Brian chats with Ciara Stockeland, a serial entrepreneur who has owned and operated businesses since she was a teenager. On the episode, Ciara shares her best tips as an inventory and cash flow expert that can help all types of entrepreneurs build better businesses. She also opens up about the lessons she learned the hard way after she built a seven-figure retail business that she felt trapped in. Episode Highlights Mission-driven businesses are bold. Ciara defines a mission-driven business as one that takes initiative in the world. It also allows the people behind it to live intentionally, be bold, and be intentional. “A mission-driven business really has a strong purpose behind every action and thought,” Ciara said. Follow your gifts and talents. Ciara started her first business when she was just a teenager, eventually growing her skillset to grow a retail franchise business and later a subscription box for retailers. Through the subscription box business, Ciara met many inventory-based business owners who had a lot of questions that she could answer. Initially, she was reluctant to coach other business owners, but realizing that it was her gift motivated her to become a coach and consultant. “There’s a lot of different reasons that we fight what we’re called to do,” Ciara said. “But when we realize and give in and be intentional with our gifts and talents, it just leads to so much more joy and contentment, which produces revenue, funnily enough, because we’re not struggling anymore trying to create something that everyone else demands of us.” Know your numbers. Entrepreneurs and businesses must know their numbers and understand what those numbers mean. If you run an inventory-based business, Ciara recommends learning your numbers for sales, cost of goods, gross margin, expenses, and net profit. “You need to understand what each of those mean and how they work together,” she said. “Once you understand that, you can make really good decisions, build a good foundation, and grow or not grow.” Don’t be the smart person in the room. Ciara advises surrounding yourself with people who are smarter than you. While you may be a little uncomfortable or nervous, you’ll grow from experiences that are just a little bit away from what you typically know or do. “When you’re in a storm in your life or your business, you’ll have really good people that you can go to,” Ciara said. “If you’re the smartest person in the room, you’re going to be in a lot of trouble.” You always have options. Sometimes, running a business can feel like you’re at the extremes of having to go all in on something or quit something. If you’re feeling overwhelmed, Ciara wants you to remember that you always have options and try and simplify what you have to do by taking one thing out at a time. “Get to the root of what the opportunity is,” she said. “In your business life, it’ll help to be able to look at the big picture and not be overwhelmed but to drill down.” Resources + Links Ciara’s Social Media: Website, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, YouTube The Inventory Genius Podcast 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 Matthew Hoffman, the founder of You Are Beautiful, a Chicago-based company that uses art to provide kindness, compassion, and community when it’s needed most. On the episode, Matthew shared how he became an accidental entrepreneur and some of the hard lessons he’s learned as a business owner and artist. He also digs deep into using feedback to grow and refine your business. Episode Highlights Mission-driven businesses have a message. When Matthew started making his signature You Are Beautiful stickers that would eventually become a business, he had a clear message that he wanted to share with the world. He thinks the same kind of purposeful messaging separates mission-driven businesses from the rest. “It’s all about having a clear mission or message and trying to share that with the world,” Matthew said. You can be an “accidental” entrepreneur. Some people start a business with the desire to be an entrepreneur. But other entrepreneurs, like Matthew, don’t originally dream of running their own businesses. In Matthew’s case, growing demand from his community was the catalyst to take his sticker business online and for profit.  “I say I am sort of an accidental business owner because for the first years, the stickers were absolutely free, then people were begging me to let them buy them,” Matthew said. “I finally began to offer them for sale on the website … and that began growing the community even bigger.” Treat customers and employees well. One tip that Matthew shared throughout the podcast is the importance of treating people the way you want to be treated. Recognizing that he can’t build a business alone, Matthew tries to cultivate a family-style company culture that is fun, drama-free, and supportive. He also prioritizes the customer experience with dedicated customer service and an online review system. “To find those people that support you and help fill you up is critical,” he said. Grow from your mistakes. While Matthew always strove to overdeliver through his business, his track record hasn’t been perfect. After his stickers appeared on Oprah’s Super Soul Sunday program, You Are Beautiful got so many orders that he couldn’t fulfill them all and his payment system didn’t allow him to reach customers with updates. That experience led him to overhaul his approach to e-commerce in order to deliver the premium service he wanted to give customers. “I didn’t want to disappoint or upset, and I always want to overdeliver,” Matthew said. “That allowed me to set up a really successful and rigorous system.” Resources + Links You Are Beautiful: Website, Instagram, Facebook Matthew’s Social Media: Website, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook 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 Adam Markowitz, the owner and operator of people-centric tax firm Luminary Tax Advisors. On the episode, Adam opens up about how he decided to lean into his calling to take over his father’s tax advisory firm and the hurdles he faced to buy the business. He also shares a treasure trove of tips to prepare for the upcoming tax season. Episode Highlights Mission-driven businesses have pillars to support the mission. When Adam took over his father’s company, he rebooted the business, which included coming up with a new name, Luminary Tax Advisors, and a new mission statement, navigating the tax code to shed light on your personal, professional, and financial goals. Equally important to the mission statement are the three pillars that Adam created to support how the business operates internally and outwardly: humanity, accessibility, and humility. “It’s not just about what you stand for outwardly, but what you stand for inwardly that’s really important,” Adam said. Overcome imposter syndrome with confidence. Though accounting runs in the family, Adam did his best to avoid the family business, from skipping business and finance classes in college to pursuing a career as a sports writer after graduation. Even when he eventually did join his father’s company, Adam experienced imposter syndrome. Only after an expert came to Adam for his opinion on a tax law did he realize that he was better at his job than he had first imagined. “Don’t have imposter syndrome,” Adam told the business owners listening to the podcast. “Own it. Be it. That’s not to say there’s not somebody out there better than you. But, my God, if somebody’s paying you for what you’re doing, you must be pretty darn good at it.” Keep learning and ask questions. Adam encourages entrepreneurs to pay attention to the world around them to learn and gain inspiration for their business -- and that learning-oriented mindset can also come in handy at tax time. He recommends that his business owner clients ask or write down their money questions as soon as they think about them (or else they'll forget to ask at tax time). “There is not a good tax preparer on the planet that does not want you to ask questions of them because that’s how we do our jobs better,” Adam said. ”We need to learn, we need to listen, and we need to better ourselves on a daily basis.” Resources + Links “Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action,” Simon Sinek Luminary Tax Advisors: Website, LinkedIn  Adam’s Social Media: Twitter, 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 Sonya Dreizler and Liv Gagnon, the co-founders of Choir, a business dedicated to lifting the voices of people of color, women, and non-binary professionals in industries historically represented by white men. Sonya and Liv share why they started with a focus on the financial services industry. They also discuss how they’ve adapted to meet the needs of their customers while staying true to their company’s mission. Episode Highlights Mission-driven businesses look inward and outward. Like other guests on the podcast, Liv defines a mission-driven business as one that balances doing good with making a financial impact for those involved with the business. Sonya expanded on that definition by noting that mission-driven businesses can also apply their mission within the company itself. At Choir, that means not only helping other companies diversify people speaking at conferences and in the media but also hiring internal professionals and contractors from diverse backgrounds. “What’s the mission you’re accomplishing with the business, and what are you doing inside of the business as well?” Sonya asked. “The financial impact is going to go back to people who have been underpaid, underserved,” Liv added. Being aware of a problem is powerful. Part of Choir’s mission is to use data to make organizers aware of how conferences lack diversity. A recent analysis by the company showed that men of color, in particular, are lacking in the financial services conference circuit. It’s a data point that may be surprising but is a good starting point for change. “Just knowing and understanding the challenge makes next year a lot easier to increase representation — not just for representation’s sake but to make it a more interesting event and draw more people,” Sonya said. Successful businesses adapt. Liv and Sonya set out to connect professionals from underrepresented backgrounds with conference circuits and media. But how they’re achieving that aim has already changed a few times based on client needs. For instance, the platform they had initially wanted to build, Voices, got pushed back to launch the Choir certification first. They also iterated their pricing structure for Choir based on client feedback. “You become so much more emotionally tied to your ideas and your business model, so it is a challenge every time you have to pivot because you’ve put so much heart into it,” Liv said. “People have a lot of opinions about what we’re doing,” Sonya added. “We have changed things because of people’s suggestions and made what we offer better, and we’ve also looked at feedback and said, ‘It doesn’t fit with our mission.’” Resources + Links Choir: Website, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube Sony’s Social Media: Website, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn Liv’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 kicks off 2023 with tactical tips to start the new year. Now that you’re hopefully relaxed and ready for a new year, Brian digs into the numbers to give you some targets to aim for over the next few months. He covers revenue, retirement, health savings accounts, and more. Episode Highlights Look for new revenue figures. Because of inflation, many revenue and tax figures have increased quite a bit in 2023, meaning you can make more money and still pay less in total tax. For example, in 2023 single filers with a taxable income of $95,376 - $182,100 will have their last dollar taxed at 24%. Last year, that same tax bracket ended at $170,050. Don’t forget the QBI deductions. If you’re a business owner, don’t forget about the Qualified Business Income (QBI) deduction. QBI allows pass-through entities like partnerships and S-Corps to take a 20% deduction on their business income, saving some businesses thousands of dollars. Importantly, you lose the QBI deduction if you exceed certain income thresholds. For instance, the QBI deduction begins to phase out at $182,100 in taxable income and goes away after $232,1000 in taxable income. Use retirement accounts to shelter income from taxes. Maximizing contributions to retirement accounts is one strategy to avoid taxes and save money for your future self. Here are some things to know about common retirement plans: 401(k)s and Solo 401(k)s: Employees can contribute up to $22,5000 plus an additional $7,5000 in catch-up contributions if you are 50 or older. Employers contribute another $43,500. SEPs: You can contribute 25% of your net self-employment earnings or $66,000 -- whichever is less. SIMPLE IRAs: Employees can contribute up to $15,500 with a catch-up contribution of $3,500 if you are 50 or older. Traditional IRA or Roth IRA: You can contribute up to $6,500 with a catch-up contribution of $1,000. Importantly, Roth IRAs have income range phase-outs, starting at $138,000 for single filers and $218,000 for married filers. Consider opening an HSA. A Health Savings Account (HSA) is one of Brian’s favorite savings vehicles and one of your few options to save money on taxes up until April of the following year. An HSA offers triple tax savings: The contributions are tax-deductible. The money grows tax-free in your account. Withdrawals are tax-free if the money is used to pay qualified medical expenses. For 2023, you can contribute up to $3,850 for eligible individual plans and $7,750 for eligible family plans. You can also open and contribute to an HSA if you’re self-employed. Resources + Links 2023 Important Tax Numbers PDF 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.

Can you believe it’s already the end of the year? Now is the time to celebrate with friends and family, reflect on the past 12 months, and plan for the new year. To help you out, Brian created a checklist you can use to review 2022 and start 2023 with a clean state. The checklist includes business and personal to-do items as well as links to resources sure to help you out. Business Checklist 1. Review your goals. The end of the year is the perfect time to review the goals you made at the beginning of 2022 and set new ones for 2023. Ask yourself: How did I do this year? What did I accomplish that I’m proud of? What could I have done better? 2. Update your cash flow. If you’re using the Profit First system, look at your buckets and see if one looks too full or too sparse, then adjust your allocations accordingly. Remember to not make any adjustments of more than 3% per quarter. 3. Review your profit and loss. At this point in the year, you should have a good sense of your gross business income. If you have a little extra profit this year, look at ways to shelter some of that income so you’re not paying unnecessary income or self-employment tax. 4. Find your tax return. December may seem a little early to think about taxes, but while you have some downtime, it can be worthwhile to organize and prepare for tax season. Finding your tax return will also help you out in your year-end review. 5. Max out your retirement savings. If you’re a business owner and need to shelter some profit, retirement accounts like a Solo 401(k) or SEP IRA are great resources. 6. Defer income and incur expenses. The end-of-the-year is an excellent time to defer income until 2023 or incur business expenses that you know you’ll have at the beginning of next year. This is an easy way to reduce your tax liability as long as the expenses are ordinary, helpful, and necessary. 7. Consider out-of-the-box expenses. When considering expenses, don’t forget some out-of-the-box expenses, such as employee benefits, cell phone reimbursement, educational assistance, or dependent care assistance. You can also expense up to $25 per client for gifts as well as expenses for a holiday party for your staff. 8. Update your asset list. Did you buy new assets in 2022? Review your list of assets associated with your business and make sure it’s up-to-date before the new year. You can also consider what equipment you no longer need and what you can acquire if you’re looking to reduce your bottom line. 9. Review your business structure. When you evaluate your business structure and qualified business income (QBI) deduction, don’t forget to consider setting up a Solo 401(k) before the deadline of December 31. 10. Don’t forget pandemic programs. We’re coming to the end of the government pandemic benefits for 2020 and 2021, so don’t forget to review whether you can receive any benefits from programs like the PPP and ERC. Personal Checklist 1. Review your goals. Review where you succeeded and where you fell short. Use that information to decide what changes you can make in 2023. 2. Update your budget. The end of the year gives you a solid endpoint to assess whether you matched the goal you set at the outset of 2022. It’s also a great time to create a budget that finally works. 3. Create a holiday spending bucket. Consider how much you want to spend this holiday season. Create a separate bucket just for the holidays and stop spending when the money's gone. You'll thank yourself when January comes and you don’t have a huge credit card bill. 4. Spend the benefits you’ll lose. Whether it’s vacation days, a medical flexible spending account, or a dependent care flexible spending account, some workplace benefits don’t roll over to 2023. Take stock of your remaining benefits and use them to your advantage before January 1. 5. Make charitable contributions. December 31 is the last day your donations can go on your 2022 tax return. If giving to charity is part of your spending plan, ask yourself these questions to make the most of your charitable giving. 6. Pump up your 529. The tax deductions for your 529 will have to be made by December 31 for this tax year. Your state may be one of 30 that allows you to deduct your contributions. 7. Max out your 401(k). If your spouse is a W-2 employee, they have until December 31 to contribute to a 401(k) plan for this tax year. However, they have until April to make contributions to a traditional IRA, Roth IRA, and HSA. 8. Find your tax return. Tax season is just around the corner. Preparing now can save you mental energy in 2023. You can also review your tax return to assess whether something like a Roth conversion makes sense for you. 9. Review your will and trust. At the end of the year, you’re likely to reflect on the year and all of the changes that have happened. Now is a great time to make sure your estate plan reflects those changes and that your needs match your current situation. 10. Review your insurance documents. Your insurance documents should cover your current life situation. Review the following policies to make sure they meet your needs: Life insurance Disability insurance Renters or homeowners insurance Health insurance Resources + Links “How To Get Control Of Your Spending Without Tracking Every Penny,” Forbes “How To Make The Most Out Of Your Charitable Giving,” Forbes “How Much is you State’s 529 Tax Deduction Really Worth?” Saving For College Being Profit First with Mike Michalowicz Your 2022 Mid-Year Review 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 Christopher Dale, CFP, the founder of Life After Grief Financial planning. Through his practice, Chris helps clients in grief navigate financial matters by providing objective, impartial, and confidential financial advice. On the episode, Chris shares how his own life experiences, including the loss of a parent and a child, served as a catalyst for him narrowing in on the niche of his business. He also shares his strategies and tactics for keeping the business impactful and profitable as it grows. Episode Highlights A mission-driven business is a life passion. Chris has a very specific definition of a mission-driven business: “I describe it as a life passion turned into a career where you never feel like you’re working.” That definition certainly rings true for Chris, who started his financial planning firm to step away from his stressful corporate job and focus on his family. It also allows him to use his own life experiences to help others navigate death and illness. “I had all of this grief life experience, and then you couple this with the financial experience, and I’m uniquely suited to help somebody that is exactly like me,” Chris said. Owning a niche can lead to unexpected opportunities. Chris knew he had found his perfect niche when he couldn’t find any other companies that provided financial expertise to clients experiencing grief. But while marketing his niche to clients, he also connected with financial advisers aspiring to learn more, which led to opportunities he didn’t imagine at the start. “It evolved into me making an online training course, and the feedback that I got from it was wonderful,” Chris said. Grow with the right clients. At this point in his career, Chris doesn’t have to grow his business that fast. He’s instead prioritizing picking the right clients for his skills and services than picking clients he’ll have to stop serving in the future. By being picky with clients, Chris can have a unique relationship with each person. “When I look at my client base, there’s not one individual that I would like to shed,” Chris said. “That’s a pretty good feeling.” Even though Chris is holding capacity at the moment, he’s still laying the foundation to grow his business in the future by nurturing the marketing for his services. However, as a business owner, he appreciates that he doesn’t have to pick between growing his business and spending time with his family. “If I have to choose between something to do with my boys or my wife or bringing in new clients, I am going to absolutely choose to impact my family,” Chris said. Resources + Links Life After Grief Financial Planning Life After Grief Consulting Chris’s Social Media: Twitter, 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 Aimee Kandrac, the co-founder and CEO of WhatFriendsDo and the first female CEO in the state of Indiana to close a $500,000 funding round. The WhatFriendsDo platform offers a simple way to create organized, actionable support for families experiencing a crisis, and Aimee’s work is instrumental for bringing communities together during times of hardship. On the episode, Aimee shares how a friend’s terminal cancer diagnosis at age 25 was the catalyst to create WhatFriendsDo. She also opens up about her struggle to raise venture funding as a female entrepreneur in the Midwest and how the business has pivoted to reach the right clients and stay profitable. Episode Highlights Most entrepreneurs run mission-driven businesses. Aimee says that most entrepreneurs qualify as owners of mission-driven businesses because entrepreneurs wouldn’t have the passion and energy to build a business if they didn’t feel like they were fulfilling a personal mission. For Aimee, that mission is to connect and help people, which is a central tenet of WhatFriendsDo. “I feel really lucky because the mission that I’m fulfilling fits really nicely with the passion that I have for helping other people and connecting other people,” Aimee said. Pivoting can be tough but necessary. When WhatFriendsDo started, it was a B2C business in which the customers were the same as the end-users: families in the midst of a life-changing event. However, about five years ago, the company pivoted to stay profitable, shifting to a B2B model in which the company licenses its program to organizations with the same end-users. The change was hard for Aimee. “Businesses have different needs, want different ROI expectations than my end users, and I still struggle with it sometimes because I’m just so passionable about the end user,” she said. The pivot came with the added challenge of identifying industries that not only could benefit from the WhatFriendsDo platform but also understood the technology behind it. While WhatFriendsDo is still refining its niche, the company is able to do value-based sales pricing better than before the change. “We started out in healthcare and sold to hospital systems, so hospital systems have the opportunity to white label an app for their patients,” Aimee said. “This is a way for a hospital or healthcare provider to extend their reach beyond the doctor’s office, beyond the hospital walls.” Get out there and try it. Aimee knows first-hand the glass ceiling she faced when raising funds to build WhatFriendsDo. In 2016, she became the first female CEO in her home state of Indiana to close a half-million-dollar venture funding round. In at least one case, she was the first woman to pitch a venture capital group. We still have a long way to go, and Aimee cited statistics that female founders and people of color are still getting less than 7% of venture funding. Which is all the more reason for Mission Driven Business podcast listeners to take charge and start their own businesses. “Get out there and try it,” Aimee said. “If it fails, then fix it or now you know not to do it. But it’s better to go do it than to regret having not tried.” Resources + Links Aimee Kandrac: Website, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn WhatFriendsDo: Website, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, 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 Anjali Jariwala, CPA, CFP, an experienced investment manager and founder of FIT Advisors, a financial planning firm serving physicians and business owners. Anjali shares her newest passion project, Why We Eat with Our Hands, a children’s book that describes the rich beauty of Indian culture. On the episode, Anjali highlights how the lessons she learned building her business have helped her to navigate the book writing process. She also shares what she wished she knew before starting her book and how the idea started as a gift for her daughter Nyla. Episode Highlights Mission-driven businesses make an impact on your well-being. Anjali says a mission-driven business is one in which the primary goal is to have a bigger impact, either through the work the company is doing or through the work of the individuals behind the company. Anjali’s company FIT Advisors provided her with the resources to write Why We Eat With Our Hands, helping her to create something different and have an impact. “FIT Advisors gave me surplus to be able to really fund this project and to fund it in a way in which I didn’t have to cut corners because I had the resources available to do so,” Anjali said. “That to me was such an eye opener because I can’t believe FIT me helped me in turning this passion into a reality.” Build the right support team. Through her work at FIT Advisors, Anjali deftly creates financial plans and puts a winning team into place. She used the same approach to writing a children's book, which was critical because she didn’t have any prior experience in publishing. To create her winning team, Anjali found a group of professionals and consultants who “just got it” and could provide her with valuable advice as someone new to the industry. She also valued the input of her daughter Nyla, who was the inspiration for the project. “It really stemmed from trying to build Nyla’s inclusive bookshelf and wanting her to have books that she could not only see herself in but also challenged preconceived notions,” Anjali said. “And I was really just coming up short on books that featured South Asian children, also written by South Asian authors.” Don’t undersell your work. Because Why We Eat With Our Hands is a true passion project for Anjali, she didn’t think about a pricing plan or the break-even point. Even so, she needed to set a selling price for her book. Her team gave her a recommended range but advised she didn’t undersell herself since women authors tend to underprice their books compared to men. “I want to make sure we’re charging appropriately for the work that we’re doing because we do good work,” Anjali said. “We shouldn’t sell ourselves short with how we price our services.” Anjali ended up pricing her book on the high end of the range. Why We Eat With Our Hands debuted on September 27, becoming a bestseller on Amazon New Releases and breaking one of her distributor’s records for first-day sales. Resources + Links Why We Eat with Our Hands: A Celebration of Indian Culture and Heritage by Anjali Jariwala (author) and Shelley Seguinot (illustrator) Fit Advisors Anjali’s Social Media: Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook 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 Liz Szporn, an accomplished executive and entrepreneur and current Profit First Professionals Homebase Guide. Through her work with Profit First Professionals, Liz helps to eradicate entrepreneurial poverty by coaching members to build more profitable businesses for themselves and their clients. On the episode, Liz opens up about her successes and struggles with founding a professional development organization for educators. She also digs deep into some of the strategies and tactics she shares with her clients for building a successful, profitable business, including the magic of value pricing. Episode Highlights Mission-driven businesses make the world better. Mission-driven businesses make their slice of the world better in everything they do, according to Liz. At Profit First Professionals, that mission is to eradicate entrepreneurial poverty. “Our decisions are based on this mission,” Liz said. “Our interactions are based on this mission. Our partnerships, opportunities, technology … is to make sure we’re hitting that mission.” The mission of Profit First Professionals hits home for Liz, who knows entrepreneurial poverty firsthand. She and a few friends started a business but all the money they made went right back into operations. Then, the business went under during the COVID-19 pandemic. Although the experience was difficult, it has made Liz a more empathetic coach. “I read the book and immediately was like ‘I get this,’” Liz said. “‘I get this because I lived it.’” Mission-driven businesses require clarity. In the Profit First model, every dollar has a specific job, and a mission or vision provides clarity on how to assign those dollars. One of the tools Liz uses to get clarity is a profit assessment, which involves reviewing a profit and loss statement to clarify how much a business made last year and analyze how to best divvy up those dollars going forward. “This is where having a Brian Thompson to work with is so important because you provide clarity very early on,” Liz said. “Whether you’re helping them get clarity of what they actually want out of their business, or what is actually happening in their business currently.” Earn what you’re worth with value pricing. Liz has yet to meet a client who charges what they’re worth from the start. Value pricing is an alternative to hourly billing that helps entrepreneurs choose their fees. It takes into account what income they want to make, what they want to do, and which clients they want to serve. “You start to see based on your total revenue and clients how much your average client is paying you,” Liz said. “Then we start playing with numbers.” Ultimately, value pricing allows business owners to set different levels of pricing so that they can focus on what they enjoy and what they’re good at. It also provides validation that the entrepreneur is providing a valuable service. “As soon as you stop saying I have to do this for $12 an hour, it’s so fun,” Liz said.” Resources + Links Profit First: Transform Your Business from a Cash-Eating Monster to a Money-Making Machine by Mike Michalowicz Episode 6: Eradicating Entrepreneurial Poverty with Ron Saharyan Episode 7: Being Profit First with Mike Michalowicz Liz Szporn: Supporting the Entrepreneur's Journey Liz’s Social Media: Twitter, 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.