Support Your Community: How Businesses Can Lead in a Crisis

I need to preface this email by saying I don’t normally get political in my business newsletters.

Then I need to tell you that I grew up in Minneapolis, MN.

We moved there when I was 5 years old. It’s where I went to grade school and high school, owned my first house, and I consider it my home town.

As I am writing this newsletter, ICE agents have swarmed the Twin Cities metro area. People are scared to leave their homes, regardless of their race, beliefs, or politics.

Over the weekend, a woman named Renee Good was shot and killed at point blank range as she was trying to get away from an ICE agent who was forcing open the door of her car.

This is next level scary. And it’s not at all normal for this city or this state.

I have many friends who live blocks from where Renee Good was shot. Many more are part of the protests and ICE observations going on around the Twin Cities area. They are doing good work, in my opinion, to keep our community safe to the best of their abilities.

Now that I have shown my personal political stripes, I need to share a Facebook post from a friend that sums up why things are unfolding the way they are in Minneapolis.

The second paragraph in this post is what I want to talk about in this week’s Email Marketing Ecosystem newsletter. Taking care of your community.

My friend’s comment about “It’s a Minnesota thing” is real. This is how we treat each other in Minnesota.

You may rail against your neighbor, your child’s friend’s parents, your co-workers for whatever slights you may feel you’ve had slammed against you.

But when it’s the dead of winter and one of them has a car with a dead battery, you pull out your jumper cables (everyone has them) and you jump their car so they can get to work on time. You shovel their sidewalk after a heavy snowfall, especially if you have a snowblower. Heck, you snow-blow for the whole block because power tools are fun!

I can think of numerous times I got stuck in snowbanks and people showed up to help push my car out onto the road. I did the same even more frequently. I checked on neighbors or brought them food if they needed it.

I’ve stopped at accident sites to see if I can help, and had the same kindess returned when I was in trouble. I offered fridge and freezer space to friends who had power outages in their areas, so they didn’t lose hundreds of dollars of groceries during days-long black outs. I helped neighbors’ kids out when they were hurt, even if I didn’t know them well.

In Minnesota, this is who we are. We take care of each other, even if we have personal or political differences.

Why?

Because we all know what Minnesota winters (and Minnesota summers) are like. We know our state’s extremes and how to help ourselves and each other survive them.

It’s just part of being a Minnesotan.

I’m certain this is true in other states and other communities because I’ve seen it. I’ve even benefitted from it when I was a touring musician.

It’s just part of being human. It’s who we are.

This harkens back to last week’s newsletter, which talked about our human superpower that AI can’t replicate. That superpower is our ability to form community.

As a business owner, you form your own community. Which means it’s your responsibility to take care of them when times are tough. This is true regardless of whether they’re your customers, whether you share the same beliefs, or whether they support you in any way, shape, or form.

We are community leaders. We lead by example. The best example we can set is to be there for our communities when they need us.

Last night, I posted this on Facebook.

I may not live in Minnesota anymore but they are still very much part of my community. Many of them have been clients and colleagues. Many more are dear friends from childhood onward. Regardless of politics or other beliefs, I want to support them during a difficult time.

I was rewarded by several comments sharing options to help. I’ll share them at the end of this newsletter for those who are interested.

To me, this is part and parcel of being a good community member, as well as a good business owner and leader. We take care of our people, who in turn, take care of us. It’s a continuous positive cycle.

So I ask you, as a fellow business owner and member of your own community, how do you take care of your community when times get rough?

What do you do to support your people, regardless of whether you agree or disagree with whatever is going on at the moment?

I encourage you to ponder this question, especially in this moment.

Regardless of your beliefs.

Regardless of current politics.

Regardless of what is happening in the world and in your immediate environs.

What can you do to help?

How can you be there for your community?

If I were still in Minneapolis, I admit I’d be one of the people out on the street filming, protesting, and protecting my neighbors. I’d also be bringing food to those who are scared to go out to get it for themselves and helping whoever needs medical treatment or shelter.

Right now, I am living across the country. So I’ll go to protests here and donate to organizations who are doing what they can to support my community.

This is who I am.

If you were in a similar situation, you may choose to do something different.

But please, do something. Show your leadership. Demonstrate that your business supports your community, just as your community supports your business.

It’s kind, it’s compassionate, and ultimately, it’s good for your business and your community.

And if you have friends, family members, clients, or customers in Minnesota, please check on them. It’s rough right now. Even a, “Hello, how are you surviving this? Is there anything I can do to help?” would be welcome.

Now that my personal rant is over, here are the resources I received from my Facebook post. If you feel so inclined, please choose one or more organizations to donate to.

Stand with Minnesota

Immigrant Defense Network

If you’re in the Twin Cities area, here is a linktr.ee list of organizations and resources of all types, including places to volunteer and get trained.

Thank you for letting me rant.

And thank you for being good, supportive members of this community, and of your own communities.

Finally, I took this week’s landscape photo on The Downs, near my sister’s house in the UK. It was the last sunset I got to see before I came back to the U.S.

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