I want to give some encouragement to the folks out there who would rather not have racists & bigots as customers, but are a bit afraid to say it online, because oh yikes what if it hurts your business.

Because it is scary! But there's a trick to it, and I want to share.

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There are two possible options.

If you're early in building your audience, just start saying this stuff now. Be really clear about your values.

If you don't want racists for customers say so.

If you don't want bigots as customers, say so.

Let your values show.

If someone sees you saying 'I don't want to do business with white supremacists' and they get upset and decide not to follow you/subscribe to your stuff/buy from you because of that, you won! You avoided having a racist customer! That is the best possible outcome!

You will absolutely be happier in the long run if your customer base is made up of folks who share your values, even if in the short run that means you don't click with some potential customers.

Specialize. Specialize in people who have the same moral standards you do.

Now, what if you've been around longer and have a bigger audience and weren't as clear about this early on? If that's the case, you probably have some customers who have different values (translation, you have some racist customers)?

This is a bit harder, but you can handle it!

The general approach is the same. Go ahead and start saying what your values are, start saying you don't want bigots as customers, start saying you won't tolerate white supremacy.

And know that you're going to have some folks in your audience who get mad.

They're mad because they thought you were safe for them.

They're mad because they thought you felt the same way they do.

And when you make it clear that you are not safe for them, that you do not feel the same way, some of them will act out.

And you'll probably have some feelings when that happens (either about what they say as they flounce away, or about the fact that they felt safe with you in the first place).

And that's ok! You can have your feelings!

But the trick is to keep making your values clear, and to do it frequently enough that those folks see themselves out. Because every time you say "I don't want to do business with bigots," a chunk of the people who are offended by that will leave.

And every time a chunk of them leave, your remaining audience will be made up of a higher percentage of people who share your values.

And that is the goal! That's a better audience! That is the desired outcome! You win!

But what, I hear you asking, about my business? Won't it go under if I tell the racists to go away?

I can't make any promises, but I bet not. I bet that a bunch of your audience feels the way you do. I bet they'll like you more if you're clear about your values.

And remember how I said you probably have some racist customers who are your customers because they think you agree with them? Because they feel safe with you? And how that felt really gross?

Yeah, well that goes both ways.

There are probably people who aren't in your audience now because they're not sure how you feel, they're not sure if you're safe. And if you make your values clear, they'll feel safer. And they might well become customers.

And that's not the reason to do it. You do it because it's the right thing to do.

But if fear of losing customers is the reason you don't say 'I don't do business with racists,' it might help to know that saying it will probably get you as many customers as it costs you.

Every time I've said it I get a few folks pouting or having tantrums (they'll never outright say 'I'm a racist, why are you mean to me' they'll say 'why does everything have to be so political' or 'why can't we just stick to knitting' or 'why can't we all just get along').

But I've had massively more people saying 'thank you for making it clear what you believe.' Saying 'I support you.' Saying 'this makes me excited to buy from you.'

And I have new customers saying they saw what I said and decided to start buying my work.

Every. Single. Time.

Being open about your values is how you end up with an audience & a customer base that share them. And I cannot begin to tell you how wonderful that is.

So go ahead and say the thing. Know it might be a little rocky (especially if it's the first time). But it's totally worth it!