It all begins with ethics.

You have launched a new business, or are running a profitable one, and want to make sure that you are appropriately accounting for things and that you are paying the least amount of taxes legally possible. After all, the U.S. taxation system is complex and a bit biased as it allows wealthy people to own multitudes of assets (businesses, properties, etc.) and pay very little in taxes as long as things are properly managed. Nothing is wrong with that … our point, the U.S. taxation system is not generally set up for the average citizen.

You are past the worry of making sure that the business is sustainable and in the black. Be ethical with your business decisions as most of the time they impact others and often times have unintended consequences. If something is profitable but destroys a local ecosystem, exploits an indigenous population (or anyone for that matter), and/or creates business by lying to customers or propagates a lie. Stop that immediately!

Continuing to make ethical decisions in everyday business operations is critical. Ask the easy, and difficult, questions with how to best handle situations, people, and business operations. You, and your business (employees, customers, vendors, etc.) are not the only ones impacted by these decisions. Be willing to admit to mistakes, or that another way of handling something is better and make those positive changes as quickly as possible ... Karma is a bitch.