Worldwide Business with kathy ireland®
March 12, 2021
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By Eyra Abraham, MS and Anne McIntosh, PhD
Being an employee may not be what you want in your professional life. There is no such concept as complete freedom, no job description as working on your terms, and no “happy ever after” in the business world, where many hiring professionals would perceive your hearing loss as an advantage or benefit. You may feel that you have to constantly prove to others that you are worthy of being hired.
Entrepreneurship could be the answer to capitalizing on freedom, financial abundance, and a life free of audism.
But life is not so clear-cut. There is a murky area not often discussed. What exactly goes behind the scenes to start a business as a founder/owner with hearing loss?
In April, 2024 Hearing Loss Association of America (HLAA) sponsored a webinar featuring three hard of hearing entrepreneurs: Shari Eberts, Eyra Abraham, and Dr. Anne McIntosh.
The webinar conversations generated several questions from the audience that Abraham (Founder of Lisnen) and McIntosh (Founder of Safe ‘N’ Clear) thought were deserving of further examination. We will look at three aspects of entrepreneurship mentioned by the audience with the goal of demystifying the process of entrepreneurship.
We need to talk about the facts.
First, we’ll talk about funding. Second, we will talk about getting started, and lastly, we will talk about what is needed to become an entrepreneur.
1. Under 2% of businesses receive funding from venture capital
The media is filled with success stories of entrepreneurs who receive big cheques from venture capitalists. However, the story is very different for underrepresented founders.
While there is no specific data about entrepreneurs with hearing loss receiving funding and investment, we do know that investors look at the profiles of successful entrepreneurs of the past to help make quick decisions with whom they will invest. Investors invest in people who they believe will succeed. If they have not invested in a successful business with a founder with hearing loss before, biases kick in.
When entrepreneurs get funding from venture capitalists, they use their businesses to grow their investment portfolios. They expect them to sell their businesses within a short period so they can retire rich. No investor wants to wait a lifetime to see a return on their money.
Selling your businesses may not make you rich.
A study was done by Robert E. Hall and Susan E. Woodward at Stanford University, and they found the following:
Angel investors or grants from governments can write smaller checks, however, receiving funding is still competitive and hard to achieve.
Funding from Angel investments provides slightly better results than venture capital. Angels who are willing to invest in businesses that exhibit the following characteristics:
Businesses with no revenue.
To be clear, obtaining funding from angel investors or government grants is still difficult.
Your chances of receiving funding are better than winning the lottery, but even better if you self-fund.
First, in terms of how to fund a business, there is no one way to fund but we did want to provide additional details. You need to understand your own risk tolerance for debt, uncertainty, and ROI.
Running a business is similar to participating in the stock market. If you like high-risk investments, prepare for a bumpy ride with many highs and lows and the risk of losing your initial investment and gains. If you like slow and steady, like a tax-free savings account, your business will take time and grow slowly.
For example, if you prefer low-risk/more conservative, then you may want to start the business while you are gainfully employed elsewhere bringing in a paycheck and doing the start-up on your own time, such as in the evenings, on weekends, and during vacation or holidays.
If you are comfortable with moderate risk, you may want to keep a job and then devote some of the funds from the paycheck to help you along as you float the start-up.
If you identify as tolerating higher risk, then you can set a timeline as to how long you will give the start up to provide income.
NOTE: If you are in a committed relationship, Abraham and McIntosh encourage you to discuss your goals with your significant other so there is no misunderstanding of how bills will get paid, savings towards retirement will occur, and how financing the startup will happen.
Ultimately, you need to feel comfortable with how you are going to maintain your everyday living while you work on the dream of entrepreneurship.
McIntosh found that having multiple streams of income actually lessened the stress of earning an ROI on the business because, in her particular business, there was a substantial amount of upfront costs.
Even when the business begins to generate revenue, you will want to put the money back into the business so you can grow the business.
Abraham and McIntosh are not strong proponents of taking out business loans; but that is an option that works well for some entrepreneurs to help manage cash flow when you are expecting money to come in the future while you need to pay your supplier immediately.
Grants do not have to be paid back; however, consider the amount of time you will dedicate to the grant and what is the realistic expectation of receiving the grants.
Some businesses incorporate and exchange company equity for compensation; if you opt to utilize equity, be mindful of how much equity ownership of the company you give to others. Will you be able to buy that equity back at a later time?
2. Businesses get started to solve a problem
Businesses start because people have an issue, a problem, or a challenge they need to solve. Customers are willing to pay money for the solution, and you have the skills and capabilities to help people solve their problems.
Entrepreneurs are observant of problems that they notice people complaining about, including the problems you have identified.
Use these problems or complaints as the fire to ignite your business.
If you decide to solve your own problem, make sure others have the same or similar problem so that others would be willing to buy your solution.
A formula for a good business to start
If you want a checklist to see if you have a good business to start, here is a formula to help you decide.
A good business idea =
(1) Problems people complain about
+ (2) People willing to buy a similar product or service to solve the problem
+ (3) My past experiences, network and skills can create a better product or service
+ (4) sustainability that the problem will continue for others and my solutions can meet that need for the foreseeable future.
If you can checkmark all four, you have a good business idea to launch.
3. What is needed to succeed through entrepreneurship
Entrepreneurs are self-starters, self-initiators, and people who like to see a plan all the way to the finish line.
Oftentimes, we think you are born to be a successful entrepreneur or that one needs to be a well-known movie star or professional athlete with a wide recognition. There may be some movie stars and professional athletes who own businesses, but the majority of entrepreneurial business owners are NOT movie stars or athletes.
You can start anytime; some begin crafting their business while in k12 school or college. Other entrepreneurs start after they retire from their first career. Backgrounds of how people come to entrepreneurship vary; you do not necessarily need a business degree from an ivy-league school to be a successful entrepreneur. But, you do need a solution (service or product) to a problem.
You will need to figure out how to best reach the intended market- your customers (e.g.: other people with hearing loss, for example). Do you need a storefront where people walk in or do you need a secure online presence, such as a website or will you work on-site?
You need common sense; a deep-deep drive to push through the nay-sayers and the bureaucratic system that sometimes can take the FUN out of your day.
You work very hard all day long and you get a sense of satisfaction and fulfillment knowing your work matters and that you are improving the lives of others.
Entrepreneurs support other entrepreneurs
One golden rule that McIntosh and Abraham follow is- they support other entrepreneurs. You want people to support you; then, you need to support them. You are joining a great community when you connect with other entrepreneurs.
2-minute Isenberg Entrepreneur Test
Here is one measure that you can take to determine if entrepreneurship is for you. Daniel Isenberg wrote this February 10, 2010 article in Harvard Business Review that includes a 2-minute Isenberg Entrepreneur Test to determine if entrepreneurship is right for you: https://hbr.org/2010/02/should-you-be-an-entrepreneur
