EP #134: Everything About B-Corps with Nathan Stuck
You don’t have to sacrifice everything to be generous. In fact, you shouldn’t. Conscious capitalism is a powerful force and the B-Corp certification might be the right thing for you and your business.
Nathan Stuck is an experience-conscious capitalist. Although, that wasn’t always the case. In this episode, he describes how we were once burnt out on capitalism but knew business could be done well and still support the community and the world. It led him to start Profitable Purpose Consulting and help impact-focused businesses. Listen in as he describes the B-Corp certification and how it can help you and your business make a positive impact in the world.
What You'll Learn In Today's Episode:
What Nathan thinks about the future of B-Corps and capitalism
About Nathan’s journey and how we started his business
The difference between a B-Corp and a benefit corporation
The time when Nathan had a company ask to pay for his consulting
What is conscious capitalism
Why we should want to be paid for good work
How we can still support the community while building a business
What questions you should ask about an organization
How to evaluate a cause
Nathan’s recommendation for for-profit businesses
What it takes to be a B-Corp
How long the B-Corp certification has been around
Who started the B-Corp movement
The And1 shoes that Bob where’s during podcast recordings
How generosity, kindness, and doing good business are contagious
Ideas Worth Sharing:
“I was kind of burnt out on capitalism.” - Nathan Stuck
“2014 I quit like the first job I ever had in my life.” - Nathan Stuck
“For me, I had a light at the end of the tunnel.” - Nathan Stuck
“I was working 45 hours a week just doing my day job.” - Nathan Stuck
“I found ways to still follow the passion and then the career kind of came with it.” - Nathan Stuck
“I always felt like there was something kind of corrupt about business.” - Nathan Stuck
“I loved the concept of getting paid for the value you bring to the marketplace.” - Nathan Stuck
“Our current traditional system assumes people are willing to do more to help themselves.” - Nathan Stuck
“Am I going to sleep well at night as a business owner.” - Nathan Stuck
“The definition of ethics is doing the right thing when nobody’s looking.” - Nathan Stuck
“Apparently, I’m like the pied-piper of B-Corps.” - Nathan Stuck
“You can just take it. It’s free.” - Nathan Stuck speaking about the B-Corp Impact Assessment
“When you quantify something then you can set a goal and a target.” - Nathan Stuck
“They got 4,000 applications in 2020.” - Nathan Stuck speaking about B-Corp growth
“It’s really hard to differentiate between who’s really doing good and who has good marketing.” - Nathan Stuck
“You deserve that recognition.” - Nathan Stuck
“It’s okay to talk about it.” - Nathan Stuck
“It’s okay to have an ROI from it.” - Nathan Stuck
“More margin - more mission.” - Nathan Stuck
“Representation matters.” - Nathan Stuck
“That old way of doing business, we’re just bored with it.” - Nathan Stuck
“What upstream solutions have they invested in?” - Nathan Stuck
“Anybody that owns a for-profit business should go through it.” -Nathan Stuck
“When you know it’s vital to the boat’s mission, you find other things to throw overboard.” - Nathan Stuck
“It’s important for us to get to a point where we can prove this is a viable business model.” - Nathan Stuck
“You have to legally protect stakeholders.” - Nathan Stuck
“Some B-Corps are benefit corps, not all B-Corps are benefit corps, not all benefit corps actually go through the process of certifying.” - Nathan Stuck
“They end up doing good work because they’re doing something they enjoy.” - Bob DePasquale
“There hasn’t been a great way to evaluate these things.” - Bob DePasquale speaking about impact-focused businesses.
“I think generosity, kindness, and doing good business is contagious.” - Bob DePasquale
Resources In Today's Episode:
Nathan Stuck - LinkedIn
Capitalism in the 21st Century by Thomas Piketty
Bob’s Book - Personal Finance in a Public World
This week’s E-Impact Blog Entry
Episodes Referenced:
EP #08: Making A Difference Through Impact Investing with Jon Sahn
EP #34: Content, Creativity, and Commerce with Craig Burgess
EP #63: Maximizing Your Philanthropic Impact with Sylvia Brown
