I grew up poor, and one of the hardest things about being poor is that there are so few role models for success. Except for teachers, I didn't know anyone educated. Except for the people my father worked for (and mostly hated), I didn't know anyone wealthy or successful. More of the grown men I knew were failures, criminals, and addicts than successes.
As a smart child in this environment, teachers and other authority figures expected intelligence to lead to obedience, and were frustrated that I didn't care that much about their rules, that I wasn't interested in being especially good at being mediocre. With a slightly different twist in the wind, I might well have wound up a criminal myself, although I like to think I'd have been a very good one.
Even when I left my hometown to go to college, it took me years to adjust to a "normal" life. And it took me years more to realize again what I knew instinctively as a child - that succeeding at mediocrity wasn't a worthwhile life.
The men and women who have made a point of being social entrepreneurs, of being role models in communities that desperately need them - they're better, braver, and tougher than most of the founders we fawn over here. And they'll make a more meaningful contribution to the world.
In all the studying, learning, planning and risk assessment I realized it's easier and less risky to just go to college. That and stealing isn't really something to aspire to in life.
Probably why I didn't stay in finance/accounting/banking. At least salesmen have to convince you of their lies, the money wonks just take it out of your account every month.
I'm glad computer games give me the chance to play at stuff to be honest, it's a great outlet.
With a statement like that it sounds like you lack some important critical thinking skills. Try to provide concrete examples of things rather than echoing standard claptrap.
I'd go so far as to say- entrepreneurs are just people who are trying to solve problems. I get annoyed when I hear people ask things like "How do I become an entrepreneur?" in an aspirational way, as though it's some sort of cool club where all the cool kids are hanging out.
An entrepreneur is just a person who's so bothered by a particular problem, who's so dissatisfied with the status quo that she decided to get her hands dirty and make a dent in it.
Changing your own 'hood is the first step to changing the world. There's not enough being said about serving your neighbors and getting to know your regulars on a first name basis.
So yeah, I feel I'm going after the problems of my peers, of my tribe. My 'hood, even if it's a virtual kind of 'hood.
There have been a number of studies showing the unintentional white supremacist thinking that even folks who think of themselves as progressive and anti-racist exhibit (and even people of color and women can fall prey to these same biases against their own race or gender). That perpetuates a cycle that can only be broken by visible disruption of the cycle. i.e. people who aren't historically in leadership roles, who aren't historically in tech roles, being empowered and successful in those roles.
Note that I'm not making governmental policy suggestions here. I'm making cultural and systemic observations. I don't know the solutions, really, but awareness and acknowledgment of the problem is certainly one of the early steps.
Anyway, I loved having a good barber shop. I haven't found a good one since moving back to Texas, but it really is a nice thing to have a regular barber who does a nice job, and knows and cares about his community. It's unfortunate that there are so few barbers left...they've been replaced by the chain haircutter places that hire people straight out of beauty school; those businesses are rarely worker-owned (they rent the chairs, or are part-time employees), and rarely have any significant ties to the community (though they are often franchises, possibly owned by someone in the same city or, at least, the same state).
Unintentional bias lives in the subjective and human parts of our procedures. The fewer decisions humans make, the less bias you see.
See also this blog post I wrote recently. Drivers I flag on the street explicitly and intentionally discriminate against me about 80% of the time. With Uber/Ola/Taxi4sure it's 0%. https://www.chrisstucchio.com/blog/2015/why_i_like_uber.html
The objective measure for an Uber ride is orders of magnitude simpler: "is reasonably civilised, unlikely to soil the car or abuse the driver" and even then, their approach to deciding who fits, is to just try, then kick you off the system if you don't live up to the criteria.
When you control for gender the gender pay gap disappears.
By which I mean deciding which factors are biasing factors and which are not is not clear cut.
I'm glad you did, and I'm looking forward to reading more!
There are systemic changes that are needed to fix this problem. I didn't think it was particularly relevant to this article so I explicitly excluded it from my comment, but one cannot deny that government plays a huge role in all of this.
I'm not criticizing pg and the ycombinator crowd, in fact I have much respect and admiration for what they're trying to achieve. But I think small businesses don't get the respect that they deserve.
I'm glad to see an article like this which reminds us that small businesses can be an important part of our society. I also see some efforts by some people in the ycombinator network to expand beyond the mechanics of doing startups. I attended last year's startup school and was blown away and inspired by one of the speakers, Danae Ringelmann: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPbHf4i6CrQ&list=PLQ-uHSnFig...
Dennis has identified a problem that needed to be solved, has solved it and is doing it so well that his customers talk about him and keep returning.
But as to the comment about MLK, it would be a mistake to comprehend the civil rights movement as being embodied in entrepreneurialism.
This being a startup community of entrepreneurs, it is tempting for us to celebrate the power of individual free enterprise paired with social cause. And that is noble. But the civil rights movement stands for organized action to fight racism at a systemic level. It is the more conservative, privileged sector that focuses on "pull yourself up by your own bootstraps" individual entrepreneurialism as the pathway to racial equality.
The civil rights movement is about organized mass action to address the racism and disadvantages inherent in white-dominated institutions and social relations. That is what MLK stood for: fixing white racism and structural inequality, not merely black role models and self-esteem.
It is this "become a better person" aspect of MLK, which Dennis embodies, imho.
I think a lot of businesses tech and non-tech alike can take a page out of Dennis' book. You're not just running a business, for some, it can be a much more personal experience if you are willing to make the effort. As the author Don points out, he is willing to drive 30 minutes to not only see his mother, but also to get his haircut. You can't buy that kind of customer loyalty.
As with most things in life, sometimes just listening is all you need to do. Listen to your customers, make them feel important and valued. Surprisingly simple, but something most businesses fail to do.
But to a greater point: entrepreneurship isn't just about the millions or billions we more often hear in the news. Instead, it's also about the small biz owners like Dennis who aspire for great things for their communities, their family and friends, and yes, themselves.
We should shoot for the stars, but not get disappointed because we only reached the moon. Or heck, if we were able to "fly" at all... that's awesome.
Great write-up! Now, can Dennis also have an app? I'd like to help with that.
Next time when you visit him, just pass on my Hug!!
This reminds me of this movie: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0108560/ (Who's the Man?)
A 1993 classic with a lot of known Hip Hop artists, the main characters basically help a well-known and very helpful barber in the community by joining the police and taking care of the community. Quite funny and entertaining.
