Integrity In Your Business
Do you have integrity in your wellness, health or fitness business? Do you think about integrity in your business often?
And what exactly is ‘integrity’?
The Oxford Dictionary defines integrity as
“The quality of being honest and having strong moral principles”
So how does that relate to you in business? Simply put, integrity is honouring your word. It’s about keeping your promises, doing what you said you’d do, and being true to your values and principles. If you act with integrity, people will trust you, and if they trust you, they’ll buy from you. Reputation is everything in business, so acting with integrity means you’ll reap the benefits from stronger relationships with others in business and with your clients (past, present and future).
Acting with integrity often means producing a better product or service for your client. You are putting your clients needs first - always having them in mind when researching and creating new products or services for them. They’ll appreciate the effort you put in to creating high quality experiences and products for them, and will buy more from you as a result, and refer others to use them too.
And whatever business you’re in, there is always the temptation to cut corners for a short term win instead of looking at the long-term success of your business. But business is a long game, so acting with integrity can help you focus on getting the best results 3 years from now instead of the ‘fast buck’ mentality’ 3 days/months from now.
So how do you act with integrity in your business?
1. Define your values and principles
You need to know what’s important to you in your business, what does integrity in business mean to you, and what does it mean in the way you communicate with your clients, colleagues and collaborators?
2. Treat everyone the same
There are people out there who will give regular clients the red carpet treatment and the less regular client a short shrift. Remember that integrity is about honesty and being the same person in all situations - treat everyone with respect and importance. Everyone contributes to your business - be they a regular client or a once a month drop in! They’ll notice how you treat people through your interactions with others, and they’ll remember how you welcomed them in and included them in your business.
3. Look back with honesty
Are you (or have you been) living up to these work values and principles, or have you identified your values and principles yet? If not, how could you do better? Try to identify bad patterns – are you tempted by easy money, or are you influenced by the way others sell similar products and services online? Being honest with yourself means you can change bad patterns and move forward with integrity and a stronger vision for your business.
4. Hold your hand up!
Having integrity means holding your hands up to mistakes too! We all make them, especially in the early days of business, so don’t be afraid to apologise for the social media gaff, or the string of automated emails all sent at once, or the studio being double booked. Be honest, and make it up to them, they’ll understand, it happens to them too. Be human, and they’ll probably think more of you.
Be a leader with integrity
Integrity is a state of mind, there should be no exceptions to honesty and integrity. If you compromise your integrity in small situations and find there are no consequences to your actions, then it becomes very easy to compromise on the bigger, more important situations. Stick to your guns and be a leader with integrity.
Building a wellness business on your own can be tough, I’ve been there!
I have a limited number of free discovery calls for September- click on the link if you’d like to book a call to help you build your business, attract and retain clients, and remove that overwhelm and exhaustion.
