Last week I attended a Small Business Townhall put on by helloseven.co

It featured 6 speakers and discussed how small business owners can move forward after the #amplifymelanatedvoices campaign. It was a question on a lot of people’s minds. How do you balance promoting your own business while committing to continuing to work against racism and towards change?

I went into the townhall feeling really overwhelmed. During the campaign, it had been relatively easy to mute my own content. I loved digging through all the resources and black-owned accounts that folks were sharing. The list of accounts I engage with here and on Facebook has been greatly diversified. But how to start again to incorporate my own voice and content? How do I make my own content anti-racist without appropriating BIPOC voices?

One of the speakers was Erika Hines. In her segment, one of the ideas that she stresses (and is something she claims as her own, so if using it, please give credit) is the idea of “humble and ready to fumble”.

It’s the idea that we will not be perfect. Or anything close. And that’s okay. We will fumble. We will make mistakes. But, if we stay humble, we can learn from those mistakes and continue to grow forward.

There were a lot of other things discussed in the town hall, but this has been what has stuck in my head the most. So I have this pinned by my computer in my office to remind me. I find it empowering as it gives me that push to try without needing to find that (unattainable) perfection.

As we go forward, I will be posting more of the content I posted before. But my feed isn’t going to return to being all product shots. I will be more vocal in my solidarity. And, in turn, I will make mistakes. If you are willing and able, I invite your call ins and call outs humbly.

With love, K-Rae