I’m sure you have heard by now the story of Belle Gibson, the founder of The Whole Pantry app and author of a book by the same name. In short, the wellness entrepreneur allegedly misled her readers about a cancer diagnosis. In addition, apparently she pledged to make a donation from the sales of the app to charity, but failed to do so.

While I have many opinions about this scandal, I don’t intend to make her story the focus of this blog post. What I’d rather talk about is making the decision to operate your health and wellness business in integrity.

As holistic health professionals, many of us understand that mainstream medicine often accuses us of causing more harm than good. The perceived lack of regulation and research on the various areas of holistic health is often what scares mainstream medicine professionals into thinking that what we do is more quackery than healing. And, of course, Belle’s story is one example that may add fuel to mainstream medicine’s argument.

So how do we, as holistic professionals, stay in the good graces of the people we serve? I say we have to make an intentional decision to run our businesses in the highest of integrity.

What is integrity? Merriam-Webster dictionary describes integrity as “the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles; moral uprightness.”

I believe integrity all starts with love for the work we do and the people we serve. Many of us were called to do healing work because of our own experiences with illness, or perhaps watching others who were suffering. This is not just a “job” that we do to pay our bills or even for clout. We do it because we can’t see ourselves doing anything else. We do it because we don’t want to see other people suffer in a way that we may have.

This love for our work and the people we serve spreads into our products and services. We want, above all, to lead people to make life altering changes that affect the trajectory of their lives. However, sometimes I see well intentioned entrepreneurs of all kinds make decisions in their business based on the need to make money. How many times have you come across Facebook ads, webinars, and other training courses that promise to get you to that coveted 6 or 7 figure mark? Don’t get me wrong… Making money is a wonderful thing. Money allows us givers and caretakers to live a more comfortable life so that we can, in turn, serve more people. Wellness entrepreneurs deserve to make fabulous money. However I wonder how many wellness entrepreneurs are running down rabbit holes using business tactics that may not necessarily fit their business, but do it anyway because they were told it was the quickest route to cash? We copy others in the hopes that the success other people have found will be repeated in our own business.

This post is simply a reminder for all wellness entrepreneurs, myself included, to lead our businesses with integrity. Start with the love you have for the people you serve and the unique way in which you were incarnated to do so. Remember that the people who entrust us with their time, energy, and dollars need you to show up in full truth. If you find that you are great with your clients, but suck at the details of running a business then take the time to learn what you need to learn, or partner with someone who can help you. Have integrity. When you say you are going to do something, be sure to follow through. Do everything with integrity. Anything else is dishonorable to our calling as healers.

So now I ask you, where have you not held yourself or your business in the highest of integrity? How is it affecting your ability to be successful?

Would you like to know more about how to self-publish a book? Then sign up for your Publish & Profits Toolkit at DigitalWellPublisher.com for practical publishing advice, podcast interviews from industry leaders, and support from other entrepreneurs like you.

Halona Black is an Author, Book Coach, and Publisher who works with health and wellness entrepreneurs who are ready to share their million dollar story and change lives in the process. You can find her at DigitalWellPublisher.com.