Mission Driven Business
Brian Thompson chats with Sean Ebony Coleman, founder and CEO of Destination Tomorrow, a grassroots agency and LGBTQ+ center in the Bronx borough of New York City. Destination Tomorrow empowers the most vulnerable LGBTQ+ community members through educational, financial, support-based, housing, and health programs. On the episode, Sean details how he and his organization are addressing some of the real challenges facing the LGBTQ+ community. He also shares how he starts his mornings to stay focused and touts the value of lived experience for organizations. Episode Highlights Mission-driven...
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Brian chats with Erika Rodriguez, founder and CEO of Nadi Marketing and co-founder of Tidal Pages. Erika specializes in partnership marketing for sustainable and purpose-driven businesses. In this episode, she shares how being laid off led her to entrepreneurship, the power of niching down, and how authentic partnerships can amplify your impact. Erika also details why email should be a top marketing priority and how joy, connection, and community have shaped her businesses. Episode Highlights Mission-driven businesses prioritize sustainability. Erika defines a mission-driven business as one...
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Brian chats with Masami Sato, founder and CEO of B1G1 (Buy1GIVE1), a Certified B Corporation that empowers businesses to make giving an inherent part of every business transaction. As an experienced social entrepreneur and speaker, Masami champions the "Power of Small" -- the belief that even the smallest acts of giving, when done consistently and collectively, can create meaningful change. In this episode, Masami shares how her entrepreneurial spirit drove her to create B1G1 and how staying rooted in her mission helped her build a business that supports more than 450 high-impact projects...
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Brian chats with Ashlee Sang, a values-aligned brand messaging strategist and consultant who equips visionaries to clarify and amplify their message. Drawing on her background in anthropology, Ashlee brings a values-centered approach to brand development, content creation, and marketing strategy. In this episode, she details common challenges faced by values-driven founders, shares her six pillars of successful brand messaging, and gives a few quick tips to get your brand’s story out of your head and into the world. Episode Highlights Mission-driven businesses are “why”-driven...
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As an entrepreneur, you know that every dollar counts, so today we’re taking a deep dive into a topic that can save business owners thousands of dollars: deductible business expenses. In this episode, we’ll cover what makes an expense deductible, the savings that come with deductions, unexpected deductions, and the importance of bookkeeping. By the end of the episode, you’ll have a clear picture of how to make the most of your expenses and keep your money in your business. Episode Highlights Deductible expenses must be ordinary and necessary. Deductions are powerful. Every dollar you...
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It’s tax season crunch time, so we are resharing a timely episode debunking the 1120-S tax return. In this episode, Brian will walk you through the S-Corporation income tax return to help you better understand what you’re filing and hopefully catch mistakes before it’s too late. He provides a section-by-section analysis of Form 1120-S and highlights key areas that business owners and tax professionals make mistakes. Episode Highlights Part 1: Heading, Income, Deductions, Tax and Payments Most of this information is drawn from your business’s Profit and Loss Statement. Here’s a...
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Ready to end the year with a gift to your future self? In this special episode, Brian guides you through a six-step process to close out 2024 and set yourself up for success in 2025. You’ll tidy your finances, get a jump start on thinking about taxes, evaluate your business performance, and set strategic goals. Your Year-End Business Review Checklist Step 1: Close Out Your Financials Closing out your financials may sound dry, but it’s imperative to get right. Review your books -- Review your profit and loss for the year for any discrepancies, outstanding invoices, or payments that...
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Brian Thompson chats with Davey Shlasko, founder and CEO of Think Again Training and Consulting, a company that helps align business actions and values. With more than 20 years of experience in adult learning and organizational development, Davey specializes in driving systematic change with a focus on equity and inclusion. Davey shares practical tools for aligning internal practices with external values, discusses strategies for fostering accountability and transparency, and offers hope for navigating uncertainty in today’s climate. Episode Highlights Mission-driven businesses put purpose...
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Brian Thompson chats with Conrad Ruiz, the founder and CEO of Well Aware, a company dedicated to helping business owners reclaim their time. With a background in biomedical engineering and consulting, Conrad blends technical insight with an entrepreneurial spirit to help business owners simplify complex operations and master time management. He shares his personal journey into entrepreneurship, which started with a medical crisis, and offers practical advice on creating efficient systems and finding balance in business. Episode Highlights Mission-driven businesses start with why. For Conrad, a...
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Brian Thompson chats with Lauren Tilden, host of the Making Good podcast and a marketing coach dedicated to helping creative small business owners who want to get out of their own way and start making an impact. After 8 years in corporate marketing, Lauren left her corporate career and began her winding journey to owning and supporting small businesses. She offers insights into defining one’s ideal customer, creating goal-oriented marketing plans, and staying consistent with your message. Episode Highlights Mission-driven businesses are motivated by more than money. Growing up, Lauren felt...
info_outlineIn this special episode, host Brian Thompson shares practical steps for conducting a mid-year review that sets you and your business up to thrive in the second half of the year. You’ll learn how to clean up some of your central tasks to ensure the end of 2022 and the beginning of 2023 are as stress-free as possible. You’ll also hear why Brian advocates for small habits repeated over time and the benefits of taking a mid-year pause.
Episode Highlights
This year may feel especially stressful for fans of the Mission Driven Business, and one way to find calm in chaos is to focus on what you can control. For small business owners, that can mean tackling some of the big, end-of-the-year tasks now by conducting a mid-year review.
“Unfortunately, too many small business owners wait until the end of the year to clean up the different aspects of their business. By that point, it’s a numerous and overwhelming task, so let’s knock out some of these tasks now.”
Step 1: Review your successes and challenges.
Once you’ve gotten clear on your emotions, it’s time to review your successes and challenges. This is a great time to celebrate your successes, appreciate your progress, and gain insight into what’s working and what areas could use improvement.
“Instead of thinking that things need to be perfect, or that you can’t change your mind, pick a direction and take the next right step.”
Step 2: Review your business cash flow.
Cash flow is the lifeblood of your business, and conquering cash flow takes thought and intentional systems. One good cash flow system is the Profit First system, which leverages entrepreneurs’ natural tendency to make decisions based on their bank account balance.
“Using this system allows you to continually monitor how close you are to your targets for revenue and profit, and lets you know in real time whether there’s a problem.”
Step 3: Review essential reports.
A new step on the mid-year review checklist is to review your essential reports, which include your balance sheet, reconciliation reports, and profit and loss statements:
- Your balance sheet covers your assets, liabilities, and owner’s equity.
- Your reconciliation report ensures what’s in your accounting software matches your bank statements.
- Your profit and loss statement allows you to do a full review of the first half of the year.
Step 4: Make tax projections.
You’d probably rather not think about taxes, but the mid-way point in a year is an excellent opportunity to review your tax situation. You’ve already made two estimated tax payments and can track where you are and make projections.
“If you find that you’re behind on estimated tax payments, you still have the year to catch up, calculate how much you’re short, divide that by the six remaining months, and add that amount to your monthly tax bucket.”
Step 5: Analyze your expenses.
Now that you’ve reviewed your buckets and profit and loss statements, it’s an excellent time to analyze your expenses. To do this, print your expenses for the last six months and any recurring expenses. Add up all of your costs, multiply that number by 10%, and cut expenses by that number.
“Remember that just because you have a tax deduction for expenses, you still lose money if you’re purchasing something you don’t use.”
Step 6: Write down your next actions.
As you perform your own mid-year review, you’re likely to gain insight into the changes you want or need to make. It’s essential to write these changes down and develop an action plan with the steps you’ll take to accomplish your goals. Try limiting the changes you want to make to two or three goals.
“You’re more likely to find success taking little steps each day rather than trying to run several miles simultaneously.”
Resources + Links
- Episode 7: Being Profit First with Mike Michalowicz
- Episode 8: Eradicating Entrepreneurial Poverty with Ron Saharyan
- Episode 14: Living Your Passion with George Kinder
- Goals are only guesses, Behavior Gap / Carl Richards / The Sketch Guy
- Brian’s Social Media: Twitter, Instagram, Facebook
About Brian and the Mission Driven Business Podcast
Brian Thompson, JD/CFP, is a tax attorney and certified financial planner who specializes in providing comprehensive financial planning to LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs who run mission-driven businesses. The Mission Driven Business podcast was born out of his passion for helping social entrepreneurs create businesses with purpose and profit.
On the podcast, Brian talks with diverse entrepreneurs and the people who support them. Listeners hear stories of experiences, strength, and hope and get practical advice to help them build businesses that might just change the world, too.