For most people, money makes the world go round and business bears that money. Businessmen will perhaps do anything just to achieve the ultimate goal of having a business, and that is to earn income. Net profit or income financially means a surplus of sales or revenues after deducting costs and expenses. Whether you are engaged in profession, occupation, work or trade, you are in business and you speak income. When you earn an income you suffer taxes, the worst nightmare for every income earners. Income tax is your punishment of doing well in business. This sounds ridiculous but this is the reality, you pay when you earn. Because tax is legislative, noncompliance to this would result to crimes. This thing called income tax had already made billions of liars around the world. Some governments imposed taxes which are already too much to burden the flow of business. Others make tax laws that are already beyond the ability of taxpayers. However, these facts must not result in the existence of enormous number of dishonest people in the world.
Ethics in business rarely exists nowadays. Perhaps it is because for most people, profit will come without the need of business ethics. This, I don’t agree. The word ethics is derived from the Greek word ethos, which means “character,” and from the Latin word mores, which means “customs.” According to the encyclopedia ethics is the branch of philosophy that defines what is good for the individual and for society and establishes the nature of obligations, or duties, that people owe themselves and one another. Maybe ethics is not needed to earn profit if you define profit or income as money. But deeply speaking, business is not just for money. Yes it is definitely for profit, but profit is not just financial profit. We need profit that will not just sustain our pocket or our stomach. Significantly, we also need profits that will feed our hearts and soul. Considering that we are great businessmen, we should extend our minds to this principle. We need business ethics to earn these high valued profits. We must be concerned to the virtue of our character and to the common good.
Your business is not just for the survival of your life on Earth but it can also be your road to the survival of your soul. If you’re in business and had a company, you can help your employees by providing them enough salaries and other benefits that will make their lives better. You can be honest and pay your exact tax for the government who will eventually use it for your country’s development. (Assuming your government is straight and not corrupt) But don’t mind them, be honest even others are not. We are talking here your soul survival and not theirs. You can also serve your customers by providing them their needs and giving them convenience. Customer care is so important for your customers as also important for your business to earn public trust and loyalty. If you build infrastructures for your company you contribute to the development of your place in terms of buildings and infrastructures. When you got ethics in business, you practice fair business competition. Fair business competition is a challenge for every business to improve the qualities of their products and services, and the end benefits are to the consumers.
Doing business with a clean conscience is doing business with good night sleeps. It is also doing business with gladness of your heart and soul. Gratitude will come to you and you will become a stress-free businessman if you do business with ethics. These and other spiritual profits will straightly come to you and the good thing on this is you are not taxed on this kind of profit. As an extraordinary businessman, you do not only set your long-term goals for 10 years or for a lifetime. You must also consider eternity and set goals to achieve profits that will benefit your soul. You need profits that last forever, profits that will give us everlasting life and happiness, and profits that will earn us the key to heaven. These profits will benefit us in the short run, midterm run, long run, and eternal run, as God is great from the beginning and unto the never-ending.
Do business and believe in God. Building our business in God’s place is like building it in rocks which are in great foundations. Let us be kind and grateful to our employees as they are our best assets. Let’s give them bread, and they will give us a ham sandwich. Let us have huge care to our customers as they are our best revenue generators. Let’s give them good prices, high-quality products, and the best services, and they will give us their respect and loyalty. Let us be fair to our competitors as they are our great motivators. Let us give them fair game, and they will give us the true meaning of winning. Let us be thankful to our Father Almighty God as He is our greatest business partner. Let’s serve Him, and He will give us joy and peace of mind.
