One major challenge I have seen in nonprofit running social enterprises is vocabulary!

When a for-profit "regular" business finds a way to create value for a customer, it has generally found its source of revenue; when a nonprofit finds a way to create value for a beneficiary, it has not identified its economic engine. That is very often a separate step.

Nonprofit that are running social enterprises struggle more with the words to use than understanding the concept in itself. Words have power over mindsets, and your mindset impacts your actions. When the right words are used, the right decisions are made.

The term funding model is different from business model to describe a framework. A business model incorporates choices about the cost structure and value proposition to the beneficiary. A funding model, however, focuses only on the funding, not on the programs and services offered to the beneficiary.

A business model identifies the products or services the business plans to sell, its identified target market, and any anticipated expenses. A business model describes the methods the company will use to generate customers and revenue.

Investing in the right people is also crucial! Many nonprofit have the feeling that they can't afford the right people. Hiring the right people is an essential part of scaling up for every enterprise. The social sector is no different as the skills required to sell, brand, and manage financials are specialized. Talking about business model, revenue and customer, will tremendously help in hiring the right people.

Never overlook the importance of marketing. No matter how good your products or services are, people need to hear about them and marketing is the best way to spread the word and increase sales.

Word of mouth and community are great ways to build buzz and business owners love it because for the most part, it's free. But in reality, building a customer base requires some more upfront investment.

Fixed budgets:

A new business may have to be more careful with their money, the option of having a fixed budget might be better. In your first year, you may simply have to find an amount that you feel you can afford and stick to it. It is also essential to have a marketing plan.

Percentage of revenue:

Most small businesses allocate a percentage of their total revenue to marketing. One of the main advantages of this percentage approach is that the budget is not fixed. It will grow along with revenue, increasing your marketing presence as your business expands.

Reunions are important times! They give people the opportunity to reunite our humanity, renew our spirits, and give comparative meaning to our life’s intended goals and objectives.

Reunions reinforce our common bonds, regenerate our friendships, and often make our personal history richer and more purposeful.

Family reunions are fun: you meet all kinds of relatives, sometimes even relatives you never knew existed.

High school reunions are also very important. Class reunions in general, are great trips down memory lane. It can be challenging to share vague memories with people who look familiar but whose names you have forgotten, but even if the first hugs and handshakes are tentative, it is amazing to see each other again!

Reunions are important and serve a vital purpose! Celebrating life is always beautiful!

Natural Grocers is a Colorado based health food chain founded in 1955 by Margaret and Philip Isely.

The company operates around 140 retail grocery stores in around 19 states, mainly west of the Mississippi River, and has approximately 3,039 employees.

“Our company was founded in 1955 because we care — we care about the environment, we care about the health of our nation, the economy, the health of our communities, and we care about you.”

Our Five Founding Principles | Natural Grocers

Welcome to our 100th Episode and 10th Book Review! Another amazing book that I highly recommend! As I like to do, I'm going to quote the parts I found the most interesting and the most relevant!

Book focus: People that build companies with <$1000, currently making >$50,000 a year, no "special" skills, and have <5 employees.

Focus on bringing value and make it easy for people to pay you: "Value means helping people."

Location is overrated: "a desk is a dangerous place from which to watch the world.” John le Carré

"Focus on different demographics to build business opportunities: traditional demographics: Age, location, sex, gender, race, ethnics but also non traditional demographics: Interest, passion, stills, believes, values = psychographics."

“Business opportunities are like buses, there's always another one coming along” Richard Branson

Be simple when it comes to business plans: 1 page is enough! “Plans are only good intentions unless they immediately degenerate into hard work.” Peter Drucker

"Encourage referrals: Business strategy should be 50% creating & 50% connecting. When you get positive feedback from people who don’t buy your product, you are on the right track! Building relationships will always come back around to help you!"

“Work ON your business not IN IT!”

Resources to check: The 100 Startup

Everything you do is prayer!

You may not realize it but the decisions you make throughout the day, the attitude you adopt, the conversations you have, the way you respond to other people, and the thoughts you think are all prayers.

The food you choose to eat, the way you spend your money, even the way you drive is a prayer!

We are constantly generating energy even in our most mundane activities. And our prayers are always answered in the affirmative: “Yes”, good or bad!

Ultimately, you will be giving what you are praying for!

Youth sports clubs, like other organizations, need money to operate daily. There are many expenses associated with running a club. Likewise, there are plenty of ways for clubs to raise money. Youth sports was a 22-billion-dollar industry in 2020 (even with the pandemic) and is a  huge contributor to the economy, both locally and globally.

The location of the clubs will definitely determine the different options and how economical it will be for them to create the revenue they are looking for.

Money is required to make a club run for various reasons: the money is divided up into a few different areas and is essential to run the club. Most clubs, if they are running properly, do make a profit even if they are called non-profit. Nonprofit organizations cannot distribute its profits to any private individual but they do make a profit!

Here are some ways to drive multiple revenue streams year-round:

Photographs are used to tell stories in many different ways! Sciences use photography to document new plants or to be able to study animals in more depth. Photos are used in textbooks to teach students about different places around the world. Family portraits hang on walls of almost every home.

In this episode, we are going to focus on popular niches in photography, and how you can build a successful photography business!

It’s hard to master a specific style if you don’t stick to it. Find ways to find new ideas and ways to tell many stories.

Partnerships increase sales volume. Referrals are the heart of any business! Use every client as a marketing opportunity and go where people have budget to pay you!

Work Is Life and Life Is Work!

Work is an indispensable means of enhancing individual senses of usefulness and belonging, but also of providing financial means. Work is central in several other dimensions, namely in its role as a socializing mechanism, as a source of social exchanges, and individual identities.

Work is the pillar of social organization, but also, to a large extent, is an important pillar of the existential organization of individuals.

It is a fundamental feature in many dimensions of social integration, such as health, housing, and interpersonal relationships. You have to invest in people you want to be in relationships with.

Work is a central piece in our lives, and a crucial factor in the social integration of any groups. Work is synonymous with integration!

Vending machines are very straightforward businesses and don't require any special skills nor training. These are amazing businesses to consider with family members because it is easy to manage: once installed, a vending machine needs little to no maintenance. Vending machines require no staff, which means no extra wages to pay. It also means you don’t have to pay any other of the other costs associated with employing staff.

Digital/Smart touch screen vending machines cost around $1,000 on the low end and can go as high as $8,000 or even more depending on the technology. 

Smart vending machines have tons of benefits: They offer real time usage reporting to vendors which helps them to keep sufficient items in the machine by monitoring inventory all the time. They eliminate many drawbacks of old vending machines accepting coins. Payment options include many solutions such as contactless payment and Apple pay.

Here are below my top 3 vending machine business ideas: