I may have just saved a potential client from shooting themselves in the foot.

Sure hope so!

This morning, I saw this job description posted at Upwork:

Need a copywriter to create an “About Us” page for a construction company. We are a small company founded on the idea of the American Dream . (more specific details upon request /hire)

I’d like the About Us page to flow like a story, touching on the symbolism of the company, its origins, and how it can inspire and relate to people today. It also needs to be practical and show how our company/product offering differentiates us from the “big box national builders”.

The about us page should be compelling, poetic and genuine. It should encourage the reader to connect with the company and develop a trust level.

The red flag along my spine shot up as soon as I saw it.

Here’s how I responded:

I would love to help you with this IF your company history documents an actual American Dream-like success story and IF you are a minority-owned enterprise. (See “questions about the job description” box below for more information on these “ifs”, because I don’t want you shooting yourself in the foot by leading with “The American Dream” if it will turn off a lot of your potential customers. It’s a very touchy topic to a lot of people!)

Under the radio button field asking if I had any questions about the project, I wrote this:

Are you a minority-owned company? If not, you may not be aware that the American Dream you want to brand yourself with is not as readily available to women or people of color as it is to you. Systematized white male privilege has given a huge swath of American men a leg up (several steps up the ladder) toward achieving the American Dream while giving them a false sense of “work hard and you can do it, too.” (Alas, if hard work were the defining criteria for achieving the American Dream, people of color who hold down two and three jobs and American moms who raise kids–and often hold down jobs simultaneously–would all be millionaires.) So, while I’m eager to help you if you’re a minority-owned enterprise (your own success story will inspire others not to give up!), I’m also keenly aware that touting the American Dream as a white-owned enterprise might just shoot you in the foot because you’ll be rubbing your success in the faces of people who work equally hard and are equally deserving of success but who can’t get there because of institutionalized racism and xenophobia (the fear of people unlike oneself). It’s a real pickle that you might want to think very seriously about if you’re white and male!

This is another reason why it’s always a good idea to hire a professional. We won’t always tell you what you want or expect to hear, but we will give you insights that can keep you from shooting yourself in the foot.

It’s up to you to heed our warnings or not,  but at least you’ll move ahead without being blind to some truths that might escape you otherwise…