WEBVTT - Non Profit or Big Business? 0:00:03.360 --> 0:00:07.400 Three two one, It's time for the b a qa 0:00:07.760 --> 0:00:11.080 A the v a qa wou suy the b a 0:00:11.520 --> 0:00:15.319 qa with Manda, the ba qa and Tiffin A the 0:00:15.400 --> 0:00:22.560 bka qa A. Oh thank you, Brandi's for helping me 0:00:22.640 --> 0:00:25.040 with that. I kind of feel like you're one of those. 0:00:25.200 --> 0:00:27.800 Now you're just like a recurring guest on Brown Ambition 0:00:28.000 --> 0:00:31.680 and our audience, BA fam we have I feel like 0:00:31.720 --> 0:00:35.720 a third sister co host. Well, Branda's Daniel is back 0:00:35.760 --> 0:00:38.519 in the stew with us because the gems that she 0:00:38.720 --> 0:00:43.320 is able to drop y'all are just unlimited. And now 0:00:43.320 --> 0:00:46.640 that we are brand new best friends, I have invited 0:00:46.640 --> 0:00:49.599 her again to the BA couch to take some of 0:00:49.640 --> 0:00:53.680 y'all's questions. Yes, if you have not yet listened to 0:00:53.800 --> 0:00:56.480 the OG episode with Branda Daniels, what are you waiting for? 0:00:56.600 --> 0:00:59.240 Please go? She is the founder of Harlem Fashion Row. 0:00:59.360 --> 0:01:02.560 She has an credible book, a beautiful work of art 0:01:02.840 --> 0:01:07.040 and a labor of love, Love Love, a labor of 0:01:07.200 --> 0:01:10.959 love called Fashion in Color Volume one, and there will 0:01:11.000 --> 0:01:13.679 be more. So go get yours now that you can 0:01:13.720 --> 0:01:18.119 pick up. Also check out Brandess Daniels on IG Brandess Daniel. Sorry, 0:01:18.200 --> 0:01:20.120 adding an s to your name as you do if 0:01:20.120 --> 0:01:25.600 you're black, it's Kroger's not Kroger. We know Brandon's Daniel 0:01:25.720 --> 0:01:29.800 on Ig. Check out her podcast Fashion in Color and 0:01:29.840 --> 0:01:33.039 all the incredible work that she does. But when we 0:01:33.120 --> 0:01:35.520 set aside all that normal stuff that you do when 0:01:35.520 --> 0:01:38.679 you're interviewing someone fantastic on the show, which is typically 0:01:38.760 --> 0:01:40.959 like talk about how brilliant they are and all the 0:01:40.959 --> 0:01:43.480 brilliant things they've achieved, we kind of cut through all 0:01:43.480 --> 0:01:45.920 that bs when it comes to brown ambition because we 0:01:45.959 --> 0:01:48.040 want to get to the sauce. We want to understand 0:01:48.080 --> 0:01:50.560 the recipe. How did you get to where you are? 0:01:51.200 --> 0:01:53.600 And one of the gems that you dropped or little 0:01:53.680 --> 0:01:57.240 nuggets you dropped in our first episode, Brandess, was that 0:01:57.280 --> 0:01:59.520 you had sort of been thinking when you started hf 0:01:59.760 --> 0:02:03.640 R that it may be a nonprofit, and I want 0:02:03.640 --> 0:02:07.360 to hear a little bit of background on how you decided, Okay, 0:02:07.360 --> 0:02:10.000 this is not a nonprofit, it's a business. And then 0:02:10.040 --> 0:02:12.639 we're going to take a question from VIAQA because it's 0:02:12.760 --> 0:02:15.080 very in line with I think the same crossroads that 0:02:15.080 --> 0:02:16.560 you were at with HFR. 0:02:17.639 --> 0:02:21.200 Yeah, Mandy, I feel like when we say we want 0:02:21.240 --> 0:02:24.640 to do something to help other people, we assume that 0:02:24.720 --> 0:02:26.119 it has to be a nonprofit. 0:02:26.840 --> 0:02:29.040 And so my original thought. 0:02:28.960 --> 0:02:32.919 Was, I want to make sure that we're supporting black designers, 0:02:32.919 --> 0:02:35.600 that we're putting them out there, so it needs to 0:02:35.639 --> 0:02:37.640 be a nonprofit. And I was working with a business 0:02:37.680 --> 0:02:41.359 coach at the time, and he kept challenging me on this. 0:02:41.480 --> 0:02:43.600 He kept saying, why do you want a nonprofit? 0:02:43.720 --> 0:02:47.240 Why why could this business not be a business with 0:02:47.320 --> 0:02:50.840 a purpose? Why can't you just do good and still 0:02:50.880 --> 0:02:51.520 make a profit. 0:02:52.720 --> 0:02:56.240 Because brand is when you build a successful business. What 0:02:56.320 --> 0:02:59.600 that does is it helps our community. You're able to 0:02:59.680 --> 0:03:03.720 hire people like that is also given back in a 0:03:03.760 --> 0:03:08.600 different type of way. And so I, after years of 0:03:08.720 --> 0:03:12.079 fighting it, finally decided, Okay, this is going to be 0:03:12.120 --> 0:03:14.800 a business. And honestly, it was one of the best 0:03:15.280 --> 0:03:19.280 decisions I could have made. I eventually did start a nonprofit, 0:03:19.480 --> 0:03:21.800 but I'm so happy that I said h and far 0:03:22.000 --> 0:03:26.680 up as a business first. And why is that, you know, 0:03:26.840 --> 0:03:32.280 because I think that a I wouldn't have had as 0:03:32.400 --> 0:03:36.440 much space to really explore my ideas. When you have 0:03:36.760 --> 0:03:40.800 a nonprofit, there is a board that everything needs to 0:03:40.880 --> 0:03:46.200 be approved through. I was able to try a lot 0:03:46.240 --> 0:03:50.440 of things out and quit a lot of things through. 0:03:50.240 --> 0:03:51.440 Harlem's fashion role. 0:03:52.320 --> 0:03:57.000 I also personally needed the skill of really building a business, 0:03:57.040 --> 0:04:00.000 So we built H ANDFR from basically like five hundred 0:04:00.120 --> 0:04:06.200 dollars to a few million dollars business. And the skill 0:04:06.320 --> 0:04:09.840 set that you get from that process of actually building 0:04:09.880 --> 0:04:14.080 a profitable business can then benefit you if you want 0:04:14.120 --> 0:04:17.640 to later go and start a nonprofit. I just feel 0:04:17.680 --> 0:04:21.080 like I would have looked at a nonprofit very differently. 0:04:21.279 --> 0:04:25.160 For example, when we launched our nonprofit, our first donation 0:04:25.400 --> 0:04:29.040 was a million dollar donation from Vogue in the CFDA. 0:04:29.320 --> 0:04:34.200 Because of the relationships you built with your business. 0:04:34.400 --> 0:04:38.800 With the business, but also I was I understood what 0:04:38.839 --> 0:04:41.200 it what it looked like right, how. 0:04:41.040 --> 0:04:43.520 To manage a million dollars through the business. 0:04:44.160 --> 0:04:47.080 And because brands saw the level of work that we 0:04:47.080 --> 0:04:49.440 were doing, they trusted us to give us. 0:04:49.360 --> 0:04:54.560 That level of donation, and so sometimes. 0:04:54.920 --> 0:04:58.440 It allowed me to think a lot bigger about you know. 0:04:58.480 --> 0:05:01.120 Our next donation was five hundred thousand from Gap Inc. 0:05:01.240 --> 0:05:03.960 And then they donated another five hundred thousand. So I 0:05:04.040 --> 0:05:08.200 feel like building the business home to prepare my mindset 0:05:08.600 --> 0:05:10.880 for what it would take to actually run a nonprofit. 0:05:11.600 --> 0:05:14.760 Oof okay, I'm so so glad that one of our 0:05:14.800 --> 0:05:18.320 BA fans submitted this question. I feel like we've been 0:05:18.600 --> 0:05:20.680 we never want to answer questions that we don't feel 0:05:20.720 --> 0:05:23.359 like we can't give like a big, juicy, you know, good, 0:05:23.400 --> 0:05:26.520 substantial answer to. And the reality is that Tiff and 0:05:26.560 --> 0:05:28.760 I don't have nonprofits. So when I got this question 0:05:28.800 --> 0:05:32.440 from Patricia, Hi, Patricia Gosh, I hope that it's not 0:05:32.520 --> 0:05:35.120 too late. You did send this question this year, so 0:05:35.480 --> 0:05:38.200 why don't that you're listening. If not, I'm gonna find 0:05:38.240 --> 0:05:40.120 your email and I will make sure you know which 0:05:40.120 --> 0:05:43.760 episode we answered it on. But Patricia has a business question, 0:05:43.920 --> 0:05:47.400 and I think you're the perfect perfect guest to answer it. 0:05:47.440 --> 0:05:51.640 So let me jump on into Patricia's question. Okay, Patricia says, 0:05:52.000 --> 0:05:54.719 I've been listening to Brent Ambition, and y'all have started 0:05:54.720 --> 0:05:56.800 to discuss, or you have been discussing the pros and 0:05:56.839 --> 0:05:59.840 cons of starting a nonprofit. I just started a non 0:06:00.400 --> 0:06:04.040 organization in January, but after listening to your podcast, I'm 0:06:04.080 --> 0:06:06.760 wondering if I should have started a for profit instead. 0:06:06.960 --> 0:06:09.640 I am still in the process of setting up the business. 0:06:09.839 --> 0:06:12.200 I've established a line of credit and a credit card 0:06:12.200 --> 0:06:14.760 in the business's name. My question is can I change 0:06:14.760 --> 0:06:18.960 from a nonprofit to a for profit organization? Should I? 0:06:19.320 --> 0:06:24.800 What are the pros and cons? Thank you Patricia. Okay, so, 0:06:24.920 --> 0:06:28.960 having some regrets about going the nonprofit route versus the 0:06:29.000 --> 0:06:31.920 for profit route, but we don't know too much about 0:06:31.960 --> 0:06:34.359 what kind of business she has or anything like that, 0:06:34.520 --> 0:06:37.960 So feel free to, you know, to riff on that. 0:06:39.000 --> 0:06:41.080 I feel like she knows the answer. 0:06:41.960 --> 0:06:46.120 I think that she knows the answer that it should 0:06:46.120 --> 0:06:49.480 be a business whatever it is that she's doing. And 0:06:50.240 --> 0:06:54.440 you know, one of the things that when you set 0:06:54.480 --> 0:06:56.600 your nonprofit up, you have to set it up as 0:06:56.600 --> 0:06:59.279 a business first and then you get your five oh 0:06:59.360 --> 0:07:00.279 one C three. 0:07:00.480 --> 0:07:03.839 So I don't think that it's going to be that. 0:07:04.000 --> 0:07:07.279 Big of a challenge for you to go from a 0:07:07.440 --> 0:07:09.200 and I could be wrong on this, but I don't 0:07:09.200 --> 0:07:10.680 think it's going to be that much of a challenge 0:07:10.680 --> 0:07:13.000 for you to for you to go from a nonprofit 0:07:13.200 --> 0:07:16.800 to a to a for profit business, especially if you've 0:07:16.840 --> 0:07:20.160 only been doing this for a year. I would highly recommend, though, 0:07:20.200 --> 0:07:23.400 to speak to a nonprofit specialist, maybe also speak to 0:07:23.440 --> 0:07:27.040 a tax accountant to find out like if there is 0:07:27.120 --> 0:07:30.360 anything there but your business is already set up, because 0:07:30.400 --> 0:07:32.200 you have to do that in order to build out 0:07:32.200 --> 0:07:35.480 the nonprofit. I think my question would be too, why 0:07:35.520 --> 0:07:39.600 a nonprofit and not a business? Is it that you 0:07:39.640 --> 0:07:41.280 know most of the people who you're going to be 0:07:41.280 --> 0:07:43.720 getting revenue from that they want to have give you 0:07:43.800 --> 0:07:47.360 tax deductible dollars because that could be it Sometimes like 0:07:47.560 --> 0:07:52.040 she's wanting to work more with kind of like the 0:07:52.120 --> 0:07:55.200 nonprofit arms of companies, and so she wants them to 0:07:55.200 --> 0:07:58.120 be able to give her that that tax. 0:07:58.520 --> 0:08:00.360 They want to be able to get that tax right off. 0:08:00.400 --> 0:08:02.840 Maybe that's why she's thinking about a nonprofit. 0:08:03.680 --> 0:08:05.880 She wants that five hundred k from gapping. 0:08:07.400 --> 0:08:11.720 But you know what, like really it's it's it's it's managing. 0:08:11.200 --> 0:08:14.440 That, but you know, we give most of it away. 0:08:14.640 --> 0:08:19.320 I also think what does she want personally? That's really important. 0:08:19.320 --> 0:08:23.280 What type of autonomy does she want? Because with nonprofit dollars, 0:08:23.720 --> 0:08:29.520 you really have to be really transparent on every dollar 0:08:29.600 --> 0:08:33.400 that you spend that comes from a brand. And sometimes 0:08:33.440 --> 0:08:35.480 you might want to spend money on things that you 0:08:35.600 --> 0:08:40.720 test out. You might want to do some beta testing, and. 0:08:41.200 --> 0:08:44.360 A company like just a company, gives you a lot 0:08:44.480 --> 0:08:47.040 more flexibility. 0:08:47.200 --> 0:08:49.760 Then you get to be like a It's almost like 0:08:49.840 --> 0:08:53.120 you get that space as a startup founder to be 0:08:53.760 --> 0:08:56.120 you know that old adage of like we built this 0:08:56.200 --> 0:08:58.880 in a garage, just like you know, you think of 0:08:58.920 --> 0:09:02.680 the old vision of an entrepreneur and you know, bringing 0:09:02.720 --> 0:09:06.000 that to the modern age. You really can be you 0:09:06.320 --> 0:09:10.800 alone with your ideas, trying some things, maybe not spending 0:09:10.880 --> 0:09:14.199 money like what the you know, investing in certain things 0:09:14.240 --> 0:09:18.320 and investing in certain ideas early without the feedback of 0:09:18.840 --> 0:09:21.840 It's great to have advisors, right and to have thought partners, 0:09:22.520 --> 0:09:24.280 but sometimes you have to learn to like trust your 0:09:24.280 --> 0:09:27.200 own voice, you know, before you're ready to get that 0:09:27.280 --> 0:09:29.520 advice from other people. 0:09:30.320 --> 0:09:33.920 Yeah, And one of the things that my coach said 0:09:33.920 --> 0:09:35.880 to me, he said, brand is if you build a 0:09:35.920 --> 0:09:40.160 successful business, the nonprofit will be so much easier to run. 0:09:40.600 --> 0:09:42.280 And he was so right about that. 0:09:43.000 --> 0:09:46.800 So the gap relationship came from the business relationship. The 0:09:47.679 --> 0:09:52.200 Vogue and CFDA donation came from the business relationship. So 0:09:52.280 --> 0:09:54.319 I was able to take everything that I had done 0:09:54.360 --> 0:09:57.000 in business and use that credibility for the nonprofit. 0:09:59.360 --> 0:10:02.680 So talk to me about when you knew, Okay, I've 0:10:02.720 --> 0:10:05.719 reached a certain level with Harlem Fashion, Row and do 0:10:05.800 --> 0:10:08.040 we mention the book Fashion in Color. You can get 0:10:08.040 --> 0:10:09.960 that right now wherever books are sold. 0:10:09.760 --> 0:10:12.840 Which got away, part of the proceeds from the Fashion 0:10:12.840 --> 0:10:16.040 and Color book goes through a nonprofit Icon three sixty. 0:10:16.640 --> 0:10:20.000 I read that and HBCUs get part of the profits 0:10:20.000 --> 0:10:23.680 as well. Is that right? Incredible? Everything is in alignment? Okay, 0:10:24.400 --> 0:10:26.040 you just feel good with It's some of those things 0:10:26.040 --> 0:10:28.680 you buy that you're like, I feel good about, like, actually, 0:10:28.840 --> 0:10:31.199 this book will do good for me and for others. 0:10:31.320 --> 0:10:34.880 It's amazing. Absolutely Okay. So when did you realize, okay, 0:10:35.000 --> 0:10:37.560 Harlem Fashion Row is doing well enough and at this 0:10:37.679 --> 0:10:41.720 point where it feels okay to start a nonprofit arm 0:10:41.800 --> 0:10:43.600 And then how did that execution happen? 0:10:45.160 --> 0:10:47.400 I started it in the middle of the pandemic, and 0:10:47.480 --> 0:10:51.959 I started it because designers were calling me and saying 0:10:51.960 --> 0:10:53.440 that they didn't think they would be able to stay 0:10:53.480 --> 0:10:54.080 in business. 0:10:54.760 --> 0:10:57.559 And from the HFR side, we didn't. 0:10:57.320 --> 0:11:01.240 Have the ability to write designers checks our business models 0:11:01.240 --> 0:11:04.640 and set up that way, and so because I wanted 0:11:04.640 --> 0:11:07.839 the ability to write checks, because that's mainly what Icon 0:11:07.920 --> 0:11:10.720 three sixty does is we give money to designers and 0:11:10.720 --> 0:11:12.439 to HBCU fashion departments. 0:11:12.880 --> 0:11:15.840 That is why we started the nonprofit. 0:11:16.000 --> 0:11:18.480 It was because we really wanted to be able to 0:11:18.760 --> 0:11:23.360 give money, give grants and give awards to designers and 0:11:23.520 --> 0:11:25.120 HBCU fashion departments. 0:11:25.120 --> 0:11:25.480 And so. 0:11:27.240 --> 0:11:31.360 That process for me was working with a nonprofit specialist 0:11:31.559 --> 0:11:34.520 who helped me to fill out all the paperwork to 0:11:34.559 --> 0:11:36.120 get my father that. 0:11:37.160 --> 0:11:41.640 Yeah, so where does one find a nonprofit specialist. 0:11:41.160 --> 0:11:43.079 If someone needs a nonprofit? 0:11:43.160 --> 0:11:45.480 The one that I worked with who was fantastic, her 0:11:45.559 --> 0:11:48.080 name is I can't think for her last name is Daphne, 0:11:48.559 --> 0:11:50.960 but I'm happy to share the person who I work with, 0:11:51.400 --> 0:11:55.560 DM me. I'll send you her information and. 0:11:55.640 --> 0:11:56.360 We work with her. 0:11:56.559 --> 0:11:59.760 She helped get all our paperwork together. We had to, 0:12:00.200 --> 0:12:02.559 you know, first we had to start the business because 0:12:02.760 --> 0:12:04.880 ICON three, when you're doing nonprofit, it has. 0:12:04.800 --> 0:12:05.680 To be a business first. 0:12:05.880 --> 0:12:08.280 So we had to start it as a business ICON 0:12:08.320 --> 0:12:10.720 three sixty and then you get the five oh one 0:12:10.760 --> 0:12:14.840 C three sits on the business God. So we got 0:12:14.880 --> 0:12:17.679 all of that done, and then we had to come 0:12:17.760 --> 0:12:18.880 up with our bylaws. 0:12:19.080 --> 0:12:20.319 I had to come up with the board. 0:12:21.960 --> 0:12:27.400 We had to come up with a mission statement, and 0:12:28.320 --> 0:12:29.680 you know kind of like what was. 0:12:29.679 --> 0:12:31.760 Our fiscal responsibility going to be? 0:12:31.840 --> 0:12:33.800 And how we were going to manage donation so that 0:12:33.840 --> 0:12:35.320 we can communicate. 0:12:34.760 --> 0:12:38.000 That to our donors. And then once we did that, 0:12:38.040 --> 0:12:39.120 we were we were rolling. 0:12:40.240 --> 0:12:44.200 Yeah, so then it's managed underneath the umbrella of HFR. 0:12:44.320 --> 0:12:45.120 So the staff you have. 0:12:45.120 --> 0:12:46.199 There totally separate. 0:12:46.640 --> 0:12:50.079 Oh, totally separate. Okay, So then you had are you 0:12:50.320 --> 0:12:52.840 who's the director of that program? Like? Did you have 0:12:52.920 --> 0:12:55.200 to find someone to manage those funds and make sure that, 0:12:55.800 --> 0:12:59.040 like you said, all of the fiscal responsibility, like the accountability, 0:12:59.040 --> 0:13:03.400 the accounting is ordered properly to the board and to donors. 0:13:03.920 --> 0:13:05.720 Did you hire a separate team for that? 0:13:06.679 --> 0:13:08.840 I had to hire a separate team. So we have 0:13:08.920 --> 0:13:11.680 a separate legal team for that. We have a separate 0:13:11.720 --> 0:13:15.720 accounting team for Icon three sixty. Matter of fact, they 0:13:15.800 --> 0:13:17.880 email me this morning because we're about to get do 0:13:17.920 --> 0:13:21.040 our self audit, and yeah, I have to have a 0:13:21.080 --> 0:13:24.400 totally separate team for Icon three sixty runs totally separate 0:13:24.400 --> 0:13:25.000 from h FAR. 0:13:25.880 --> 0:13:28.960 Oh interesting, Okay, I guess I always just thought, you know, 0:13:29.200 --> 0:13:32.000 just in my own ignorance that Okay, well, it's just 0:13:32.120 --> 0:13:34.200 you know, you have the big company and then the 0:13:34.240 --> 0:13:37.400 little over there. They're the people who do good over there. 0:13:37.400 --> 0:13:39.720 They sit over there and they manage those bad money. 0:13:40.240 --> 0:13:43.800 They that's fascinating a lot. 0:13:43.880 --> 0:13:48.760 It's a lot of it's running a whole nother business. 0:13:48.800 --> 0:13:50.760 That's why I'm like, if you just want a business, 0:13:50.800 --> 0:13:54.079 to start a business, because an profit is not easier. 0:13:54.600 --> 0:13:55.440 It is not easy. 0:13:55.440 --> 0:13:59.240 Thank you, Thank you for because I've never done it. 0:13:59.280 --> 0:14:01.040 But I just have heard and I'm like, this doesn't 0:14:01.040 --> 0:14:03.840 This sounds just like they got the same personnel problems 0:14:04.200 --> 0:14:08.480 you still have, like management issues. Toxicity is running rampant 0:14:08.720 --> 0:14:11.880 in the nonprofit sector and they're getting away with it 0:14:11.920 --> 0:14:15.600 because we're a nonprofit. You're all here because you want 0:14:15.600 --> 0:14:16.880 to do good in the world, So I can treat 0:14:16.920 --> 0:14:21.080 you like garbage because I'm you know what do gooder like? Oh, 0:14:21.120 --> 0:14:25.240 I have such a beef with the nonprofit space, not yours, 0:14:25.280 --> 0:14:28.800 of course, I'm saying. And the fact that yes, and 0:14:29.040 --> 0:14:31.000 it also goes back to what you were saying about 0:14:31.280 --> 0:14:35.280 being a savvy business owner first running a business properly 0:14:35.360 --> 0:14:37.480 and you learn I mean, I don't want to put 0:14:37.480 --> 0:14:39.040 words in your mouth, but do you feel like you 0:14:39.160 --> 0:14:43.320 learned just management skills leadership skills that have served you 0:14:44.880 --> 0:14:47.000 now that you have ventured into the nonprofit space with 0:14:47.200 --> 0:14:47.960 Icon three sixty. 0:14:48.840 --> 0:14:52.760 Absolutely, I even tail nonprofits because a lot of times 0:14:52.800 --> 0:14:57.640 they'll approach brand partnerships with a one page. 0:14:57.400 --> 0:15:00.160 Letter and they send this letter out and. 0:15:00.080 --> 0:15:02.320 They want people to give them, like fifty thousand dollars 0:15:02.320 --> 0:15:05.960 from this little letter that they have, And I'm like, 0:15:06.280 --> 0:15:10.600 you have to approach like we approach our donors in 0:15:10.640 --> 0:15:14.440 the same way as we approach our sponsorship partners for 0:15:14.520 --> 0:15:19.280 Harlan sbashi Row very similar. Like even though you're a nonprofit, 0:15:19.640 --> 0:15:24.880 your process still needs to be very business like. You 0:15:25.040 --> 0:15:29.560 need to send out a proper sponsorship proposal that's usually 0:15:29.560 --> 0:15:35.080 a ten page document showing photos and giving people a 0:15:35.160 --> 0:15:38.120 peek into like what you do and the impact that 0:15:38.160 --> 0:15:38.560 you have. 0:15:39.360 --> 0:15:40.040 It is. 0:15:40.280 --> 0:15:44.120 It is very If you operate a nonprofit like a business, 0:15:44.160 --> 0:15:47.400 it will probably be really successful. But if you operate 0:15:47.400 --> 0:15:50.360 a nonprofit from kind of like a charity and you're 0:15:50.400 --> 0:15:53.400 expecting people to just like give you money, it's going 0:15:53.480 --> 0:15:57.040 to be really challenging for you to get the bigger dollars. 0:15:58.200 --> 0:16:01.880 Absolutely, And also, I mean I just consider a nonprofit 0:16:01.920 --> 0:16:04.800 to be a business, Like it's just a business. Just 0:16:04.920 --> 0:16:07.120 what you do with the profits is a little bit different. 0:16:07.240 --> 0:16:09.400 You know, you give them away, but you still got 0:16:09.400 --> 0:16:10.880 to pay your staff, You still got to pay your 0:16:10.880 --> 0:16:15.800 operating expenses. Right, so it is it is legitimately a business. First, 0:16:16.760 --> 0:16:20.240 what advice would you have to someone who is maybe 0:16:20.280 --> 0:16:24.080 feeling like the and even describing how do you start 0:16:24.120 --> 0:16:28.160 a non nonprofit? When you start that, finding a board, 0:16:28.760 --> 0:16:31.720 like even making those connections seems like a much higher 0:16:31.760 --> 0:16:34.560 bar to meet than just starting a business, because any 0:16:35.080 --> 0:16:38.440 dumb dumb can just like buy an LLC. I did 0:16:38.480 --> 0:16:42.560 it on a Tuesday because I wanted to, Like, but 0:16:42.640 --> 0:16:45.040 really it's not that hard. But then to find a 0:16:45.160 --> 0:16:49.840 board and have, like you said, fiscal responsibility. How if 0:16:49.840 --> 0:16:52.359 someone does have a legitimate Okay, I'm ready for a nonprofit? 0:16:52.760 --> 0:16:55.640 What's your advice to reach out and start to build 0:16:55.640 --> 0:16:59.120 those relationships or take advantage of ones you may already 0:16:59.160 --> 0:17:00.960 have to put that board together? 0:17:02.160 --> 0:17:04.280 Yeah, I always when you look at your board, you 0:17:04.320 --> 0:17:07.080 want to look at it and go, what does what 0:17:07.119 --> 0:17:08.520 does this nonprofit need? 0:17:09.080 --> 0:17:09.320 Right? 0:17:09.440 --> 0:17:12.679 So, okay, my nonprofit needs money? Okay, who can I 0:17:12.720 --> 0:17:14.800 put on the board that can connect me to money? 0:17:15.880 --> 0:17:18.960 My nonprofit needs like a legal specialist? 0:17:19.320 --> 0:17:20.600 Who can I put on the board. 0:17:20.720 --> 0:17:22.879 Maybe it's an attorney that you put on the board. 0:17:23.920 --> 0:17:27.000 I want to be able to do nonprofit events that 0:17:27.200 --> 0:17:29.320 attracts NBA players. 0:17:29.400 --> 0:17:31.360 Okay, who can I put on the board? Who has 0:17:31.400 --> 0:17:32.440 those relationships? 0:17:32.800 --> 0:17:38.919 So your board should be really really strategic and the way. 0:17:39.160 --> 0:17:42.200 We're actually in search of an executive director right now 0:17:42.240 --> 0:17:45.439 for Icon three sixty, so I haven't expanded our board yet. 0:17:45.800 --> 0:17:48.800 So my goal is to expand our board, but I 0:17:48.840 --> 0:17:51.920 don't have the bandwidth to manage those relationships. 0:17:52.200 --> 0:17:54.520 And when you have a board, you really need to 0:17:54.560 --> 0:17:56.400 be able to, you know. 0:17:56.440 --> 0:18:01.159 Manage those relationships, stay in communication with them, and so 0:18:01.200 --> 0:18:04.119 you need a great executive director to be able to 0:18:04.160 --> 0:18:06.560 do that. Or if this is like your main thing, 0:18:07.200 --> 0:18:08.840 you need to be the one to make sure that 0:18:08.920 --> 0:18:12.080 you're constantly like managing the relationships with the people that 0:18:12.119 --> 0:18:12.960 you have on your board. 0:18:13.440 --> 0:18:17.560 That piece is like so so so important. 0:18:17.760 --> 0:18:20.760 Otherwise you get into a place where your board might 0:18:20.840 --> 0:18:25.280 kick you out like you or or your board is 0:18:25.359 --> 0:18:27.560 doing things that are not in alignment with what your 0:18:27.600 --> 0:18:32.280 original vision was. So you just want to make sure that. 0:18:32.240 --> 0:18:34.920 You have the person in place who can really. 0:18:34.680 --> 0:18:38.640 Manage and cultivate those relationships with the board members before 0:18:38.680 --> 0:18:40.800 you bring people on. But everybody who was on that 0:18:40.840 --> 0:18:42.240 board should have a clear purpose. 0:18:43.240 --> 0:18:44.880 I thought you were going to say, well, they don't 0:18:44.920 --> 0:18:47.280 like they can leave, but you went right for that. 0:18:47.320 --> 0:18:50.880 They could kick you out like you give them power. Yeah, 0:18:50.960 --> 0:18:53.440 we just saw that happen on open ai chat. Do 0:18:53.520 --> 0:18:56.719 you just got fired and rehired and all this crazy stuff? 0:18:57.560 --> 0:18:59.679 Oh okay, I wish we had you for more time. 0:19:00.080 --> 0:19:02.240 But it sounds like you're getting into more of the 0:19:02.280 --> 0:19:07.040 space of mentorship as well to entrepreneurs to businesswomen. Tell me, 0:19:07.160 --> 0:19:10.160 tell us be a fan about what you may have, 0:19:10.240 --> 0:19:13.040 even if it's not perfectly ready to your standard, which 0:19:13.040 --> 0:19:15.840 I know is very high. But what are your thoughts 0:19:15.840 --> 0:19:17.399 on that? And how do you know you're ready to 0:19:17.440 --> 0:19:19.760 sort of yeah, get more into that teacher side of 0:19:19.800 --> 0:19:20.199 what you do. 0:19:21.200 --> 0:19:21.840 Yeah, you know. 0:19:22.119 --> 0:19:24.280 Again, one of the questions I get all the time 0:19:24.359 --> 0:19:27.360 is about, like, how do I partner with brands like nonprofits? 0:19:27.400 --> 0:19:29.359 Want to know, how do we get a five hundred 0:19:29.359 --> 0:19:34.119 thousand dollars donation from a gaping you know? And I 0:19:34.240 --> 0:19:36.919 just through the years, you pick up all these skills 0:19:36.960 --> 0:19:38.320 and then you take them for granted. 0:19:39.040 --> 0:19:40.800 And I have. 0:19:40.640 --> 0:19:43.439 A speaking coach who I work with and He always 0:19:43.480 --> 0:19:45.280 tells me, brand is, you have so much to teach, 0:19:45.400 --> 0:19:46.680 why aren't you teaching more? 0:19:47.240 --> 0:19:49.440 And finally I was like, he's right, I'm going to 0:19:49.520 --> 0:19:50.280 start to teach more. 0:19:50.320 --> 0:19:54.480 And so I wrote a second book, Small Business Big Partnerships, 0:19:54.520 --> 0:19:58.639 to help nonprofits and businesses build partnerships with brands and 0:20:00.000 --> 0:20:03.280 and part of that is because that information you really 0:20:03.280 --> 0:20:04.360 can't find it anywhere. 0:20:04.880 --> 0:20:09.040 Nobody's really telling you. It's kind of like marketing agencies 0:20:09.080 --> 0:20:11.240 have that info and they don't really want to share it. 0:20:11.560 --> 0:20:14.120 But I always go back Mandy to like the Brandes's 0:20:14.160 --> 0:20:17.000 in two thousand and seven, and everything I do, I'm like, 0:20:17.040 --> 0:20:20.879 how do I serve her? What she needed was something 0:20:20.880 --> 0:20:24.199 that didn't cost, you know, one thousand dollars. She needed 0:20:24.320 --> 0:20:26.679 like a guide for somebody to tell her this is 0:20:26.720 --> 0:20:27.480 how you do it. 0:20:28.440 --> 0:20:30.679 And so I'm just in a place where I'm really 0:20:31.000 --> 0:20:33.000 ready to share. So I wrote this book. 0:20:33.640 --> 0:20:36.320 I'm also doing a lot more like just coaching and 0:20:36.359 --> 0:20:39.720 teaching on my personal social media, and. 0:20:39.560 --> 0:20:41.800 I haven't started to do one on one coaching yet. 0:20:42.200 --> 0:20:44.800 I'm not sure if I'm ready for that, but I 0:20:44.840 --> 0:20:49.040 am definitely excited about sharing, like all of the knowledge 0:20:49.080 --> 0:20:51.919 that I've gained over this time with other people. 0:20:52.280 --> 0:20:55.199 I don't know. Maybe I'm getting older, Mandy, maybe it's age. 0:20:55.520 --> 0:20:57.399 Well, I'm about to say, like one on one coaching, 0:20:57.480 --> 0:20:59.240 you don't you don't actually have to do that at 0:20:59.240 --> 0:21:02.640 all if you don't want to. And in fact, I 0:21:02.680 --> 0:21:04.920 love it so much. I loved speaking to women in 0:21:04.960 --> 0:21:06.840