I started college to become an aerospace engineer. I was fascinated by flight and space. I began taking courses to support this in high school. I learned about flight mechanics, built uncrewed aerial vehicles out of old campaign signs, studied space flight, including a field trip to a scrubbed shuttle launch, and even started getting my private pilot’s license. These were just a sampling of the courses I could take from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.
I started college with the same dream, to engineer flight. I enrolled in the pre-engineering program, took my first physics class, and ran full speed head first into thermodynamics. When I say I was not ready for thermo, I failed spectacularly. We were able to drop one unit from the semester in that physics class, and I dropped thermodynamics. I could’ve only done worse had I not shown up at all. It was a real kick in the teeth and completely derailed my goal of becoming an aerospace engineer.
I didn’t get it. I studied and worked hard, and it just never clicked. So I meandered for a year and got stuck in a VB.net course because I needed a tech course for my AA or something. In much the same way that I didn’t get thermodynamics, I just got coding. It came quick and easy, but most importantly, it was fun.
I changed plans, went full steam ahead, and graduated with my BS and MS in Computer Science. I then learned that the only thing I learned more than solving technical problems was solving real-world issues that became technical problems. I saw my path to product management but knew I needed to brush up on a different set of acronyms. So I returned to school to learn about P&L, EBITDA, AR, AP, ROI, KPI, and on and on. That ended in me getting my MBA and transitioning to my desired career in Product Management.
But around the same time I finished my MBA, I stumbled on a need locally. We needed a community to support local disc golf focused on people and inclusivity while making a positive impact locally. In months, this community went from an idea to action. We hosted an event called Par 2, the largest in the nation that year. We trampolined off that success and created a 501(c)3 non-profit entity with the state of Florida and the IRS.
But man, has it been hard. No one prepares you for the hard decisions with a business. Schools can only prepare you for when you have an expense coming down and you have to catch up on revenue. These are exacerbated when you focus on putting the non in non-profit.
But this isn’t about our incredible non-profit community but how starting a non-profit taught me more than I could’ve learned in a dozen MBAs.
There’s No Textbook for Starting Something New
When I decided to start this local disc golf community, I knew three things about the organization we wanted to create.
- It had to be registered in the state of Florida
- It had to be a 501(c)3
- It had to be able to accept donations
So I started looking for a guide, YouTube video, Udemy course, or something that would tell me how to create something. All I found was a lot of people offering to do it for me for hundreds of dollars. The only issue is that a new non-profit doesn’t have hundreds of dollars to spend on paying someone else to do the filings.
When you are going to school for an MBA, there are case studies and example problems that all can be checked against an answer sheet. But in the real world, there’s a lot of researching obscure government websites to find out what you need. There’s very little order to the chaos.
A great example is that to file with the IRS to get a federal employer identification number (FEIN), you must first register with your state as a limited liability corporation (LLC) or a corporation (INC). So you go to register with your state, and most require some articles of incorporation. You complete that and go file with the IRS for… I get it; it’s boring.
The central point is this, the IRS has requirements for your articles of incorporation that they only tell you after you get your FEIN, which requires your articles of incorporation. If you follow the steps without researching, you will hit a wall and likely have to refile or start over.
It’s a mess, but there’s a good chance that someone has done what you are doing or something close to it. So scour available sources for information and look for someone who’s already done the research for you. You almost always have to combine multiple sources, but while there isn’t a textbook, you can make one for yourself.
Agreement Isn’t Guaranteed, Even Amongst the Best People
A goal of mine is to encourage disagreement amongst the folks we have had to help build this community. I firmly believe that the best idea is never mine and rarely someone else’s but the amalgamation of all our ideas. Even ideas that sound impossible or insane upfront can be the foundation or the spark for the best idea.
It’s scary when we all agree. You can have the best people, with the best intentions, who all agree on the goal, but have different routes to get there. It is fascinating to talk through the thought processes and ideas.
In an MBA program, you are looking for the correct answer. Someone has built a case study, and there are right and wrong answers. In the real world, there are wrong answers, but rarely right ones. You are often looking for the best solution for now. The best answers are the ones that move you toward your goals effectively. You’ll be graded on no rubric, and the world continues progressing. The best solution today may not be the best tomorrow, and pivoting is sometimes required. The important part is that a group of people reach a consensus, even if it isn’t agreement.
The world is not a controlled environment like a classroom. Actions entirely outside of your control will completely upset the best-laid plans. Everyone in a room brings different life experiences and learnings to every conversation. So there will be disagreements. I would like to summarize it in one sentence. Make sure everyone has a chance to be heard, is heard, and understands why a decision is made. Those three things will help ensure that even those who disagree can help implement each decision.
A Balance Sheet Isn’t a Homework Assignment
This one is simple and should be obvious, but it’s the one thing I notice more and more among MBA graduates who still need to manage a business entity. The documents associated with your business are not projects; they are essential. You can start over if your balance sheet hits zero in a class. If it hits zero in real life, you are done. Like playing Minecraft Survival Hardcore mode, when your time is up, your time is up, and you have to start something new.
This applies to so much, and it can’t be overstated. The lessons you learn in an MBA can be used here and make it more efficient, but you must be diligent about knowing specific details about the entity you are running. Things like liquidity, outstanding payables, assets on hand, and more must be second nature. This allows you to make timely decisions based on the information when the time comes. It also makes budgeting for short-term expenditures, like events, much more manageable.
The Unexpected Can’t Be Expected
Expect the unexpected is a trite phrase we’ve always heard, but it’s impossible. The unexpected can’t be expected. A more accurate, but still trite, saying is to prepare for the worst and hope for the best.
We started our community in August 2018 and had as much momentum as any group of disc golfers in the nation. Hot off the largest Par 2 event in the country, we were met with a natural disaster. You can certainly understand that, being in Florida, hurricanes are a reality. But Hurricane Michael wasn’t just a hurricane; it was a once-in-a-lifetime storm that wreaked havoc on our small town.
Going from six courses to zero overnight will impact a disc golf community, but nothing like being without power and running water for weeks. People lost their homes, their livelihoods and were fighting to survive. We went from all the momentum in the world to zero in minutes. Courses had thousands of trees hauled out and were never returned online.
But we wouldn’t be dismayed, and in 2019, we started the momentum back up with a Putting Pub Crawl, the first and so far only in the nation. Seventy folks came out from our community to support each other around disc golf food and drinks. We hadn’t seen each other for months, which allowed us to remind people what we could build. That group brought one of our local courses back online for the 2nd Annual Par 2, which was, again, the largest in the nation.
This momentum led to the most ambitious feat, a 21-hole temporary course tournament across our two local college campuses. Months of planning, work, and approvals took place for this event. In November 2019, we set our date for March 21, 2020.
Ten days before our event, Rudy Gobert of the Utah Jazz tested positive for COVID-19, and the NBA shut down. Staring at a world of unknowns, running an event, felt irresponsible. We had collected thousands of dollars from participants and sponsors but had significantly less in the bank due to necessary event fees. With no assurances, we could gather all the required approvals to do this again; how does one cancel an event without refunding everyone registered?
Once again, faced with an incredible, once-in-a-lifetime, unexpected event, we tried something new, and we offered people the opportunity to purchase their merchandise and registration entitlements in exchange for allowing us to not refund them. It was bold but saved our little organization, as about half of the people chose just that. We shipped silicone pint cups, t-shirts, and mini disc golf discs all over the United States to people who were generous and wanted to see us continue to do what we do for our community.
In both of these instances, no one could have expected this level of disruption to our community. No one could’ve really planned around it without some creativity. But since then, we have added procedures around this. We always have enough money to cancel an event and do refunds if necessary. We do more fundraisers throughout the year to help us offset expenses and bring in inventory for sales. We have multiple communication channels to help the people around us in case of emergencies. We have built excellent relationships with our local government partners to rebuild the destroyed courses into better and more accessible locations for everyone to enjoy.
Just because the unexpected is terrible doesn’t mean it has to be forever.
You Can’t Do It Alone
I received the best life advice in one of my first performance reviews. It was simply, “You can’t always do everything because someday everything will be too much.” It commented on my lack of delegation and consistent stepping in to help when things got rough. I viewed myself as a leader jumping in to help when needed. A player-coach, if you will.
But there’s a reason there has yet to be a player-manager since Pete Rose. A genuinely leading person needs to make impartial decisions and trust those in their position to solve problems and do their best. There are times for training and learning, but they should be that. They should not be the leader swooping in, taking over, and completely upsetting the balance of the team.
It’s oft-quoted that “the inability to delegate is the greatest problem” amongst any group of people. It’s attributed and misattributed to many a person. But in an MBA or a classroom, you are looking for a grade, and you survive or fail based on your efforts. There’s no lesson in delegation. There’s no expectation for you to find ways to not do the work. You complete the job, learn something, and get a good grade.
But running a non-profit wasn’t that. We have metrics, sure, but it isn’t a grade based on my abilities. In an average quarter, we have:
- 1 major event
- A few course workdays
- Dozens of graphic design needs
- 20+ league events
- 100s of social media posts
- 100s of merchandise orders
- Meetings with government officials
- Financial reporting for state and national review boards
- Donations to partner charities
- Fundraising and sponsorship conversations
- And more… The amount of work the non-profit has to do with no paid employees is staggering. It started with a handful of us, and now we have over twenty folks who volunteer in a couple of aspects, including nine who serve as board members.
It’s a ton of work, and any organization is. So the most important thing is to find ways to delegate and build those up around you to help make sure everything runs smoothly. The earlier you entrust, the more time you’ll have to help and provide the tools to succeed. Also, make sure that when you delegate, you create clear expectations and guidelines to set the person up for success.
I didn’t know that I was beginning to learn about business when I finished my MBA. Starting a non-profit has been one of my life’s most challenging but rewarding experiences. Hundreds of folks get plugged into communities and make friends they wouldn’t have otherwise. We’ve donated thousands of dollars to partner charities. We are starting a movement to plant trees to replace those lost by Hurricane Michael. And the best part is, we are just getting started. I can’t imagine this community’s growth and success over the next five years, largely thanks to the great people who have stepped up to help out while I learn a few new lessons each year.