I’ve had many women come to me in the last year or two and ask me how I’m comfortable using my business platform to talk about politics.
“Aren’t you worried about losing potential clients?” they ask, “What if you offend someone?”
I usually answer with a question of my own: “How can I not talk about politics today?” As a woman, a mother, a business owner and someone who cares about equality for all, politics affects me in every area: human rights, healthcare, money, business and more.
Furthermore, if a potential client is “offended” because I’m exercising my freedom of speech and voicing my opinion on my blog, in an email, a magazine or on a podcast, then that person or brand probably isn’t a client I’d want to work with anyway.
The old adage, “it’s not polite to talk about politics” or “don’t mix politics with business” is done. It’s an ancient relic whose time is up. If you care about women’s rights, reasonable healthcare for all, our climate, equality and safety for marginalized communities, and a better future for our children, then you better talk about – and care about – politics.
I was deeply moved recently when tens of thousands of high school, middle school, and even elementary school students organized across the country and walked out of their classrooms to protest gun violence in schools. These children are doing what millions of adults refuse to do: get involved in politics.
By staging a National School Walk Out Day (and shortly thereafter, March for Our Lives, that drew an estimated 1.2 million people), and letting politicians know that they’ll see them at the polls as soon as they turn 18 (as many of them will before the mid-term elections in November), they are making a powerful statement: No more violence. Not on our watch.
Let’s take inspiration from these children who walked out of their classrooms and into the streets in protest. If kids can take a stand and talk about issues that matter, then we can too, and we must.
As grown-ups running businesses – grown-ups with voices, with products and services to sell, and with the power to influence our tribes and change hearts and minds – now is the moment we all must ask ourselves “What do I stand for?”
Twenty-five years of work as a brand consultant has shown me that when you take a stand – when you communicate who you really are and what you believe – it doesn’t damage your business. Quite the opposite – it strengthens, it clarifies, and it magnetizes more of the right clients, the right investors, and the right opportunities to you.
In the branding and marketing world, there’s a loose statistic that says, “20% of the people will love you, 20% of the people will hate you, and the other 60% just don’t care.” Focus on the 20% who love you, because these are your people.
When you share your values and what you believe with your tribe, you forge a stronger, deeper bond with the people you’re meant to serve. Don’t worry about the people who “don’t get you” or make snide remarks on your social media posts. You’re not meant to work with them anyway.
And don’t ever allow the fear of “losing a potential client” stop you from taking a stand. If you express what you really believe, you’re not going to lose anything. You’re going to gain everything: true fans, a loyal following, and most importantly, the quiet confidence that comes from knowing, “I spoke up. I honored my truth. When the moment of choice arrived, I did the brave thing, not the cowardly thing. And I regret nothing.” No regrets.
Politically correct? That’s so 1998.
I LOVE this!!! Nicely done!!!