Some say you march to a different drummer. You follow the music you hear in your soul, blazing your own path while the rest of the world can watch. You’re the best companion you know for yourself. You know who you are, and that’s all that matters.
And in “The Outsider Advantage” by Ciera Rogers, founder and CEO of Babes, you’ll see what you can do with your you-niqueness.
There was once a time when Rogers lived in her mother’s Jeep. She was a teenager then, and, though her mother tried to keep a roof over their heads, a handful of low-paying jobs just didn’t cut it. They were constantly moving, and Rogers switched schools often, which forced her to learn how to fit in quickly and get by.
That resourcefulness was key to her survival later in life. As the first in her family to attend college, Rogers got a degree but she was unable to take an unpaid intern position, which were all that were available back a decade or so ago. This hurt her job chances, but she knew she’d survive. She was bold and smart.
One afternoon, broke and unemployed, she thought about her mother’s small boutique in Houston, launched with few resources and less money. Rogers knew how to thrift. She could make videos. She could sell clothing online, eventually creating one-of-a-kind outfits, mixing and matching, catching the attention of celebrities and movie-makers with a million-dollar business started literally on scraps.
“Remember,” she says, “most big things start with a tiny idea.”
You don’t have to have piles of cash or big inheritances to start a business. Look for free help or free platforms that can move your enterprise along. Make do with what you have, at first. Stop procrastinating and don’t miss any opportunities. Know what you stand for. Know that you are not alone, either in your uniqueness or your situation.
“There’s a box where everyone else is,” says Rogers. “Get out of it. Be different.”
So you don’t have any money. You don’t even have bootstraps to pull yourself up. But if you can read, so you have what it takes to be an entrepreneur. You only need to take that first confident step, Rogers says.
As you start this book, though, you may wonder why anyone would think it’s for entrepreneurs. What Rogers has to offer is, indeed, more memoir than advice, though there are nuggets to capture on nearly every page and end-of-chapter takeaways embedded in a lively, fun sort of treasure hunt that feels friendly and approachable. Rogers’ entire life on the edge shows readers that being a little bit (or a whole lot) unique isn’t a hurdle. Unconventionality is not a deal-breaker; in fact, it can help you break into success.
This book is an inspiration – especially for readers whose dreams are burning with ideas but not a lot of coin. “The Outsider Advantage” is for when the drum beat of entrepreneurship is just too irresistible.
Terri Schlichenmeyer’s reviews of business books are read in more than 260 publications in the U.S. and Canada.