporters this skewed perception of what it looks like to be an entrepreneur. Unfortunately, this perception has caused many entrepreneurs to risk their financial security and freedom with mixed results.
On average, every new business usually goes through the same stages before it is determined a success. For example, if you take 100 businesses after the first year, 80% of the businesses are profitable. Years two through four steadily decrease the percentage of businesses still open to around 64%, and only 50% are open by year five. As the years go on, the number of businesses decreases to below 45%.
During her interview, Actress Issa Rae gave an inside look at what real life is like for entrepreneurs.
“Once I started pursuing writing, directing, and producing with my web series, I recognized how challenging it could be starting from the ground up, and I realized I needed a team to help me,” Rae said as she explained some of the obstacles she faced when first starting in the entertainment industry. “The idea of being an entrepreneur always seems scary because it feels so lonely, and starting you have to do a lot of things alone, with also the realization you won’t be making any money at first does start to weigh heavy on you.”
Rae said that things started looking up for her once she built her team and her web series started blowing up.
“One of my colleagues started noticing how my web series was garnering attention and came up with an idea to do screenings at different colleges and charge them,” Rae said, noting this idea was a turning point for her personally as it was the first time she was excited about the income from her show.
Rae’s career in the film industry grew, as she started gaining attention with her web series “Awkward Black Girl.” Her youtube channel also features other shows and skits created by Black people.
The success of her web series laid the foundation for Rae as she was preparing for the debut of her show “Insecure,” which she co-directed, co-wrote, and played the main character. The show was nominated for several Emmy and Golden Globe Awards, with Rae nominated for two Emmys for her acting.
Rae also touched upon the perception that Black people have to code-switch at work or around certain groups of people to be taken seriously or respected.
“I think the acknowledgment of them is a good starting point as I am a Black consumer myself and always want to support Black business,” Rae said as she explained the stigma many Black people have with Black businesses. “What many Black people do once one thing goes wrong is say it’s only going wrong because it is a Black business. This stigma, unfortunately, has embedded in many Black entrepreneurs that they always have to go above and beyond to satisfy their customers.”
Rae points out that entrepreneurs and people who run a business online should be more transparent about the process and their struggle as many people won’t understand what they have to go through as business owners.
“I think this (transparency) will help defer the stigma and help small businesses gain support as more people will understand the stress and struggles of running a business,” she said.