Mixing Personal Beliefs and Business
By
photo credit: gabriel amadeus
The question I pose is this….should a blogger post about their personal beliefs such as politics and religion etc. on their
business blog? Or should the expression of personal beliefs be kept separate from business?
Granted our personal belief system affects the way we do business. Personal values such as honesty and our work ethic obviously carry over into every aspect of our lives.
But as a customer do you really care that a business owner is of a particular religious faith or political party? Or are you more concerned about getting a quality product or service at a fair price? As a business owner do you really care that a customer is a member of a particular religious organization? Or are you more concerned with being treated respectfully and getting paid for the value you provide?
As a business owner do you want to run the risk of losing business because a potential customer doesn’t like your political beliefs?
Speaking as a business owner I feel that my personal beliefs are just that…personal. We have a storefront and I certainly do not express my world views to people that come in. They didn’t come in the store hear me spout off about what I think. They are in the store to do business and get their needs met. And I certainly don’t care about a their politics or religion. Be respectful and pay me…that’s what I care about.
I use my blog in the same manner. You don’t come to The Blog Builder Guy to learn what I think of the nation’s economic situation, you come here to learn about blogging and how it can benefit you. If I thought people cared about what I think, I’d have a personal blog where I could bore them with my views on the world’s problems.
This is a hot topic around here and I’d like to know what your thoughts are.
[...] original here: Mixing Personal Beliefs and Business | The Blog Builder Guy Post a [...]
As a business owner, I try to keep my personal opinions to myself as I do not want to alienate a potential customer simply because we disagree on a topic that has nothing to do with my product. Doing business in this economy is hard enough without giving customers another reason not to shop with you!
I do not have a problem with anything that other people do or believe in as long as they do not try to force their beliefs on me. That being said, as a customer, I am turned off by companies who outwardly display their political or religious beliefs even if it is a statement or position that I agree with. I feel that I am there for your product and/or service, not to hear if you like Obama or not or what God you believe in. I have removed myself as a fan (on facebook) from a business that would send out messages about unrelated political happenings.
If your blog is just an extension of your business, then it should be just that… business.
Anything at all controversial stays off the business blogs and websites. I have very strong opinions about some things, but I have personal outlets for those. Even then I have to be careful because my name is so associated with the businesses.
I am a little different than some because I don't own the businesses that I represent, so there's an additional level of separation that must be maintained because my opinions are not always necessarily the same as those who sign my paycheck and own the business. So that also plays into what I say and how I say it.
found your site on del.icio.us today and really liked it.. i bookmarked it and will be back to check it out some more later
Thanks and come back often!
Keep up the good work, I like your writing.