Being an entrepreneur is a mix of all the emotions available for humans. There’s failure, success, happiness, sadness, so on and so forth. However, there is a concept slowly looming in the background of all entrepreneurs: Ageism. In simple words, it means people are not taken seriously due to their age. Here are five tips to defeat Ageism as an entrepreneur.
Ageism is a deadly concept for all the young entrepreneurs. When left unchecked, it could negatively impact the drive and the overall spirit of an entrepreneur. The more formal definition for ageism is “Prejudice towards age”. So, how can a budding entrepreneur defeat this type of discrimination? Read on.
Work
One of the most important things you should do as a young entrepreneur is to prove your worth to older people through your work. Let them know that on top of your words, you have a vast archive of works, outputs, and experience in the field.
Sometimes, people do not take younger people seriously because they have this illusion that if you are young; you haven’t achieved that much in your life. Working silently while letting your work speak up for you is a key concept in this tip.
Speak Up
Another way to counter ageism is to speak up. Establish your voice in the field. A common misconception surrounding younger people is that you should stay silent and let older people do the job. However, the question remains: “Are these old people going to do a better job than me?”. This question casts more doubt on the success of the job.
If you know that you have an edge over the older people in the crowd. Let them know that your product or service outperforms others.
Admit Your Limitations
This may be a tough pill to swallow for some, but we aren’t perfect. In one way or another, your knowledge has some limitations. Do not panic though; the best way to deal with this is to admit that you have limitations.
Do you still have things to work on? It’s completely fine. The best way to resolve this is to work on your skill to expand your skill set. Invest time and effort to improve your skills. By gaining a mastery of your skills, we are pretty sure people are going to flock over what you offer.
Challenge People
Do not get the wrong idea; by challenging people, it means that you need to step up to the plate. You need to let people know that you are not a pushover. Often, people discredit your skills because you are young. Challenge them through different ways. One example is if they are dissatisfied with your service, pose a challenge. Tell them to not pay you if you fail to meet their expectations.
Posing a challenge allows you to establish your expertise. Your “customers” would get the idea that you are confident and could deliver what they need.
Stay Confident
The simplest thing you could do to defeat ageism is to be confident. Ask yourself “If I have the skills and experience to compete with others, what do I have to be afraid about?”. The key in defeating ageism is to stay confident despite what others say about you.
Ageism takes a toll on some entrepreneurs. It sucks out their confidence and reduces them into just a person, not a highly-skilled entrepreneur. Keep this in mind and try your best to counter it. Do not let these negative comments enter your mind.
It is about time that we start noticing what the youth could do for the world. The stigma surrounding youth and the business world has to end now. It all starts with you. If you wish to read more about young entrepreneurs, click here.
Opinions expressed by AsianBlurb contributors are their own.
Zakary Kelley is a technology reporter for Business Blurb covering social media and the digital products that are changing our lives.
