"Heidi, I transferred $1 into your account.”

I used chalkboard paint on the door that leads from my garage to the house because I wanted to have a place to spill out words, thoughts, and special messages for my loved ones and visitors to read as they leave and enter my home.

Earlier this week, I suffered the impact of years of mounting disappointment in a number of professionals who simply have not lived up to their promises. I think back to the personal sacrifices I have made to keep my word – why can’t everyone else keep their promises?

Years ago a client decided not to pay me for months. I had two individuals working with me on the contract and not only was I not getting paid, but I owed them money…a lot of money.?Do you know what I did??I paid them. One of these subcontractors knew me personally and probably would have written it off had I simply told her I could not pay. I was protected, contractually, so it wasn’t about that. ?It felt good when I had paid them both, as promised. I did the right thing.

Am I alone in this expectation??Doing what is right by keeping your word??When I tell you that I will make a business introduction for you, you will get an email from me introducing you to that contact.?I will make that introduction. If I say that I’m going to donate I will. If I say I’m going to help you, I will.

I’ve had clients miss critical payments I was relying on to pay my bills. I’ve had contractors bill me for hours that they did not work. This week I drove past a gym that I was promised a one-year membership to (in lieu of a referral fee) that never materialized (don’t they call that an “empty promise”?).?

Becoming a solopreneur has really forced me to think a lot about business integrity. I mean, if you promise something deliver it. Deliver it late, deliver it in bite sizes, but deliver on your promise. Do the right thing. That, to me, is integrity.

I'm learning the hard way that not everyone feels as strongly about business integrity. Not everyone pays on time. Not everyone performs for you on the contract the way that they tell you that they will.

This week, based on some very real disappointments, I felt it appropriate to write on my chalkboard door: “Do the right thing even when no one is looking.”?What does that mean, really? To me, it boils down to trust: Just keep your word.

As I was driving past that aforementioned gym (membership pending, I guess), I received a text from a colleague and friend. He and I have shared referrals and ideas for years. He texts me and says that he’d transferred money to me through Zelle. Something that for years he’d talked about doing. I knew he would one day (integrity=trust, reliability, keeping one’s word, etc.). I log on to my bank and see that he has transferred $1.?It was beautiful. I actually teared up and I giggled (no joking). I giggled because I knew he was starting up a new business venture and I thought to myself that he gave what he could. There was some punchline coming, I assumed. I teared up because it was the first time anyone has given me a referral fee (yes, ever). To me, it was never about the dollar amount, it was about the integrity of the business relationship.

The definition of integrity includes committing to doing what you say you will do. Now, that’s just part of it, but it’s the hardest part – it requires work and sacrifice. Those two contractors will never know the personal sacrifices I made to keep my word to pay them when I never received a dime.

So, that $1 referral fee I received this week was priceless to me.?It restored my belief that even in business there are humans who will do the right thing. Live up to their promises, no matter how seemingly insignificant.

It’s a stressful time. We are all working hard and finding our way while looking for our lighthouse. My wish for all of you is that you find businesses that are run by people who do what they say they will do.?Who live up to their word, even when there is no public reward for it.?I wish for all of us, to witness more business integrity.?

By the way, the $1 my business colleague transferred to me was just a test to see if Zelle worked. He sent that $1 some friends.??