Beyond Capitalism: Building Community-Based Businesses in a Post-Capitalist Economy

It's hard—even impossible, sometimes—to imagine and create an alternative to the capitalist system we live in.

One of the reasons capitalism is so prolific is simply because there isn't a widely acknowledged, discussed, or explored alternative. It's like asking a fish to imagine life outside of water; the system is so deeply ingrained in our daily lives that it becomes hard to see past it.

The primary point of capitalism is, of course, to make more capital. But at its core, capitalism is an addiction to growth that is rooted in white supremacy and benefits only a small handful of people. This relentless pursuit of profit leads to the neglect of our collective needs. The vast majority of us—the ones who don’t sit atop this economic hierarchy—struggle under its weight, left to fend for ourselves while a privileged few amass unimaginable wealth.

So, what does it look like for a small business to operate through an anti-capitalist lens? How can we figure out how to make money when you hate capitalism?

I've thought about this every day for the last year, and the idea that sticks with me most right now is this: in order for small businesses with an anti-capitalist ethos to thrive, they need to focus on more than just their own personal capital growth. They need to focus on collective liberation.

We need to be concerned with how every need can be met, rather than pouring all of our care and energy into personal profit alone. But let’s be honest—it’s really hard to do this when you’re working your ass off to pay for daycare, keep a roof over your head, and deal with the ever-rising costs of food, healthcare, and basic necessities.

It’s easy to fall into the trap of individualistic thinking, clinging to the belief that "I gotta take care of me." And I get it—we’re in survival mode. But that mindset is exactly what capitalism wants us to hold onto, and it is absolutely not working.

If you want to resist capitalist systems in your business while still making a living, here are some ideas to consider:

Leaving Social Media

Removing yourself from the constant noise of opinions, disinformation, comparison, and time-consuming distractions allows you to return to who you are and what you want to represent. Endless scrolling keeps us tethered to systems of extraction, but stepping away can help us reconnect with our actual communities. Maybe of us business owners were taught that there is no business without social media. This is a lie. Business was around for hundreds of years before social media and will continue well on after. If you're looking for help figuring out how to run your business and do marketing without the use of social media, check out this free class: Marketing Without Social Media. 

Working 30 Hours a Week Instead of 40

Who decided 40 hours is "full-time" anyway? If you can meet your financial needs in 20 hours, why push for 40? The grind is not a badge of honor. If you’re able to spend more time living your life instead of working, take that as a win, not a failure. This obviously isn't a choice for so many of us, but more often than not I find my clients getting addicted to busy work and clocking more hours than is truly necessary for the business to run. 

Offering a Sliding Scale, Bartering, or Trading for Services

If equal access to your services hasn't been a priority, it might be time to consider why. Who gets access to your services? What would it require of the business to open the gates a bit and make your work available to more humans of varying economics? A sliding scale allows people to pay based on what they can afford, making your work accessible to more people. Bartering and trading create reciprocity and keep money from being the only means of exchange. Is there someone you could trade with to get your website updated? Could you gift a free massage in exchange for your kids being picked up a few times a month giving you more time to work?

Paying Yourself and Your Team a Livable Wage

Cutting corners on wages is exploitative and breeds resentment. Pay yourself what you need to survive and thrive, and if you have a team, compensate them fairly. Wage stagnation and worker exploitation are pillars of capitalism—let’s not perpetuate them in our businesses. In my Liberatory Finance series I teach you exactly how to know how much you can afford to pay yourself and if there's extra, how much you could offer someone in the form of a salary. Remember though, all employee // employer relationships are inherently hierarchal. If you need the help of employees or other workers I truly hope you start to consider what it would look like to transition to a coop or to include profit sharing in your business. 

Denouncing "Empire Building" and Exploitative Business Practices

Empire building is about hoarding power and resources. It’s the antithesis of community wealth-building. Instead of scaling endlessly, consider what sustainable growth looks like for you and your community. We must stop seeing millionaires and billionaires as the goal. We must align ourselves with the folks who actually have shared interest: the working class. As small business owners, entrepreneurs, and soloprenuers our minds have been continuously warped to see the Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg's of the world as our idols. This is such a lie. You are closer economically and financially speaking to the unhoused human sleeping in the park on the waterfront than you will ever be to a billionaire. Stop idolizing their warped, harmful, and imperialistic strategies and align yourself with the masses. 

Evolving Into an ESOP or Cooperative Model

Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs) and cooperatives shift ownership from a single business owner to the collective. When workers have a stake in decision-making, they are more invested in the business's success in a way that benefits everyone—not just a single boss. I personally love working with coops as a business coach and consultant. One of my favorite local to me businesses that I've had the pleasure of representing in ethical marketing and sales has been New Frameworks. Coops are truly the way fo the future in terms of how we should be running our small, medium and larger businesses. 

Consuming Less

By consuming less—whether it's media, materials, or environmental resources—you push back against the capitalist idea that more is always better. Capitalism thrives on excess. Intentional consumption is an act of resistance. In my Liberatory Finance series we spend a lot of time going over your personal and business budget. How often does the thought come up that you need more, better, newer? How often are we marketed to this way? Most of my clients don't have large budgets to play around with and so we embrace consuming less. We do as little marketing as humanely possible. We use the stuff we have until it breaks and then we try to fix it before buying new. We ask friends, neighbors, and community members if we can borrow. We rent stuff from the library! How can you continue to consume less in your business? 

Amplifying Voices in Your Industry That Have Been Silenced

If you have opportunities and visibility that others don’t, use your platform to uplift marginalized voices. Share their work. Direct people to their businesses. Collaboration over competition benefits us all. I'm talking to all of us well-meaning white women out here especially in the coaching industry. What are you doing to actively address, unlearn, and redo to acknowledge imperialism, white supremacy and capitalism in your business? We can link to marginalized folks websites in our emails directing traffic to folks sites, donate a consistent percentage of our gross sales to local causes (I'm currently donating monthly to the Education Justice Coalition of Vermont), and make sure that we're not undercutting our brothers and sisters in our pricing especially in DEI work. How are you inconveniencing yourself to meet the needs of others who do not have the luxury of resting on their privileges? Building and caring for community is deeply inconvenient at times and also, none of us are free until we are all free. 

Refusing Scarcity and Fear-Based Marketing Tactics

Capitalist marketing thrives on fear. It tells people they’re not enough, not doing enough, not successful enough—and that the solution is to buy something. But in an anti-capitalist business model, we actively reject this approach. Instead of manipulating people into a sale, we focus on building trust and transparency. Not everyone will be your customer, and that’s not a failure—that’s clarity. As an anti capitalist business coach, I teach my clients to lead with their values, not urgency or guilt. If you want to explore marketing alternatives that don’t rely on pressure or performance, check out my How to Start an Email List workshop. It’s all about building genuine connections—no scarcity tactics required.

Refusing to Tie Your Worth to a Dollar Amount

Your worth is not a number. In capitalism, we’re taught to chase higher paychecks, raise our prices endlessly, and see financial success as personal value. But anti-capitalist business models recognize that pricing is a tool, not a measurement of your self-worth. You deserve to survive and be resourced without having to commodify your identity. Your rates should reflect the real cost of your labor, your time, your care work, and your creativity—not the arbitrary standards of what capitalism deems "premium." If you’re exploring how to be anti capitalist in your pricing, my Fair & Sustainable Pricing Workshop is a great place to start.

Spending Time NOT Working—Without Guilt

Capitalism equates productivity with morality. If you’re not constantly grinding, you’re seen as lazy or unmotivated. But rest is not a reward—it’s a biological necessity and a political act. Building an anticapitalist business means valuing your time off just as much as your time on. It means refusing the hustle, even when your inner critic says otherwise. Alternatives to capitalism start with reclaiming rest—spending slow afternoons with your kid, saying no to one more Zoom call, and remembering that healing is productive, too. If you’re craving a business that supports your life (not the other way around), you might love my anti-capitalist business coaching.

Scheduling Restorative Care—Even When You Feel Busy

When you’re busy, rest feels impossible. But anti-capitalist business models ask us to flip that mindset on its head: when you're busiest is exactly when care becomes most urgent. That might mean blocking off an hour for a walk, skipping a non-essential meeting, or reaching out to your community for help. Care is not selfish. It's an investment in your sustainability. If you’re exploring how to be anti capitalist in practice, start by protecting your energy like it matters—because it does. You might enjoy my free Labor of Love Challenge, which offers small, doable prompts for putting care and intention back into your workweek.

Being Vocal About Stress, Depression, Anxiety, and Overwhelm

Capitalism thrives on our silence. It wants us to suffer quietly, to keep performing, to keep smiling through burnout. But anti capitalism examples in business look like naming your overwhelm out loud, setting boundaries, and building in accommodations for yourself and others. Marketing values in an anti capitalist business include honesty and humanity—not just aesthetics or polish. When we’re honest about mental health struggles, we help dismantle the idea that strength looks like stoicism. We remind our clients, our colleagues, and ourselves that anti-capitalist business is rooted in mutual care, not individual perfection. I write about this often in my emails—join my newsletter here if you want more reminders that you're not alone in this.

The Bigger Picture

Ultimately, resisting capitalism within our businesses isn’t just about what we don’t do—it’s about what we actively build in its place. Every time we choose collaboration over competition, mutual aid over hoarding, and sustainability over endless growth, we’re choosing a different vision for the world. We are practicing alternatives to capitalism in real time. This is what anti capitalist business models look like—not some abstract theory, but real daily choices that prioritize people over profit, relationships over revenue, and community care over personal gain.

And let’s be real—if resisting capitalism means I’ll never see a seven-figure bank account, I’m more than okay with that. I didn’t come here to win at a game I don’t believe in. I didn’t start my work as an anti capitalist business coach to figure out how to become a nicer version of a billionaire. If I ever catch myself chasing that kind of wealth at the expense of community well-being, I hope someone lovingly calls me out. Because at that point—am I still living in alignment with my values, or just wearing ethical branding on a capitalist structure?

When you intentionally pursue an anti capitalist business—whether that means fair pricing, transparency in your sales process, or rejecting urgency-based marketing tactics—you’re doing more than just surviving. You’re helping create a business ecosystem that meets the needs of people who are usually left out. And the folks who don’t benefit from capitalism? That’s not a niche. That’s most of us. Anti capitalism doesn’t mean opting out of money—it means shifting how we relate to it, how we earn it, and what we’re willing to sacrifice (or not) to get it.

So tell me: what does this look like in your world? How are you choosing to build your anticapitalist business in ways that reflect your deepest values?

Drop it in the comments below—I’d love to hear. ⬇️