Mission Driven Business
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...
info_outline The Mission Driven Business Podcast Episode 87: Creating Purposeful Marketing with Lauren TildenMission Driven Business
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_outline The Mission Driven Business Podcast Episode 86: Building Your Ideal Business with Adam OhMission Driven Business
Brian Thompson chats with Adam Oh, founder of Adam Aligned, a business focused on helping people heal from emotional hardship, find direction, and realize their full potential. On the episode, Adam shares his journey from music artist and social media influencer to self-help entrepreneur. He emphasizes the importance of research and trial and error. He also discusses the significance of overcoming limiting beliefs and provides some actional tools to identify and address them. Episode Highlights Mission-driven businesses operate with core values. Adam defined a mission-driven business as one...
info_outline The Mission Driven Business Podcast Episode 85: Nursing Your Instagram Profile To Wealth with Jumer AdalinMission Driven Business
Brian Thompson chats with nurse-turned-entrepreneur, Jumer Adalin. As a social media expert, Jumer helps fellow nurse entrepreneurs grow their businesses through social media to create both impact and income. On the episode, Jumer shares his journey from ICU nurse to social media superstar. He also offers valuable tips for Instagram marketing and creating content to grow and nurture your own online audience. Episode Highlights Mission-driven businesses focus on solving problems. As a nurse-by-trade, Jumer likens a mission-driven business to a healthcare team whose common goal is to bring about...
info_outline The Mission Driven Business Podcast Episode 84: Improving Financial Security for the LGBTQ+ Community with Debt Free Guys David and John Auten-SchneiderMission Driven Business
Brian Thompson chats with Queer Money podcast hosts and Debt Free Guys founders David and John Auten-Schneider. David and John have more than a decade of experience helping the queer community thrive financially through their podcast, website, and emails. On the episode, they discuss the importance of being intentional with how you choose to grow and engage with your audience. They also open up about some setbacks they’ve experienced as entrepreneurs and tips they’ve learned in their decade-long entrepreneurial journey. Episode Highlights Mission-driven businesses have a purpose beyond...
info_outline The Mission Driven Business Podcast Episode 83: Braving Discomfort to Live Your Purpose with Channyn Lynne ParkerMission Driven Business
Brian Thompson chats with human rights advocate and Brave Space Alliance CEO Channyn Lynne Parker. Channyn is a public speaker whose accolades include the inaugural Trans100 award, Henrietta Lacks award, and Equality Illinois Freedom Award. As CEO of Brave Space Alliance, Channyn shepherds the first Black-led, trans-led TLGBQ+ center on the south side of Chicago. On the episode, Channyn shares her journey to becoming the CEO of Brave Space Alliance and the significance of finding alignment in life. She also reveals why the nursery rhyme “Row, Row, Row Your Boat” is deeper than you...
info_outline The Mission Driven Business Podcast Episode 82: Creating a Thriving Private Social Network with Shadé AkandeMission Driven Business
Brian Thompson chats with Shadé Akande, founder and CEO of ONE X LEAGUE, a private social league for Black and Afro-Latina women executives and founders. With more than 18 years of global HR experience at companies like Google and Walmart, Shadé shares her journey of creating a community during that pandemic that blossomed into ONE X LEAGUE. Tune in to hear how a series of brunches sparked the idea for a business all about building relationships and how the transformative power of feedback made ONE X LEAGUE the social network it is today. Episode Highlights Mission-driven businesses...
info_outline The Mission Driven Business Podcast Episode 81: How To Use Instagram to Amplify Your Mission and Engage Your AudienceMission Driven Business
Instagram is more than just a social media platform. It has evolved into a visual storytelling hub where businesses can connect deeply with their audience among the more than 1 billion monthly active users on the platform. On this special episode, Brian delves into the intricacies of marketing on Instagram. Whether you’re just starting out looking to enhance your online presence, this episode will equip you with the knowledge and strategies to leverage Instagram effectively. Episode Highlights Outline your engagement strategy. Instagram provides a unique platform for you to showcase your...
info_outline The Mission Driven Business Podcast Episode 80: Transforming Lives and AI with Wendy GonzalezMission Driven Business
Brian chats with tech trailblazer and Sama CEO Wendy Gonzalez. Sama is a mission-driven Certified B Corp that seeks to raise the standards for both machine learning and global working conditions. The company’s innovative approach to ethically sourcing and training tech talent has lifted more than 68,000 people out of poverty since 2008. On the episode, Wendy dives deep into Sama’s unique for-profit business structure, including reserving a Board of Directors seat for its non-profit on its non-profit roots. She also touts the importance of conviction and self-awareness when building and...
info_outline The Mission Driven Business Podcast Episode 79: Niching Down with Hugo E. GomezMission Driven Business
Brian chats with entrepreneur and Hispanic marketing leader Hugo E. Gomez. As the founder of HispanicMarketing.com, Hugo helps U.S. businesses connect with the Hispanic market. On the episode, Hugo discusses the importance of niching down for marketing and creating personal branding on social media. He also shares the lessons learned on his journey from an employee to self-employed, including embracing uncertainty and trusting himself to figure things out. Episode Highlights Mission-driven businesses seek win-wins. HispanicMarketing.com is composed of four sub-brands -- Abogados NOW, Doctores...
info_outlineBrian chats with Tuesday P. Brooks, a business owner, educator, trusted tax and accounting advisor, and U.S. veteran. Her company, AJOY, champions profitability for women-led micro and small businesses. On the episode, Tuesday shares the power of being open to suggestions and how following where you’re led can lead to some incredible outcomes. She also breaks down how prioritizing profitability can help entrepreneurs better support their mission and create impact.
Episode Highlights
Revenue is a primary focus for mission-driven businesses.
Tuesday describes a mission-driven business as one in which the people running it understand that revenue and sales have to be a key focus. If you’re running a business with a good cause that doesn’t make any money, then you’re essentially volunteering.
“The only way you can support your mission is if you have the resources to do it,” Tuesday said. “And resources mean money.”
The need for revenue to support a mission is particularly impactful for Tuesday as her company AJOY teaches financial fluency to business owners. The company specializes in helping womxn-led businesses achieve profitability through three tiers of support: bookkeeping, cash management, and tax strategy.
“If they're employing all of these things, they have no choice to but to be profitable,” she said.
You can’t grow if nobody knows what you do.
Before AJOY existed as a financial management firm, Tuesday used the brand name to provide a wide variety of business services to clients. The problem was that the company didn’t grow because nobody quite knew what she did.
“If during that time you were to ask 10 people, ‘What does Tuesday do?,’ you would have gotten 10 different answers because I was capable of doing a lot of things,” she said.
Then, in 2009, she decided to focus on accounting and tax for small businesses. Once she claimed her niche, the business started to grow because people became very aware of her services and did not come to her for anything else.
“I have not wavered from what we do, and how we do it has only gotten better,” she said. “People started to understand they could rely on us.”
Follow where you’re led.
Before leaning into running a financial management firm for womxn-led businesses, Tuesday had a winding career path. She got her Master’s in Education based on a friend's suggestion and her Business Degree in Media Management because her Mom saw a flier for a program. She also discovered her niche because her mentor and business coach suggested she go to a boot camp. Her experiences have led her to espouse the power of being able to follow.
“Everybody talks about leadership, but there’s also power in being open to suggestions and doing things,” she said. “It led to so many wonderful experiences that brought me to where I am now, and it’s how we’re able to support our business because I tapped into so many industries.”
Resources + Links
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.