Minority Mindsets can Affect a Business:

I fall into a minority group. I was born in 1970’s London to two first generation working class migrants. My mum was from the Czech Republic and my Dad was from Mauritius. Times were tough and as a mixed race child I was bullied. The world was a divided and difficult place. Many of the other minority groups around me were also singled out and bullied. As a result I hated school and felt that I didn’t fit in.

Confidence is Key:

I did not have confidence as a child. I had no idea then that everybody, regardless of colour has a distinct identity and to understand and own your identity is the key to confidence and success. Confidence is paramount and if you identify as a minority group your confidence is likely to have already been severely tested. My advice is to use that feeling of not belonging and flip it to your advantage. Your experiences will be specific to you and will drive you forward to success in business, your knowledge of difficult situations and how you deal with them is your key to success and sets you apart from others. Often adversity in one’s life propels them onto great things. It is easy to blow things out of proportion to support your feelings of not fitting in but that is a waste of time and energy.

Work Hard and Look for Hidden Opportunities:

You may feel you have to work harder than others who are not minority groups. Try not to focus on that and keep moving forward. I joined McDonald’s which was a fast-growing business at the time. It was only part-time but it started me on a strong work path which has got me where I am today. I enjoyed being part of a multiracial, adult environment. I started to become recognised for who I was and not just my ethnicity. I didn’t pretend to be something I wasn’t but I soon became aware that I didn’t need to also judge myself as my colour or fixate on others doing so. I was just as good as everyone else and we were all different, with different strengths. I started to focus on my strengths.

Focus on Making Relationships:

Business is all about making relationships. My difficult start did undoubtedly make me sharp but I lacked confidence and my attitude didn’t allow me to move forward as I was stuck fighting with my past. I realised that as soon as I stopped thinking as a minority I started to make relationships. I had therapy which made me look at how I processed information and dealt with it. All the things I went through, other young people are also going through today. However, I made a conscious decision to not allow those bad things into my being. As an entrepreneur and coach I believe that my level of success has nothing to do with what race I was. It has everything to do with my ability to help people get to where they need to be, with the confidence I’ve developed in my profession.

Let Things go and Focus on the Positives out There.

What is important is how we react to situations and what we will and won’t allow to get in our way. If you think you may be in a minority mindset as a leader or entrepreneur, look at your coping mechanisms. That will allow you to unleash your inner brilliance, move forward, and do the best work that you can and excel in your life.

If anything resonates and you think I can help you with your business mindset, get in touch.

“Remember, failing to learn is learning to fail.”