There are so many levels to which trust can affect business success, it’s something that may warrant more thought.
Who do you trust and how do you build trust within your team are fundamental questions that any business owner will think about first and revisit regularly, but in a broader sense, trust needs to be considered in the context of trust in the industry sector you work in, trust in the products and services you offer and trust in the Government supporting UK businesses. If you think about it, trust is at the heart of it all.
The outcome of the general election could, over time, help build greater trust on many levels that are out of your control as a business owner, so if you haven’t already thought about it, what can you personally do now to build greater trust that will help your business grow?
infrastructure
Start by having the infrastructure in place to minimize trust issues in your business. If you’re a cash-handling business, having safeguards in place will give you more control as your business grows, reducing the opportunity for theft and mistakes.
Can you trust your team 100%? This is often a real problem for entrepreneurs, especially when scaling rapidly and hiring people for the first time or outsourcing parts of your production or service delivery to third parties.
Having foundational elements like process, governance, external advisors and support to enable growth helps build trust. At the beginning and various stages of your business growth journey, leverage the knowledge and experience of professional advisors to maintain and build trust every step of the way.
culture
Having the right structure in place builds trust and helps shape a company’s culture. When employees are able to work efficiently and effectively and are well rewarded for their efforts, it creates a more trusted and success-focused internal culture. Simply put, it means you deliver on your promises to your team and they deliver what your business needs to succeed. What is built internally in a company is also projected externally to customers and clients.
Reduce the burden
We often underestimate how much work it takes to build and maintain success. We also know that being an entrepreneur is often a lonely job. You need people around you who can lighten the load – people who can be your trusted “right hand” who can help you think about the next big thing. People who can fulfill this role will, frankly, be valuable and critical to the success of your business. Whether it’s family, employees, or advisors, think about who is important to your success and whether they trust you.
More reliable
You can’t succeed at anything if people don’t trust you, so keep your promises to others and to yourself, no matter how small. If people can trust you in small things, they’ll be able to trust you in big things too.
Also, only promise what you can deliver – many entrepreneurs have made hasty promises and then had to back out – you won’t be the first or last to do this, it’s a common occurrence, so avoid it.
Your personal brand is the modern day equivalent of “A promise is a promise” from Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice. Only promise what you can deliver, and in the age of social media, make sure what you put out professionally aligns with what you put out personally.
Finally, if you can’t keep or deliver on a promise, be honest and explain why. In business, there are always many factors that can affect business outcomes, but you need your clients or customers to trust you to keep them coming back even if you fail.
Anil Kapoor
Anil Kapoor is an audit and business advisory partner at Mercer & Hall.
