Preserving Your Business Integrityby Barbara Wallace, MBC™, CSEPYour reputation is your most valuable asset. Much of that reputation rests on your ethics and how you are perceived among your peers and clients. To state “be ethical in all your business dealings” is a good beginning, but doesn’t say enough. People’s interpretation of “ethical” can differ based upon their background, their experience, or their culture. Or they can think “I’m within my rights” or “it’s legal” to do a certain act, while they are actually violating the spirit of the law if not the letter of the law. Each of us has to decide where we wish to be on the ethical scale, and there is sometimes a fine line between ethical behavior and sullied behavior. Sometimes, we make the wrong decision in the process of learning or finding the place where we feel most comfortable. It’s always best to take the high road. And certainly, if we do make a mistake, we can always go back and try to rectify it with at least an apology (even if it is years later).  In deciding on a difficult answer, maybe a good yardstick to measure your options would be, “Could I look my grandmother in the eye and tell her I did this?”Lena Malouf, one of the most talented and well-known international event designers and former International President of ISES, said, “If you’re going to survive in business, you have to do the right thing 24 hours per day.”It’s up to you to determine for yourself what that means, and then practice it religiously. While the study of ethics is an entire course at the university level, we can at least look at some examples of less than ethical behavior in the wedding business.Bashing competitionWhen meeting a prospective client don’t run down your competition. Most clients are uncomfortable with this and it does nothing positive for your sales pitch or image. Work on your sales pitch to show them how you will give them better value.Taking credit for work that isn’t yoursNever try to pass off someone else’s work as yours or take credit for something you did not do.Using Pricing From Another Vendor’s ProposalSometimes a bride will bring a proposal from a competing vendor and ask you to beat the price. Refuse to do that. Don’t even look at that other proposal. Return it to the bride as you politely explain that such behavior is not in keeping with your business standards, and that it is unethical for you to take someone else’s ideas and copy them for a cheaper price. As tempting as it might be, a top wedding vendor will never do it.  Offering to do your own design and proposal is a way for you to present your work for the client’s consideration, and she may find your creativity and talent outshine the prior proposal.In all fairness to the imaginary client just discussed, it may not have occurred to her that this is improper behavior. Once she is aware of your position, she will likely understand and, possibly, will raise her own level of standards.Exaggerating your qualificationsThere is not a thing wrong with bragging about yourself and your qualifications a bit. After all, you’ve worked hard to get where you are. However, exaggerating or lying about your qualifications is unethical. While your client may never know, your peers might.As more and more wedding professionals are aware of and practice the highest ethics, they soon become the norm and less ethical vendors will be drummed out of the industry. It’s up to us, collectively, to do this. ••This article is an abridged excerpt from Barbara Wallace’s book, Wedding Vendor Handbook: Get to the TOP and Stay There, published by ZinGiBer Publishing. Copies of the book are $21.95 and are available through the Association of Bridal Consultants. Call 860.355.7000, ext. 3 or e-mail mob@bridalassn.com