The Dangers of Money (Pt. 1)

“I always tell people that if they want to do anything well, they must plan and prepare.” —Richard Branson

Everybody wants more money to spend on their start up. But it could be that too much money in the beginning will ruin you. People who look to start new social enterprises, non-profits, or small businesses are always slim on resources. Doing that work can be very hard, so we go looking for funds in all kinds of different places. We make our list of potential partners, stalk our friends on facebook to see if any of them have interest investing in our project, we think about raising capital, or writing grant proposals.

Every organization needs money. That’s a fact. If you don’t make one dollar more than you spend, it’s time to close shop. However, money isn’t always the answer. There have been times when I thought I was desperate for money. But, after thinking about it, I realized I didn’t really need money, I just needed the items money could buy. I discovered it was important to keep money in perspective.

So, as you are starting your new endeavor, consider the following:

Danger #1: Money Can Push You Away from the Creativity Table.

Several years ago, I left a secure job to start a new organization. Fortunately, a few different people helped by giving a little money to get started, but I could see that our monetary resources were limited. I had to work fast and I had to be creative. The closer we came to the date when the money would run out, the more nervous I became. I had to be careful with what little we had. Worrying about this kept me up at night.

As I made the list of needs, I realized that I was going to need hundreds of thousands of dollars. Salaries, equipment, budget for events, web design, and technology were all very expensive. How would I ever come up with that sort of money? Who would give towards that?

There was no way we could ever do it.

Then I realized we didn’t need the money; we just needed the stuff. In his book, The Best Game, my friend Michael S. Smith says, “The success of any endeavor is dependent on how well scarce and precious resources are invested for their highest and best use in pursuit of a goal.”

That’s what we had to do. We had to invest what little money we had, not spend our money. So, we held a launch party (that we called a “Baby Shower”) and invited anyone interested to “Come help us start a baby business!” Our team made a list of friends, relatives, and acquaintances, created a gift registry, and invited people to bring items to the shower.

We then tried to think of places that would have extra of the items we needed and quickly recognized that churches are full of unused items we needed (sound and video equipment, chairs, tables, pieces of furniture, signage, etc.). Because our team members were connected to local churches, we called our pastors who, in turn, invited their congregations to give to the baby shower.

At our launch party, we had games, asked a friend who was a DJ to volunteer time, told stories, and celebrated when we got every single item we needed (and more). The energy and fun of the event was a platform for telling our story and casting the vision. And, because our organization was focused on social change, it attracted excitement. People then gave more on top of the items on the “baby registry.” In the end, we got everything we needed and more!

You have the resources somewhere in front of you, you just need to think creatively about where you can find them.