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Goodwill Hunting Who cares about socially responsible business practices? Seventy percent of consumers, that's who.

By Gayle Sato Stodder

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Because we believe the subject matter is so important, over thenext two months Entrepreneur Media is running the followingarticle, examining the question of ethics for small business, inthree of our publications: Entrepreneur, Business Start-Ups andEntrepreneur's HomeOffice.

Charlie Wilson is trying to run an ethical business. He'smade social responsibility part of the mission statement at his$1.6 million Houston-based salvage company, SeaRail InternationalInc. He's made ethics a consideration in putting togetherguidelines for his salespeople. And he's made"self-actualization"--not wealth--his ultimate goal as anentrepreneur.

But don't mistake Wilson for some born-again hippie ormoralistic stick-in-the-mud. For him, it's all about success."Ethics is what's spearheading our growth," saysWilson. "It creates an element of trust, familiarity andpredictability in the business. We're in an industry where alot of people cut corners. It's easy to misrepresent productsand be less than upfront with customers about the condition ofgoods. I just don't think that's good for business. Youdon't get a good reputation doing things that way. Andeventually, customers won't want to do business withyou."