Not being the typical entrepreneur - dealing with prejudice and capitalising on your uniqueness

I was already sporting a number of tattoos by that age, and over the next 10 years I gradually covered nearly 70% of my body in brightly coloured images of birds, flowers, book characters, and jewellery, and the more my body modifications increased, the more I felt like myself, but it attracted a LOT of unwanted attention.

It also cemented the narrative imposed on me at 16 that I would never make it in life, because not only did I not have much of an education, I now looked like a human colouring book. I’d never felt like I belonged… but now I also looked like I didn’t belong. Was it frowned upon in job interviews? Undoubtedly, although never out loud. But the biggest blocker was myself, because I had made the mistake of accepting the limitations others had put on me, about how I had to look, sound, and be a certain way to be successful.

That was until I started creating content on LinkedIn, where my somewhat unusual appearance made me stand out in a sea of corporate greyness. My technicolour skin and bright blonde hair grabbed attention, and while it wouldn’t hold attention for long unless backed up with tangible value, it was long enough for me to convince (most) people that I was worth paying attention to.

There was a lot of pushback initially, mostly from people of a certain age, race, and gender (but let’s not sling any mud today), who would dismiss me as ‘only popular because she’s pretty’ or ‘no one would notice her without all of those tattoos’. I wouldn’t dare to compare my choice to be tattooed and pierced, to the experiences of those born with differences people judge them on. I knew there was a strong possibility I would be ostracised for standing out from the crowd every time I went under the buzzing needles. But, like those born with noticeable differences, it often creates extra obstacles that you must overcome in order to be afforded the same respect that those who fit the business stereotypes get.

As time went on, my visibility online grew, and expectations for everyone to fit the cookie cutter mold seemed to gradually relax, my less-typical appearance drew more and more people towards me. Those who felt like they never belonged, found a sense of belonging around me and others like me. The outliers started to find one another, and finally gain a sense of comfort from not being alone in feeling like they didn’t fit in.

And that has been one of the key reasons my membership community has attracted so many members in such a short time. When you are around people who are truly comfortable being their unique selves, who don’t feel the need to mask, or pretend. Our shoulders relax a little, our jaw begins to unclench, and we realise that what makes us different is most often the thing that makes us memorable, interesting, relatable, and inspiring to others similar to ourselves.

I found a place I felt accepted and belonged, and then I made sure I created a place others could feel that way too. Authentic isn’t something you can be; it is something you are when you stop trying to be anything else. And by being authentic, you give permission to those around you to drop the act, and show their authentic selves, too.