The Owner-Founder Equation

There is one professional context in which appearance is all but irrelevant. Take a look at Bill Gates. He is a nerd. He has an awkward appearance and demeanor. He came across as petulant and childish in his deposition in the Microsoft antitrust trial. Yet I would say he did pretty well for himself. He is the greatest professional success story of the late twentieth century.

When you are the founder and owner of a business, it does not make much difference what you look like. I call this the "owner/ founder exception" to the rule that personal appearance is important to becoming professionally secure. Jack Schmitt, the car dealer we met earlier, agrees. Being the owner, or the son or daughter of the owner, renders personal appearance of minimal importance in the workplace.

Personal appearance is only important when others control your professional fate. If you build a company from the ground up, therefore, your success or failure depends little, if any, upon how you look. Of course, if you are a total slob, it might turn off potential customers to a degree. Even then, owners often hire others as their managers or "front men or women," according to Schmitt. But for the most part, business owners come in all shapes, sizes, and demeanors. If, therefore, you are "appearance challenged," you should give serious consideration to running your own show. Your odds of achieving major success may be higher on your own than they would be in a big organization.