Faith vs. Fear

In the spirit of our fearless leader’s words during his inaugural speech, I am pretty much committed to starting my own company right now. Obama’s inspirational words that I have held close were: “Choose hope over fear” and “Risk-takers built this country”. I have long tried to base my choices on faith rather than fear, knowing that when I make choices based on fear, they’re never as good. The funny thing is, starting my own company seems like the easier, softer way. In my off-campus job search, I pore through ad after ad seeking someone precisely not me, even though I’m sure I could do these jobs. Changing careers is a leap, and one that is generally made much easier with an MBA. For many of my classmates, this is true, but I am still a star-shaped peg and will clearly never fit any of the round holes seeking to be filled with MBA’s.

And I’m okay with that now, with some help from Mark Albion’s book “More Than Money”. For quite some time I have grappled with the idea that I need to be hired by a major corporation to “validate” my MBA, disappointed that my dream gig- sustainability consulting- overwhelmingly prefers people with Fortune 500 management or big 5 consulting experience. I have finally admitted that this is more about satisfying my ego than about wanting to work in Corporate America.

Yet starting my own company would certainly require the use of absolutely everything I have learned at Kenan-Flagler, and be a much better fit for an MBA who had pink hair for 10 years. Not to mention that the pieces of this new venture do seem to be falling into place so easily. While writing cover letters that only get read by computers feels exactly like banging my head against a wall, developing this business has been fun and easy, so far. I have a tremendous amount of resources at my disposal, and the newfound ability to clearly see what needs to be done and how. It certainly helps that the highly respected industry experts I’ve pitched some of my business ideas to  have given me positive feedback.

The news makes it seem impossible to find work right now, with all their hysteria about the state of the economy, and a part of me (ego, again) thinks I should fight harder and push my way into a job. But that’s never been my style. I’d rather go build something new, do my own thing. Most employers seem to be letting fear rule their decisions, seeking only the most experienced candidates. Companies are panic-stricken now that American consumers have run out of credit to keep their businesses growing, and I suspect the majority are not the least bit interested in finding out how to build a more sustainable business model.

Until a company’s success is measured on something more lasting than quarterly growth, they will not be able to adapt to this new austerity. My greatest hope is that this reduced consumption will continue and everyone will find new ways to create and define wealth. Instead of relying on passive investments, we can take a more active role in creating our own wealth. Which is risky, but then so is the stock market. Instead of having faith in something beyond one’s control (few of us have the power to move markets), we can have faith in ourselves, our own ability to create sustainable value.

Susanna Schick