Just sell your soul to the devil.
I worked for 1 year at one of these places it was like working for the Mafia.
You have to be ready to bribe city officials, wait ... that would be "make campaign contributions, and hold parties for select city officials". "Say, Mayor Schmoe - let's talk about someone 'reconsidering' the location of the flood plain so that I can squeeze in 20 extra homes? That's what insurance is for, right?"
You should study, "How to hire sub-contractors who only hire illegals to boost your profits 101".
You should also study "How to hire goons who can 'lean' on the sub-contractors". Construction guys don't intimidate easily, so you need to hire some guy who can wear a white hat and a tie, minimum height of 6-2 and minimum weight of 220.
You must have connections both at the city and in the community.
You must have money - either your own or other people's.
You must have influence - so that you can get your way. [not only must you have connections, you must have connections who can make things happen]
Practice "the big smile and strong handshake - 'how's the family'" - and practice being cold enough to say "fvck him" moments after giving the big smile and handshake.
Be prepared to hire the best finance guys so that you can take home WADS of cash, but show a loss. If the IRS doesn't like it, well the head finance guy takes it in the a$$ for you. You want to be able to 'lean' on the finance and accounting folks to make sure that they have the correct figures as you see them. Make sure that you only insinuate these things, never tell them directly, because you don't want them to say "Mr. Bigboss said ..."
Certainly, you don't want a personal computer or email ... because you don't want any permanent records of any email messages sent by you.
Simply practice killing a few animals with a smile on your face and you will go far.