Actress and entrepreneur Tabitha Brown is at the center of a now-viral conversation about entrepreneurship after sharing some advice for people who just can’t seem to get their ideas off the ground. Brown may have thought she was doing a good thing by telling aspiring business owners to accept when their ideas aren’t working and get a 9-to-5. But she’s getting plenty of smoke from people who are calling her out for pouring water on their dreams.
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“Entrepreneurship is not for everybody. That doesn’t mean it’s not for you, but right now, these last few months, few years…baby, it ain’t been working for you,”Brown said in a September 2 post on X. “And you doing a lot of robbing Peter to pay Paul.”
Brown went on to say that an idea that isn’t hitting now could very well be a success down the road, but says you shouldn’t bet it all on your business if you’re struggling to pay your bills.
“It don’t mean your ideas ain’t good. It don’t mean that maybe one day you could be a good entrepreneur, but you have proven to yourself and everybody else that you owe money to that it ain’t working right now,” she added.
Brown’s two-minute post has received nearly 300,000 views on X and lots of comments from people who think it’s not the message that Black people – especially Black women – need to hear right now.
“This comes off a bit tone [deaf]. Have you been paying attention to any news about unemployment at all? 300,000 Black women have been laid off and the number is steadily increasing. Currently, the country has more unemployed people than there are available job openings. It’s easy to say get a job, but how do you get a job if there isn’t one to get?? Right now, all some people have is their talents and the only way they can make money is by being self employed. This isn’t inspirational,” wrote someone on TikTok..
Another commenter agreed, saying Brown’s message is discouraging for people trying to turn their hustle into something sustainable.
“This message is very discouraging and not helpful to people trying to do something instead of getting a job. There are no jobs,” wrote someone else on TikTok.
But some people are confused at why Brown is catching heat for keeping it real.
“Wait is THIS what ppl are so mad about? THIS? This ain’t nothin but responsibility and common sense,” wrote someone on TikTok.
Another X user echoed Brown’s advice that you may have to put your dreams on hold if you aren’t making ends meet.
“Entrepreneurship is not for everyone and definitely not for the faint of heart,” wrote someone who said he saw nothing wrong with Auntie Tab’s advice. “It’s not easy being your own boss and your only employee.. right now. Nothing wrong with clocking a 9-5 or overnight shift while you work and pray until you are standing firm in your purpose with both feet planted instead of straddling between dreams and reality.”
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