The role of honesty in entrepreneurship

Honesty is not the most important personal trait for entrepreneurs but it still makes it to the top list of qualities which will help startup owners along their way to building successful businesses and recognizable and trustworthy brands.

Most entrepreneurs have strong personal values and these values are the forces which help their businesses to flourish. Respect is essential for business success and to respect someone means to be honest with them.

In such a competitive time as the one we are living now, it is almost impossible to believe that being honest can actually bring benefits to your business. The truth is that as a startup owner you can’t afford being dishonest about your company while trying to build successful brand. Now is the time to give 100% of yourself and to establish strong company culture and stable business foundations, and doing so by tricking customers, employees, business partners and yourself is not the best decision you can make.

Honesty and customers

Being honest in your business will help you to build better relationship with your customers. As a startup owner, your mission at the moment is to grow your business and your customer network is essential factor for achieving the desirable growth. In the world of great competition it is important for small business owners to establish honest relationship with their clients. Be honest with your customers and expect the same from them. Now is the time to ask and appreciate candid customer feedback in order to strengthen your business.

Honesty and employees

Being honest with your employees will help you to establish good connection with the people you work with. Being transparent at work will create one more cohesive atmosphere in the office. Be honest when you comment on their work performance and expect the same from them. There is no need the people who work for you to be afraid to say what they really think. Having their honest opinion and giving them yours can improve the results of your work which is important for the company’s success.

Honesty and investors

When we talk about winning funding all startup owners and entrepreneurs feel stressed. One of the best ways to overcome the stress from meeting with investors is to be completely honest with them. Knowing your strengths and presenting them to the investors is expected, but pointing out to your weaknesses and problems and presenting your solution plans can increase the trust to your startup and your chances to win funding is more likely to rise. Investors have abundant experience with selecting startups for investment and they are aware that newly created companies have problems. Pretending that everything in your company is going smooth is a red light for investors.

Honesty and yourself

Making realistic judgment about the course which the company is taking can be very difficult, especially for entrepreneurs who don’t have a co-founder. Entrepreneurs must be honest with themselves about everything that is happening in their company. It is important to judge realistically every aspect of the business – from finances through product development to customer relationships.