7 Basic Ethics/Values Every Entrepreneur Should Follow

Good entrepreneurship needs more than a person with a creative idea; it also involves an understanding of ethical business practices. Most entrepreneurs wish to do the ethically right thing for their businesses but are unsure of what to do. When your actions and decisions have a direct impact on not just your business, but on the people associated with it as well, it becomes essential to follow an ethical code of conduct that makes sure that things don’t go awry. To help you in making those decisions faster, following are some basic values that every entrepreneur would benefit from:

Acknowledge Team Effort

Entrepreneurship is an inherently social process. Any business involves the participation and combined efforts of a team, right from the technician responsible for setting up the WiFi to the entrepreneur. All members of the team work with a combined mindset and attitude towards achieving a common goal. Therefore, acknowledging their effort and hard work significantly boosts the overall morale. This could be as simple as applauding your team in one of the sprint meetings or giving extra incentives to high performers. Appreciation makes your team feel valued and motivates them to do their job with zeal.

Accountability

While it is a team that does the job, at the end of the day, it is the business owner who is accountable for the success and failure of the business. Therefore, it is important for an entrepreneur to take accountability for not just his actions and decisions, but for the actions of his/her team as well. How you manage your resources also determines the success of a business. Hence, it helps if you have some knowledge of the roles for which you’re hiring people. This not only gives you more control over your business but also gives people the impression that you know what you’re doing. For instance, if you hire an accountant, then as an entrepreneur it helps if you have some basic knowledge of accounting, how it works and how its basic principles can be applied to flourish your business.

Employee Focus

How you treat your employees is a determining factor in the success of your company. Whether owing to a lack of effort or focus, if you end up managing your employees unfairly, then you are likely to find your team experiencing a low morale and a high staff turnover. Your employees need to feel valued for their efforts for them to continue devoting their time to your organisation. Therefore, correct treatment of your employees is essential when you’re starting out a business. It is a simple case of cause and effect; value your employees, and in return, your employees will value you.

Customer-centric

Customers define the lifespan and quality of any business. Budding entrepreneurs who take efforts to make their customers feel valued go a long way in their endeavors. If your products/services provide lucrative solutions for a better world, then your customers will value your company. This would also contribute towards an establishment of mutual trust between you and your customer. An entrepreneur with an ethical sense is aware of the fact that delivering best results every day is not only a moral choice, but it is also a habit.

Persistence

The will to persist is something that makes all the difference between a great deal and a failed one. Entrepreneurs determined to succeed will keep working on their goals even when the results are not what they hoped for, or even when the customers refuse to buy their products. Similar to a persistence shown by a UPSC aspirant, running a successful business requires perseverance and a belief in your idea. This persistence is directly related to your passion for your work and the conviction that the company will succeed. So, keep working on your goals until you are perfectly satisfied with the results.

Loyalty:

Entrepreneurs are always loyal to individuals in their business and the organisation they associate with are highly valued. They make sure to practice clean business practices in all of their dealings with their partners. Loyalty does not only refer to being a loyal partner to the people you associate with, it includes not divulging confidential information. When you stand by your business partners through their times of adversity, you also create a moral backing for the times you would need their support.

Passion:

Entrepreneurship is not just about profitability, but it’s also about providing viable solutions. Countless business bloggers and experts have repeatedly stressed on the role that passion plays in bringing success to a business. While starting a business, there are bound to be issues like sourcing means of funding, getting good partners, building a good team, procuring office space, marketing etc. There would be times when your team is not as involved as you are in the management of these processes, and this is where your passion for the job comes in. The beginning of your success story starts with the will of making a meaningful impact, no matter how small, and then continuing to build on it with passion.

Ethical behaviour for entrepreneurs often gets overlooked as the chaos of running an everyday business overtakes everything else. However, people often forget that good company ethics are the foundation of a successful business. This is why some of the best enterprises, place extreme emphasis on developing an unwavering ethical footing. In a world where the lines of good conduct become repeatedly blurred, keeping these values in mind will make sure that your business is not only successful but is ethically sound as well.