A true business is not always about money you know? It’s about trust, dependability and building long and strong lasting relationships.
The word ‘business’ could be used in different ways (could mean a commercial enterprise, work or trade, a professional activity, an objective or matter needing to be dealt with).
In this article, I’ll refer to a business as any commercial activity or establishment that uses money, deals with people or financial transactions.
Here are my 3 principles of a true business
When starting a business, what comes to mind is how to quickly make money and accumulate wealth. But it’s not always about money, there’s more to it.
Honesty
Some people believe honesty is a relic of the past and that those who practice it today are doomed to failure. What do you believe?
We all need loyal customers for our business to survive grow and expand; honesty is a key principle that can make this possible.
Just a little display of honesty automatically converts casual buyers into loyal customers. Dishonesty is self-defeating and it kills any business fast.
Being honest in the prices and services provided is one key principle to achieve success. If you are a buyer in the market, how would you feel if an altered scale is used to sell an item to you?
This act is common among sellers in mini and large markets. Medium-size and big organizations have their deceitful strategies filled with lies and empty promises to get people into buying their products or services too.
Bribery is another form of dishonesty in business, common in big organizations with many staffs. Some staffs or workers won’t just do their jobs until you as a customer get your hands into your pockets. It’s like everyone lost hope already on bribery.
Fairness is next honesty. A true business should be fair and I think asking this question; “is this fair enough?” can help check this. Not thinking about money at all times but the benefit others (customers) will derive, will help a business to be fair in its dealings.
Legal
Of course, a true business should be legal in its entirety, should operate in accordance with the expectations of the legal authorities in terms of specifications, policy or guideline. Any act of illegalities is not just acceptable.
Trust
One of the keys to running a business that’s successful, being know for the value you create will help you gain trust of your customers.
Your personal and business reputation for honesty will strongly determine whether you’ll be trusted or not. For long term success, trust is very vital.
Either small or big, a true business and every of its operations should be dependable. Yes should mean yes i.e every promises should be fulfilled.
In the business of mobile communication, a popular brand – Nokia gained the trust of many customers here in Nigeria regardless of the fact that it was one of the first to hit the Nigerian market.
Because of high product quality which promises a degree of dependability, Nokia gained the trust of the masses and this was one of the driving forces that ensured Nokia’s profitability.
On a concluding note, I think success in business generally is more than accumulating wealth, it’s about building lasting customer relationships, offering high quality products or services and creating value-adding opportunities for customers and the society at large.
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