Values for Your Venture: Why Businesses Need to Believe In Something
Profit and principles—a winning combination? When most people think of the profit motive, they imagine businesses doing everything they can to earn more money, regardless of what it costs their employees, community, or planet. But not only are good moral values compatible with turning a profit, but the two go hand in hand. If you commit yourself to a set of values and make that clear to the public, you make your company a more attractive place to shop, work, or supply. As a business owner in Cedar Hill, you have the opportunity to serve our community and do the right thing while still generating steady profits.
The Myriad Benefits of Business Values
By committing your business to a set of clear values, you benefit your company in multiple ways, including by:
- Humanizing Your Brand – Real people care about bettering their communities and doing good, so when your company commits to these goals, it reveals its human element. Consumers are more likely to trust a company if they can see the humans behind it, and the more they trust your company, the more likely they are to buy from you.
- Attracting Principled Purchases – Consumers increasingly demand that the products they buy be consistent with their principles. This is especially true for younger shoppers, who place a premium on ethical consumerism. If you offer products and services that uphold their values, you attract a loyal customer base for the long haul.
- Bolstering Recruitment & Collaboration – Consumers aren’t the only ones who make decisions based on their values. Workers will be more likely to accept jobs at your company if they can feel good about what they’ll be doing. Likewise, you’ll have an easier time attracting the suppliers you need if they know they’ll be contributing to a good cause. If you want the best people and resources for your business, it’s in your interest to build that business on strong values.
The more consistently you uphold your values while doing business, the more significant these benefits will be. Committing to principles is thus good business and is worth doing no matter the size, age, or field of your company.
Viable Values for Your Venture
The specific values you commit to will depend on your beliefs, your field of business, and the customers you’re trying reach. That said, individual values are a good bet for just about any business. These include:
- Environmental Sustainability – As Cedar Hill residents, we don’t take the beauty of our town for granted, but go out of our way to preserve it for future generations. By building a sustainable business, you contribute to these preservation efforts. Environmental improvements can also help you save money, especially if they involve raising energy efficiency and reusing more of your resources.
- Equal Opportunity – As a business owner, you have a chance to extend opportunities to those who are less fortunate. Consider hiring employees and contractors from disadvantaged backgrounds, and investing in communities that don’t have many jobs or much wealth. Not only is this the right thing to do, but you’ll gain access to talented professionals and valuable resources you may not have considered before.
- Health & Fitness – From lower healthcare costs to longer life expectancy to improved mental health, better fitness helps our community on multiple fronts. You can contribute to this enhanced fitness by organizing exercise programs under your company’s brand.
For more information on the benefits of values in business, contact the Cedar Hill Economic Development team today.