As a business owner, your brand is your reputation. Easily hurt so guard it with great care. This means, honoring your commitments, providing the services you promised, and paying your bills promptly. During this challenging economic climate, it can be difficult to pay your bills. We all know that, we are all in the same economic mess out there. But an effort should be made to pay them none the less. If you are having trouble, seek out the person or company you are indebted to, tell them that you intend to make good on your debt, and even if it takes you longer to pay, you’ve protected your reputation in the meantime. You did the honorable thing. You owed up to you debt, acknowledged it, and promised again to pay. Far worse is the company or business owner who ignores his or her debt, or makes excuses why they are not paying. If you are indebted to someone in your local area and behave like this, surely the word will soon be out on the street that you don’t pay your bills. What does that say about you and your business? You cannot be trusted. Vendors will be apprehensive to work with you, as they feel they won’t get paid. Even if you have a sterling reputation to start with, failure to live up to your obligations can take you down swiftly and hurt your business for a long time. Why chance it? Guard your reputation, your brand carefully. It’s a delicate thing.

Filed under: Branding 4 Newbies