Taking A Stand Is Good For Business
The Saturday Huddle is a weekly column that features opinion, analysis and reflections on Huddle stories, podcasts and business news in the region. This week, Halifax staff writer Trevor Nichols shares his thoughts on small business people taking stands on important issues in the community. Huddle editor Mark Leger will return next week.
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about what it means for a business to be a part of a community.
The record store on our street or coffee shop next to our office were always parts of our lives, but in the past often in a very limited, even transactional way.
We bought our coffee, chatted with our favourite barista for a few minutes, and moved on. We looked fondly upon our local haunts but probably didn’t think much about them.
That’s not really the case anymore.
Today, small businesses are a part of our communities in much more fundamental ways. We care what the owner of our favourite bakery thinks about climate change; we choose the restaurant that pays a living wage.
More and more, we expect businesses to use their platforms to be a voice in their communities. We want them to take a stand.
The bravest business owners are doing that. As it turns out, being a good community member is good for business.
This week, I spoke to Kourosh Rad of The Garden restaurant in Halifax about requiring proof of vaccination from his staff. His decision, he said, was rooted in a deep desire to keep his community safe.
Related: Halifax Restaurant Will Required Staff To Be Vaccinated
He told me he’s watched friends and family in Iran die from Covid-19, wishing they had access to a vaccine. So, when people who have easy, free access to it refuse, it’s like a slap in the face.
He said his community kept his business going during the pandemic and that he wanted to pay them back. He thought his vaccine mandate was a way to show leadership, create a safer community and push some positive change.
He didn’t mention the possible consequences for his business until I asked.
More and more, I’m seeing small business owners — and it’s always small business owners leading the way on this stuff, it seems — take actions not because they think it’s best for business, but because they think it’s best for their communities.
They’re not scared to piss off a whole bunch of potential customers to call out a politician or police officer for what they feel is unacceptable behavior.
And they’re not just doing it with mild corporate statements or a logo in their profile pic: they’re taking real actions, they’re using harsh words.
We saw this happen last week when Halifax Regional Police descended on unhoused Haligonians to force them from temporary shelters on municipal property.
The police’s show of force sparked violent confrontations with protestors.
Related: Protestors Clash With Police Over Housing Crisis Shelters
As shocking videos of the violence flooded in, some local businesses took strong public stances condemning police violence and political inaction.
Port City Coffee called out the “embarrassing display of non-action from Halifax council and shameful brutal action by Halifax police.”
The Dairy Bar blasted the “lack of restraint, respect, and dignity our city’s police force had towards peaceful protestors.”
Those are incendiary takes for a local business. And both must have paid some price for it.
Lots of people agreed with HRM’s order to remove the shelters. Many are firm supports of the police. They’re all potential customers that will probably never visit those businesses because of what they said. But for every boycotter, there will also be people who seek them out because they appreciate their moral backbone.
Months ago, commercial fishers attacked and harassed Mi’kmaw fishers trying to carry out their moderate livelihood fishery. Dartmouth cocktail and wine bar Dear Friend pulled lobster rolls from its menu as a sign of support and pledged to donate to “Indigenous front-liners who are protecting their land and water against colonial violence.”
The move cost the restaurant: a torrent of negative online reviews flooded in from people furious with the decision.
But Dear Friend co-owner Matt Boyle said the hate “paled in comparison” to the positive support he’d received.
This week, Rad had a similar experience. After his vaccine announcement, The Garden was targeted with online hate and lost hundreds of Instagram followers. But he also heard from tons of folks who were making a special effort to show up.
We’re all familiar with the “don’t piss anyone off” corporate strategy most big brands live by. Desperate to cling to every ounce of market share, they avoid saying or doing anything that might offend anyone.
Once, it was only the bravest business owners who would put their livelihoods on the line to call out bad actors. Today, you could work it into your business plan.
Rad, Boyle, and other shrewd business owners have realized they don’t need to live by the old “play it safe” corporate dogma. They understand people want to see businesses use their platforms for good—and that we’ll go out of our way to support the ones that do.
It still takes guts to potentially alienate so many customers by taking a stance, but I love that those who do can now be financially rewarded.
As Rad said about his vaccine mandate: “it’s a good human decision. But it’s a good business decision, too.”
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