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Mission Driven Business

Mission Driven Business

Auteur(s): Brian Thompson
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 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. Gestion et leadership Économie
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  • The Mission Driven Business Podcast Episode 99: How To Do A Mid-Year Money Check

    The Mission Driven Business Podcast Episode 99: How To Do A Mid-Year Money Check
    Aug 26 2025
    Brian Thompson returns for a solo episode packed with practical advice to help entrepreneurs take charge of their numbers. In this mini masterclass, you’ll learn how to use your profit and loss, balance sheet, and reconciliation reports more effectively. Whether you love or loathe spreadsheets, this episode gives you the tools to pause, reflect, and make strategic financial decisions to set yourself up for success in the second half of the year. How To Conduct A Mid-Year Financial Review 1. Reconcile and clean up your books First, set aside at least 90 minutes to focus without distractions. Before analyzing anything, make sure your books are clean: Start with reconciliation: Check that your accounting software matches your actual bank transactions and credit card balances. Review your categories: Go through your chart of accounts to ensure expenses are correctly categorized. Review your balance sheet: Ensure your cash balances, accounts receivable, accounts payable, and other liabilities align with what you expect. If not, dig deeper to understand why. 2. Analyze your profit and loss statement Run a profit and loss (P&L) report for the period from January through June and analyze the data: Analyze your revenue: Compare your actual revenue to your goals and prior years. If you offer multiple types of service, break down which ones are driving your revenue and which ones may be underperforming. Analyze your expenses: Look for surprises, categories that you are over budget in, and for subscriptions or tools you no longer use. Calculate your gross and net profit: Ensure you are maintaining healthy margins, and if margins are shrinking, find out why. Look for trends: When looking at the big picture, make sure all the pieces fit together. For instance, if you’re spending more on marketing as an expense, you’d expect to have a corresponding higher revenue. 3. Examine your cash flow Cash flow is not just about what you earn -- it’s also about what you keep. Use the following steps to make sure cash is flowing into and out of your business strategically: Check your bucket allocations: If you use the bucket system, ensure you are still transferring funds consistently to your various business accounts and that your percentages are still realistic based on current revenue. Review your operating cash flow: Ensure cash is coming in faster than it’s going out and that you aren’t relying too heavily on credit to cover gaps. Check your accounts receivable: This step is one of the easiest ways to increase your cash flow quickly by following up on outstanding invoices and consistently enforcing your payment terms. Evaluate large expenses: Consider whether you should delay or accelerate spending based on your cash position. 4. Use your mid-year review to propel your business forward Once you understand your numbers in detail, it’s time to turn your insights into action: Set or reset financial goals: Use your findings to update your targets for the second half of the year. Make sure your goals are specific, measurable, and tied to your broader vision. Identify quick wins: Look for easy adjustments that make a big difference. Small changes now can have a significant impact on your year-end results. Improve your systems: Make a plan to fix systems that aren’t working. Good systems reduce mental load and improve accuracy. Communicate with stakeholders: Share your findings with your team, financial advisor, or coach. Reflect and celebrate: Take a moment to reflect on what is working, and celebrate the fact that you’re engaging in this process. Resources + Links 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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    11 min
  • The Mission Driven Business Podcast Episode 98: Don’t Make These 4 Startup Mistakes With Amy Cosper

    The Mission Driven Business Podcast Episode 98: Don’t Make These 4 Startup Mistakes With Amy Cosper
    Aug 12 2025

    Brian Thompson chats with Amy Cosper, former Editor-in-Chief of Entrepreneur Magazine, award-winning journalist, and author of the new book, “The Ultimate Guide to Startup Success.” In this episode, Amy brings fierce honesty, contagious energy, and deep wisdom about what it really takes to build a mission-driven business in uncertain times. You’ll also hear some of the biggest legal and financial mistakes founders make and be reminded why entrepreneurship can be a radical act of hope and defiance.

    Episode Highlights Mission-driven businesses don’t have to be altruistic.

    Amy describes a mission-driven business as one fueled by a higher purpose, but she’s careful to clarify that purpose doesn’t have to be altruistic.

    “Having a mission-driven or purpose-driven company is what you stand for,” she said. “It doesn’t have to be altruistic, but it is what you believe in.”

    The mission should be the company’s soul that emanates out to the branding, business plan, and revenue streams. As a consultant to startup founders, Amy routinely sees that entrepreneurs struggle with finding clarity.

    “If you don’t have clarity in what your company does, it’s going to be really hard to find your purpose,” she said.

    Avoid common legal and accounting mistakes.

    Because entrepreneurs are visionary, they often overlook important, practical needs. Amy shared four, common mistakes she hopes future founders will avoid:

    • Not maintaining accurate books from the start: While you may not want to think about the numbers, it’s important to do accurate accounting as a business owner.

    • Not getting an IRS Employer Identification Number (EIN): Your EIN is like a Social Security number for your business and should be tied to your entity.

    • Giving your business short-sighted name: Naming your business after a fleeting trend or something specific to a geographic region becomes problematic when you want to grow.

    • Not understanding how to structure partnership and operating agreements: If you don’t plan for how a business will get split up or choose an appropriate business structure, you’re setting yourself up for headaches when it’s time to pivot.

    “My hope for the book is that entrepreneurs and founders don’t make the same mistakes that I made,” Amy said. ”When you’re creating something new, or you’re disrupting a known way of thinking, you’re not thinking about how to structure an operating agreement or whether it’s better as an LLC or S Corp. My advice is to take a pause and do a little bit of research.”

    Just start.

    Amy knows people who have been about to launch their business for 20 years. While it’s scary to take the first step, she encouraged want-to-be entrepreneurs to just start.

    “You get to make your own destiny,” she said. “You’re in charge.”

    Resources + Links

    • “The Ultimate Guide to Startup Success”

    • Amy Cosper: 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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    30 min
  • The Mission Driven Business Podcast Episode 97: How To Stay Visible When It Feels Safer To Hide

    The Mission Driven Business Podcast Episode 97: How To Stay Visible When It Feels Safer To Hide
    Jul 22 2025
    In this special and timely episode, Brian Thompson calls on fellow mission-driven business owners to embrace their identities and own their values. Highlighting real messages from clients, Brian explores the challenges and uncertainties facing entrepreneurs, especially those from LGBTQ+ backgrounds and other marginalized groups. He challenges the myth that being neutral is the safest option in the current political environment and shares practical steps to get clear and bold about who you are and what you bring to the table. Episode Highlights Your identity is an asset -- not a liability. Mission-driven businesses are facing very real and sometimes existential threats: the sudden loss of federal funding, the risk of becoming political targets, and being asked to remove terms like LGBTQ and racial equity from mission statements. When under pressure, it may feel like the safest option is to remain neutral, but neutrality actually erodes trust. “When someone sees themselves in your language, branding, or leadership, it builds a bridge faster than any marketing funnel ever could.” Your core community should never have to wonder where you stand. In a time of rising government hostility toward civil rights protections, customers, donors, and employees are noticing which companies are scaling back their offerings and which CEOs are saying less, not more. When companies backpedal from their commitment to equity and inclusion, they often lose the very people they claim to support. “When we talk about staying visible, it’s not about being provocative -- it’s about staying anchored. It’s about making sure your core community never has to wonder where you stand.” 4 strategies to stay true and stay standing To navigate this moment with courage and conviction, consider these four steps to practically and proactively affirm your values without jeopardizing your sustainability: Conduct a visibility audit: Review every touchpoint of your business and ask whether you have gone quiet out of fear and if your language needs to be updated for clarity or protection. Update compliance protocols: Work with legal counsel to audit your DEI and HR policies, review whistleblower protocols, and ensure you’re accurately documenting civil rights compliance. Strengthen your financial resilience: Prepare for the next financial crisis now by revisiting your income allocations, building an emergency reserve, and mapping out income diversification. Communicate your values internally and externally: Create talking points that affirm your mission and explain any language shifts to reassure your community you still serve their needs. Write your mission-rooted business affirmation. When fear is loud, clarity must be louder. Open your notes app or a journal, write down the following sentence, and fill in the blanks with your truth. I started this business to serve __________. I believe in __________. Even in this moment, I choose to stay rooted in values by __________. I will lead with clarity and courage. You don’t have to disappear to survive. It’s exhausting to defend your humanity while running payroll, applying for grants, and trying to build a thriving business. But this moment isn’t just about defense, it’s about creating a legacy. “Let your business be one of the lights that didn’t go out. Let your clarity be the thing that gives someone else permission to speak up. Let your strategy be what helps you survive and thrive without compromise.” Resources + Links 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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    10 min
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