April 15, 2008

I follow a number of blogs related to women and business, and I also am interested in Asian-American and minority issues. Lately, it seems to me that everything I think about is overlaid with political news from the US presidential election, so in such a historic time, I wanted to put in a quick note about being a minority woman in business and what that means to me, and why I blog about it. I hope it will give you some ideas about your own outlook, too.

I self-identify as being Filipino-American and an immigrant. My parents came to Canada to attend graduate school and I was born in Ontario. When I was young we all moved to the United States. I grew up in Florida and California, went to school in New York and now live in Hawai’i. So, my outlook pretty much has been one of being cross-cultural, with me learning both Filipino traditions and values as well as being influenced by standard American mores.

How this relates to my business life, and why I blog so much about being a woman of color in business, is because I think there are many challenges that some of us face, and I think it’s good to share the stories of others who believe in the powerful opportunities around us. There is importance and value in truly expressing our unique selves.

I think that sharing our knowledge and skills through our work gives us more and more abilities to be rewarded: when we do our best work, when we focus on what we’re good at, and when we get paid well for it, that’s very empowering! That’s why I encourage entrepreneurship and starting up or expanding your business: there are so many options to define your own success.

That said, minority women face certain challenges, sometimes related to our background. We may find obstacles in earning trust, in building referrals, in establishing a clientele, in securing financing, or in establishing partnerships and associations. Sometimes we might feel that we are “outnumbered,” either by men or by some other majority group.

Because of this, I do think it’s important that like-minded women in business support each other; when this happens, I feel like we all rise.

If we go along with “business as usual” sometimes we will be in a position where our policies get challenged or our standard practices don’t reflect the changing nature of our workforce or our target demographic. In worst cases, we may be put into public spotlight because what we thought was working wasn’t really working. Because of this, even small changes that we implement may be helpful for our own peace of mind and sanity as well as for our business success. These include things like:

Employee policies
Customer policies
Dress codes
Opinion/Editorial policies
Advertising policies
Consent Forms
Chains of command
Formal complaint processes
Mediation
Factchecking

and other language and procedures that help smooth out potential misunderstandings within your company, between you and your distributors or suppliers, or between you and your customers.

I’ve read about too many misunderstandings or statements where someone’s reputation is tarnished or their company even sued (!) because of ignorance or lack of planning. Be aware of putting yourself in this position!

So, at least for the purposes of this blog, which is made up entirely of my own opinions or those of guest authors, I encourage you to consider your own status as either a minority, a businessperson, a woman, or some combination of those.

We have so many ways to help each other. Today, what are three ways you will support a woman entrepreneur who shares your values? Here’s my list:

1) Going to Tea at 1024 whenever I go to Honolulu!
2) Developing websites (my primary business) for other minority women and their projects
3) Mentoring younger women on professional development and making introductions when helpful

BONUS: Doing as much research as I can about the types of products and services I buy and making sure I feel good about the company, the owner, and the item.

(BONUS #2: Blogging regularly about topics that support women of color in business!)