If you own a business, I still believe you should be free to decide who you serve. It is unpleasant, inappropriate and unsavvy if you base this decision on traits such as race, religion, sexual orientation, political support, and similar. Yet it is a decision you should be able to make.

On the other hand, you should also be aware of something.

If your decision is discriminatory, you are also contributing to a more closed community. If you only serve people of a certain race, religion, sexual orientation, you should expect a selection in your clientele. And possibly in your staff, in your entourage, in people hanging around your business, in people making decisions about your business, in who’s giving you feedback, in who’s recommending how to improve. And on and on and on.

It might be exactly what you are seeking to achieve, and yet there is no way the type of environment you are building around your business will make you thrive, succeed and, eventually, grow as a human being and as a business leader. You’ll be poorer, in quite many ways, and so will your community.

If you don’t want certain customers for silly reasons, you’ll end up worst off. What you are doing is not conscious, it’s the mere result of the hype on an issue set by some politicians or unthoughtful leaders who care zero about you.