is how I describe a L3C: A for profit business is like a car with profit in the driver’s seat. A not for profit business is like a car with mission in the driver’s seat. A L3C is like a car with mission in the front seat, and profit in the back seat. I felt that the L3C business entity type or model created more alignment between the values I espoused and the changes I was trying to make in business.
You personally believe that a business has an obligation not only to make a profit, but also be “sustainable.” What does that term mean to you?
Sustainability to me means that a business is going to be around for a long time. The earth has been here for 3.8 billion years and humans have been on it for about 5 million years. I have yet to meet anyone who believes that if we keep on doing what we’re doing we’ll be here for another 1,000 years. Can we really manage being on the planet for another 5 million years doing the same things we’ve been doing? No.
The standard definition of sustainability is meeting our current needs without sacrificing the needs of future generations. We need to preserve and regenerate what we have on this planet. If we are going to continue to be here, we have to find ways to sustain business and not destroy the planet and allow it to re-establish itself. The prime directive of the planet is to create the conditions that support life; should we do less? In the long term, that’s what we also have to do. But we don’t do that. We create conditions that make life impossible over the long term.
How do businesses, then, get back to sustainability?
The really simple answer is that we make work that not just allows us to be alive, but to be alive with JOY. We TOLERATE our work in a lot of cases, thinking things are going to change in the future. But a lot of people really don’t live their lives with joy nor love what they do. We have to begin with the end in mind. I think this has been one of the blessings with entrepreneurship, in that people who are entrepreneurs get the opportunity to create a life that they love. While they all don’t necessarily arrive there, they have the control to potentially create the life they want to live.
Ethical Impact also has a B Corp certification. What is B Corp certification, and why did you obtain it for your company?*
Same reason why I moved to a L3C business structure—B Corp is working to change the law so that companies are legally required to pay as much attention to the community and their environment as they pay to their shareholders and the bottom line. Right now, you only legally have to focus on the shareholder; it’s OK to destroy the environment and the community around you in order to make money. Being a B Corp demonstrates that my company is committed to being sustainable—to the environment, to the community around my business, and to profits. I’ve committed to the concept of sustainability for my business.
*[To learn more about B Corp certification, logon to: www.bcorporation.net. It is important to note that there is a B Corp certification process, which is available nationally, and a business structure called a Benefit Corporation, which is currently available only in the states of Maryland and Vermont.]
What advantages do you think you have as a single business owner that perhaps married business owners do not have?
I think again it depends on the person. There are really two levels of entrepreneurship: 1. Providing your own job—what most small business is, and 2. Creating wealth. These two types of entrepreneurs have very different strategies to go about creating their endpoints. Most of my life, I’ve created my own job. I’ve made enough money to live. I’ve also enjoyed flexibility to raise my kids. Business ownership gave me the flexibility to be around for my kids while they were growing up. Now that I’m building a bigger business, I’m finding it a much more consuming process.
What about disadvantages?
You do EVERYTHING. You live and die by your own work, which I’d want to do anyway, but you’re responsible for the quality of the life that you create, and you don’t necessarily have the illusion of security. BUT, you can be fired at any time or let go from a day job and we’ve seen a lot of that lately. That leaves you with nothing AND a sense of powerlessness, because you’re waiting for someone else to let you do something in order to get paid. As an entrepreneur, you have things to offer the world, so it’s empowering to be able to make a difference in your life and the world by being on your own. It also allows you to be much more creative and innovative. Technically, now I’m unemployable because I’m very creative and innovative and that’s not always well regarded in the corporate environment.
So, you are saying that companies pay you as a consultant to give them advice using creative and innovative skill sets, but you’re unemployable because your innovative and creative as a full-time employee?
Yes. Ironic!
Do you think business ownership has led you to remain single?
No, I think if I had an interest, I could get married. But I will say that especially right now, while I’m trying to create a larger organization, it does require a lot of time and energy—and a relationship with a significant other would almost feel distracting.
What advice would you give another single woman who is thinking about starting a business?
Part of the joy we get out of life is feeling like we really contributed something. We need to go for it! I’ve actually spent the early years of my business life helping high school students start their own businesses. I’ve watched students employ their parents, and other adults offering to buy the businesses of the students I’ve helped. Anyone can do it! You don’t need money either, just a great idea. Encouragement is what is necessary. It is something you can do with nothing.
What about being a single WOMAN business owner? Have you perceived advantages or disadvantages to being a woman business owner?
There’s always a disadvantage with being a woman in business dealing with men. It’s really hard for men to feel comfortable around women in the workplace, or believe that women have the same level of knowledge and authority that they do. Men and women work differently. Men are about ranking. There’s a lot of ways they test and share how they’re better than the other men. Women don’t do that; we’re much more about connection, who you know, who supported us, and that determines our ranking status. That’s definitely had an impact on my effectiveness.
In terms of advantages: you have to be good at what you do and people will recognize it. But a lot of it is about salesmanship and you can sell as a woman or as a man. That’s bigger than anything else. It’s also hard for women sometimes to be effective in situations where they need to be really aggressive or clever. For some people in business, it is about winning at all costs. And, there are people who view business as a game. Women anticipate that the relationship will count for something, and in the game, it doesn’t count for as much.
What is the business/entrepreneurial climate like for women in business in Colorado? Are there organizations that help women in business?
We are an entrepreneurial hotbed. In Colorado, there are more sustainable and organic companies that are values-based. I came from California to Colorado, and there is definitely more value- based business interest here. People here are really interested in creating a life, having
