There was a reason behind why numerous saloons during the Wild West era listed “no-politics ” as a house rule—like oil and water, as they never seem to mix. The equivalent could be said for businesses and the political beliefs of their owners. With the official political season happening at the same time as the Great Pandemic Depression, it is exceptionally tempting for entrepreneurs to want to openly uphold their political views using their organizations as platforms.

Although it might be alluring, many financial problems can arise with mixing politics and your business; unless your business is the business of politics.

We will now take a look at the four major reasons why you should not mix your business with politics. All of these reasons are interconnected and should happen in succession.

Your Business Could Lose Clients 

Unless you’re in politics, it is best to save the business of politics for the political businesses. People are more inclined to vote against your company in a blink of an eye just because of party differences. Your business could lose out on its maximum potential revenue stream that could be earned from long-term loyal customers. Further, from a humanitarian standpoint, your customers are your biggest fans; many of them might also be very loyal patrons and friends. Their love and support for your business over time might be invaluable.

Your Business Could Limit Its Income

If you enter your business into the political arena and publicly choose to advertise your personal political beliefs, it is very possible that you might lose many former customers/clients. You might also repel many potential new ones away. These actions could lead to a significant loss of income. When you lose income, you are minimizing wealth. The minimization of wealth over time will eventually lead to business death. Let’s now explore that point further.

Your Business Could Die

Business suicide has become very common during the Great Pandemic Depression for a variety of reasons, especially due to a loss of revenue. There are already enough restrictions put on businesses because of Covid-19 that are causing severe financial strain on them.

The bottom line between the cost of the Covid-19 restrictions and the political promotions is that this restaurant could now only be earning around 25% of its potential revenue. This amount of income is certainly in the category of wealth minimization and would not be sustainable over time. Any business that does not move in the direction of wealth maximization will eventually approach death.

Your Own Wealth Could Suffer

The fourth major reason why entrepreneurs should not mix their businesses with politics is that their personal wealth could suffer. When a business dies, the owner still needs to rely on some source of income to pay her bills. If she does not have any other income, then she will probably need to get another job immediately. Until that income is replaced, she will need to use her existing wealth to stay alive. This might translate to using an emergency fund or even selling property (i.e., a car or a house) to get by

You May Want to Keep Your Politics To Yourself

In summary, the four major reasons why you should not mix your business with politics are: your business could lose customers; your business could minimize its income; your business could die, and your personal wealth could suffer. In these unprecedented times, politics are at the top of mind for many people. Passionate differences are demonstrated even amongst immediate family members. The purpose of this article is not to convince you to switch to any political party, but to illustrate the potential financial problems that could occur if you cross the line and reflect your political beliefs on your business.

The consequences are severe and may not be worth the risk, regardless of the size of your business. Considering the conclusions above, it is shocking that many large, wealthy corporations have completely commingled their businesses with their owners’ political views—and because of it, they are suffering severely. Just because they are big, does not mean that they are immune to the principles of finance; these universal rules apply to everyone.