Contributed by Lauren Messiah, former president of EO Los Angeles, and the founder and CEO of Lauren Messiah Inc. She currently serves EO as president of EO OneWorld, a virtual membership platform with the goal of creating a more socially conscious, culturally diverse and inclusive experience for all EO members. Because a diverse EO is a strong EO. Lauren shared the following realizations from her entrepreneurial journey:

(Photo credit: Chris Beyer)

There is a moment in every entrepreneur’s life when you realize you are “unemployable.” Not due to a lack of intelligence, but because we’re like wild horses that can’t be tamed. We have to go off on our own and do our own thing; it’s the only way for us to thrive.

My unemployable moment arrived in 2004. After graduating college with a degree in fashion design—it was always my dream to work in fashion—I experienced the rudest of awakenings: Earning a degree did not guarantee a job in your industry.

That was news to me. I thought if I did the time, got good grades, and graduated, I’d have my pick of the litter when it came to employment. Not so. I ended up working retail at the mall where I shopped as a teenager. 

I was not living the dream.