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How do you build a retail/food business that all different kinds of people feel comfortable in?

Asked by Smashley (12573points) February 18th, 2023

The car parts store and scrap yard feel like Republican businesses. The natural food store is full of Democrats. Bars and restaurants seem even more polarized in their clientele.

I do business with all kinds of people, and a certain amount of code switching makes interaction smoother, but I’m still often made to feel uncomfortable. In fact, I have an ongoing list in my head of places I’ll probably never eat or shop at.

One day, I’ll have a place of my own, and I wonder a lot about how businesses signal to people from all walks of life that they are welcome. The population here is, I believe, too sparse for any one segment of the population to solely support a successful business.

How do you avoid the pitfalls of perception and stereotyping, and draw all sorts of people to your business, in these uncertain times?

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