Mission Driven Business Brian Thompson

Brian chats with Yong-Soo Chung, a serial entrepreneur who founded three e-commerce companies in the span of seven years. With his latest venture, the podcast First Class Founders, Yong-Soo is on a mission to impact entrepreneurs by sharing his lessons on building sustainable businesses from bootstrap to earning more than $1 million in annual revenue.
On the episode, Yong-Soo shares his three pillars for a successful business and fulfilling life. He also discusses the importance of listening to your intuition and taking advantage of the opportunities that come your way.
Episode Highlights
Mission-driven businesses do more than make money.
Yong-Soo defines a mission-driven business as one that has an intention or purpose beyond making money. Whether it’s helping a community or donating a percentage of profits to a cause, mission-driven businesses do activities for a bigger purpose.
"The way I like to put it is when you're living, money is like oxygen, so you need money to survive,” Yong-Soo explained. “But it's not like you're living your life to breathe, right? That's the kind of way that I like to look at it."
Root yourself in a city that supports your growth.
Before becoming a serial entrepreneur, Yong-Soo worked in finance in New York City. Following his intuition, Yong-Soo decided to take his life in a new direction by moving to San Francisco and pursuing his own business.
“What I was doing didn’t feel like something that would fulfill me 5 or 10 years down the line,” Yong-Soo said. “I knew that it was like a bandage that just needed to be ripped off, and I just needed to essentially start over in a new area.”
The move was difficult but allowed him to meet people with similar goals and discover opportunities he would have never known existed. His personal values and vision for the future were key in deciding which city to live in and which opportunities to pursue.
“New York City is obviously a fantastic city for opportunities, but it didn’t serve what I wanted to do 5 to 10 years down the line,” Yong-Soo said “Being rooted in an area that you want to compound yourself in all areas of your life is really the key.” 
Three steps to live your best life.
Yong-Soo lists three simple but impactful actions to live your best life:
Focus on what you can control.
Focus on what you do have.
Do not dwell on the past.
“The chances of an app succeeding in a big way was very small, but it’s more about the learning process and the lessons you’re going to learn along the way,” Song-Yoon said. “That’s where the gems and the valuable lessons come from.”
Resources + Links
First Class Founders: Website, Podcast
Spotted by Humphrey: Website, Instagram
Urban EDC: Website, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, TikTok
Growth Jet: Website, Instagram
Yong-Soo’s Social Media: Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok
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 Tuesday P. Brooks, a business owner, educator, trusted tax and accounting advisor, and U.S. veteran. Her company, AJOY, champions profitability for women-led micro and small businesses. On the episode, Tuesday shares the power of being open to suggestions and how following where you’re led can lead to some incredible outcomes. She also breaks down how prioritizing profitability can help entrepreneurs better support their mission and create impact.
Episode Highlights
Revenue is a primary focus for mission-driven businesses.
Tuesday describes a mission-driven business as one in which the people running it understand that revenue and sales have to be a key focus. If you’re running a business with a good cause that doesn’t make any money, then you’re essentially volunteering.
“The only way you can support your mission is if you have the resources to do it,” Tuesday said. “And resources mean money.”
The need for revenue to support a mission is particularly impactful for Tuesday as her company AJOY teaches financial fluency to business owners. The company specializes in helping womxn-led businesses achieve profitability through three tiers of support: bookkeeping, cash management, and tax strategy.
“If they're employing all of these things, they have no choice to but to be profitable,” she said.
You can’t grow if nobody knows what you do.
Before AJOY existed as a financial management firm, Tuesday used the brand name to provide a wide variety of business services to clients. The problem was that the company didn’t grow because nobody quite knew what she did.
“If during that time you were to ask 10 people, ‘What does Tuesday do?,’ you would have gotten 10 different answers because I was capable of doing a lot of things,” she said.
Then, in 2009, she decided to focus on accounting and tax for small businesses. Once she claimed her niche, the business started to grow because people became very aware of her services and did not come to her for anything else.
“I have not wavered from what we do, and how we do it has only gotten better,” she said. “People started to understand they could rely on us.”
Follow where you’re led.
Before leaning into running a financial management firm for womxn-led businesses, Tuesday had a winding career path. She got her Master’s in Education based on a friend's suggestion and her Business Degree in Media Management because her Mom saw a flier for a program. She also discovered her niche because her mentor and business coach suggested she go to a boot camp. Her experiences have led her to espouse the power of being able to follow.
“Everybody talks about leadership, but there’s also power in being open to suggestions and doing things,” she said. “It led to so many wonderful experiences that brought me to where I am now, and it’s how we’re able to support our business because I tapped into so many industries.”
Resources + Links
AJOY: Website, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube
Tuesday’s Social Media: Website, LinkedIn, Instagram
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.

It’s tax season crunch time. In this episode, Brian will walk you through the S-Corporation income tax return to help you better understand what you’re filing and hopefully catch mistakes before it’s too late. He provides a section-by-section analysis of Form 1120-S and highlights key areas that business owners and tax professionals make mistakes.
Episode Highlights
Part 1: Heading, Income, Deductions, Tax and Payments
Most of this information is drawn from your business’s Profit and Loss Statement. Here’s a breakdown of what’s on the first page:
Calendar year: The very top of the form asks for the calendar year. If the corporation has a calendar year-end, leave this blank. If a fiscal year or short year put in the appropriate dates.
Address: Underneath the calendar year, the form asks for a name and address. Use the name set forth in the charter or other legal documents, such as your Employer Identification Number (EIN) letter.
Item A: Located to the left of the address, Item A asks for your S election effective date. You should have a letter from the IRS (CP 261) with your S-Corp starting date. This date should stay the same every year.
Item B: Your business activity code. This code shows the IRS exactly what you do.
Item C: Item C only applies if you have assets of $10 million or more. Most of the time, Item C will not be checked.
Item D: Put your EIN in Item D. Make sure to verify it’s correct before you file your form.
Item E: Your date of incorporation should match the articles of incorporation. This date may or may not be the same date as your S-election. Like the S-election date, the date of incorporation won’t change.
Item F: Total assets at the end of the year.
Item G: If the corporation is electing to be an S-Corp beginning with the current filing tax year, check the appropriate box. If the S-Corp did not already file the S-Election, attach Form 2553 with the return.
Item H: These boxes should be self-explanatory. Check the boxes that apply.
Item I: Enter the number of shareholders in the firm (e.g. yourself and your partners).
Item J: Most of the time, Item J will not be checked. If you believe that one of the Item J items applies, follow up with your tax accountant.
Income: Report gross revenue your business has earned for the year and any additional income or interest income that you may have incurred. Only report trade or business income. Do not list rental income, portfolio income, or tax exempt income (those go on your Schedule K).
Expenses: Report all deductions on your Profit and Loss statement. Pay special attention to the following lines:
Line 7: Compensation of officers should have something on it. S-Corporations must pay shareholder/employee reasonable compensation for services rendered, and failing to put reasonable compensation could lead to an IRS audit. Also included on this line are fringe benefits, including employer contributions to health plans and group term life insurance, for shareholders/employees owning more than 2% of the corporation stock. If your S-Corp has total receipts of $500,000 or more, you’ll need to attach Form 1125-E to explain what was paid to each officer.
Line 8: Salary and wages paid to employees (other than officers) of the corporation.
Line 17: An S-Corporation can deduct contributions made for its employees under a qualified pension, profit sharing, annuity, SEP plan, Simple plan, or any other retirement deferred compensation plan. This includes shareholders/employees owning more than 2% of the corporation stock.
Line 18: Employee fringe benefits provided to officers and employees owning less than 2% go on this line, such as health insurance, disability insurance, and educational assistance.
Line 19: Line 19 includes any other deductions. There should be an attached statement, and it should match your profit and loss. The numbers should be close to your Profit and Loss statement.
Taxes an

Brian chats with Tristan Schukraft, president and CEO of MISTR, a telehealth platform that offers discrete access to medication that can help prevent HIV. On the episode, Tristan shares how he started MISTR to help his friends, which led to a business fueled by passion. He also discusses the importance of knowing your market, staying true to your mission, and questioning how to make the status quo better.
Episode Highlights
Mission-driven businesses make a positive impact on communities.
Like other guests on the podcast, Tristan defines a mission-driven business as one that has a higher purpose and makes a positive impact on the world. But he goes one step further by saying mission-driven businesses even more specifically make a positive impact on the communities they’re designed to serve.
“The mission of any business is like the guiding North star,” Tristan said. “All business decisions that are made all circle back to the mission. It’s really important for entrepreneurs to understand what the mission is and stay focused on that.”
For MISTR, that mission is to help increase access and adherence to Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP), a once-daily medicine that helps prevent HIV. While PrEP is “a huge change in the fight against HIV,” the number of people using it to prevent new HIV infections was limited. Tristan created MISTR to try and help.
“It was not necessarily a business at first, but more that I wanted to help my friends get on PreEP and help eliminate HIV infections,” Tristan said. “When you’re focused on making money, it doesn’t work out. And when you’re so passionate about what you’re doing, everything kind of comes together.”
Know your audience.
To be a successful entrepreneur, you not only need to be passionate about your work and your mission but you also have to know the audience you’re serving. For instance, Tristan was invited to join the HIV Commission in Los Angeles, which was made up of passionate people who lived through the AIDS crisis. But to get more young people to use and adhere to PreP, the commission’s plan involved calling people and using data that was years out of date.
“I quickly realized if you want adherence and access to increase, you have to move this online,” Tristan said. “Who are you trying to target? Young people. Young people don’t answer the phone. Young people don’t have voicemail.”
Stay focused to find success.
Tristan is full of energy and ideas, and he’s always looking for opportunities. So his brother gave him advice that has stuck with him: To be really successful, you have to stay focused. Tristan applied his brother’s advice to launch his first successful company and still uses it to focus on his business initiatives today.
“You can’t be everything to everyone,” Tristan said. “You have to really understand your market and stay true to your market.”
Staying focused is also something that Tristan tells the marketing team of MISTR. The company speaks to its target community in a non-medical and very sex-positive way, which resonates with its customers.
‘You’re going to offend some people, but that's okay, right?” Tristan said. “If you’re trying to please everybody, then you lose your authenticity.”
Resources + Links
Tristan’s Social Media: Instagram, LinkedIn
Mistr: Website, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook
The Tryst Beachfront Hotel
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

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.