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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 76: Finding Your Golden Threads with Elizabeth Jetton

    The Mission Driven Business Podcast Episode 76: Finding Your Golden Threads with Elizabeth Jetton
    May 28 2024

    Brian chats with financial planner-turned-business coach Elizabeth Jetton, M.Ed., CFP. Elizabeth has made igniting passion a throughline of her career, evolving from the first female stockbroker in Atlanta to founding a financial planning firm and now working as a business coach and teacher. On the episode, Elizabeth gets to the heart of what makes a mission-driven business successful. She dives deep into how to identify your unique gifts and utilize them to create a business that serves your needs and makes an impact.

    Episode Highlights

    Mission-driven businesses reflect their owners’ golden threads.

    Mission-driven businesses reflect what their owners deeply care about and the difference they want to make in the world. When that sense of purpose is then combined with the owners’ unique gifts and talents, Elizabeth says the result is “golden threads.”

    “Golden threads are those sort of innate gifts we bring to our lives that we can bring to our work to make a difference,” Elizabeth said. “A mission-driven business is that beautiful intersection of what we are capable of doing, what we are skilled and competent at doing, and what we have the gifts to do.”

    Think about what you don’t delegate.

    If you’re stuck on finding your golden threads, Elizabeth recommends thinking about what you’re drawn to. It can also be helpful to reflect on the tasks that you don’t like to delegate.

    “That’s the passion piece,” she said. “Sometimes we try to delegate something when in fact that’s the very thing we actually love to do easily, and then we’re frustrated because the people we delegate it to just don’t get it or because nobody’s going to get it like we do.”

    Say no -- especially when you’re just starting.

    As a business owner, it’s essential to escape the scarcity mentality that can lead you to take on work that doesn’t reflect your golden threads. Elizabeth emphasized the need to be selective in the projects you take on and to say no to things that don’t align with your mission. While many business owners struggle with saying no, she says the problem is especially prominent among novice business owners.

    “When we’re novices, we don’t have the experience, so we don’t have the conviction and confidence,” she said. “When we’re in that state, that’s when we have a tendency to say yes too much because we think we have something to prove.”

    Perfection is the enemy of good enough.

    Elizabeth is a big believer in prototyping. Especially when you’re just starting a business, you can’t get too attached to what you think the business will be because it will change.

    “Don’t wait until you think you’ve got it perfect,” she said. “You’re going to learn more from having a client and seeing what worked and what didn’t than anything else. Perfection is the enemy of good enough."

    Resources + Links

    • The Lean Startup: How Today's Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses by Eric Reis

    • Follow Elizabeth Jetton Online: 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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    44 mins
  • The Mission Driven Business Podcast Episode 75: Building A Vision-Driven Business with Cara Bedford

    The Mission Driven Business Podcast Episode 75: Building A Vision-Driven Business with Cara Bedford
    May 14 2024
    Brian chats with marketing expert Cara Bedford. As the founder and CEO of Infinite Marketing, Cara leverages the global talent economy to drive impactful campaigns for mid-to-large-sized businesses, startups, and Fortune 500 companies. On the episode, Cara shares why having a clear vision for a business can create an authentic, cohesive brand narrative. She also stresses the importance of clear communication, effective delegation, and asking the right questions. Episode Highlights Mission-driven businesses are vision-driven businesses. When Cara thinks about mission-driven businesses, she can’t help but associate the word mission with the day-to-day tactics of running a business. But what inspires her is the vision that a mission-driven business works to make a reality. “When I think about why I get out of bed everyday, vision really resonates with me,” she said. “Mission is tactical, whereas vision is the future, the dream, the destination.” At Infinite Marketing, Cara’s vision is to create a future where work is a source of joy and growth for everyone. She aspires to run a company that moves beyond work-life balance into work-life freedom. “From the growth of our digital nomad culture that we’re seeing in the creative class, people are seeking not just employment but a journey of self-discovery and personal growth and purpose,” she said. “I want a world where work is a source of pride and fulfillment and gratification, not simply a means to an end.” Create a brand guide. Cara is a big believer in the power of brand guides, which can help inform the branding decisions for a business and identify gaps in business processes. The brand guides Infinite Marketing builds for clients are living documents that span 34 to 112 pages and detail the rules and processes of going to market. “This booklet guides all of your branding decisions,” Cara explained. “People don’t understand how impactful that is to a business.” Don’t be afraid to hire outside help. Entrepreneurs can often benefit from outside expertise to help increase their chances of success. For instance, when working to redesign her logo Cara learned to trust the designer’s process, which resulted in a design more beautiful than she could have imagined. She passes on that same advice to companies thinking about hiring a marketer. Once a business reaches a certain size, hiring someone to run marketing and sales efforts will further that business growth. For instance, a new business may not need a detailed brand guide, but Cara says investing in a brand guide is imperative for businesses with revenue in the $2 million - $5 million range. “It’s a living document that grows with you,” she said. “You add pages to it as you grow, and you build frameworks as you grow.” Resources + Links The Big Leap: Conquer Your Hidden Fear and Take Life to the Next Level by Gay Hendricks Cara Bedford: LinkedIn Infinite Marketing: 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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    40 mins
  • 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
Leadership Economics
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