A lot of small business owners wonder if they should be for-profit or a nonprofit. The truth? Many people successfully manage both—and when done right, it can actually be an advantage. Here are some ground rules to keep in mind: - Transparency is everything. Be upfront about how each entity operates. - Keep the money separate. Each has its own bank account. Don’t mix them. - Funds should only flow one way. Never move money from the nonprofit into the for-profit. Your for-profit can support your nonprofit, but not the other way around. The Big Question: What Belongs Where? When deciding if something should sit under your for-profit or your nonprofit, ask: “Who owns this?” - With a nonprofit, you don’t actually own it—it belongs to the public. That means anything you give to your nonprofit (curriculum, machines, software, etc.) you can’t later sell for personal profit. - With a for-profit, you retain ownership of your intellectual property, content, tools, and experience. You can build, sell, or license those things. A Smart Approach One way to structure this: 1. Start with the for-profit. Build your content, tools, and ownership base. 2. Then create a nonprofit. License your content (often free or very low cost) to your nonprofit so they can use it for community benefit and grants. That way, you keep ownership but allow your nonprofit to access funding streams you couldn’t otherwise tap. A Real Example - Our for-profit is Distance Learning Media, where we build training content. - Our nonprofit is Transition Skills Training, funded partly by the State of Texas to deliver entrepreneurial training to veterans.We use the same curriculum in both places. The nonprofit doesn’t pay the for-profit, but it does bring in grant funding. My husband is a salaried ED (though he chooses not to take that salary right now). All of it is transparent, legal, and beneficial. 👉 The bottom line: You can absolutely have both. Just set it up correctly, keep the books clean, and remember—it’s not “less altruistic” to be paid for your time. Your expertise and energy are valuable.

Did you know that most people who are looking right into the camera and talking to you on reels or TikTok or even in videos on platforms like this are usually reading? They have turned their cell phone into a teleprompter. There are several apps to do this. My favorite is called BIGVU. You turn it on, type in what you want to say, I usually just use bullet points because I want to use my own words, but I don’t wanna feel like I’m reading, but it’s fine to read too. Then look right at the camera and read. You’ve got this. There are other tools that will hold your eyes forward even though you’re reading - the app called Captions will also hold your eyes forward so you could make your video using the Teleprompter app and then load it into captions app and get your eyes held forward. I personally chose not to do that because I don’t mind that my eyes are moving. I want to come off as human. It’s a bit of a differentiator and these AI times. But wanted you to know it is possible. Captions will also transcribe your your video and add captions for you quickly and easily. Just a little tip for those planning to add more video.