Upfront I am putting out a mega disclaimer on this post. In no way does this post reflect on the companies or individuals involved as I have never met or interacted with them and it might be a tad harsh to make judgement calls based on hearsay.

As most of you have read in the media this week, Paarl Web (a printing company) took some serious reputational damage for the printing of about R2 million worth of propoganda flyers for Robert Mugabe and Zanu-PF. Eventually the MD ‘fessed up and donated the profits to a Zimbabwe charity but I suspect the damage has been done.

Now getting off any kind of moral high horse and down into the reality of running a business, I would love to know what YOU as an entrepreneur would have done in the situation. My wife is also big on the Social Responsibility aspect and she as an educationalist and therapist for instance would never want to accept advertising money from Coke or McDonalds on principal.

But lets be honest and consider this:

- Business is slowing down fast in SA

- You have bills to pay every month

- SOMEBODY is going to do that business if you don’t

What would you have done? The harsh realities of business add up in your figures at the end of the month. If you don’t have money in the bank, you can’t pay your staff. If you were bordering on the absolute edge of financial ruin and you get a deal like this come along. Your staff might grumble about the “ethics” of doing business with an ‘unsuitable’ business partner, but they’re probably going to grumble a hell of  a lot more if you don’t pay them their salaries or terminate their jobs.

It’s a tough one but it bears asking - WHAT WOULD YOU DO?!