By John Arenas | August 6, 2014

“As a small business person, you have no greater leverage than the truth.” — John Greenleaf Whittier

The advice from influential poet and fervent abolitionist John Greenleaf Whittier may be more useful in our own time than it was nearly 200 years ago. Big businesses with established brands are not only more risk-averse, they are also more inclined to maintain the status quo at any cost, even if it means being less impartial or even forthright with customers. The kind of market disruption often ascribed to small players who succeed is not just the result of greater agility but of greater transparency and authenticity. These values become both more important and harder to ignore as communication and information channels proliferate.