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Mission Driven Business

By: Brian Thompson
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  • Summary

  • Diverse entrepreneurs share their experiences, strength, and hope to help mission-driven businesses thrive. In a series of intimate conversations, attorney and CFP Brian Thompson and his guests provide practical steps to create businesses with impact and profit.
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Episodes
  • The Mission Driven Business Podcast Episode 74: Using Data To Drive Diversity with Ken Janssens

    The Mission Driven Business Podcast Episode 74: Using Data To Drive Diversity with Ken Janssens
    Apr 23 2024
    Brian chats with diversity, equity, and inclusion trailblazer Ken Janssens. During his 25-year-long career at JPMorgan Chase, Ken co-founded and chaired the company’s LGBTQ+ Executive Council, championing diversity and inclusivity at the highest levels. He’s also the former Board Chair for leading LGBTQ+ Workplace Inclusion non-profit Out & Equal. On the episode, Ken discusses his new venture, Windō, which aims to make corporate sustainability transparent and to connect young people with employers that share their values. He also shares his journey from activist leader to visionary entrepreneur and touts why establishing a clear mission and vision makes financial sense for companies. Episode Highlights Mission-driven businesses place purpose at their core. Ken defines a mission-driven business as one that puts purpose at its core. He also pointed out that purpose is especially important to Gen Z employees, who are the first generation to place purpose over pay when finding an employer. “Whilst a lot of companies have adopted purpose statements, there are many that still haven’t,” Ken said. “Purpose can rally an entire organization around something that is usually quite simple but very powerful.” Keep it simple. Ken co-founded Windō to connect young talent with value-aligned employers. Having such a simple mission statement has made it easy for him to recall and ensure his daily decisions are grounded in the company’s purpose. “Our mission just rolls off the tongue, but obviously, you don’t just come up with that willy nilly,” he said. “You really think about it, but then it’s very clear. It grounds us and makes it easy to talk about what we’re about in one simple sentence.” Use data to drive diversity. While Windō’s data focuses on large companies, Ken says that small business owners can still take inspiration from some of the top performers. For instance, a company of any size can implement self-ID, which allows employees to disclose their demographic information to break down large data sets by diverse groups. Companies can then use the self-ID data to measure how employee satisfaction varies among different groups of people and, ideally, use the resulting awareness to improve year over year. “I think every company is aiming for belonging, and that’s difficult to measure,“ Ken said. “This is a great way of doing that. You ask employees different kinds of questions and get the results by a diverse group, and you don’t guard the results as a secret when there’s work to do.” Transparency builds trust. The ultimate goal of sustainability reports is to build trust, according to Ken. However, you can’t have trust without transparency, commitment, and accountability. He also emphasized that potential employees know that increasing workplace diversity can be challenging and that progress isn’t always linear. “Gen Z is okay with the numbers being low, but they want to see progress,” Ken said. “Moving the dial is hard, and sometimes you have a dip. It’s okay if they’re still in the grand scheme making progress.” Resources + Links The Big Leap: Conquer Your Hidden Fear and Take Life to the Next Level by Gay Hendricks The Activist Leader: A New Mindset for Doing Business by Lucy Parker and Jon Miller Ken Janssens: LinkedIn Windō: Website, LinkedIn Brian Thompson Financial: Website, Newsletter, Podcast Follow Brian Thompson Online: Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, X, Forbes 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.
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    38 mins
  • The Mission Driven Business Podcast Episode 73: Tech, Ethics, and Empowerment with Amanda Wilson

    The Mission Driven Business Podcast Episode 73: Tech, Ethics, and Empowerment with Amanda Wilson
    Apr 9 2024
    Brian chats with Amanda Wilson, the co-founder of #open, a dating app for ethically non-monogamous relationships. On the episode, Amanda opens up about the fear she faced pivoting from running political campaigns to launching a sex-positive tech business with her business and life partner. She also shares essential strategies and tactics for navigating the challenges of entrepreneurship and how she utilizes AI to fuel growth and innovation at #open. Episode Highlights Mission-driven businesses balance making money with benefiting society. Amanda defines a mission-driven business as one that doesn’t just focus on finances as the number one goal. As part of making #open a mission-driven business, Amanda is setting up the company to become a​​ Certified B Corporation, which requires balancing making money with the responsibility to benefit society. “Our mission is to create safer spaces for marginalized and at-risk communities to form authentic connections,” Amanda said. “That’s exceptionally important to us because we are a dating app for people that are in ethically non-monogamous relationships, which is still a hard road for people who are doing that.” Keep your customers safe. One of the goals of #open is to build a safe space for the sex-positive community. To do that, the company makes it a point to listen to its user base, including by talking to customers through the #open support team and by reading app store reviews. Amanda also says the company prioritizes safety through data privacy. “Your data is just an extension of you, so your data needs to be treated as respectfully as we would treat another person standing right here in front of us,” Amanda said. “#Open can always strive to be a safer place.” Use AI to improve your human touch. Amanda sees the use of artificial intelligence (AI) as a way to improve the personal touch of businesses and marketing strategies. For instance, #open reviews every picture that goes inside its app, and AI can help flag images that may break the company's content policies. Also, Amanda uses an AI transcription tool to review her podcast interviews and find points she can improve upon for next time. “AI definitely helps us to be able to have that personal touch,” she said. “Building our community is one of the strategies and tactics we use.” Hire your potential customers. #Open emphasizes hiring people within the community they’re serving, so that the people creating the tools can better understand the dynamics around the software’s real-world use. “We try and hire as many women and other marginalized people as we can,” Amanda said. “My one request is if we can get more women in tech, life would be so much better for so many people.” Resources + Links B Corp Certification Otter.AI Amanda Wilson: LinkedIn #open: Website, Instagram, Facebook, X, Tumblr, YouTube Brian Thompson Financial: Website, Newsletter, Podcast Follow Brian Thompson Online: Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, X, Forbes 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.
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    37 mins
  • The Mission Driven Business Podcast Episode 72: Crafting A Legacy Of Leadership with Amanda Bauer-Frisch

    The Mission Driven Business Podcast Episode 72: Crafting A Legacy Of Leadership with Amanda Bauer-Frisch
    Mar 26 2024
    Brian chats with serial entrepreneur and visionary leader Amanda Bauer-Frisch. As the CEO of Small Legacies, Amanda creates a way to give thoughtful, high-quality learning tools that enhance a child’s development. She also oversees several other small, legacy-driven businesses under the Enduring Legacy brand. On the episode, Amanda opens up about how becoming a young widow and being open to the right, new opportunities shaped her entrepreneurial journey. She also provides a behind-the-scenes look at how she’s purchased several existing brands and shares tips for finding and acquiring businesses. Episode Highlights Mission-driven businesses exist for a reason deeper than profit. Amanda defines a mission-driven business as one that exists for a reason deeper than profit. When she started Small Legacies, she created a hand-made wooden bank to teach her oldest son the basic financial literacy skills of saving, spending, and giving. But she also had a deeper meaning in mind. “My first husband passed away in 2017 from a genetic heart condition at 30 years old,” she said. “So making this bank for my oldest was like helping to carry on my husband’s legacy and memory.” Elevate and delegate. When Amanda started Small Legacies, she built the company’s signature wooden bank boxes in her garage. Eventually, Small Legacies received so many orders that she needed to find a wood toy manufacturer to meet the demand, which in turn made it possible to acquire and take over the operations of another family-owned woodworking business. She wouldn’t have been able to grow if she hadn’t practiced the principle of “delegate and elevate.” “That’s still a daily part of my journey -- trying to figure out where I can shine and what things bring me the most joy but also yield the most results for the business,” Amanda said. “And then how can I find the right people to support me in the business on the things that, frankly, bring me no joy or I’m not good at them.” Hire and fire based on your values. For Amanda, one of the hardest parts of running a mission-driven small business is knowing that she is responsible for the well-being of the employees on her payroll. Finding the right teammates that fit her company’s mission, vision, and values is already challenging, but gets even more complex when acquiring employees of another company. Amanda experienced this challenge firsthand last year when an existing employee of a company she had acquired refused to comply with Enduring Legacy’s policy of being open and accepting to any employee. Although the employee had a lot of knowledge about the newly acquired brand and processes, Amanda decided to end the company’s relationship with him because he wouldn’t be a good fit for the company’s values. Even though the decision required Amanda to cash in her 401(k) to buy new equipment, she knew it was the right thing to do. “It was an incredibly easy decision,” she said. “It was a difficult day, but at the same time, I went to bed and slept great that night because it was the right thing to do.” Resources + Links What the Heck is EOS? A Complete Guide for Employees in Companies Running on EOS by Gino Wickman and Tom Bouwer Amanda Bauer-Frisch: LinkedIn Small Legacies: Website, Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, TikTok Navy Paddles: Website, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn Brian Thompson Financial: Website, Newsletter, Podcast Follow Brian Thompson Online: Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, X (formerly known as Twitter), Forbes 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.
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    35 mins
Leadership Economics
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