Honesty and Business Ethics

I believe being honest and ethical is key to doing business. It is important that the people that I make business relationships with can trust me and believe that I will keep my word. Especially with a startup business, it is crucial that you get customers. You need customers that are willing to trust that you can deliver. Your business is new and they know little, if anything, of your business. They could have gone to a different business they know well, but they are taking a chance on you, so you have to earn their trust. To have long term success in business, honesty is essential.
I appreciated Frank Levinson's advice on starting a business. He advised that when starting up a business, to avoid using Venture Capital. He said use your money, bank money, etc. Venture Capital can come later when you are needing the money to accelerate growth.
On another side note, I have been thinking about my motivations for being an entrepreneur. I am becoming more aware of the hardships that I may face in starting my own business. I keep hearing that you need to put everything you have into your young business if you want it to work. I realize it will take long hours, but will it it be worth the sacrifice? I hope it will be. I liked Frank Levinson's advice again, where he talked about having his family come to his office so he could spend time with them at work. Even at Christmas, they went to his work to help fill orders, then made it home to finish opening presents. I know it will take sacrifice, patience, hard work, and hopefully success will come out of it.