Brian chats with three-time tech founder and CEO Neha Sampat. Her latest venture, Contentstack, is a category-leading Composable Digital Experience Platform used by Mitsubishi Electric, Burberry, Icelandair, Leesa, and more. Neha has raised $169 million in capital for Contentstack over the past three years, including a recent $80 million Series C round. On the episode, Neha provides a wealth of strategies and tactics for building multiple successful businesses, including the importance of aligning a mission with company values. She also shares why she is a relentless advocate for achieving equity in the workforce and how getting comfortable with rejection helped her to become one of the top women in tech for fundraising dollars. Photos Credit: Courtesy of Austin Woman Magazine. Shot by Rudy Arocha. Episode Highlights Mission-driven businesses align with their values. Neha describes a mission-driven business as one whose mission aligns with its values. Ideally, the business’s mission is to change lives, create impact, and do something meaningful. The company's values then inform how the business achieves its mission. “It all boils down to what the company’s values are,” she said. “Values that are shared and understood and revisited often so that they're not just something on a board somewhere but something we’re actually living on a regular basis and rewarding people to live by.” Get comfortable with rejection. Raising millions of dollars takes a lot of rejection. When Neha was figuring out how to raise capital for her startups, she was routinely told no. To get to a yes, she learned to be resilient, ask for feedback, make changes, and try again. “You do that 100 times before you get to the point where someone wants to write you a term sheet,” she said. Find your champion. Neha’s breakthrough came when she found her champion and, later, her first investor. By following her champion’s playbook, she reached an inflection point where her work started to come together. Now, Neha is one of the top women in tech for fundraising dollars -- a fact that makes her smile. “There’s always somebody that becomes a champion for you, and when that happens, it’s so magical,” she says. “There aren’t a lot of female CEOs, and almost none in enterprise SAAS, that have raised this much capital. I want people to know that and see that it is possible if you stay on that course, build resilience, believe in yourself, and find champions.” Everybody has a superpower. As a woman of color tech founder without an engineering background, Neha didn’t have someone successful to look up to when she was a new tech entrepreneur. Her experience made her incredibly passionate about providing access and opportunities to more people in the tech industry.  For instance, when she created Contentstack, Neha partnered with community colleges to bring students into the organization. Now, some of those students have been with Contentstack for more than 15 years. “Everybody has their own superpower, and sometimes the right access, opportunities, or education lets you unlock it,” she said. “I go out of my way to look for those opportunities.” Resources + Links Contentstack: Website, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, GitHub Neha’s Social Media: Website, LinkedIn 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.

Brian chats with RHEA Services founder and “accidental business owner” Sarah Kendrick. Sarah started her career as a music therapist for children and adults with developmental disabilities but later realized the need for care and support in the bereavement process while helping her family after the death of her grandma. Bringing together the skills she developed during her years as a therapist, she founded RHEA Services to simplify the life transitions pre-planning and estate closure processes. On the episode, Sarah walks listeners through her journey of becoming an entrepreneur, including the struggles that turned into stepping stones. She also shares how she’s iterated and developed RHEA Services by listening to the needs of her customers and reads a blessing for business owners. Episode Highlights Mission-driven businesses make the world better. Sarah says mission-driven businesses do work that makes the world better than it is now. She started her mission-driven business, RHEA Services, in 2020 to help families and small business owners gather essential information in case something were to happen to them. “You’re the only person who knows what’s in your head, which is usually a good thing, but it gets troublesome when you are the one person who knows all of your most important pieces of information.” she said. “I help people basically make a map of that information so that if something happens, somebody knows where to go and look and get what they need.” She stumbled upon her line of work after reading an article about a woman in her 40s who struggled with the “business of death” after her husband died of cancer suddenly and unexpectedly. She immediately knew that helping families with the administrative pieces of losing a loved one was exactly what she wanted to be doing, but she couldn’t find another business doing that kind of work. “I am very much an accidental business owner, and I think that’s sometimes how mission-driven businesses start,” she said. “They see a problem and what they can do to help that problem. That was my situation.” Your customers will tell you what they need. Listen to them. The type of administrative work that Sarah set out to do in 2020 is just a small portion of what RHEA Services offers today. While Sarah didn’t intentionally set out to grow her business, it has naturally evolved as Sarah uncovers her own needs and listens intently to customers’ needs. “I am hearing what people need,” she said. “That doesn’t mean that I have to just do whatever people want me to do, but if it feels right to me, too, that’s a really lovely way to honor their faith in me.” Being a business owner is exciting and terrifying. Sarah describes herself as the type of person who prefers predictability and a schedule, which is not the life of a business owner. As she’s created and grown her business over the past three years, she’s learned to adjust her mindset about being an entrepreneur. She may never love the lack of predictability, but she’s grown to like the challenge of solving problems. “Being a business owner is exciting, exhilarating, and terrifying, and I am far more open to it than I ever was before,” Sarah said. “I’m more capable than I thought I was, and I’ve developed this newfound confidence in myself.” Resources + Links RHEA Services: Website, Instagram, Facebook Sarah’s Social Media: LinkedIn 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.

Brian chats with long-time friend and fellow lawyer-turned-entrepreneur Jesmond Riggins. Jesmond founded Legislative Logistics, a legislative consulting company for small and medium-sized businesses. On the episode, Jesmond tells his inspiring story from graduating high school near the bottom of his class to graduating from law school and now starting his own business. He also provides insight into the motivational mindset that helps him to continue to achieve success. Episode Highlights Who you were does not determine who you will be. By the time Jesmond reached high school, he was entirely disinterested in school except for playing football. In a pivotal conversation, his football coach convinced him to not quit the team, which he now attributes as a key factor for why he stayed in school and eventually graduated. However, he graduated with a GPA of 1.3 on a 4.0 scale and a rank of 443 out of 459 students. “Graduating from high school I felt lost,” Jesmond said. “I remember thinking to myself, ‘I’m going nowhere. I’m left behind.’” While his friends went off to college, Jesmond joined the military. After his time in the service, he worked full-time and attended community college while sleeping in the living room of his mother’s apartment. Because of his poor high school performance, he had a lot of catching up to do and took several remedial classes. Despite the difficulty, Jesmond kept pushing and landed a scholarship to continue his education at St. John’s University in Queens, NY, where he decided to study government and politics. His professors saw a brilliance in him that they cultivated, which led him to attend Rutgers University law school and land a job after graduation in the Department of Justice. “I was lucky enough to find myself in the Civil Rights Division,” he said. “I was the only Black male civil rights analyst who implemented and enforced section five of the Voting Rights Act.” Outwork your imposter syndrome. Even as Jesmond worked toward a future he wanted, he struggled with self-doubt and imposter syndrome. To overcome those feelings, he gave his studies his best effort and gained confidence as the effort he put in reflected in his grades. “I was deathly afraid that people would find out that I was stupid, that I’m not supposed to be there,” he said. “So I worked hard. I studied every single day. And when I got my first report card back, it was straight As.” Create a business that solves a problem. Desmond’s law career spanned a variety of government and politics-related roles, where he noticed that many people from organizations didn’t know how the political system worked and how to best influence it. “I had no idea that what I was observing would turn into a business idea," he said. "It was just something that I noticed and all of us complained about.” Once he realized he could create a business to help small and midsize businesses that can't afford lobbyists, he came up with the dollar amount he needed to save to cover the essentials for himself and his family while he got his business off the ground. Then, he saved as if his life depended on it. "If you wait for the right moment, you may never do something," he said. Resources + Links Jesmond’s Social Media: LinkedIn 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.

Brian chats with Krish Himmatramka, the founder of Do Amore, which sells ethically sourced engagement rings to further its mission of providing clean water to people in developing countries. On the episode, Krish shares his journey from mechanical engineer to mission-driven entrepreneur, including his experience on the hit TV show Shark Tank. He also provides insights into building a for-profit brand that makes an impact and details how he scaled his business from an $18,000 investment to netting $40 million in sales. Episode Highlights Mission-driven businesses change lives. Krish defines a mission-driven business as one where you want to make money and use some of that money to improve a community -- whether that community is small and local or the entire world. His company, Do Amore, fulfills its mission by bringing clean water to a person in a developing country every time a customer buys an engagement or wedding ring. “Do Amore is basically the most ethical engagement ring and wedding ring company in the world,” Krish said. “This way a couple can use their life-changing moment to actually change another life forever.” Make an ethical case for a for-profit company. Before Krish started Do Amore, he saw many nonprofit businesses trying to bring people clean water, but few that made a significant impact at fulfilling that mission. Rather than starting yet another nonprofit, he thought he could positively change more lives by funding nonprofit work with the sales from a for-profit business that sold something expensive at a large volume -- like engagement rings. “I focused on making an ethical ring for my girlfriend that actually helped the world,” Krish said. “The best way to do this was to sell something expensive that was high volume and high profit margin, so that every time we sell something, we could make a massive difference.” Keep a startup mentality. Krish saved $18,000 to start his business, and it’s the only money he needed to invest. He largely credits the success to avoiding inventory costs by only making orders after receiving payment from a customer, but he also says putting his savings into the company forced him to make the business work. “It was a very slow and steady process,” Krish said. “You start with selling one ring a month, then the next month selling three, then five.” Advertise your mission -- especially on SharkTank. After years of slow but steady growth, Krish says two decisions were crucial to building Do Amore’s momentum: (1) Migrating to a “real website” that he didn’t build himself and (2) paying for advertising. Another great way to advertise? Being on the hit TV show Shark Tank, as Krish can attest since he was featured on Season 13 of the show. “Having people like Mark Cuban and Kevin O’Leary talking to you on the screen adds some trust,” Krish said. “I think it added a trust component for us.” Resources + Links Watch Krish’s Shark Tank episode Do Amore: Website, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest Krish’s Social Media: Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn 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.

Brian chats with Paul Pastor, a media and tech entrepreneur who currently serves as Chief Business Officer and Co-Founder of Quickplay. In the episode, Paul shares his experience transitioning from media to the tech industry -- and how he immediately noticed and began to address a lack of diversity in the latter. He also discusses the business case for diversity and opens up about the lessons he learned from a previous failed business venture. Episode Highlights Mission-driven businesses follow personal motivations. Mission-driven businesses take a step back and follow the personal motivations of their founders, according to Paul. When he created Quickplay, he had three big drivers and motivators behind the vision for the company: Do you see a big idea and want to chase it? Can you continue to drive impact in the industry that you have? How do you make sure you keep a sense of responsibility that comes with being an entrepreneur? Paul and his co-founders stayed true to their answers as they created a company that builds out the technology behind streaming services. Paul's also guided Quickplay to a broader LGBTQ+ ally-driven initiative, which gives the company an even greater sense of mission and purpose. “I think about how do I, from a company perspective, not only make an impact on a specific technology or specific television show distribution, but also how do I step up as an individual and how do we step up as a company and say there’s other things that are important about the way we do business,” he said. Make a business case for diversity. When Paul moved into the tech industry, he immediately noticed the lack of diversity. Walking around a trade show, it was clear that the majority of attendees were white or Indian men. In response, he’s made it a focus for Quickplay to create space for LGBTQ+ individuals and allies in the tech industry -- and the result is a positive impact on the business. “At the National Association of Broadcasters conferences, we had a co-sponsorship with Google Cloud, and what I loved was not only did we have a huge number of attendees but it became an event that people wanted to go to and co-sponsor,” Paul said. “Anil Jain from Google stood up and said, ‘This is the company that shares the values of how we like to operate, and that’s the type of company we want to do business with.’” Culture always wins. Not only can diversity lead to business opportunities, but it can also create a work culture that allows employees to do their best work alone and together. As a result, the company creates a strong, safe, and respectful culture that allows it to thrive. But Paul emphasizes that culture has to stop at the top. “When a leader walks in the room, everybody else is looking at how that leader walks into the room,” Paul said. “Your presence, how you communicate, how you talk to others matters because it sets up how others mimic those behaviors and fundamentally take on the positive and negative aspects of the company.” Find product-market fit quickly and cheaply. The first gate for a business to cross on its way to success is product-market fit. Paul emphasized that it's important to find product-market fit as quickly and cheaply as possible because once you can show fit and market size, you can find capital to grow. “It takes a lot of discipline to make sure you follow through those proper phases,” Paul said. “We’ve clearly agreed and defined our goals, so we’re not spending a lot of time debating the next step because we’ve already defined where we’re headed.” Resources + Links Quickplay: Website, Twitter, LinkedIn Paul’s Social Media: LinkedIn 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.

Now that we’re past the tax deadline of April 18, you may be tempted to throw your tax return into a drawer or folder and not think about your taxable income or deductions until next year. But now is the best time to look over what you filed and think ahead. Brian walks listeners through the 1040 tax form, so you can catch mistakes before it’s too late and start planning for next tax year. Episode Highlights  Part 1: Personal information  This is the place to make an excellent first impression. Missing your name, address, and social security number will get you rejected immediately. Make sure your filing status and dependents are correct. The definitions generally focus on your status as of the last day of the last year, and if multiple options apply, pick the one that’s best for you.  This section of the 1040 tax form also has two checkboxes. The first asks if you’d like to contribute $3 of your tax money to the presidential election campaign fund. The second asks about digital assets, such as cryptocurrency, and it’s important to not skip.  Part 2: Gross income Gross income is pretty much anything and everything you’ve earned. Just some examples listed in IRS Code Section 61 include earnings from fees, commissions, fringe benefits, business gains and dealings, property interest, rent, royalties, dividends, alimony, annuities, and pensions.  Importantly, gross income doesn’t just include cash. For example, exchanging legal services or dental services is also part of your gross income. Part 3: Above-the-line deductions  Once you have your gross income, it's time to make some adjustments, deductions, and allowances to figure out the final amount you owe the government. Figuring out your taxable income can be complicated -- after all, the tax code is 74,000 pages long. Use the income documents you receive, such as W-2s or NEC-1099s, and any tax software to guide you. Reading the form details can also be surprisingly helpful, and the IRS provides a guidebook called Publication 17.  In the tax world, there are two types of deductions: above-the-line deductions that reduce your total income and below-the-line deductions that reduce your taxable income. There are a lot of adjustments you can make, so take time to read through and figure out which ones apply to you.  Most people can access the above-the-line adjustments if they have a qualifying expense. You can find a list of your adjustments on Part 2 of your Schedule 1, the same document you use to identify additional income sources.  Part 4: Below-the-line deductions Your gross income minus the above-the-line deductions becomes your adjusted gross income (AGI). Now it’s time to look at the below-the-line deductions to get to the final taxable income figure.  Take a look at the standard and itemized deductions. The standard deduction is the standard amount you can subtract from your AGI based on your filing status. Alternatively, you can deduct itemized deductions if the total adds up to more than the standard deduction. Itemized deductions appear on your Schedule A and include medical and dental expenses, interest paid on your mortgage or mortgage insurance, gifts to charity, casualty and theft losses, certain taxes, and more. If you’re a business owner, the qualified business income deduction allows the owners of sole proprietorships, partnerships, S-corporations, and some trusts and estates to deduct up to 20% of their qualified business income (QBI).  Part 5: Other taxes Once you’ve subtracted your below-the-line deductions from your AGI, you have your taxable income. From your taxable income, the IRS uses its tax tables to determine how much tax you need to pay on your income.  The 1040 also has a line for other taxes. Several additional taxes that may need to be paid, such as the alternative minimum tax, which is an alternative form of taxation that applies to some taxpayers.  Part 6: Credits and payments The last way to reduce your tax involves taking tax credits. While a deduction reduces your taxable income, a tax credit has the advantage of deducing your tax liability dollar-for-dollar. Also, some tax credits are refundable, so even if your credit exceeds your tax liability, you get the excess back. Credits include the foreign tax credit, the child and dependent care credit, education credits, retirement sayings credits, adoption credits, alternative motor vehicle credits, and residential energy credits. The Schedule 3 form provides more information about the qualifications and restrictions of credits. Once you have your total tax, whether you get a refund from the government or owe tax money depends on payments made throughout the year through withholding from an employer and estimated tax payments. Resources + Links Form 1040 Form 1040X Schedule 1 Schedule 2 Schedule 3 Qualified Business Income Deduction “Can I deduct that as a business expense?” An Expert Guide To Understanding The 1120-S Tax Form 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.

Brian chats with Yong-Soo Chung, a serial entrepreneur who founded three e-commerce companies in the span of seven years. With his latest venture, the podcast First Class Founders, Yong-Soo is on a mission to impact entrepreneurs by sharing his lessons on building sustainable businesses from bootstrap to earning more than $1 million in annual revenue. On the episode, Yong-Soo shares his three pillars for a successful business and fulfilling life. He also discusses the importance of listening to your intuition and taking advantage of the opportunities that come your way. Episode Highlights Mission-driven businesses do more than make money. Yong-Soo defines a mission-driven business as one that has an intention or purpose beyond making money. Whether it’s helping a community or donating a percentage of profits to a cause, mission-driven businesses do activities for a bigger purpose. "The way I like to put it is when you're living, money is like oxygen, so you need money to survive,” Yong-Soo explained. “But it's not like you're living your life to breathe, right? That's the kind of way that I like to look at it." Root yourself in a city that supports your growth. Before becoming a serial entrepreneur, Yong-Soo worked in finance in New York City. Following his intuition, Yong-Soo decided to take his life in a new direction by moving to San Francisco and pursuing his own business. “What I was doing didn’t feel like something that would fulfill me 5 or 10 years down the line,” Yong-Soo said. “I knew that it was like a bandage that just needed to be ripped off, and I just needed to essentially start over in a new area.” The move was difficult but allowed him to meet people with similar goals and discover opportunities he would have never known existed. His personal values and vision for the future were key in deciding which city to live in and which opportunities to pursue. “New York City is obviously a fantastic city for opportunities, but it didn’t serve what I wanted to do 5 to 10 years down the line,” Yong-Soo said “Being rooted in an area that you want to compound yourself in all areas of your life is really the key.”  Three steps to live your best life. Yong-Soo lists three simple but impactful actions to live your best life: Focus on what you can control. Focus on what you do have. Do not dwell on the past. “The chances of an app succeeding in a big way was very small, but it’s more about the learning process and the lessons you’re going to learn along the way,” Song-Yoon said. “That’s where the gems and the valuable lessons come from.” Resources + Links First Class Founders: Website, Podcast Spotted by Humphrey: Website, Instagram Urban EDC: Website, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, TikTok Growth Jet: Website, Instagram Yong-Soo’s Social Media: Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok 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.

Brian 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 AJOY: Website, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube Tuesday’s Social Media: Website, LinkedIn, Instagram 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.

It’s tax season crunch time. 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 breakdown of what’s on the first page: Calendar year: The very top of the form asks for the calendar year. If the corporation has a calendar year-end, leave this blank. If a fiscal year or short year put in the appropriate dates. Address: Underneath the calendar year, the form asks for a name and address. Use the name set forth in the charter or other legal documents, such as your Employer Identification Number (EIN) letter. Item A: Located to the left of the address, Item A asks for your S election effective date. You should have a letter from the IRS (CP 261) with your S-Corp starting date. This date should stay the same every year. Item B: Your business activity code. This code shows the IRS exactly what you do. Item C: Item C only applies if you have assets of $10 million or more. Most of the time, Item C will not be checked. Item D: Put your EIN in Item D. Make sure to verify it’s correct before you file your form. Item E: Your date of incorporation should match the articles of incorporation. This date may or may not be the same date as your S-election. Like the S-election date, the date of incorporation won’t change. Item F: Total assets at the end of the year. Item G: If the corporation is electing to be an S-Corp beginning with the current filing tax year, check the appropriate box. If the S-Corp did not already file the S-Election, attach Form 2553 with the return. Item H: These boxes should be self-explanatory. Check the boxes that apply. Item I: Enter the number of shareholders in the firm (e.g. yourself and your partners). Item J: Most of the time, Item J will not be checked. If you believe that one of the Item J items applies, follow up with your tax accountant. Income: Report gross revenue your business has earned for the year and any additional income or interest income that you may have incurred. Only report trade or business income. Do not list rental income, portfolio income, or tax exempt income (those go on your Schedule K). Expenses: Report all deductions on your Profit and Loss statement. Pay special attention to the following lines: Line 7: Compensation of officers should have something on it. S-Corporations must pay shareholder/employee reasonable compensation for services rendered, and failing to put reasonable compensation could lead to an IRS audit. Also included on this line are fringe benefits, including employer contributions to health plans and group term life insurance, for shareholders/employees owning more than 2% of the corporation stock. If your S-Corp has total receipts of $500,000 or more, you’ll need to attach Form 1125-E to explain what was paid to each officer. Line 8: Salary and wages paid to employees (other than officers) of the corporation. Line 17: An S-Corporation can deduct contributions made for its employees under a qualified pension, profit sharing, annuity, SEP plan, Simple plan, or any other retirement deferred compensation plan. This includes shareholders/employees owning more than 2% of the corporation stock. Line 18: Employee fringe benefits provided to officers and employees owning less than 2% go on this line, such as health insurance, disability insurance, and educational assistance. Line 19: Line 19 includes any other deductions. There should be an attached statement, and it should match your profit and loss. The numbers should be close to your Profit and Loss statement. Taxes and payments: In general, an S-Corporation does not pay taxes at the corporate level, so this section will be blank. Signature: It’s important to sign the return only after verifying all of the information, including the following sections. Part 2: Schedule B This section is mostly self-explanatory questions. Make sure to read and understand each question. Below are two lines to pay special attention to: Box 1: This easy-to-miss box can change your entire return if you’re not careful, since it’s where you select whether you’re a cash or accrual basis taxpayer. Once you choose an accounting method, you generally cannot change without approval from the IRS. Box 2: Here is where you explain what you do. Part B is an either/or question, so state whether you sell products or services. Also, if you hire contractors, say yes to question 14 -- and hopefully you got out your 1099 forms by January 31. Part 3: Schedules K and K-1 Schedule K reports the pro rata share items in total for the Corporation. Schedule K-1, which you receive in your personal name, reports the percentage of pro rata share items allocable to each shareholder.  Lines 1-17 on Schedule K correspond to Boxes 1-17 on Schedule K-1. Most items on Schedules K and K-1 are self-explanatory and come from other parts of the return. Part 4: Schedule L  This is where many taxpayers make a mistake. Schedule L matches your business’ balance sheet and should agree with your books and records. If it doesn’t, find out why before you file. The first two columns match what your accounts were at the beginning of the year and should match what the accounts were at the end of last year. If this is your first year filing an 1120-S return, these two columns should be blank. The second two columns are for what the accounts had on December 31 of the previous year and will carry over to next year’s return. Some of the most common assets on Schedule L are: Line 1: Write the amount of cash in your bank account on the last day of the year. Line 7: Loans to shareholders are loans from the corporation to the shareholder. Keep in mind, these loans need to be documented and should have a repayment schedule and interest rate. Line 10a: Buildings and other depreciable assets are fixed assets that the business owns that have been depreciated, such as real estate, furniture, or machinery  Some of the most common liabilities on Schedule L are: Line 18: Other current liabilities are expenses incurred at the end of the year but not paid until January of the next year. Current expenses often include wages, state taxes, federal taxes, and payroll taxes payable at the end of the year.  Line 19: Loans from shareholders are loans from the shareholder to the corporation. As with the other loans, these loans should be documented and include a repayment schedule and interest rate. Line 22: The par value or stated value of the capital stock issued by the corporation. This amount stays the same each year unless the S-Corporation issues additional stock after incorporation. The corporate charter or minutes should identify the stock. Line 23: Enter the beginning and ending balances of additional paid-in capital. This includes the amount contributed to the S-Corp by shareholders for which the corporation did not issue stock or amounts contributed in excess of the stated or par value. Line 24: This section is especially tricky. You should base the retained earnings on the S-Corporation’s books and records. Most of the time, retained earnings should match the Accumulated Adjustments Account (AAA), other adjustments account (OAA), and previously taxed income (PTI) balances on Schedule M-2. Line 27: This line represents the total liability and shareholders equity. This line must match line 15. If you answered “yes” to question 11 on Schedule B that your total receipts were less than $250,000 and total assets were less than $250,000, then you aren’t required to file a Schedule L. However, it may be beneficial to file Schedule L anyway because it will be crucial for future balance sheets. Part 5: Schedules M-1 and M-2 Schedule M-1 helps explain discrepancies between the books and your tax return. This section should explain any differences you notice.  Some common items reported on Schedule M-2 include: Meal expenses (100% on books, 50% on taxes) Entertainment (100% on books, 0% on taxes) Life insurance premium expense (100% on books, 0% on taxes) Certain fines and penalties (100% on books, 0% on taxes) Political contributions (100% on books, 0% on taxes) Book depreciation expense (100% on books, 0% on taxes) Tax depreciation expense (%0 on books, 100% on taxes) Tax-exempt income (100% on books, %0 on taxes)  Schedule M-2 tracks the income and losses and separately states items that the shareholder should report on their tax return. Resources + Links  Bank Reconciliation 101 Lessons from the 1099-NEC deadline 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.

Brian chats with Tristan Schukraft, president and CEO of MISTR, a telehealth platform that offers discrete access to medication that can help prevent HIV. On the episode, Tristan shares how he started MISTR to help his friends, which led to a business fueled by passion. He also discusses the importance of knowing your market, staying true to your mission, and questioning how to make the status quo better. Episode Highlights Mission-driven businesses make a positive impact on communities. Like other guests on the podcast, Tristan defines a mission-driven business as one that has a higher purpose and makes a positive impact on the world. But he goes one step further by saying mission-driven businesses even more specifically make a positive impact on the communities they’re designed to serve. “The mission of any business is like the guiding North star,” Tristan said. “All business decisions that are made all circle back to the mission. It’s really important for entrepreneurs to understand what the mission is and stay focused on that.” For MISTR, that mission is to help increase access and adherence to Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP), a once-daily medicine that helps prevent HIV. While PrEP is “a huge change in the fight against HIV,” the number of people using it to prevent new HIV infections was limited. Tristan created MISTR to try and help. “It was not necessarily a business at first, but more that I wanted to help my friends get on PreEP and help eliminate HIV infections,” Tristan said. “When you’re focused on making money, it doesn’t work out. And when you’re so passionate about what you’re doing, everything kind of comes together.” Know your audience. To be a successful entrepreneur, you not only need to be passionate about your work and your mission but you also have to know the audience you’re serving. For instance, Tristan was invited to join the HIV Commission in Los Angeles, which was made up of passionate people who lived through the AIDS crisis. But to get more young people to use and adhere to PreP, the commission’s plan involved calling people and using data that was years out of date. “I quickly realized if you want adherence and access to increase, you have to move this online,” Tristan said. “Who are you trying to target? Young people. Young people don’t answer the phone. Young people don’t have voicemail.” Stay focused to find success. Tristan is full of energy and ideas, and he’s always looking for opportunities. So his brother gave him advice that has stuck with him: To be really successful, you have to stay focused. Tristan applied his brother’s advice to launch his first successful company and still uses it to focus on his business initiatives today. “You can’t be everything to everyone,” Tristan said. “You have to really understand your market and stay true to your market.” Staying focused is also something that Tristan tells the marketing team of MISTR. The company speaks to its target community in a non-medical and very sex-positive way, which resonates with its customers. ‘You’re going to offend some people, but that's okay, right?” Tristan said. “If you’re trying to please everybody, then you lose your authenticity.” Resources + Links Tristan’s Social Media: Instagram, LinkedIn Mistr: Website, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook The Tryst Beachfront Hotel 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.