Being an Honest Business Owner’s are extremely important. You can have the most revolutionary, exciting idea, the most flawless businessare extremely important. You can have the most revolutionary, exciting idea, the most flawless business plan, and the greatest staff of all time, but I believe you will inevitably lag behind if you are not honest in both your personal and business conduct.

In the spirit of openness, I’ve compiled a list of important do’s and don’ts for a trustworthy business owner. This list is based on my own 25-plus years as a successful floral business owner and leader.

Do:

• Maintain a consistent personality and set of ideals.

You can’t be one person at work and a completely different person at home. Your personal brand and your corporate identity, in my opinion, are inextricably linked. To build a solid brand for oneself, you must be honest in your business operations. This entails telling yourself and your staff the truth about who you are and what you value.

I feel your staff are being compelled to lie to your customers on your behalf if you are dishonest with your employees or embrace false ideals. Even if they remain with the organization, they may lack faith in your leadership or the company as a whole.

• Create an environment that will trickle down to your employees and customers. 

Because of a culture of lying or not being forthright with the public during a crisis, I’ve seen a number of firms become fractions of themselves. Employees would want to work with you rather than just for you if you create an environment of honesty and positivity. Your attitude affects the entire company’s morale, and I’ve learnt that honesty at the top leads to greater customer service, stronger client connections, and a culture of mutual trust and support.

Don’t:

• Post fake reviews.While the need for positive comments and online reviews might be overwhelming, it’s crucial to keep in mind that publishing phony reviews or claiming false encounters is unethical. When you’re first starting out, this can be difficult, but developing a brand and reputation requires time and effort. You are doing yourself, your employees, and your organization a disservice by producing phony reviews. Right from the outset, you’re mistaken. And, if positive evaluations do begin to appear,

• Buy friends or likes on social media. Buying followers, friends, or likes on social media networks is dishonest and will almost certainly come back to bite you. If you believe in your company and its objective, people will believe in it as well. You do not need to buy likes or followers. In fact, doing so reflects poorly on your brand’s credibility and conveys a sense of uncertainty within your organization. It takes time and work to build a social media following.

• Cut corners or take actions that you hope will not be noticed by others. The crucial issue here is that the individual who greets consumers and meets with investors should be the same person who greets them behind closed doors. People will see who you really are, no matter how hard you try. Employees and customers will lose faith and support if they perceive a business leader who cuts corners and breaches promises. You will also have a high turnover rate, which will reflect poorly on your company.

• Ask employees to lie on your behalf. This is something I see on a regular basis for some honest business owner’s. Requesting that your employees tell customers that a product is on its way when it isn’t; using a subpar product or technology and insisting that the customer “won’t know the difference”; or ignoring a call and asking an employee to say that you aren’t in the office may appear to be minor deceptions. However, you are inadvertently creating a dishonesty culture in your organization. If you want your staff to be honest and trustworthy, you must be honest and trustworthy yourself. When you ask someone to tell even the tiniest untruth, I believe the question will always be: What else are they lying about?

All of this boils down to one quality: believability. As a business owner, it is critical to have a consistent and honest personality. You can make the proper decisions no matter how difficult circumstances get if you have a clear head and a constitution built on integrity.

Your actions as a leader have an impact on how internal employees and potential customers perceive your organization. Be your best self in both your personal and professional life and be a honest business owner’s, and the rest will take care of itself. Always remember this classic Mark Twain quotation when you’re in doubt: “If you tell the truth, you don’t have to recall anything.” Make the proper decision.