Can an Entrepreneur trust those with whom they work?

Are you the type of person that believes people are genuinely trustworthy, or are you the kind of person that only gives trust after a person has earned it? Either way, if you're an entrepreneur, you're gonna have to learn to trust others with your baby, "the business". If you don't, then you'll have to keep all your own plates spinning and wear all the hats yourself. This makes a good recipe for disaster and failure.

Aside from the definition of insanity, "doing the same things again and again and expecting different results", I think doing things all by yourself without allowing yourself to trust others also qualifies you for insanity.

One thing I absolutely know is that I don't know everything. If I want to have a successful business, then I have to trust others to do what I don't know how to do. Working closely with others to develop a business is almost like a marriage. You open yourself up to others and they can see your weaknesses, your strong points, your vulnerabilities, and hopefully they'll celebrate with you, feel your pain when difficulties arise, and come around you when you need it most.

Trust - verb: Believe in the reliability, truth, ability, or strength of.

I'm blessed. At Gratitude Goodies, I have Marian. I'm no numbers person, and I don't always have organization in the front of my mind either. To have a person like this on my team that understands me and what we're about at Gratitude Goodies, leaves me humble and very grateful. She is confident, reliable, speaks the truth, has amazing abilities, is very strong and wise and best of all understands me and accepts me for who I am. We have an agreement to tell each other how we feel even if it hurts at times. Sharing your mind can sometimes be uncomfortable. The trust you must have to share difficult discussions, with your team has to be motivated by common goals and respect. If in your business, you have this ability, then it will allow you to deal with the situations quickly and move on.

When you have employees, you must be able to trust them to do the job you hired them to do. If you're in tune with what's going on in your business, you'll be able to tell pretty quickly if your hires have the growth of the business in mind. How do they behave; what are they saying; are they excited to tell others about your business? I heard a new word recently called "employeepreneur". Just like an entrepreneur, the "employeepreneur" behaves in a similar way. They take ownership of their work; they are thinking of the best interests of the company; they're not afraid to offer suggestions to make things better, cut costs or whatever. The key here is the attitude your employees have toward their work. Do they own their work? Do they trust you as the leader? If you've given them good reasons to trust you, then you will be rewarded with their trust as well. It all starts with you. When talking about trust, here are some qualities for which I look, and I try model them.

1. Do what you say you're going to do. People can smell a fake anywhere. Be genuine with your people.

2. Avoid gossiping. Gossiping is like rust. Once it starts, it won't stop. Be intolerant of gossip in your work place.

3. Treat others with respect. It doesn't matter if the person is driving, filing, in production or in the front office. Respect their contribution to your company. Catch your employees doing things right. Avoid critical comments, especially in front of co-workers. People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care. Your actions will speak louder than words.

You've heard all these before. If you can't be trusted, your employees with pick up on this, and you'll start to see the integrity of your company go down hill.