Yesterday I learned a lesson. A lesson on taking more care about what I repost.
I have been working through a few things recently and come up against some fairly common challenges for soloprenuers in small, creative businesses. Issues with payment, making ends meet, being sustainable, people not giving you credit for your work – all that wonderful stuff. So when a blog from a well known Scottish company entered my feed about their troubles with trademark infringement I thought “Brilliant – that captures exactly how I’m feeling.” and I reposted it on my page.
Within the hour a good friend got in touch and questioned this decision. And that’s exactly what good friends should do. Question you when they think something you’ve done doesn’t quite sit right. With a gentle shove she quickly made me realise that this company was NOT one I wanted to align my business ideals with and opened my somewhat naive eyes to a rather unscrupulous couple of guys with questionable ethics. I’m so glad she did.
Checking company backgrounds and ethical practices is something I’m normally really good at. I’ve got a long list of ones to avoid and ones I’m happy to give my hard earned money to. I don’t always get it right but I do make the effort to do my research and try to stay on top of things. Yesterday I got caught out and it reminded me how important it is to pay attention. I don’t doubt it will happen again, but I know I can rest assured that my friends will be there to call me on my missteps. And for that, I’m always thankful.