Millennial who?
One of the most interesting articles I’ve read this year was an article posted on Entrepreneur.com. The title of this particular article is “Why More One-Person Businesses Are Breaking $1 Million Dollars in Revenue.” As a one-person business owner or better yet as a self-employed millennial business owner, this article gave me so much hope. Here I was thinking that it would take me years to reach my goal of brining in a million dollars as a one-woman show, and up pops a woman who is making it happen!
I am obsessed with the plight of the millennial in the professional realm. Most millennials who are in business for themselves feel the pressure from those older than we are. They want us to stop being vocal, pick a career, and stop dominating the areas that once belonged to the super educated. Not that there is anything wrong with those who have multiple degrees. I, myself, have a bachelors, a master and am currently working on a doctorate. The problem is that in this digital age, the generations before us have a hard time recognizing that this informational age we are in is not going anywhere. We as millennials capitalize and maximize every opportunity we have to live outside of cultural norms. The “American Dream” is no longer to get a good job, own a home and start a family. It’s to live life on your own terms, uninhibited by social limits because we like in a world that allows us to be and to do. There is no other time in history like the gift of now. And us millennials, we get that!
The status quo has shifted in favor of those who dare to be different, to take risks, and to do the things that may scare the rest of scoiety. In a social media driven society, it is impossible to ignore the fact that technology drives the economy. Those who know the power of it and who use it to their benefit will reap. Perhaps if the true narrative were to be told concerning millennials instead of resisting the magic that is us, more impact would be made in the professional realm.
Here are a few facts about us millennials:
We don’t settle for crumbs when we have access to the whole spread.
We aren’t out only for self; we look for ways to help the next person along.
We aren’t looking for overnight success. We know that with social media, what used to take seven years, can be done in less than three.
We don’t mind speaking up even when we don’t know all the answers.
We are not driven by a paycheck and benefits. Our freedom is what matters most.
Working for someone thirty years and never being fulfilled is not appealing to us. We’d rather hustle it out and be content.
We don’t want to do away with tradition; we simply want previous generations to acknowledge that there is a better way.
My name is Maleeka T. Hollaway and I am a Millennial Communications Specialist. Words are who I am and what I do. My mission in life is to inform, educate, and entertain my readers by pulling back the curtain of my own life so that they know that while every day is not a sunny day, the rainy days are the days that produce beauty.
