The new human resources:
resourced humans.
Cool, thoughtful people oriented around justice and equitable change have always been awe-inspiring to us, and for years we’ve tried to align our voices and our business practices in ways that have helped us lean toward dismantling oppressive ideologies and systems within ourselves and at work.
But in all honesty, we didn’t know what all could be possible, and we’re always still learning. So much of “business as usual,” even in the vast majority of values-centered creative businesses, adopts exploitative practices unknowingly and unquestioningly because most of us can’t fully see what there is to question in the first place. These modes of working and relationships can be so invisible that even the best intentions can still lead to less-than-humane outcomes.
Because of that invisibility and definitely some measure of our own privilege, it took each of us longer than we care to admit to realize how anticapitalism really fit in and what it even was. What we needed were resources to help us see that anticapitalism wasn’t just some vague, intellectual concept “out there,” but one that really mattered in an immediate, boots-on-the-ground sense.
We needed to understand what anticapitalism looked like in practice to know that it was within our reach.
For us, anticapitalism = pro-humanity.
It turns out anticapitalism can just start with treating humans like their human needs matter. It can look like all of us having enough is a bigger priority than a few who are overabundant and far too many who are underserved — that we can get behind. We want to offer transparency for anyone who feels the same and wants to learn more about how we can get closer to that reality.
When you read our words, when we talk with you, when you tell someone about us, when you give us your dollars, each relational exchange is backed by these beliefs and our anticapitalist practices.
Before we get into the details of our structures and policies, here’s the high view of anticapitalism at work in our business. We draw on and are in dialogue with these concepts to make sure what we do is aligned with what we say matters.
Respecting the finite resources of our labor as a team, honoring time, bodies, and nervous systems
Creating structures to compensate us enough to live beyond survival and toward enoughness that feels like plenty
Enacting exchanges that support financial equity and consider the impacts of privilege and marginalized experience
Being mindful about sourcing our supplies and systems, where we give our dollars, and reducing harmful impacts where possible
Keeping relationships and human needs at the forefront of our decision-making
Orienting our business this way is only one part of a deeply imperfect practice, but we choose to try.
Imperfect action is 100% better than no action.
Anticapitalist exchange
We still live under oppressive systems and to varying degrees all of us still need to rely on money to survive and navigate systems that should provide fundamental care and either do not or charge a premium if they do. We don’t want to be any more a part of that extraction or exploitation than we already have to, so we choose to create structures that subvert the status quo.
Our communication here is inspired by Nic Antoinette’s Anti-Capitalist Biz Policies, which we’re grateful to have as one model toward more equitable ways of relating, and we continue to draw on and practice these concepts with learning from anti-capitalist, anti-oppression educators.
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Radical generosity is a cornerstone of how we want to treat each other well, and as part of that, we want to deconstruct the idea that reciprocal, relational exchange always has to involve “equal” exchange on both sides or that money has to change hands to make the exchange worthwhile. We intentionally provide free offerings and low-cost offerings that some might charge more for because we believe value isn’t always about a dollar sign.
Some of these free offerings have ideas to “pay it forward” that don’t necessarily cost money but instead encourage action to come from a place of autonomy, not obligation. Gift economy = no strings attached gifting.
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Quarterly donations, redistribution, and reparations are built into our business model to redistribute 5% of our gross revenue to organizations, causes, and mutual aid opportunities. Every quarter, each team member chooses a cause, meaning that at least twelve organizations receive redistributed funds per year. As our revenue grows, we will continually revisit our percentage to see how we can expand our impact.
These funds go toward organizations that support Palestinian liberation, Black, Indigenous, and AAPI causes, trans rights, and environmental advocacy, and we individually distribute mutual aid on a more direct basis.
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Universal wages mean everyone on our team is materially taken care of, regardless of their life circumstances. We understand that even if more effort is made, or less, it’s not a reflection of that person’s worth to be able to have their needs met. Yes, that means even if someone on our team works fewer hours, they get paid the same salary as someone who works more.
This discrepancy is not troubling to us, because time spent or effort given does not always indicate the value of output or impact, and we want to dismantle ableist ideologies that dictate everyone can and should work at maximum productivity and sameness.
The contractors we hire also make the same amount as we do and are compensated at a rate based on the “enough” number we have calculated across our team to meet our baseline needs.
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For us, benefits are not about work incentives, they’re about allowing work to make life easier and more enjoyable to live, and to give that life resources to amplify our ability to take community action outside of work. We plan to prioritize fully funded health benefits including dental and vision, retirement options with a company match, generous parental leave, and medical leave as soon as we’re able to. We are working toward being able to add employee benefits that include both a personal/professional learning stipend and a tech stipend to foster new opportunities for creative growth and the tools to support it.
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We cannot tell you how much we really love our work, and the purpose, meaning, and creative expression it gives us. And. We are not living for our work, and our bodies are not built to live for our work. Our work is to make our lives better, period. We have a four-day work week, spacious vacation time, and menstrual leave and pain policies so we can play and be the human animals that we are.
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Profit sharing first looks like shared salary raises for everyone on our team to meet their “enough number” (survival plus thriving) and increasing our funding for community-giving, then goes toward funding our employee benefits, reducing working hours if needed without reducing pay, and increasing our funding for community-giving.
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Where there’s truth, there’s accountability, and where there’s accountability, there is the potential for liberation and change. A lot of exploitative practices in businesses can happen simply because there’s very little visibility and not always enough information to take recourse — but the inverse (thankfully!) is that a lot of equitable practices can become more possible through transparency. That’s why we talk about our processes and our numbers in our business, despite it being a deeply vulnerable act. What we show you is sometimes flawed and human and nearsighted because we’re learning all the time, but we also want to make it clear that acting imperfectly and talking about it is the only way we’re going to learn from each other. May our vulnerability (and our mistakes) become your next triumph.
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Marketing has the opportunity to create environments for learning, relationship building, and understanding that allows needs to be met and fosters mutual care. We want to respect your ability to discern what’s right for you with consent, not coercion, so you won’t see us use urgency tactics or human psychology tricks to increase sales. We communicate what we offer, and trust whatever choice you make is the right one.
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All of our offerings are rooted in sliding scale pricing. We have a reduced community rate as one way to acknowledge systemic inequities based on life circumstances, marginalized identities, and current financial hardships, and this reduced rate is supplemented by those with financial privilege, who invest in offerings at a pay-it-forward rate on the higher end of the scale.
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Financial means should not be a barrier of access, especially because systemic oppression makes it so not everyone has access to resources and are kept in perpetual cycles that keep it that way. To acknowledge this, all non-service-based offerings (courses, paid essays, digital downloads, etc.) have a free or full scholarship option, no questions asked, no income verification needed.
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It’s common practice for creative businesses to charge a premium for their one-on-one time. We’re all about adequate, even abundant, compensation for labor, including our own, but we don’t want to create additional barriers that keep our “high-level” offerings out of reach for anyone with less financial means. Shift Sessions are pay-what-you’re-able to offer an opportunity for one-on-one service at a more accessible rate.
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Our payment plans are always the same amount as one-time payments. Even though it’s “industry standard” to put a markup on payment plans, that’s like literally taxing people who have less money right now just because they need extra time to get it, and giving a break on that tax to the people who already have the financial circumstances and privilege to pay upfront. It’s a backward pricing model, so you won’t see that here.
Craving more detail about these policies behind closed doors?
Financial Transparency: Numbers Edition
The numbers in our business exist for a reason, including income goals and offerings that are based on calculations of our own financial needs and also considerations of how we want to use money as a resource that can contribute to strengthening wellbeing, relationships, and capacity in the world we live in. We do a lot of both/and maneuvering to make sure we have a baseline of revenue for what we need, that we’re not apologetic about factually needing what we do, and that we’re able to receive income that allows us to significantly leverage money as a resource for what we care about.
Want to know all that goes into our rate-finding process and where our dollars go?
Relating and exchanging from a place of mutual welfare, sustainability, and enoughness.
As a word, “anticapitalism” can sound radical, maybe even combative, but we don’t believe it’s radical to act like people and resources are worthy of care instead of exploitation.
It’s not scary, it’s just caring!
Anticapitalism is a response to the premise of capitalism, which is based on extraction and exploitation in pursuit of growth without limits. It is simply the acknowledgment that alternatives exist and that these oppressive systems aren’t a given we have to accept at face value.
We are the smallest microcosm with a small impact, and these big ideas only happen in small, unsexy ways. But any percentage less exploitation happening is that much less real, impactful harm being done in the world, and any percentage more community care is that much more of the world we want to see becoming a reality.