How to Stand Up for Your Values as a Business Owner When Everything Feels Divided

It’s no secret that we’re trying to run businesses in one of the most divided times in our country’s history. Women’s rights and value are questioned every day, all while we’re each trying to figure out what the heck it means to be a woman and a human and how to show up for our families and our communities.

Running a business is one of the few places where you get to write the rules. You decide who you work with, what you tolerate, where your money goes, and what your name stands for. In a moment when so much feels divided and out of your control, that's real power, and it's worth using on purpose.

Here are some tips for how to do it without burning out, imploding your brand, or feeling like you have to comment on every headline (when sometimes you need to protect your own peace).

Name What You Actually Stand For

It’s time for a values audit. The words on your “About Me” page hold value, educate consumers on what kind of business they are supporting, and are worth revisiting regularly. Your values also define your business boundaries and are a good place to fall back on when dealing with tricky clients or partnerships.

Try this: Write down three values, then next to each one, write what it looks like on an ordinary Tuesday. If you can't picture the behavior, the value isn't finished yet. If you're stuck, we have some great book recommendations below to help.

Decide in Advance When You'll Speak Publicly

You don't owe the internet a statement on every news story. You also don't have to stay silent to stay professional. What helps is deciding your filter before the next headline hits, so you're not drafting a post at 11pm with your stomach in knots.

Ask yourself three questions:

Does this directly affect my customers or clients?
Does it affect my community?
Does it touch something I've already said I stand for?

If the answer to any of those is yes, you have permission to speak. If it's no, you have permission to sit it out and put your energy elsewhere. Both are legitimate choices.

When you do speak, keep it short and tied to action: what you believe, what you're doing about it, and how your audience can help.

Put Your Values Into Policies, Not Just Posts

A post lasts a day. A policy lasts as long as your business does. This is where values stop being a feeling and start being something people can see.

A few places to start:

Events: publish a code of conduct, name a point person guests can go to, and make sure everyone has a safe way home.
Client contracts: add a clause that lets you end the relationship over harassment or abusive behavior.
Hiring and contractors: ask how candidates handle conflict and boundaries, not just what skills they bring.
Sponsors and partners: before you say yes, ask whether you'd be proud to have their name next to yours on a hard day.

Policies also protect you from making decisions in the heat of the moment. When something happens, you're not debating what to do. You're following through on what you’ve already decided.

Use Your Money and Your Referrals on Purpose

Every dollar your business spends is a small vote. Buying from women-owned businesses, hiring women, and sending referrals to women you trust is one of the most direct ways to shift who holds power in your community.

Try a quick audit this month. Pick two new recurring expenses you could move to a woman-owned business. Maybe it’s your car washes or office cleaners (hello Happy Car Club and Simply Clean Spokane). Maybe starting printing with a local, woman-owned printer (I’m only telling you I use Typecraft because I really love you and she’s my top-secret favorite).

Consider donating a portion of a sale, an event ticket, or a month's revenue to a local organization that supports survivors of sexual assault. Might we suggest our friends at YWCA Spokane who work day in and day out to support individuals experiencing domestic violence.

Expect Pushback and Decide How You'll Handle It

Standing for something means some people won't like it. You might lose a few followers, get a nasty comment on social media (I definitely have), or hear from a customer who disagrees. That doesn't mean you did it wrong, it just means your business has a point of view.

You don't need everyone. You need the right people, and the right people are drawn to businesses that know who they are. Women before you have built loyal customer bases by being willing to let the wrong customers walk away.

Set a simple plan for comments before you post. Respond once, calmly, to genuine questions. Delete anything abusive. Don't argue in the threads, and don't read them at night. Sometimes taking a beat before responding or asking a friend about what you’re going to say can help too.

Remember You're Not Doing This Alone

It's easy to feel small when the world’s problems are so vast and heavy. But I always say life is like a mosaic: the difference you make to the little pieces around you is like a ripple effect from one piece to the next. Every time you set a boundary with a client, hold the line with a partner, send business to another woman, hire women, and speak names in rooms others are not in, you’re building a community where women are believed and backed.

And that, my friends, is the whole reason Vested exists.

Bonus: Six Books Worth Your Time

If you want to go deeper, these are worth a spot on your nightstand or on your headphones. Head to Auntie’s Bookstore or shop their website to support local while you’re at it.

Rage Becomes Her by Soraya Chemaly. A case for women's anger as something useful rather than something to manage away. Read this one when you need a reminder that frustration can fuel real action.
Invisible Women by Caroline Criado Perez. A data-packed look at how the world is designed around men, from medical research to car safety to office thermostats. You’ll be getting your little boys to remember the stats like me.
Dare to Lead by Brené Brown. The practical leadership pick, with a values exercise that pairs perfectly with step one of this post.
Let My People Go Surfing by Yvon Chouinard. The Patagonia founder on building a company that holds its values under pressure, even when it costs something. A classic for anyone who wants her business to mean more than its bottom line.
Know My Name by Chanel Miller. The memoir from the woman at the center of the 2016 Stanford case, written after she stepped out from behind the name "Emily Doe." It's beautifully written and deeply moving. A gentle heads-up that it's an intense read.
She Said by Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey. The New York Times reporters behind the Harvey Weinstein investigation walk through how they got women on the record. It reads like a thriller and shows exactly how institutions protect powerful people, and what it takes to change that.