1 00:00:00,360 --> 00:00:01,920 Robert Plank: All right. Nice to see you again. 2 00:00:02,640 --> 00:00:04,620 Kerry Worden: Good morning. Morning here, 3 00:00:05,520 --> 00:00:08,040 Robert Plank: yeah, morning here too, right? We're, we're not 4 00:00:08,040 --> 00:00:10,020 that far away, North California, 5 00:00:10,380 --> 00:00:10,800 Kerry Worden: yeah. 6 00:00:11,700 --> 00:00:14,280 Robert Plank: So what website we promoting here? 7 00:00:15,660 --> 00:00:17,160 Kerry Worden: Well, I didn't know we were promoting a 8 00:00:17,160 --> 00:00:20,300 website. I didn't really know what the format was going to be, 9 00:00:20,300 --> 00:00:24,380 what we were going to do. You know, I bought your podcast 10 00:00:24,560 --> 00:00:28,340 system, but have not even opened it. You know, I started, if you 11 00:00:28,340 --> 00:00:34,220 recall, you did this for me, yeah, Speakers Association, and 12 00:00:34,520 --> 00:00:38,360 I was created greenstream advisors at that time, which is 13 00:00:38,360 --> 00:00:42,700 a benefit corporation, and then covid hit, and I haven't 14 00:00:42,700 --> 00:00:46,300 promoted it or create or taken that company anywhere, really, 15 00:00:46,300 --> 00:00:49,840 because it's been, you know, my day job is I'm a mortgage 16 00:00:49,840 --> 00:00:56,080 broker. And the idea of this benefit company was to expand to 17 00:00:56,320 --> 00:00:58,660 a message, you know, to try to get out a message and connect 18 00:00:58,660 --> 00:01:02,520 with people and that kind of thing. And and also from a 19 00:01:02,700 --> 00:01:07,920 purely selfish or income point of view, is to diversify my 20 00:01:07,920 --> 00:01:11,940 streams of income from purely mortgage industry. But that 21 00:01:11,940 --> 00:01:14,640 stream of income this last year has been extremely busy, so I 22 00:01:14,640 --> 00:01:17,340 haven't been able to do anything with green stream advisors yet. 23 00:01:17,340 --> 00:01:20,840 I haven't really launched it. I joined a National Speakers 24 00:01:20,840 --> 00:01:25,160 Association to help, you know, hone my whole message and kind 25 00:01:25,160 --> 00:01:30,080 of figure out how to present it, because it definitely is, you 26 00:01:30,080 --> 00:01:35,060 know, speaks to one side of the aisle, so to speak, try to do 27 00:01:35,060 --> 00:01:36,920 that in a in a friendly way. 28 00:01:37,700 --> 00:01:41,020 Robert Plank: Okay, so with so we're promoting greenstream 29 00:01:41,020 --> 00:01:41,800 advisors, 30 00:01:42,040 --> 00:01:44,380 Kerry Worden: yeah, sure, yeah. Let's talk about that. And just 31 00:01:44,380 --> 00:01:48,760 the idea of a benefit corporation, and what it does, 32 00:01:48,760 --> 00:01:52,240 what it's about, maybe would be a good idea, all 33 00:01:52,240 --> 00:01:56,200 Robert Plank: right, and And real quick. So like, what is it 34 00:01:56,260 --> 00:01:59,620 about? Can you put that into a sentence so that I understand 35 00:01:59,620 --> 00:02:00,220 jumping in? 36 00:02:00,880 --> 00:02:04,080 Kerry Worden: What a great what a benefit corporation is. It's a 37 00:02:04,080 --> 00:02:07,140 corporate it's a corporate structure. Most states have it, 38 00:02:07,140 --> 00:02:10,800 I believe, and it's you don't get any tax benefit or anything. 39 00:02:10,800 --> 00:02:14,940 You're actually kind of signing up for additional cost. But you 40 00:02:14,940 --> 00:02:22,880 have to walk the talk. You have to annually present a set of 41 00:02:22,880 --> 00:02:27,860 evidence to third party verifiers that you have given a 42 00:02:27,860 --> 00:02:30,560 certain amount of money, that you've operated your business in 43 00:02:30,560 --> 00:02:34,340 socially progressive ways, and that kind of thing. Okay, 44 00:02:34,339 --> 00:02:36,259 Robert Plank: then we'll have some interesting stories. Then 45 00:02:36,499 --> 00:02:38,479 ready to jump in see what happens. 46 00:02:38,659 --> 00:02:40,839 Kerry Worden: Sure, let's do it all right, 47 00:02:41,800 --> 00:02:43,420 Robert Plank: welcome back to the show. We are here with 48 00:02:43,420 --> 00:02:47,200 Carrie Warden, with green stream advisors. We are going to hear 49 00:02:47,200 --> 00:02:51,400 all about this exciting concept called a benefit corporation. 50 00:02:51,520 --> 00:02:53,140 And Carrie glad to be talking to you. 51 00:02:53,439 --> 00:02:55,299 Kerry Worden: Good morning. Thank you for the opportunity. 52 00:02:56,020 --> 00:02:58,660 Robert Plank: Glad to have you so benefit corporation, you told 53 00:02:58,660 --> 00:03:01,440 me a little bit about it, but it seems, and it seems like some 54 00:03:01,500 --> 00:03:05,700 it's a great fit for some people out there, as far as being 55 00:03:05,700 --> 00:03:09,600 progressive and supporting social change. And so if someone 56 00:03:09,660 --> 00:03:12,600 out there says, I've heard a little bit about this benefit 57 00:03:12,600 --> 00:03:16,260 corporation idea, I need to know more about the pros and the cons 58 00:03:16,260 --> 00:03:19,440 and the reasons to do it, then what's the sales pitch? What's 59 00:03:19,440 --> 00:03:20,540 the quick spiel about it? 60 00:03:22,039 --> 00:03:26,059 Kerry Worden: Well, business can be either a force for good or or 61 00:03:26,059 --> 00:03:28,579 not. You know, there's that saying, if you're not helping, 62 00:03:28,579 --> 00:03:36,379 you're hurting. And so if you if your business has a deeper 63 00:03:36,739 --> 00:03:41,859 objective or a deeper purpose, then you can align all of your 64 00:03:41,859 --> 00:03:45,519 activities, your advertising, your message, to that purpose. 65 00:03:45,519 --> 00:03:48,279 And then while you're in, you know, while you're operating 66 00:03:48,279 --> 00:03:53,619 that business, you can make sure that you are actually taking 67 00:03:53,619 --> 00:04:00,599 steps to to to accomplish those goals, the the format, or, let's 68 00:04:00,599 --> 00:04:05,219 say, the legal structure of a benefit corporation is that in 69 00:04:05,219 --> 00:04:09,119 your organizing documents, you say what you are going to do, 70 00:04:09,659 --> 00:04:12,779 and then annually you have to produce a report saying what you 71 00:04:12,779 --> 00:04:17,039 actually did. And so for mine, it's mostly environmental stuff. 72 00:04:17,939 --> 00:04:21,139 There's a company, or it's not actually a company, an 73 00:04:21,139 --> 00:04:26,659 organization called boy. Now I'm drawing a blank on the name of 74 00:04:26,659 --> 00:04:32,899 it, but it's the third party organization who, who you join 75 00:04:32,899 --> 00:04:35,659 with them, and then you have to prove that you are actually 76 00:04:35,659 --> 00:04:36,859 walking the walk. 77 00:04:38,000 --> 00:04:40,600 Robert Plank: And we mentioned a few times that there's like, 78 00:04:40,600 --> 00:04:44,080 this, this cause to have, and there's actions that you say 79 00:04:44,080 --> 00:04:47,380 you'll take, and then later on, like, prove that you're taking 80 00:04:47,380 --> 00:04:52,060 those actions. And you said that you are focused on environmental 81 00:04:52,060 --> 00:04:54,760 activities. And so like, what does that mean? Exactly, what 82 00:04:54,760 --> 00:04:58,360 specifically about the environment are you up to? And 83 00:04:58,360 --> 00:04:59,920 what are you doing? I. 84 00:05:00,420 --> 00:05:04,080 Kerry Worden: Right? Well, one part of being a benefit 85 00:05:04,080 --> 00:05:08,700 corporation, as you can just you support other organizations. The 86 00:05:08,700 --> 00:05:11,580 reason my exposure to this, the way I got introduced to the 87 00:05:11,580 --> 00:05:15,360 idea, was by a book that Patagonia founder Yvonne 88 00:05:15,360 --> 00:05:18,840 Chouinard wrote, called Let My People Go serving. So if you 89 00:05:18,840 --> 00:05:21,620 ever want to interest, if you want to hear all about somebody 90 00:05:21,620 --> 00:05:25,280 who really can talk about all of these ideas, you know, he's the 91 00:05:25,280 --> 00:05:30,920 guy. And so, to answer your question about, what am I doing? 92 00:05:30,980 --> 00:05:35,900 I'm supporting organizations like March for Science, Humane 93 00:05:35,900 --> 00:05:41,260 Society, green America is, is an organization that's not really 94 00:05:41,260 --> 00:05:44,500 one that you support, but you can connect with people through 95 00:05:44,500 --> 00:05:50,620 their SOCAP, which is social capital, smaller organizations 96 00:05:50,680 --> 00:05:54,880 girls soccer worldwide. I support them because they're a 97 00:05:54,880 --> 00:05:59,500 local organization here in Livermore, California, and they 98 00:06:00,100 --> 00:06:04,560 are promoting girls in countries, particularly where 99 00:06:04,560 --> 00:06:07,500 they don't have the opportunity to even play sports, you know, 100 00:06:07,500 --> 00:06:11,280 that type of thing. Center for biodiversity, World Wildlife 101 00:06:11,280 --> 00:06:14,040 Fund, you know, on and on those kinds of things. So that's one 102 00:06:14,040 --> 00:06:19,320 aspect. Is just supporting other organizations. The reason. And 103 00:06:19,560 --> 00:06:23,780 you know, I've been a mortgage broker for 30 years, and in 104 00:06:23,780 --> 00:06:29,600 business, you, you'll try to stay kind of non political, and 105 00:06:29,660 --> 00:06:33,020 in a lot of ways, right? We don't want to offend people on 106 00:06:33,020 --> 00:06:37,160 one side of the aisle or the other. And I'm sure that some 107 00:06:37,160 --> 00:06:41,860 people, if they knew that I had people in my client base that I 108 00:06:42,460 --> 00:06:45,220 that I have really strong front feelings about the environment 109 00:06:45,340 --> 00:06:48,220 and climate change and things like that. They might go 110 00:06:48,220 --> 00:06:53,080 somewhere else for their mortgage business. But so, you 111 00:06:53,260 --> 00:06:55,840 know, when you do something like this, you really take a 112 00:06:56,260 --> 00:07:01,500 position. And I've always wanted to take more position, but is 113 00:07:01,500 --> 00:07:05,520 afraid to from a business perspective. So greenstream 114 00:07:05,520 --> 00:07:09,480 advisors is going to be it's not actually in operation yet 115 00:07:09,480 --> 00:07:13,260 because of covid, and I just put the whole thing on hold, but 116 00:07:13,920 --> 00:07:22,880 greenstream advisors will be a investment advisory company, and 117 00:07:23,360 --> 00:07:27,620 then I also continue with the mortgage business and insurance 118 00:07:27,620 --> 00:07:30,860 business. So having three different ways of connecting 119 00:07:30,860 --> 00:07:34,280 with people through managing their assets, managing their 120 00:07:34,280 --> 00:07:39,380 debt and managing their risk, I can, you know, service more 121 00:07:39,380 --> 00:07:42,280 people in more ways and help to get my message out. 122 00:07:43,420 --> 00:07:46,300 Robert Plank: And that's kind of cool, because, like, I've been 123 00:07:46,300 --> 00:07:49,120 thinking about this every now and then, about how like, the 124 00:07:49,120 --> 00:07:51,820 business you create is, in a lot of ways, an expression of 125 00:07:51,820 --> 00:07:55,840 yourself, right, as far as like, what, what you do and what 126 00:07:55,840 --> 00:07:59,200 actions you take, and then when you earn the money, then what, 127 00:07:59,200 --> 00:08:02,340 what do you, then, later on, do with that. And like, you like, 128 00:08:02,340 --> 00:08:05,640 employ people, or how much risk is there? There's quite a bit 129 00:08:05,700 --> 00:08:09,000 of, like, your own self expression in there. And it 130 00:08:09,000 --> 00:08:13,020 seems like so many times there's that kind of question of, like, 131 00:08:13,020 --> 00:08:16,380 well, what, what am I doing with my life, right? Or, like, I 132 00:08:16,380 --> 00:08:19,560 built this business, or I did this, this career to make money, 133 00:08:19,620 --> 00:08:23,480 and then now, now it's time to, you know, give back, or, like, 134 00:08:23,480 --> 00:08:26,540 put that money to use, because otherwise it's just, it's just a 135 00:08:26,780 --> 00:08:30,740 number in a bank account. So there's definitely this need to, 136 00:08:30,980 --> 00:08:34,640 then, like, express ourselves in the in the way of helping out 137 00:08:34,640 --> 00:08:36,800 other people. And so you mentioned all those 138 00:08:36,800 --> 00:08:39,620 organizations in there, like, I heard, like, you know, Humane 139 00:08:39,620 --> 00:08:43,360 Society in there, and like, the the girls soccer and so is there 140 00:08:43,420 --> 00:08:48,640 any method to the madness? As far as the organizations that 141 00:08:48,640 --> 00:08:51,400 you're helping? Do you say, like, well, I'm grouping it into 142 00:08:51,400 --> 00:08:55,120 these categories, or these causes are related to me because 143 00:08:55,120 --> 00:08:57,820 of my own personal experience, or is it just a matter of 144 00:08:57,940 --> 00:09:01,140 whatever comes across your radar? Like, why do you choose 145 00:09:01,200 --> 00:09:04,920 to help some organizations, some classes over others? 146 00:09:06,900 --> 00:09:10,080 Kerry Worden: You can, there's resources online where you can, 147 00:09:10,080 --> 00:09:13,500 where you can look and see how efficient they are, and just the 148 00:09:13,500 --> 00:09:16,800 projects that they're, that they're working on. So that's 149 00:09:16,800 --> 00:09:22,460 part of it. And then, you know, just projects that they actually 150 00:09:22,460 --> 00:09:25,880 are. If it's something that really catches my attention or 151 00:09:25,880 --> 00:09:28,580 my eyes, like, Oh, that's really important, you know, let's, you 152 00:09:28,880 --> 00:09:34,280 know, Center for biodiversity, I don't know something about their 153 00:09:34,280 --> 00:09:37,160 message really resonates with with me. And the work that 154 00:09:37,160 --> 00:09:41,920 they're doing girls soccer worldwide is, again, just a 155 00:09:41,920 --> 00:09:45,100 local company. I know the people, and I really know that 156 00:09:45,100 --> 00:09:50,260 they're doing it with heart and really helping to girls in these 157 00:09:50,260 --> 00:09:53,560 small countries, small communities in Central America, 158 00:09:53,560 --> 00:09:57,700 to to be able to play sports and be able to grow and associate 159 00:09:57,700 --> 00:10:00,900 with other people and kind of understand that they can. And be 160 00:10:00,900 --> 00:10:03,780 more than maybe what they're being told they can be, you 161 00:10:03,780 --> 00:10:04,440 know, locally. 162 00:10:06,000 --> 00:10:09,120 Robert Plank: And how did you even get into this? Like, you 163 00:10:09,120 --> 00:10:11,400 say that, like, you know, there's different things that 164 00:10:11,400 --> 00:10:13,920 that interest you, that you want to help out. But was there ever 165 00:10:13,920 --> 00:10:18,360 a time when you did not know about this business structure, 166 00:10:18,360 --> 00:10:20,720 where you did not know that you could be doing these things. 167 00:10:21,140 --> 00:10:21,500 Yeah, 168 00:10:21,500 --> 00:10:24,260 Kerry Worden: in fact, you know, when I read the book, I got 169 00:10:24,260 --> 00:10:28,520 really excited, because, wow, maybe I can do this. See, I 30 170 00:10:28,520 --> 00:10:31,640 years ago, I was going to San Francisco, state and had the 171 00:10:31,700 --> 00:10:36,200 dream of being a documentary filmmaker. Then I met my current 172 00:10:36,200 --> 00:10:38,900 wife, you know, been together 30 years. She had two kids at the 173 00:10:38,900 --> 00:10:41,680 time. We've had two more. You know, one thing led to the 174 00:10:41,680 --> 00:10:46,240 other. There's a there's a movie that everybody watches in the 175 00:10:46,240 --> 00:10:50,200 film school, Citizen Kane. And there's a line in there where 176 00:10:50,560 --> 00:10:54,940 this the lawyer for Citizen Kane says something like, make money. 177 00:10:54,940 --> 00:10:57,760 Make money. Anybody can make money, you know, something like 178 00:10:57,760 --> 00:11:02,160 that. And if that's all you want to do is make money. So I 179 00:11:02,160 --> 00:11:04,500 thought, well, I could go jump in the mortgage business and 180 00:11:04,500 --> 00:11:07,200 kind of get my family settled and everything, and then I can 181 00:11:07,200 --> 00:11:10,620 get back into what I really care about, documentary films and so 182 00:11:10,620 --> 00:11:15,060 forth, and environmental issues. I was raised on wildlife 183 00:11:15,060 --> 00:11:17,820 refuges, by the way, my dad was a US Fish and Wildlife Service 184 00:11:17,820 --> 00:11:24,080 refuge manager, and that's probably why. And so, but you 185 00:11:24,080 --> 00:11:26,660 know, one thing led to another, and I just haven't really 186 00:11:26,660 --> 00:11:32,720 followed or basically done the things that I feel that I should 187 00:11:32,720 --> 00:11:36,860 be as a human being and and that's what I want to do with 188 00:11:36,860 --> 00:11:39,140 greenstream advisors, and 189 00:11:39,140 --> 00:11:42,040 Robert Plank: when it seems to be like an important message 190 00:11:42,040 --> 00:11:45,640 hidden in what we're talking about here is just that it is, 191 00:11:45,820 --> 00:11:48,880 it is possible to do multiple things at once. And we don't 192 00:11:48,880 --> 00:11:52,480 have to wait until old age, until you saved up your huge 193 00:11:52,480 --> 00:11:55,780 nest egg to contribute, right? Like you said, like you have the 194 00:11:55,900 --> 00:11:58,480 the mortgage business happening and the insurance business 195 00:11:58,480 --> 00:12:01,800 happening and this as well. And we don't have to wait, right? We 196 00:12:01,800 --> 00:12:05,640 don't have to, like, put kick the can down the road 30 years 197 00:12:05,640 --> 00:12:09,240 from from now, we can say, if I want to contribute and help out 198 00:12:09,240 --> 00:12:12,900 with the biodiversity issue or something else, we don't have 199 00:12:12,900 --> 00:12:15,900 to. We can begin right now, today, right? Yeah, 200 00:12:15,900 --> 00:12:18,300 Kerry Worden: that's great. If I could tell young people, yeah, 201 00:12:18,360 --> 00:12:21,620 you can do that. And I just didn't really realize or know 202 00:12:21,620 --> 00:12:26,180 how to do it in all of these years, or didn't really take the 203 00:12:26,180 --> 00:12:31,880 time to push to make myself do those things that really are 204 00:12:32,060 --> 00:12:34,580 more spiritually fulfilling. And 205 00:12:34,640 --> 00:12:36,980 Robert Plank: do these businesses that you have 206 00:12:36,980 --> 00:12:41,560 connect, like if you are helping someone with their financial 207 00:12:41,560 --> 00:12:45,520 planning Do you float this idea that they can be contributing to 208 00:12:45,520 --> 00:12:47,980 this or that? Or do people ask you about that? Like, do these 209 00:12:47,980 --> 00:12:49,300 connect in any way? That's 210 00:12:49,299 --> 00:12:51,519 Kerry Worden: one of the big reasons I want to create this 211 00:12:51,519 --> 00:12:54,159 company that's a financial planning company, just so 212 00:12:54,339 --> 00:12:57,879 everybody knows it is not licensed yet, right? I got the 213 00:12:57,879 --> 00:13:01,139 licensing to do it, but I haven't done the compliance 214 00:13:01,139 --> 00:13:04,259 stuff to get the company set up yet because of covid. I just 215 00:13:04,259 --> 00:13:08,459 want to make that clear. But my interest in that is because 216 00:13:08,459 --> 00:13:11,279 there's so much more that people can do from a financial 217 00:13:11,279 --> 00:13:14,939 financial planning standpoint, or in other words, on their 218 00:13:14,939 --> 00:13:17,099 asset side of their balance sheet than they can on their 219 00:13:17,099 --> 00:13:19,259 debt side of their balance sheet. Is where I've spent my 220 00:13:19,499 --> 00:13:24,259 professional career as a mortgage broker. But from the 221 00:13:24,319 --> 00:13:28,879 asset side of it, people can take all kinds of actions. You 222 00:13:28,879 --> 00:13:32,839 know, they can invest in in companies like there's one 223 00:13:32,839 --> 00:13:37,159 called acre trader. They're, they're, they're basically 224 00:13:37,519 --> 00:13:41,019 raising money for people to to grow food more sustainably 225 00:13:41,139 --> 00:13:47,079 through no till farming and all that kind of thing. Green 226 00:13:47,079 --> 00:13:50,619 America is another company that does that. There's a lot of and 227 00:13:50,619 --> 00:13:54,699 so cap, but it's just social capital, a lot of things that a 228 00:13:54,699 --> 00:13:57,759 lot of messages that I can get out a lot of companies or 229 00:13:57,759 --> 00:14:01,679 organizations that I can promote with that asset side of the 230 00:14:01,679 --> 00:14:05,519 conversation, then on the debt side of it, and then insurance 231 00:14:05,819 --> 00:14:10,319 is also just another, you know, you can choose the company and 232 00:14:10,319 --> 00:14:14,339 my verbiage in my legal documents. One of the things 233 00:14:14,339 --> 00:14:17,279 that I talk about is promoting the companies or working with 234 00:14:17,279 --> 00:14:21,439 the companies. That be great if they're benefit companies, but 235 00:14:21,439 --> 00:14:26,299 if they're not, you know, some even banks. I have a bank 236 00:14:26,299 --> 00:14:30,739 account at Bank of the West that gives to 1% for the planet. 237 00:14:30,739 --> 00:14:37,879 That's another organization that I support. And you know, so the 238 00:14:37,999 --> 00:14:40,719 asset side is really an opportunity to interact with 239 00:14:40,719 --> 00:14:42,999 people and create change. And 240 00:14:43,000 --> 00:14:45,160 Robert Plank: what's cool about the way you describe this is it 241 00:14:45,160 --> 00:14:49,780 seems like you your your financial skills now pay off in 242 00:14:49,780 --> 00:14:52,960 a different way. And there's so many times when, like, I learned 243 00:14:52,960 --> 00:14:56,440 something in school, or learn something for this job or this 244 00:14:56,440 --> 00:14:59,920 career that then paid off decades later in just like a. 245 00:15:00,000 --> 00:15:02,940 Slightly differently, pivoted away, like you said, like you 246 00:15:03,120 --> 00:15:06,000 you like, dealt with, like, the the debit side of things, and 247 00:15:06,000 --> 00:15:10,140 now there's, like, kind of similar skills, but now being 248 00:15:10,320 --> 00:15:13,800 repurposed for different use. And so you said that, like, 249 00:15:13,800 --> 00:15:16,920 there are some of these things that that you like set up. And 250 00:15:16,920 --> 00:15:20,480 so is this like a service that you provide, or can provide? If 251 00:15:20,480 --> 00:15:22,580 someone says, Well, I like some of these things that we 252 00:15:22,580 --> 00:15:25,460 mentioned about the Benefit Corporation. Are you the kind of 253 00:15:25,460 --> 00:15:28,700 person that can can plan and execute a lot of this setup, 254 00:15:30,620 --> 00:15:33,200 Kerry Worden: set up a benefit corporation for somebody else. 255 00:15:33,200 --> 00:15:37,280 Is that what you mean? Yeah, yes. No, I can direct people to, 256 00:15:37,820 --> 00:15:42,640 you know, to a good lawyer that I that I work with who 257 00:15:42,820 --> 00:15:47,200 specializes in sustainable issues. I think it's sustainable 258 00:15:47,200 --> 00:15:51,580 lawyers group or something like that, and I can direct you to 259 00:15:52,600 --> 00:15:56,200 other information to help you decide that that's what you want 260 00:15:56,200 --> 00:15:59,500 to do and how to do it. I can definitely do that, not that I 261 00:15:59,500 --> 00:16:03,060 don't care as a business that, just as helping anybody that 262 00:16:03,060 --> 00:16:04,260 wants to get started, and 263 00:16:04,920 --> 00:16:06,840 Robert Plank: because, because sometimes that that's half the 264 00:16:06,840 --> 00:16:09,660 problem, right? It's just like knowing even like, where to 265 00:16:09,660 --> 00:16:13,380 begin, what steps do I need? Who do I need to talk to? Things 266 00:16:13,380 --> 00:16:16,740 like that. And so, before we started recording here, you 267 00:16:16,740 --> 00:16:19,680 mentioned a little bit that it seems like there's, there's some 268 00:16:19,680 --> 00:16:22,100 steps involved, like you mentioned, like, there's things 269 00:16:22,100 --> 00:16:26,360 like, like compliance, and then also that it might be a little 270 00:16:26,360 --> 00:16:31,280 bit of an extra, like tax thing to figure out. So can you tell 271 00:16:31,280 --> 00:16:33,980 us about, maybe, like, the downsides, or, like, the 272 00:16:33,980 --> 00:16:38,660 unforeseen headaches that might sometimes creep in with this, 273 00:16:38,960 --> 00:16:41,080 this venture? Well, it's definitely 274 00:16:41,080 --> 00:16:44,920 Kerry Worden: extra work to do, because you have to, again, show 275 00:16:45,460 --> 00:16:48,760 in a public way what you have done. If you say you're going to 276 00:16:48,760 --> 00:16:52,960 do it, then you have to do it. And so you're kind of setting 277 00:16:52,960 --> 00:16:57,640 yourself up for a bit of a tax in that time is money, right? So 278 00:16:57,640 --> 00:17:00,480 you got to spend time, and you got to put these reports 279 00:17:00,480 --> 00:17:04,860 together. And then, of course, you have to decide what language 280 00:17:04,860 --> 00:17:10,440 you want to put in your articles of incorporation. And you can do 281 00:17:10,440 --> 00:17:14,580 it yourself. There are entities out there that will help you, 282 00:17:14,640 --> 00:17:18,960 but I would recommend using a lawyer who really has experience 283 00:17:18,960 --> 00:17:21,380 in that that's not that expensive to set up, I don't 284 00:17:21,380 --> 00:17:26,960 know, a couple $1,000 or something. And then that's 285 00:17:26,960 --> 00:17:30,560 really all there is to it. And you have to, you know, decide, 286 00:17:30,560 --> 00:17:33,620 there will be a lot of choices along the way of what you want 287 00:17:33,620 --> 00:17:37,160 to do. It's not just environment, you know, there's 288 00:17:37,760 --> 00:17:43,360 diversity and inclusiveness and, you know, kind of your 289 00:17:43,360 --> 00:17:47,380 structure, how much money is at the top, versus how you share 290 00:17:47,380 --> 00:17:51,400 the money downstream from, you know, you know, as a CEO, 291 00:17:51,400 --> 00:17:54,040 there's all those kinds of things that you can weave into 292 00:17:54,040 --> 00:17:58,180 it. You don't have to do it all. But, you know, there's a lot of 293 00:17:58,180 --> 00:18:00,900 ways that you can help business to be better 294 00:18:01,980 --> 00:18:05,640 Robert Plank: and and are there any like things to be avoided 295 00:18:05,640 --> 00:18:08,580 with this? Because what comes to mind when you were mentioning 296 00:18:08,640 --> 00:18:11,640 this topic is there's a like, one of the biggest companies in 297 00:18:11,640 --> 00:18:15,600 the world, just these last few weeks, they, they said they were 298 00:18:15,900 --> 00:18:19,440 in support of a certain, like, racial equality kind of 299 00:18:19,560 --> 00:18:23,000 movement. And then they, they, they announced their support, 300 00:18:23,000 --> 00:18:26,240 but then didn't do much. It was more of like a like a hollow 301 00:18:26,240 --> 00:18:29,180 gesture, and they got a little bit of a hate for that. So is 302 00:18:29,180 --> 00:18:33,980 that a concern or a risk in in this, in looking really 303 00:18:33,980 --> 00:18:36,620 braggadocious and looking like you're trying to get attention 304 00:18:36,740 --> 00:18:40,300 and getting the hate for that, or is that just not a real 305 00:18:40,300 --> 00:18:40,900 concern? 306 00:18:42,400 --> 00:18:44,080 Kerry Worden: Well, it's not a concern. I think, if you 307 00:18:44,080 --> 00:18:48,820 actually do what you say you're going to do and promote the 308 00:18:48,820 --> 00:18:52,180 things you say you're going to promote, there's greenwashing. 309 00:18:52,180 --> 00:18:57,520 Is a terrible thing that happens in corporations, right? We all 310 00:18:57,520 --> 00:19:02,100 know that that, you know it could be chemical companies 311 00:19:03,600 --> 00:19:07,860 producing all sorts of terrible things, but then they promote 312 00:19:07,860 --> 00:19:09,840 one thing that they say they're doing, you know, the energy. 313 00:19:09,900 --> 00:19:14,940 Energy Industry is, of course, one of the worst offenders of 314 00:19:14,940 --> 00:19:18,300 all of that, you know, the fossil fuel industry. Think back 315 00:19:18,300 --> 00:19:22,940 to tobacco, you know. And then the same thing can happen. I 316 00:19:22,940 --> 00:19:26,180 don't know a terminology for it. Or, you know, greenwashing is 317 00:19:26,180 --> 00:19:29,660 from environmental standpoint, but from a diversity or 318 00:19:29,660 --> 00:19:32,300 inclusiveness standpoint, there's probably another term. 319 00:19:32,660 --> 00:19:36,380 But, yeah, I mean, companies will do all kinds of things to 320 00:19:36,620 --> 00:19:40,160 try to say they're walking the walk, but all they're doing is 321 00:19:40,160 --> 00:19:44,560 talking. And that's the benefit of being a benefit corporation, 322 00:19:44,560 --> 00:19:47,740 or dealing with or promoting benefit corporations, 323 00:19:48,400 --> 00:19:50,980 Robert Plank: doing, doing it the right way, doing it in the 324 00:19:50,980 --> 00:19:54,640 legally, like, kind of, I don't know if it's legally binding, 325 00:19:54,640 --> 00:19:57,940 but just like, you know, it's, it's documented. You're, you're 326 00:19:57,940 --> 00:20:00,660 setting up the business structure. It's. Not just empty 327 00:20:00,660 --> 00:20:02,520 words, you're really doing this thing. 328 00:20:02,940 --> 00:20:05,340 Kerry Worden: That's right, yeah. And so 329 00:20:05,340 --> 00:20:08,640 Robert Plank: what's the, what's like, the the appropriate, like, 330 00:20:08,640 --> 00:20:11,640 scale of this, like, if someone needs to have, like, tons of 331 00:20:11,640 --> 00:20:14,460 money in the giveaway, or can they do it on a on a small 332 00:20:14,460 --> 00:20:18,240 scale? Or, like, how do we know if we're kind of the right size 333 00:20:18,240 --> 00:20:22,340 business or have the appropriate amount of resources to do this? 334 00:20:23,000 --> 00:20:25,700 Kerry Worden: Yeah, it can be all, you know, tiny to huge. 335 00:20:26,660 --> 00:20:33,380 Again. Patagonia is a big company, and, and I'm three 336 00:20:33,380 --> 00:20:37,640 people, you know, so anybody can do it. And of course, you know, 337 00:20:37,640 --> 00:20:40,660 the bigger the company, the more impact you have. And I really 338 00:20:40,660 --> 00:20:44,980 want to try to grow this company. You know, I don't plan 339 00:20:44,980 --> 00:20:50,320 on being a financial advisor on my for myself my daily life. I 340 00:20:50,320 --> 00:20:54,640 want to find, maybe this podcast might help. I want to find 341 00:20:54,640 --> 00:20:58,720 somebody who's as motivated as I am, who has experience in the 342 00:20:58,720 --> 00:21:06,180 background to to lead the financial advisory side of this 343 00:21:06,180 --> 00:21:06,780 company. 344 00:21:07,860 --> 00:21:10,380 Robert Plank: And so you're looking for that type of person, 345 00:21:10,380 --> 00:21:13,980 specifically, someone to lead the the financial advisory side 346 00:21:13,980 --> 00:21:17,760 of things. And so as but as far as, like, anyone else, like, uh, 347 00:21:17,760 --> 00:21:21,020 like, what do you want people to know about you and your company, 348 00:21:21,020 --> 00:21:23,600 and what sorts of action do you want them to take? What 349 00:21:25,520 --> 00:21:27,620 Kerry Worden: sorts of actions do I want to take them to take 350 00:21:27,620 --> 00:21:28,880 in their personal lives? 351 00:21:29,540 --> 00:21:31,340 Robert Plank: I mean, either, like, in the in the personal 352 00:21:31,340 --> 00:21:33,620 life, or as far as, like, reaching out to you and your 353 00:21:33,620 --> 00:21:37,160 business, like, I mean, what? I mean, what? Yeah, yeah, anything 354 00:21:37,160 --> 00:21:40,180 after, uh, watching or listening to a conversation, like, what 355 00:21:40,180 --> 00:21:41,200 are the next steps here? 356 00:21:42,520 --> 00:21:44,620 Kerry Worden: Well, in their personal lives, you know, 357 00:21:44,620 --> 00:21:46,600 there's a there's an organization that I've been 358 00:21:46,600 --> 00:21:49,720 struggling to remember the name since we've been talking here, 359 00:21:49,720 --> 00:21:54,760 that that's a list. But if you just Google benefit corporations 360 00:21:54,760 --> 00:21:57,160 list, or public benefit corporations list, something 361 00:21:57,160 --> 00:22:00,160 like that, you'll get a you'll be able to identify companies 362 00:22:00,400 --> 00:22:04,920 that you can work with and that are, that are benefit 363 00:22:04,920 --> 00:22:08,640 corporations, if that's, you know, just from your personal 364 00:22:08,640 --> 00:22:13,560 standpoint in terms of working with me, if that's what you're 365 00:22:13,560 --> 00:22:16,500 asking, then, you know, I'm a mortgage broker. I'm in 366 00:22:16,500 --> 00:22:21,140 California. I'm only licensed in California, and, you know, so 367 00:22:21,200 --> 00:22:25,040 that's the business that I'm in currently, and I'm developing 368 00:22:25,040 --> 00:22:29,180 these other businesses. So happy to talk to anybody about 369 00:22:29,180 --> 00:22:32,780 anything that we've spoken about today. And, you know, again, 370 00:22:32,780 --> 00:22:36,740 this interest rates have been really low, and so it's just 371 00:22:36,740 --> 00:22:42,400 been so busy just trying to service the clients that, you 372 00:22:42,400 --> 00:22:45,460 know, the business that just drops on my desk from, you know, 373 00:22:45,460 --> 00:22:49,060 like, was it Walter? That was that we were talking to earlier, 374 00:22:49,660 --> 00:22:55,060 that, that this business is just really busy, so I just haven't 375 00:22:55,060 --> 00:22:59,740 had the time to develop this new company in the way that I wanted 376 00:22:59,740 --> 00:23:04,440 to. I joined National Speakers Association where I met you to 377 00:23:04,440 --> 00:23:07,500 hone this message, and that's really the where I'm at with it 378 00:23:07,500 --> 00:23:09,120 right now. Well, 379 00:23:09,120 --> 00:23:11,700 Robert Plank: fantastic. Well, I hope that you find the time, 380 00:23:11,700 --> 00:23:14,460 just like the rest of us, to wear all these hats and do the 381 00:23:14,460 --> 00:23:17,940 things that that make the money, but also make the difference. 382 00:23:18,060 --> 00:23:23,180 And so you mentioned there that it's important to Google benefit 383 00:23:23,180 --> 00:23:26,240 corporations list. And there's, I mean, millions of results. 384 00:23:26,240 --> 00:23:29,420 There's a whole, like Wikipedia page with this whole list. But 385 00:23:29,420 --> 00:23:33,560 then if someone says I liked a lot about what Carrie mentioned, 386 00:23:33,620 --> 00:23:38,000 I want to reach out to him on like, a email or a phone and 387 00:23:38,000 --> 00:23:41,020 have a chit chat. Is there an easy way for people to reach out 388 00:23:41,020 --> 00:23:42,820 and contact you for that. Yeah, 389 00:23:42,820 --> 00:23:44,800 Kerry Worden: sure myself. 510-999-0539, 390 00:23:50,260 --> 00:23:55,840 or my my email address, Carrie at greenstream advisors.com K, 391 00:23:55,840 --> 00:23:58,480 E, R, R, Y at greenstream advisors.com 392 00:23:59,920 --> 00:24:02,460 Robert Plank: Fantastic. And as we're wrapping up, winding down, 393 00:24:02,460 --> 00:24:05,040 do you think we left anything out of our conversation as far 394 00:24:05,040 --> 00:24:07,680 as what people need to know about a benefit corporation? 395 00:24:07,920 --> 00:24:08,100 Yeah, 396 00:24:08,100 --> 00:24:10,980 Kerry Worden: well, here's the here, I just just looked up this 397 00:24:10,980 --> 00:24:14,940 B labs, that's the organization that will tell you everything. 398 00:24:14,940 --> 00:24:18,960 There's lots of resources go to, you can go to B corporation.net, 399 00:24:19,680 --> 00:24:24,860 or just just Google, B labs or, you know, they're the ones who 400 00:24:24,860 --> 00:24:28,580 certify you annually, and they give they have everything they 401 00:24:28,580 --> 00:24:31,940 want to know about becoming a benefit corporation, or what it 402 00:24:31,940 --> 00:24:33,860 means, or what you have to do. That's the place to go. 403 00:24:34,640 --> 00:24:35,420 Fantastic, 404 00:24:35,420 --> 00:24:38,540 Robert Plank: B labs and benefit corporation. It's good to know 405 00:24:38,540 --> 00:24:41,380 that that this exists, especially if someone out there 406 00:24:41,440 --> 00:24:45,520 has wanted to give back or has wanted to align themselves with 407 00:24:45,700 --> 00:24:49,120 a cause, or many causes, it's super cool that there's, there's 408 00:24:49,120 --> 00:24:52,300 all these little organizations out there that are doing all 409 00:24:52,300 --> 00:24:55,180 these amazing things, like it's it's automatic, and it's built 410 00:24:55,180 --> 00:24:58,000 in, and it's easy to hear about all the bad things in the world, 411 00:24:58,000 --> 00:25:01,260 but it's much more helpful to. Find out what we're doing to 412 00:25:01,320 --> 00:25:06,720 combat climate change and biodiversity and hunger and 413 00:25:06,720 --> 00:25:09,900 poverty and all those cool things. And so people should be 414 00:25:09,900 --> 00:25:13,500 checking out that directory. And then can we get one more time 415 00:25:13,500 --> 00:25:15,960 your contact detail, so that way, after they've done the 416 00:25:15,960 --> 00:25:17,820 research, then they can have a chat with you. 417 00:25:18,780 --> 00:25:25,580 Kerry Worden: My cell phone number is 510-999-0539, and my 418 00:25:25,640 --> 00:25:30,440 email address is Carrie k, e, r, r y at greenstream advisors.com 419 00:25:32,060 --> 00:25:34,640 Robert Plank: Fantastic. So once you've done that research, 420 00:25:34,700 --> 00:25:37,880 contact Carrie, at the very least, just to chitchat with 421 00:25:37,880 --> 00:25:41,380 him. Maybe he knows someone, or maybe you can run ideas past 422 00:25:41,380 --> 00:25:45,400 him, or maybe just say thank you, and your podcast episode 423 00:25:45,400 --> 00:25:47,680 helped me get pointed in the right direction. So thank you, 424 00:25:47,680 --> 00:25:51,100 Carrie, for some of I appreciate it very much. Thank 425 00:25:51,100 --> 00:25:52,840 Kerry Worden: you. Thank you, Robert. I appreciate your time. 426 00:25:53,260 --> 00:25:53,380 You.