Anti-Capitalist Business Practices

The choice to leave my full time job permanently in order to raise my children was a relatively easy choice at the time. I was clear in my resolve that I didn’t want to give up the limited time with my children while they were little. I just couldn’t bear to be away from them for so many hours every day.

But as my kids have gotten bigger and a bit more independent, and the financial needs of our family necessitate me working, I’ve slowly and steadily been exploring the winding path of self-employment. And boy is it winding.

There have been plenty of ups and plenty of downs, and lots of internal pep talks and self-doubt. While I am far from feeling like I’ve succeeded, there are some real benefits to forging my own path in business that keep me excited and engaged. Not least of which is the fact that I get to define success on my own terms, according to my personal values.

Since launching my online training work tentatively in August 2020 I have made a commitment to align my business practices with my anti-racist and anti-capitalist values. (You can read a little bit about my anti-racist practices in an earlier post.)

Some people believe that it is contradictory to consider any business as anti-capitalist. But the truth is, there has been commerce in human society for much longer than we have practiced capitalism. And while some of my smartest friends are deeply invested in capitalism and could probably debate circles around me espousing what they believe to be the benefits, I believe that it is time for us to explore alternatives to the business-as-usual approach in order to create a more just, equitable, and healthy world.

Modern capitalism is exploitive and extractive, on an individual and global scale. Businesses that get the greatest return on their investment (ie. pay their workers the least while bringing in the highest profit) are the most “successful.” With very few exceptions, this type of success does not take into account the collateral human and environmental damage of this exploitation.

The most successful individuals are those with privilege who can benefit from the accumulation of wealth and exploitation of workers. And for those without privilege, the only way to survive is to trade time for money, with little to no accommodation for even the most basic human needs like time for rest, family, self-care, or community.

I am disillusioned with this system and wish for a more humane society, for myself, for my family, and for the larger community. While I have limited ability to affect change on a larger social level, I can strive to embody a new way of doing business within my own sphere of influence.

But what does that mean? It would be disingenuous to claim that I have it all figured out. Ha! Most days I feel like I have very little figured out. But as I take baby steps forward in my business, I continue to clarify and articulate the values that are important to me as an anti-capitalist entrepreneur.

Here are some of the things that I am striving toward in this effort:

• My business needs to support my family. Both in terms of financial support, but also in terms of my schedule. I am careful to schedule my work so that I can still spend a majority of my time with my children and my husband.

• I have unsubscribed from the false sense of urgency that working under capitalism fosters. I am learning to value the slow unfolding of my work, even though that isn’t always easy to do!

• The quality of my relationships within my work matters. That means that I strive to be transparent and trustworthy with clients, students, and collaborators. I do not use fear tactics or manufactured scarcity to push people into spending money. I am also appropriately up front about my boundaries. I do not foster resentment by overpromising or agreeing to work that isn’t aligned with my needs and capacity.

• I understand that I hold privilege relative to many other people, and I strive to use that privilege for the greater good. My objectives in business go beyond simply financial security and include increasing access and professional opportunities for historically marginalized individuals.

As I mentioned above, my ability to clearly articulate and embody my anti-capitalist principles and values is a work in progress. So this is just a small portion of what I’m striving toward. Maybe I will come back to this space to share more thoughts on this topic as they become clearer. For now, will you share some of your thoughts on capitalism, anti-capitalism, and business? Have you explored any of these ideas in your own work?

Eulogy for Strechy the hamster

Our hamster died recently. Strechy McFlatButt, as she was affectionately named because of how she could stretch out her body and flatten, was our first family pet and very much loved. She was a very small dwarf hamster, with a sweet personality and the softest fur. And my children loved her.

Both of my kids are tentative around animals. Over the year and a half that Strechy was with us, they became more comfortable petting her and holding her. They giggled while watching her run on her wheel, or peek her head in and out of various hiding places. She was a gentle, joyful, and constant presence.

When we first discovered that she had died, there were big feelings of sadness. Lots of tears and crying. Over the next few days, the intensity of the emotions began to dissipate as we continued to share happy memories of Stretchy. We sang songs about her, and tried to imagine what her afterlife might be like. What is heaven for a hamster?

We all knew that Stretchy would die someday, and that it would probably happen sooner than we wished. Hamsters don’t have a very long life span, after all. I am so grateful for the tiny creature who became part of our family and gave us an opportunity to practice so many important life experiences, like love, caring for others, and processing grief.

Rest in Peace, little Stretchy.

Just because it feels uncomfortable, doesn't mean it's bad.

For some reason the universe has been delivering a series of challenging interpersonal conflicts in my life over the past few months. None of them are super serious, meaning my life circumstances are not impacted by the outcome. But I’ve chosen to end some affiliations and relationships as a result. Even though the stakes have been relatively low, meaning I am not facing a loss of income or a major rift in the integrity of my family, each of these conflicts has a significant emotional impact.

There was a time when I used to feel that being a conflict resolution professional experiencing conflict was ironic. Or that I should somehow know how to anticipate, circumvent, and avoid conflict in my own life. After all, I teach people effective communication and conflict resolution skills!

Now I have a different perspective.

I’ve learned to genuinely embrace the concept that conflict is an opportunity. For me, it’s been an opportunity to find CLARITY, ALIGNMENT, and DEEPER CONNECTIONS.

The mindfulness practice I’ve brought to conflict has strengthened my ability to witness my emotions and experience without reactivity, which allows me to clarify my needs and values. The conflicts themselves helped me to gain the CLARITY to decide that something needed to change. In these cases, that meant exiting the group or the relationship, which is not an easy decision. I’ve felt sad and disappointed, but calm and resolved nonetheless.

With greater clarity, and less reactivity, I’ve been able to choose ways to respond that align with my values and how I want to show up in my relationships. Speaking up for my feelings, experiences, needs, and values isn’t always easy. It takes quite a bit of courage and internal pep talking to speak assertively and truthfully in conflict. But when I do, I feel greater ALIGNMENT and integrity.

From this place of alignment, I have found pathways to deeper CONNECTIONS. Relationships that are worth investing in can support the challenge of conflict. The energy and effort of saying the difficult but necessary truth can have a generative effect - creating deeper intimacy and understanding.

And although I am a professional mediator, and although I help other people bravely address conflict, I still get those butterflies in my stomach and that lump in my throat when I know a conflict conversation is on the horizon. That is not a comfortable feeling.

Being a mediator has not necessarily made conflict more comfortable for me. Instead I have learned that just because it feels uncomfortable, that doesn’t mean it’s bad.