Running a business is filled with numerous decisions. Most decisions will be made by a human, and there will be subjectivity and judgement involved.

Big or small businesses, some decisions can keep you up at night, whereas others are the kind you make without thinking.

What is underneath them all? Your values. Your personal views and beliefs.

They influence who you hire, what clients you work with, how you price, what you say no to, and what you advocate and fight for.

But in the day-to-day noise of deadlines, invoices, targets, and growth, those values can get lost or quietly sidelined in favour of speed, convenience, or profit.

However, here’s the thing: values aren’t just a nice-to-have.

They’re the foundation of long-term business health and sustainability. They shape trust, reputation, guide decisions, and attract the kind of people you want to work with, both employees and clients.

At RedBrick, we’ve seen first-hand how staying true to what you believe can build a more resilient business and a more satisfied team. We’ve also seen how deviating from core values can ruin a culture and team camaraderie, which have a knock on effects to clients and business success.

What Do We Mean By “Values”?

Let’s clear something up straight away. We’re not talking about a laminated list of slogans stuck to the office wall. We’re talking about:

• How you make decisions when nobody’s watching
• What lines you won’t cross, even if it’s profitable
• The things that make you feel proud of how you run your business
• The boundaries you protect when things get tough

Your values may include fairness, clarity, reliability, honesty, independence, generosity, or responsibility. They’re deeply personal. They come from you, not another person or external source, though they may be shaped by them.

In business, they show up in practical ways:

• How you pay your team
• How you respond to late payments and client queries
• Whether you go for the cheapest supplier or the most sustainable one
• Whether you overpromise or keep things real
• Whether you treat people how you would like to be treated

Values aren’t theoretical. They have real world impacts and flow through every business decision and every human interaction.

Why Do Values Matter in Business?

Values are the compass; without them, you end up drifting, directionless. Blowing in whatever direction the prevailing trend or fad might take you. That might not feel obvious at first, especially if things are going well on paper. But over time, that drift costs you. Whether it’s long term financial erosion, team members or clients leaving you, or systems and processes failing to be effective.

It can also look like:

• Saying yes to the wrong clients (the ones that drain your energy or clash with your team)
• Making decisions that don’t sit right (but “make sense” financially)
• Hiring based on skillset alone, rather than alignment, personality type, or ‘cultural fit’
• Feeling uneasy about growth, but not sure why

Business gets noisy fast.

Without a clear sense of what you stand for, it’s easy to fall into reactive mode, chasing revenue instead of building something you believe in.

But when your values are clear and consistent?

You’re building on something solid. And that gives you confidence, direction, and clarity. Not to mention the ability to sleep at night!

What Happens When You Stick to Your Values (Even When It’s Hard)?

There’s a cost to sticking to your values. Sometimes it means walking away from money. Sometimes it means having tough conversations. But the upside?

Here’s what we’ve seen in our own business, and in the businesses we support:

1. Stronger Client Relationships

When you’re honest about how you work and what matters to you, you attract clients who share those values. It sets the tone for respect, transparency, and long-term loyalty.

2. Better Decisions (Faster)

Values act as filters and boundaries. They help you make decisions faster, with less second-guessing, because you already know what you want and what you stand for. If it doesn’t fit your way of working, you can walk away knowing you’re protecting what matters.

3. More Fulfilling Growth

It’s one thing to hit a revenue goal. It’s another to feel proud of how you got there. When growth happens in line with your values, it feels good. Sustainable. Purposeful. You truly believed in the goal and felt emotionally connected to it, which makes the achievement all the more meaningful.

4. A Stronger Team

Values attract people who care. When your team knows what you stand for, it builds trust and unity. And when tough decisions need to be made, everyone understands the why and are supportive. The team can ‘weather the storm’ and not just that, they also strengthen their bonds through the shared challenges.

5. Resilience in Tough Times

Markets shift. Clients come and go. But values? They’re your foundation. They help you stay grounded without losing your identity, purpose, and meaning. That kind of consistency is rare and valuable.

How Do You Use Your Values?

Having values is one thing. Living by them is another. Here are a few ways to make them part of your business DNA:

• Write them down (in your own words, not marketing speak)
• Use them in hiring – ask about values in interviews
• Review decisions through the lens of your values
• Share them with clients – not as a sales pitch, but as a foundation for how you work
• Call them out internally – when someone acts in line with your values, recognise it

And if you ever catch yourself saying, “This doesn’t feel right,” pause. Your values might be trying to get your attention, tell you something, and provide you a lesson to learn from.

In our experience, especially when analysing retrospectively, it is these moments that are often a sign to ‘listen and look’, because something is knocking everything else out of alignment, and will be detrimental to the business if allowed to continue.

A Quick Word on Values and Finances

You might be wondering, “This sounds great in theory, but how does this work with cash flow, taxes, margins, and everything else I’m juggling?”

Here’s the good news: living by your values doesn’t have to conflict with running a profitable business.

In fact, it often helps, especially with clarity and focus.

At RedBrick, many of our clients come to us because their old accountant didn’t align with how they wanted to do business. Maybe they felt like just another number, without enough care, attention, and communication.

Maybe the advice they got didn’t feel right for the way they work, their purpose, or the value they were creating.

We believe accountancy should support the business you want to build.

That includes understanding your values and making sure your financial decisions reflect them.

Whether that means:

• Setting up a pay structure that reflects fairness and transparency
• Making space for humanity in your cost management
• Or just having a finance partner who “gets it”

We’re here for that.

Build Something That Feels Like Home

When your business aligns with your values, something shifts. Work feels more meaningful. Decisions feel less heavy. You start attracting the right people, clients, staff, and suppliers who see things the way you do.

It doesn’t mean everything is easy. But it does mean you’re building something that feels like home. Safe, stable, reliable & consistent. A place you want to keep coming back to. And in a world that moves fast and trades on shortcuts, that kind of business stands out. For a better home for your business finances, email: hello@redbrickaccounting.com