I own a small online/bricks retail shop. Like, REALLY small. But it makes some money. Not a fortune, but a nice amount.
I have a newsletter that goes out to 14,000-ish people once a week. I have a high open rate (24%!) and every time I send one out, my sales triple.
I have always kept my politics out of my business. But in light of the insanity that’s going on, and being inspired by the folks at Penzey’s Spices, Boredwalk, and Planthony, I decided that enough was enough!
Here is the article that I ended my newsletter with yesterday. And below, I’ll post the responses I got. It’s kinda interesting… and makes me oddly hopeful...
We're CLOSED ON MONDAY JANUARY 19th in observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
We will ALSO be CLOSED TUESDAY JANUARY 20th.
Yeah, it's an odd day to be closed. And I really debated about whether or not to say WHY we're closed.
People always say that you shouldn't mix personal stuff with business. I'd say that's probably a good idea most of the time. But some things are too important to stay silent about. And I think this is one of those times.
I believe everybody has a right to their own opinion. The First Amendment of the Constitution says that we not only have that right, but we have the right to express that opinion.
The last time I checked, the First Amendment was still in effect.
In addition, the last time I checked, the penalty for protesting was not death. But that's exactly what happened in Minneapolis last week. A federal agent decided that he was judge and jury, and sentenced a woman to death on the spot.
I don't care if she didn't comply. I don't care if some people don't agree with her lifestyle. I don't care if she was a gang member or a bank robber or an alien from Planet Xenu (never mind that she was none of those things). The penalty for ANY of those crimes is NOT death, and certainly not without due process of law.
So I, and millions of my fellow humans all over the country will be protesting this, and many other offenses against the Constitution and the rights of our fellow Americans. We will be shutting down as much commerce as possible, which means we at EF will be closing our doors for the day.
If you agree with us, that our friends and neighbors should not be gunned down in the streets by unknown masked men, then join us! If you don't agree... well, I will be out there defending YOUR rights as well.
Thanks for listening. Learn More.
And here are the responses I got. All of them. At least so far… Remember, these are just the people who bothered to write.
- Thank you for your Jan 20th statement!
- I'm with you. Thank you for standing up to the Trump machine!
- Your piece about closing on January 20 was so well said. I did not know that was a day of protest. But we will be out on the street as well. Thank you for making a stand! I also enjoy your newsletter every month. Thank you for that as well!
- Stand strong with Lady Liberty. (In the newsletter, I had a photo of the statue of liberty)
- Thank you thank you thank you for being closed on the 20th.
- Your shop just became my go to source!!
- Thank you for speaking out on the unacceptable actions and activity occurring in our country! It is wonderful when a business owner sees making money is not as important as standing up for our constitutional rights!
- Thank you for doing the walkout!
- Thank you for speaking out.
Now, here are all of the MAGA responses, plus my response to them. All two of them.
- I am flexing my first amendment right too. I believe that people have the right to peaceful protest. The key word here is peaceful. If someone was coming toward me with her car, and actually hit me, which is what happened, because the officer sustained injuries, I would also use whatever method I had to stop her. She not only broke the law, she wanted to cause harm to someone. What kind of mind thinks that is okay? Consider stop listening to the noise. Try to clear your mind, and search for your heart.
To which I replied:
“Hi Dawn
I will defend to the death your right to speak your mind, even if I disagree with you.
I promise I will look at all the video again, and I challenge you to do the same.
The officer walked away, didn’t go to the hospital, and felt well enough to call her a “f*cking bitch.”
The wheels of her car were turned away from him.
There are a thousand other things he could have done instead of shooting her. They could have simply taken down her license plate and gone to her home to arrest her.
Thanks for listening.
Cheers!”
And this morning I got this from another customer:
- I choose to never do business with you again.
Delete any future emails.
To which I replied:
“Thanks for letting me know. You may unsubscribe by clicking the link at the bottom of your newsletter.”
It is also interesting to note that neither of these people have any record of purchasing anything at my shop. Hmmm...
In addition, my unsubscribe stats for the month are the lowest they’ve been in a year.
Lesson learned: Don’t be afraid to stand up for what’s right, if you do it in a non-inflammatory way. My fave business guru, Simon Sinek, says “people don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it.” I absolutely believe that’s true. And I believe that the folks who believe what I believe about how to live in the world, will now be even more loyal customers.
And maybe I will have given them a tiny bit of courage to speak out in their own lives as well.
I hope so. Because we need everyone we can get to stand with us!
