Q: How would someone know if their work, or mission, as you put it, would be suited to be organized as a non-profit? What kind of activities could be organized as non-profits?

A: Before one can make such a decision, it is important to understand what it means to be “non-profit.” Many assume that it means that the company doesn’t make money and always operates on a shoe-string budget. Being non-profit is a matter of legal structuring of the company or mission – not about how much money is made by its activities.

In a nutshell, “Profit” is money that is paid to investors or share holders in a venture after all company expenses are paid. The structure of non-profit missions or churches generally doesn’t include share holders. Thus the net proceeds of the endeavor remain within the mission for the exclusive use of the mission or ministry.

Functioning as a non-profit has a number of advantages and some disadvantages depending upon the intended activities of the mission. These must be carefully considered to determine if the advantages will outweigh the disadvantages in a particular situation. It would be wise to seek the counsel of someone who is very familiar with the operation of a non-profit mission to help in making that determination.

Many times people will organize their service to others as a business simply because they are not aware of their options. In so doing, they lose the advantage of certain immunities and exceptions that are available to non-profit missions.

These immunities and exceptions can greatly simplify the management of a small mission where funds and personnel may initially be limited.

As to what kind of activities can qualify, I would have to say that most anything could qualify as a non-profit activity, but it really depends most upon the attitude and motivation of the founder of the mission.

For example, restoring vintage automobiles could be conducted as a business, but it could also be conducted as a non-profit activity within a foundation formed for the preservation and appreciation for classic automobiles. It really depends upon the purposes and motivation behind the endeavor.

Likewise, an orphanage is usually operated as a non-profit ministry. However, it could also be operated as a for-profit business if its principals so desired. In this way, the subject matter of the mission is not as important as the purpose and motivation behind its creation.

We have assisted members of The Arcadian Society in establishing charitable, teaching, and healing ministries of all kinds. For example, some of them are operating soup kitchens, while others are conducting healing services as chiropractors, herbalists, energy healers, massage technicians, and holistic health consultants. Still others are providing teaching services of various kinds.

Many people who are now operating as a business could be operating as a non-profit. Much depends upon how they perceive themselves.

As an example, one woman that I was working with wanted the advantages of a non-profit operation, but she wanted to be considered a “business woman” and not the director of a non-profit mission. To her that title implied that she had achieved her “success.” She ultimately chose to organize within a traditional business structure and is now trying to navigate through the maze of bureaucratic red tape to which she could have been immune as a non-profit mission. Her own self image and ego kept her from the other benefits she desired.

Q: Can you still get paid to work for a non-profit organization?

A: Yes, of course you can get paid. Remember that the non-profit doesn’t give its earnings away to shareholders. It keeps its earnings to pay its expenses, such as the salaries of those who perform services for it.

Q: What is the importance of a mission statement?

A: If you intend to reach any destination, you need a map. In business you develop a business plan. The Mission Statement serves in that manner to help those who are guiding and directing the mission to reach its intended goals. I believe the Mission Statement should be a dynamic document that can adapt to changing conditions and new opportunities that become available to the mission along the way. It’s always a good idea to have an alternate route in the event that there is a road closure ahead. Pre-planning an alternate route will allow one to follow it with confidence if it should become necessary to do so.

If the mission will be seeking donations from benefactors, they, too, will want to see the plan for the future and how their contributions will be utilized. A carefully-considered and well-written Mission Statement will be invaluable at that time.

To be continued. Please subscribe to our email blogcast or RSS feed.

Q: Please tell us a little bit about your background and about what led you to where you are now.

A: While my professional background has varied from marketing and manufacturing to publishing, my formal training is in the field of clinical and motivational hypnosis. Since I was a boy I have been fascinated with Einstein’s concepts of time and his theories of interacting with the past to change the present and future. It was that intense interest that led me to specialize in the hypnosis healing modalities of Past-life Regression, Future progression, and Time Distortion therapies.

Q: What is The Arcadian Society?

A: The Arcadian Society is global think tank of visionary people. We understand that each of us, as self-contemplating thought, has the ability to create our individual as well as our collective reality by our focused thought. Such focused thought can bring about a new, positive paradigm of experience – if we can learn to control our thinking. Most of us grew up having been taught what to think. Part of our mission is to help others learn how to think more effectively. In this way, they, too, can become part of a global effort to improve our quality of life and our Earth.

We also assist our members who feel a calling to be of greater service to humanity or the environment with the establishment of their mission or ministry as a non-profit charitable, teaching, or healing ministry. Additionally, we provide consulting services to them once they have become established as a non-profit mission.

Q: Have you owned any businesses? Have you worked for other businesses? How long have you been working with your non-profit?

A: Yes, I have founded, operated, and sold several businesses through the years. But, I have also worked in the ranks of corporate America. I understand both sides of the fence between employers and employees. I believe it is time to tear down that fence and create a better cooperative effort between labor and management, and I am especially impressed with the results of the Mondragon Experiment being demonstrated by the Basques in Spain.

I have been the Overseer of The Arcadian Society for 10 years and my service to it and its members has been one of the most rewarding endeavors of my life.

Q: In particular, what led to your interest in doing work in the non-profit sector?

A: I was taught “service to others” ideals from an early age, although I was not quite sure how I might actually make a significant contribution to society in that manner until I began my hypnosis practice. However, witnessing the seemingly magical improvements in the lives of my clients with the proper application of mental dynamics principles convinced me that this knowledge is so vitally important to the future of humanity that it must be made available to all people – free of charge.

The Arcadian Society is the result of that decision.

To be continued. Please subscribe to our email blogcast or RSS feed.

I ask myself, “Do I follow my own business advice?”  Within my own businesses, do I do the very things that I suggest other people do in theirs?

It’s really a great feeling to know that yes, I do follow my own advice.  When faced with a choice within my own businesses, I actually think about how I would advise one of my clients when faced with the same decision.  And then I follow that advice.

I meet a lot of business owners, and one of the things that always impresses me is a business owner who has made a business out of following his own advice.

Larry Brauner

A great example of someone who follows his own business advice is my friend and associate, Larry Brauner.

Larry’s business is helping other businesses navigate the intricacies of the web and online marketing.  He knows the ins-and-outs of how to market yourself and your business utilizing tools readily available to you on the Internet, such as blogs, Facebook, Twitter, and other social networking sites.

I like that Larry has used these resources effectively to market himself and his business.  He doesn’t just tell you how to do it, he does these things for his own business, and finds that they work!  He has had measurable success, i.e., traffic and subscription to his blogs, fans and followers on social websites, articles picked up and discussed on the web, and clients who hire him based on what he can do in all these arenas.

Larry practices what he preaches.

Do you follow the advice you give to your clients?

This post was to be another entrepreneur’s interview, but I felt compelled to write about some amazing things I’ve stumbled upon in the techie world.

I was looking for a better way to organize client files, business documents, and individual projects. I was also looking for a way to organize all of my computer resources and programs.

I needed a way to get all of my individual tools all humming along together like a well-tuned engine.

I’m a Newbie

At this point, I’d better explain to you that historically I’m not very proficient at techie stuff. I haven’t been using a computer or any gadgets at all until relatively recently. I didn’t even carry a cell phone until a few months ago.

As you might imagine, as a newbie I had some difficulties finding my way around the Internet looking for solutions.

It turns out that my being a newbie benefited me, as I didn’t have any pre-conceived ideas of what technology might be able to do for me. I just kept researching and trying things, and it all eventually came together for me.

Email Much?

Here’s a for instance: You can set up, for FREE, a Google Applications account. From your account, you can connect your domain name to your email. Instead of having the emails you send come from an address like “yourname@gmail.com”, you can have them come from one like “yourname@yourdomainname.com”. An email from your own domain looks way more professional.

The power of setting the whole thing up with Google Apps is the ease of use of this application. Not only is the actual setup pretty simple, but once you have it set up, you’re emailing with the ease and familiarity of Gmail, all with your own domain name on your email messages.

Along with the email capabilities on Google Apps, you get to use applications such as Google Docs, the Google Calendar, messaging, and so forth, all centered on your Google apps account.

The other really cool thing is that if you have more than one person in your organization, you can begin to streamline the processes among everybody. You can share calendars, documents, and contacts as needed.

The tough part of setting up the Google Apps account was moving all of my old Gmail emails over to the Google Apps account and keeping all of my contacts. While it was a bit rough in the beginning, remember that I’m such a technology newbie, that if I can figure it out, you can too!

The New Google Chrome

Once I jumped on the Google bandwagon, I decided to have a go at the new Google Chrome browser and operating system.

From the home page, you can customize the apps that are visible on that page. I even have an app for my business blog! The idea is that Google Chrome is an operating system in the Cloud, which means that you can login to your start page with all of your settings from any computer with Internet access. Everything lives on Google servers, not on your personal computer.

The Magic of Syncing

Now I have my home page and my iPhone and all of the applications I use all synced together.

For example, I use Salesforce.com as my CRM program. I have the app on my iPhone and on my Google Chrome page. I can easily access client files through my encrypted and password protected Salesforce account on my iPhone. If I am out and about, and I need to look up some client info, it’s right there on my iPhone!

From my home page on my Google Chrome, I can search for a client account within my Salesforce account without changing screens!

The really amazing syncing is among all the programs. I can add a calendar event to a client’s account on Salesforce and it adds the event to my Google Calendar, and that’s all synced with my Google Calendar on my iPhone.

An App for a To-Do List Person

Another great example is Toodledo.com. I use this list-making program to help me with all of the things that I need to remember to do. Instead of having countless post-it notes all over my desk and my briefcase and my car, I have all of my lists and to-do’s in my Toodledo program. Again, I have the Toodledo app on my Google Chrome start page, and from that page I can see my list of lists. I also have Toodledo on my iPhone, so I can view my lists from my phone no matter where I am.

And both of these applications are synced with my phone and my computer, so anything new I add is added at all of the contact points where I use the data.

I can add a task on my Toodledo app on my iPhone, and then it’s also added to my Google Calendar app on my iPhone and on my computer.

How About Facebook?

Do you use Facebook? There’s an app for that too!

On my iPhone I can add comments, pictures, and new posts or thoughts to my Facebook account. From my Google Chrome start page, I can see what my contacts are doing and leave feedback for them on Facebook without ever changing the page.

What Do You Want to Accomplish?

The exciting thing is that almost everything you need to organize has an app for your smart phone and for your computer, and you can sync them all so that they’re working synergistically. You just spend some time sorting out what it is you want to accomplish, and then go find the app!

Certainly this kind of set up takes some forethought and some planning, but in the end, the efficiency of the well-tuned engine is awesome. I now spend my time following up with clients and working to expand my business rather than hoping I don’t lose a note to myself or forget an upcoming phone call.

More to Come

As we hear more and learn more about the possibilities of “cloud computing” and how to apply the solutions, we’ll find more abundance of apps becoming available. You can save time and money by organizing your business in a way that utilizes the cloud rather than having to buy all of the expensive programs yourself.

Instead, you’re combining purchasing power with other businesses using the same programs hosted by the software company. You don’t run the risk of:

• losing your information if your system crashes
• your software becoming obsolete
• not having something you need
• missing a new opportunity, just because you’re not sitting in front of your own computer

Are you using cloud computing yet to help organize your business and life?

Many people call me with questions regarding LLC vs. S-Corporation. While researching on the internet is helpful, sifting through all of the information out there can be a bit daunting.

The hardest part is figuring out how the two types of entities compare and then deciding what that means to your particular business. The following chart lines up the comparative differences between an S-Corporation and an LLC:

Choosing the right entity for your business can be a bit scary. Remember that your individual goals will determine which entity is best for your business, and not everyone will make the same determination. That’s okay.

If you would like an individual consultation to help you figure it out, call me to schedule a free consultation, and I’ll help you figure it out.