How Important is Trust

It can sometimes take a lifetime to build, but it can be destroy in a second! So today I sat with two of my best students to discuss trust.

My students often come to me for business advice for their business ideas....many of my pieces of advice are based from experience or even lessons my father taught me as a young adult. I often will relay a very no-nonsense approach to business.

Last week, two of my students lost my trust based on their actions. They had been in my program for over 2 years. Basically they were my shining stars. And today I had to banish them from two creative rooms in our studio. They were perplexed. They wanted to know why...they demanded to know why.

I had to tell them it was because they broke my trust in them. "For one little thing", they asked? "Yup...for one little thing" Of course they thought it was not fair. Life isn't fair. But in the business world, trust is everything. I related to my students that in business, once my trust is broken, I move on. I don't fret. Sometimes I have to keep that self-talk to just that...self-talk. I have to ask myself, did I learn something?

I can almost count every mistrust in my 30+ years of doing business with people and businesses on about one hand. I will say that my track record is pretty good. In business, you assess the character of the person you're doing business with...that's why business relationships are so very important...essential in the business world. You never know where that person you may have had a bad business deal with could end up...perhaps at the top of some company someday. But in the end, it's that character that stays.

So my students asked me has anyone ever repaired the trust. I had to think about it for a second...and the answer is no. Once I have severed ties due to bad business or mistrust, I have never gone back into those waters. There's way too many good people out there who are fun to work with..and I mean that in every sense of the word.

I look at some of my closest business-dealings and I still do business with some of the same people from over 30 years ago. Good people are just that...good people and bad people are just that...bad people.

The wonderful part of being in business for yourself is choosing great people and great companies to work with. I have been so very fortunate to work with so many great people. 30 years of doing business...and it usually boils down to good or bad. And in the end I always tell my students, people will not remember how much money they spent on you or your company, but they will remember how they were treated.

So what should my students take from this little lesson. They should take away that if they try to repair that trust, they can...but it's up to them. I will be more cautious in my dealings with my students. I learned that the warning signs were there in the beginning and I chose to ignore those signs...and when I think about it, the warning signs were always there in my bad business dealings; I chose to ignore them...bottom line, go with your gut!