3 Easy Moves To Build A More Inclusive Startup
How small businesses can support the Black Lives Matter movement and champion minorities through intentional decision making.
The cruel deaths of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and Breonna Taylor have been hard to process.
I’m happy to see so many businesses step up and declare their support for the Black Lives Matter movement and put money towards the cause. I’d like to see us do better though, and I think that small businesses can step up to the plate in a big way.
Rather than reactively supporting these movements after the damage has been done, I’d like more businesses to welcome minority communities into their worlds so that we can truly make an impact from the ground up.
Small businesses may not have the discretionary spending power to donate or help raise money for the cause, but there are ways that business owners can still embody the change that they want to see through intentional decision making.
Imagery Choices
This is the most visible way you can be a champion for more inclusivity. How many of the photos in your IG feed, blog, website or other social media channels include models and stock photos of non-white individuals?
As an Asian-American, I always feel a tinge of isolation when I come across a brand that doesn’t have a non-white model anywhere on their platforms.
I don’t fully feel welcome to engage with a brand on a deeper level if I feel like they don’t see me. As an Asian-American, I hardly have the hard end of the stick, this problem is much worse for Black and Latino communities.
If you want to be thoughtful about the imagery choices you make in your marketing, I invite you to check out stock imagery platforms like Death To The Stock Photo that have an extensive portfolio of images with people of color in it.
The images you choose to represent your brand to the outside world speaks volumes about not only how you see your brand, but how you see your customers.
Hire Freelancers From Diverse Talent Pools
Not many small businesses are in a place to hire full-time staff, but many of us do work with freelancers. Whenever your business contracts out a job or utilizes the services of a supplier or vendor, I strongly encourage that you actively seek out a diverse pool of candidates.
Rather than posting project descriptions and waiting for candidates to come to you, it is important for you to share your project with diverse talent pools. Depending on your industry, you can easily research business networks and communities that gather minority candidates and tap into those when hiring out.
Posting your job on LinkedIn and specifically asking people in your network for diverse applicants is also another easy way.
Additionally, you can always put a line in your project posts that lets diverse candidates know that you want them and encourage them to apply.
Interact With Diverse Communities
Whenever you engage with external communities for your business, a great way to expand your reach to more diverse populations is by actively attending their events and platforms.
If you are someone who goes on the podcast, conference, speaking or networking circuits for your business, I encourage you to seek out ones led by black and other minority leaders and/or communities.
This is an easy way to expose your business to the conversations minority communities are having and mindfully integrate them into your business where appropriate. It’s also a great way to receive thoughtful feedback from these communities about your business’ products and services and how it can be more welcoming to them.
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