Being a Deaf/HOH Entrepreneur

How it began: Dec. 2011, I had just graduated UT-Arlington with my MBA, and realized I had zero prospects for employment. Twelve job applications and zero call backs later, I began to panic. As I faked happiness during my graduation ceremony and dinner, my anxiety was at an all-time high, but I didn’t want anyone to know how stressed I truly was. For that reason, when my college friend congratulated me and told me about an internship at her job, I jumped at the opportunity (not caring if it was an unpaid one).

Résumé sent and fingers crossed, I jumped for joy when I received a response from the company. It wasn’t until toward the end of the email that she requested a phone interview. Now, my anxiety is back. I dread phone conversations even though I have lots of gadgets to “help” me understand what is being said on the phone. In reality, after I’m done hooking everything up and pairing all the equipment together via Bluetooth, I can still only hear 30-40% on my cochlear implant. A lot of work for less than half of the conversation, right? I think so too.

I still went through all these motions for the phone interview. Before it begun, I had my list of questions which I thought would be asked and the corresponding answers. When she called via Sprint CapTel, I was prepared and ready to guess whenever the gaps of communication were present (as the kids nowadays say, “issa process”). I guess I did well, because I was offered an internship spot. This was exactly the extrinsic motivation I needed. Shortly after the interview, I called my best friend and started to plan my relocation to Phoenix.

The reality of what I just did not hit me until a few weeks into the internship. Between renting a room and traveling by public transportation (since I had no car), my little disability check barely lasted through the month and I needed money (insert the job search all over again). Dealing with prejudices (and personal bias) while trying to find employment is a beast. People truly do not understand deaf/HOH culture and the abilities of its people. One interviewer asked me if driving was a problem with my disability. Even after I clarified the stereotype, I was still not hired. After several rejections (again), I could feel the disappointment and desperation beginning to arise again. One day (on the 45-minute walk home from the bus stop), an idea came to me – start my own business. I have the knowledge and MBA to support this idea, so now my brain is working overtime on how to bring this idea to life.

When I got home, the extensive research began. In under a month, I had books and notes covering my bed, and I was ready to submit my paperwork to the City of Phoenix to incorporate my idea. Business plan in hand and mildly confident, I submitted my paperwork, opened a business bank account, and began looking for clientele whenever I wasn’t working at the internship. Ultimately, I had two clients (including myself), no capital, no network, and no support over than verbal congratulations on social media. My venture was unsuccessful overall, and I still had no job. The fact of the matter was that my goals were unrealistic and all the issues prior to creating a business (stereotypes, lack of money, etc.) were still present afterwards.

Lucky for me, I already had thick skin. I finally got a job at Valero working the graveyard shift (despite friends & family’s objections). Since I didn’t qualify for business capital or lines of credit, I needed to have the money required for daily life expenses and to fund my first project. No one I knew offered financial help, so I did what was needed to get me there.

Six years later, I have a better understanding of what being an entrepreneur entails and have been working on my relaunch. I try not to view my original projects as failures but stepping stones that helped me learn how to be a business woman and artist. I learned how to be Jill-of-all-trades which is sometimes necessary when you cannot outsource tasks and the need to advocate for myself is prominent.

Initially, my goals were too broad, and I didn’t have the focus to specialize. Time is the best teacher in many cases and especially in my case. My fear of failure held me prisoner for years and caused me to avoid risks or other attempts to grow my company, so I’ve only taken on small projects and ghostwriting that no one knew about in hopes that staying out of the red qualified as success to me. It wasn’t until last year that my mindset had changed. My day job (one person in particular) was making me miserable and the stress was slowly destroying me physically (e.g. weight gain, hair loss, digestive issues, etc.), and this was not what I wanted my son to see me experience. This realization is what changed my mentality and is encouraging me to move forward. I still have a lot of work ahead of me but I’m ready for the development that’s transpiring.

Multitasking is a must as an entrepreneur, but I’m no longer bearing the weight of doing everything myself or setting unrealistic expectations for myself, my company, and my projects. Now, I’m starting with the end in mind. I have my goals set and I’m taking the steps needed to get there while understanding that some goals will take more time than others. I’m doing my research and networking along the way. Some information is useful and some isn’t, but I’ll never know if I don’t take the risk.

However, I do also understand that during this process some (if not all) of my goals will need tweaking so I cannot be uncompromising nor allow procrastination to consume me (that’s my biggest focus). The biggest thing for me now is to plan big but start small. What this means for me is that I don’t kill my dreams. I will look at the big picture but there are smaller steps to getting there that require my attention at the moment. At times, I feel this strategy is lost, because I see [daily] how people are trying to get rich quick (uh oh, now I’m going to get nothing but “get rich quick” ads on my social media accounts). Even as I write this, my mind is continuously brainstorming.

How is being a deaf/HOH entrepreneur different than a hearing entrepreneur? For me, there is very little difference. All of the core processes are the same, and the information required to be successful are similar. Nevertheless, some of my methods will differ. Obviously, I won’t be cold-calling people, and technology has helped me bridge the communication gap. Yet, the gap is still there, and I will need to adapt accordingly. I am up for the challenge.