I was only 22 when Pete and I started Hometown Video and Ice Cream Parlor, and looked even younger. Now, from the perspective of being 38 years old, I recognize that this was a blessing. At the time, I didn’t see the advantage and looking 18 drove me absolutely crazy.

My age made it difficult for vendors to take me seriously. At one point, a salesperson who walked into the store while canvassing simply refused to believe that I was a decision maker, and insisted on seeing my father. I was flabbergasted.

Somehow, I don’t think this would have happened if I were a man.

By the time I started my second business, Know It All, I stopped taking myself seriously for just long enough to figure out how to turn this into a tremendous asset. I began to cultivate the impression that I was “just another employee” of my company. This encouraged the belief that my small organization was better staffed than it actually was. After all, if customers believed I was a customer service person or sales rep, didn’t that mean there were people above me who were even better than I was?

To this day, my business card doesn’t have a title on it. I’ve learned to stop answering the question “Who do you work for?” with “myself”. I welcome the praise I receive when someone calls up my “boss” to tell them how great I am.

Don’t get me wrong. I am not the least bit deceptive. If someone asks what my role in the company is or if I am a principal, I proudly reply that I am. It’s just that I have learned to understand that what I do for my company is much more important than who I am. This is something my 22 year old ego just couldn’t understand.

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