Where do I begin? It seems like more and more you hear people say today that “in order to really succeed in business, you have to lie. That couldn’t be any further from the truth. People lie for all kinds of reasons. Let’s look at some of them. People lie because they are insecure People lie because they are hiding something People lie because they are greedy and selfish People lie out of fear People lie because it’s “easy to lie” People lie because that’s what they have always been taught to do. Lying and dishonesty in business destroys all of that. Honesty, integrity, reputation and character. If people cant’s truth you, they will not do business with you. Being honest in business is not only a good thing but it is the right thing. Whether you have a business online or offline, dishonesty will always come back and bite you later. (…and not in a good way either.) Let’s face it. Whether you like it or not, when you are in business, one of the greatest aspects of your business is your customers. Without them, you don’t have a business, you have a hobby. Customers are the “life blood” of any business. With that comes the responsibility of taking care of them. Taking care of them you say? Oh yes, taking care of your customers is critical to whether your business grows and prospers, or fails and disappears into oblivion. One the easiest ways of securing that, is being honest with them So how do you be honest? Quite simply, tell the truth, ALL THE TIME. When you do that, you begin to start develop trust. Trust (especially on the internet) is very important. Trust is the foundation and one of the building blocks of building a “relationship” with your customer base. You see, when you start building relationships, you will have what we all strive for in business, and that is the “customer for life.” Establishing a good and solid relationship with your customers will almost guarantee that they will go out and tell all their friends that they need to shop and spend their money with you and not one of your competitors. Go so far as to tell the truth even when you mess up (no matter how bad.) Your customers will appreciate the fact that you were honest enough to admit your mistake. That speaks volumes to them. If you make a mistake whether it is on pricing or maybe delivery, always make concessions for it. Go the extra mile and give them something tangible besides the normal “sorry about that.” That leads into something else. It’s called Integrity. Having integrity in your business is “kin” to being honest. When you say you are going to deliver something by a certain date or time, then do that. Make that a priority and do it for the right reasons. Some people use this “integrity” angle as a way of promoting a false front to their customers for the sole reason of deceiving them into thinking they are genuinely a “nice person”….(so they will spend more money.) Make having integrity part of your life and have it for real so that when people see you, they will believe it. Another aspect of this is consistency. If you are not consistent, and only “wishy washy” at best, your reputation as a merchant will go right out the window. That is another very important thing you want to maintain in your business and that is your reputation. Your word should be your bond. Your word hangs right up there with your name…which if you are branding yourself…you will find very necessary to your success as well. It shows people you are a person of great character. Some people say, “I only ticked off one customer…what do I care.” They say things like “ that won’t even put a dent in MY business.” Oh really? Let’s look at this a little deeper shall we. When you upset ONE customer, not only have you damaged and probably lost that customer for life, but you have lost every potential customer (or prospect) in the future that person may talk to or know. What if they are a very influential person in the community? I think everyone in business knows that “word of mouth advertising is the best advertising in the world.” Who that person talks to could have very damaging effect on not only your business and its reputation but could also spill over into your personal life. What if (when you are not working) and someone sees you at the grocery store? They may think “hey, that’s the guy (or lady) that ripped off Joe (or Sue) you want to stay far away from them. There are so many other aspects of this that could be dealt with but I hope you get the drift. If you start out by being honest and maintain that level of character, your business will only grow and spread like a wildfire in a strong wind. You will eventually have so much business you won’t know what to do. If you’ve started out dishonest, then start changing right now. It may take time to rebuild your reputation, but over time, people will warm up to you. On the other hand, if you are dishonest, greedy, deceitful, unlikable, impatient, and just a “jerk”, and you maintain THAT level of character, the principle will work in the opposite way (just as well.) You will be sitting around all day begging to see one sale or one customer walk in your door and eventually that won’t even last and you’ll finding yourself “out of business” and looking for a job working for someone else. Probably, someone that will treat you, as “nice” as you treated others. You know the old saying, “what goes around, comes around.”