Handling the Haters: Morgan Johnston of Club Duquette on How to Respond When Someone Bashes Your Brand on Social Media

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morgan johnston and carrie rollwagen in the podcast studioMorgan Johnston of Rugged & Fancy and Club Duquette joins Carrie on this week’s episode of The Localist to discuss the ins and outs of pushback on social media and in building a business. Morgan and Carrie kick off the conversation discussing a recent incident that Morgan had on social media and how that took her back to a previous experience with a troll in 2014. Morgan tells us how that experience affected everything going on in her life at the time, and how she handles negative comments now versus then. Morgan and Carrie discuss the value in having goals and actually measuring your progress (very key!), and how social media interactions can’t replace IRL interactions (extra difficult during coronavirus, but we’re staying home and supporting our local businesses). Morgan tells us about all the crazy circumstances that allowed the opening of Club Duquette, highlighting the importance of making connections along the way. Morgan and Carrie then discuss call-out and cancel culture, the difference between the two, and the importance of having a support system of other small business owners. We then wrap up the conversation with business operations: things you can do to get your business running, acquiring a good lawyer and a good accountant, handling “suggestions” from customers, and responding to negative comments as a brand. 

Mentioned in this episode:

Morgan Johnston/Rugged and Fancy on Instagram
Club Duquette 

Club Duquette on Instagram

Club Duquette press features

Shaman Durek 

Sheri Bagwell

Here Now Yoga  

Great Bear Wax Co 

Taylor Stitch

Ursa Major

Steve Shelley

The Art of Asking by Amanda Palmer

Cathead Honeysuckle Vodka

Ghost Train Brewing 

Trevor Newberry’s episode on The Localist 

Church Street Coffee and Books

Frank and Pardis Stitt 

Sid and Ann Mashburn in Atlanta

Thich Nhat Hanh

About Carrie

Carrie Rollwagen is host of the Localist podcast and cofounder of Church Street Coffee & Books. Currently, she works as Vice President of Strategic Planning at Infomedia, a web development company in Birmingham, Alabama. Find the Localist at @thinklocalist on Instagram and follow Carrie at @crollwagen.

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