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

Morgan 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.