By Alex R. Thiersch, JD, Founder/Director of the American Med Spa Association (AmSpa)

In his 2013 letter to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders, company chairman and CEO, Warren Buffett, said, "More than 50 years ago, Charlie [Munger, Berkshire Hathaway vice chairman] told me that it was far better to buy a wonderful business at a fair price than to buy a fair business at a wonderful price." This might seem counterintuitive to the shark-like practices that are celebrated in certain sectors of the modern business world today, but I believe that if you conduct all your dealings fairly and ethically, you will give yourself a good chance for success.

When you go into business and begin forming partnerships, agreeing to contracts, and making deals with others—whether they are employees or external businesses—you should always strive to make fair deals. In other words, don't scramble after every last dollar and screw people over just so that you can feel like you'e "won" something. Some businesspeople will do anything to achieve this feeling, but deals don't have to have winners or losers—a fair deal allows everyone to get what they want.

For example, if you're negotiating with someone who you know is undervaluing his or her position, don't try to take advantage of it just to save a few bucks. You should respect the other party, no matter what. You might even end up paying a bit more than you think you should be paying, but as long as you're conducting business ethically, you're likely to build a positive reputation among your peers, which should lead to future opportunities.

I believe in something I call "corporate karma," which dictates that if you conduct your business fairly, you'll end up attracting people—employees, business partners, etc.—who are good for your business. In regard to the previous example, if, instead of making a fair deal with the person who is undervaluing his or her asset, you decide to take advantage of his or her inexperience, that person will almost certainly find out what you'e done and will likely be extremely hesitant to do business with you again. What's more, he or she is likely to spread word of your shady practices, and you might find yourself frozen out of certain circles because you needed to feel like you "won" the original deal.

There are lots of things in the world of business and finance that you can't control, but your conduct isn't one of them. If you approach your dealings ethically and fairly, you'll improve your chances of success. After all, the best kinds of deals are the ones in which both sides feel as though they'e won.

For more medical spa business and legal best-practices, and to learn how to build and run your med spa right, attend one of AmSpa's Medical Spa & Aesthetic Boot Camps.