Instant Nonprofit™ Helping Successful Leaders Integrate a Charitable/Nonprofit Organization Into Your Life’s Work with CEO Christian LeFer on Episode #0246

Christian LeFer [0:00]
Hi, this is Christian LeFer with instantnonprofit.com and you’re listening to EA Interviews.

Intro [0:05]
EA interviews, Episode 246, inspiration, transformation success stories and the imperfect action round seven days a week. Join Mario Fachini for today’s expert authority effect interview.

Mario Fachini [0:18]
You’ve got a business, you’ve got a mission.But what are you doing with it? Are you doing what you want in your business and using that as a charitable organization? Or have you really, honestly considered starting a nonprofit? I have and I know it’s not the easiest thing in the world or at least I thought so. So many people have reached out to me and asked me, how do you start one? Do you know of anyone? And I said, yes. Because I have Christian LeFer on today’s episode today with instant nonprofit, and we’re gonna be diving into how you can start your own nonprofit in weeks, not months. I’m gonna bring them up. Right after we thank our sponsor.

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Mario Fachini [1:18]
Here he is, ladies and gentlemen, Christian LeFer. Christian, how are you feeling today?

Christian LeFer [1:23]
I’m excellent. Mario, how are you today?

Mario Fachini [1:25]
I am doing great. And I’m very excited to learn more, because I don’t know everything about this. But it has always been on my heart to start a nonprofit. And what are the first steps I mean, it seems so voluminous. My uncle before he passed away started charity music, which I’m very thankful for. And I know he went through a lot to start that and I’ve had people ask me, but where do you start? I mean, where do you start?

Christian LeFer [1:56]
Well, I believe all business, especially impact related business starts in the heart, right? It’s a seed of something that maybe you had an experience as a child or an adult, or you know, somebody who did, where there was a need that wasn’t met in their life or something that could be improved. And that’s why I feel so blessed because that’s where things start with our founders. And so I get to wake up every morning and do amazing things for amazing people who want to make a difference in the world. So that is really where it starts. But there are basically five stages of a nonprofit. And going through each of those is what we help people do. So you start with the idea and really define the need that you’re out to serve.

Mario Fachini [2:44]
Well, that is very succinct. And I appreciate that I did not know there’s five stages, would you mind walking us through it?

Christian LeFer [2:53]
Absolutely. There is the seed stage, which is the seed in your mind, and just the very, very first baby steps, then there’s startup. And that’s where you like so many other business owners that you talk to, on your show entrepreneurs who learn to sort of get those initial things together to make the nonprofit viable. And then there’s a scale. And excuse me, scale, and sustain, right, so what you want to do is you want to, I’m sorry, systemize, scale and sustain. So what you want to do is you have the idea of the need that you’re trying to meet. And then you’re going to do the very basics of operationalizing. That and the second stage of that startup and then systemizing, where it’s easy, just like any business, right? It’ll take over your life. So you need to create systems as you go. And as you meet these needs, and you get the volunteers and the funding and all that kind of thing. And then you scale. You take those systems and you see how many more people where you want to grow? Where do you want to go? You grow that by scaling. And then ultimately, you don’t want to suffer from what’s called founder syndrome, where the organization is unable to live without you because God forbid something happens to you. What great legacy would you leave, if you didn’t have an organization that could sustain itself? So sustainability and avoiding founder syndrome, so that that organization can go on and live a long, long life serving the need that you believe so much in is the fifth stage. So that’s really this cycle of a nonprofit.

Mario Fachini [4:33]
I love how you broke that down because already I’m hearing that it’s not that difficult. And I know there’s paperwork and forms and I think just having a good basis here’s how you do it is already removing some of that fear because myself I thought it was like well, you have to my first thought was, it wasn’t the seed like you’re talking about but you’re absolutely right. The idea of stars I thought was like you have to go to an organization and get something signed. And then you have to wait for this and wait for that. And there’s someone I’m thinking of right now who she’s been wanting to start one. And I definitely want to put her in touch with you, because you’re breaking it down so easily. And when you’re telling someone, they can do it in weeks, not months, how is that possible with your process versus just trying to do it on your own, or maybe even someone else who does something similar, but takes a long time?

Christian LeFer [5:28]
Absolutely. So what instant nonprofit comm has been best known for is starting, you know, a done for you service to start your nonprofit from idea to IRS tax exempt status. With that, you know, at 1/3 of the typical legal fees, most founders are in and out in less than an hour. So you can focus on the mission and not on the paperwork. And then never talk to a government agent or an attorney, right, and who wants to do that. So that’s what we’re best known for. And that’s really in that stage too, right, you have to have the idea in the seed stage, the startup stage is where you call us. And we take all of that burden, all of those things that you typically think of for starting your nonprofit. And we take that off your plate, because we believe you shouldn’t have to become an expert at something you’re only going to do once and something that really doesn’t add value to the organization. So we do all those things that you think of, we incorporate, with all the right language, there are 26 discrete steps that we go through, we get your Ei n, we, as I said, we incorporate, which is filing the articles of incorporation. And then we get the IRS tax exempt status in very, very fast time, we’re known for getting our approvals very, very fast. And there are a lot of other little pieces inside that process that we provide you. So there’s nothing that you would have to generate from bylaws, to conflict of interest policy, compensation Policy Board, we even give you training to go along with all of this so that you can look like a pro in running your first board meeting, even if you’ve never done so. So there is nothing you don’t get. And it’s much greater than just a filing service. And because we want you to be successful, we want our nonprofit founders to go out and be the next Charity Water. Because that is only gonna reflect well on us, of course. And also we’re here to make an impact. We’re not here to sell a service, we’re here to change the world, by helping 1000s of people enact their vision to do exactly that.

Mario Fachini [7:30]
I got to ask what got you into this? Because I’m hearing your passion and your heart is definitely coming through. How did this all get started?

Christian LeFer [7:40]
Well, little did I know back then. But when I was eight years old, my mom sat me down and explained why my little sister who was three at the time turning four wasn’t speaking, right. She wasn’t developing at the same pace as the other kids. And that was because she never would. She is a great kid. And she’s, well, so always be a kid to me, but she’s developmentally disabled. And so, early on in life, I had experience going to, you know, Special Olympics and cheering my sister on. And, you know, she was always the one who would get second at the Special Olympics. And the reason was, she was definitely the fastest kid. But she would stop and high five all her friends in the stands, until one of the other kids ran by in the track her favorite event, and then she’d go run and catch up and usually get second. But we love that about her because she just had this, you know, boundless spirit of enthusiasm and optimism and just was there and very present with people, right? So from the Special Olympics to, you know, growing up and going to think about doing things like little league, I realized as I grew up, all of those things are nonprofits that people just do because they have a passion. And so back in around 2009, 10, I volunteered to start a nonprofit with a few friends and everybody had some jobs to do, there were just some things that we needed to do. And I said, Oh, give me that application. How hard can that be? I’ll take care of that. And when I called the IRS to get some tips and pointers prior to submitting that, I became morally outraged one day because they said, first of all, don’t worry, kid, there’s a, you know, this will take 10 or 11 months on average. And I just could not believe that if you want to do a good thing in the world, you would have to spend potentially 1000s of dollars on an attorney, or figure it out yourself and probably screw it up and wait 10 or 11 months to even hear back from the IRS. So what I did was I didn’t want to take no for an answer. I called 10 to 20 extensions north and south of that one extension. And so I just dialed for dollars, and whoever would answer the phone, I figured they’d probably be in the exempt organizations department. And I begged, pleaded and even tried to bribe a few IRS agents with flowers and chocolate. What makes the ideal 501 c three application? What takes over long? What would make their day really, and I came up with what I call a love letter to a bureaucrat to where Salma Hayek was an IRS agent. I wanted her to run away to Fiji with me forever. What kind of file would I have to really impress her? And I curated all of these details into what I thought was the perfect file, sort of the Goldilocks file, sent that in, and we got approved in less than 60 days. And I was really excited. And people heard about this. And the next thing, you know, you know, I said, Well, I’ll take this much money or this much money. And little did I know, I had a business in my hands, I started blogging about this, and the rest is history. We’ve done 1000s and 1000s now, and we do get very fast approvals.

Mario Fachini [10:45]
This is fantastic, I love the story. But I love the results and the story that’s I don’t want to dive too much deeper about bribing an IRS agent. But it was just funny when you said it. But clearly and I know you really weren’t, the thing that I was hearing was, I wanted to get to the end goal quicker. And I was just doing everything I could in my power that would get me there. Who wants to wait 12 months? And I’m also curious, when you’re saying this ironclad letter, I’m like, well, where is this thing at? What does it take? So I’m sure you’re not going to share all of it? Or I know we’re limited on time, you know, maybe that’s a better way of putting it. But can you share just a few of the things like, you know, I think you piqued? You definitely piqued my interest. And I know someone listening is going, Okay, what the heck is in that document? And even if they don’t want to start a nonprofit, like, how would you impress Sam Hayek?

Christian LeFer [11:44]
Well, I would watermark all of the pages so that if she were to drop this sheet of papers, in a, in a coffee room with lots of other papers, she’d be able to put that right back together, and go back to her desk, and be able to get it, get it together and approve it. I would also do those little touches that made the person feel like and this is true of any business. You’re not just dealing with your customer, you’re not just helping your customer, you’re helping the other people along the way. Like if you build homes, there is a person who was working behind the desk who gets really messy permit applications, right? So if you can make that person’s day, right, the real smart people in the world, you know, astute business people know that the secretary getting flowers is as important to meeting that CEO or making an impression there as the actual meeting. And so what we decided to do was approach this from the standpoint how can we make this person’s day so that they think someone actually cared about their job and didn’t just send them a cluster of files with too much information, extraneous things so we really dial down the the information so that they can get through it quickly have zero questions. And just like when you’re applying for a mortgage, you don’t want to talk to the underwriter. You just want them to check all the boxes and feel like somebody really paid attention. And then they can move on to the next file after stamping yours approved.

Mario Fachini [13:10]
I like the shortcuts because they are universal. And while they are specific to what you’re talking about, for getting the nonprofit started. If you don’t care about business and care about people, I mean, it goes back to the golden rule, basically,how do you succeed in business actually care about people and don’t treat them like transactions.

Christian LeFer [13:30]
Exactly. And nobody has any sympathy for bureaucrats, right? Or bureaucracy. But we can’t visit that on the people that are involved because they’re humans sitting at a desk, and they’re trying to do the best job that they can. So if we can let them know we appreciate them, even if it’s by the attention to detail inside what they do. We’re going to feel great about ourselves. And we’re going to get a better result in the world. And it’s really made a huge difference in our business.

Mario Fachini [13:56]
So let’s talk about some of the benefits if someone’s going, Okay, I’ve thought about it. But it wasn’t a real burning desire or passion, but I’ve thought about it. And now they’re listening and they’re going, you know, it just doesn’t sound like a bad idea. Actually, the thing I was thinking about this might actually work out real well, what are some additional benefits, you know, to starting a nonprofit?

Christian LeFer [14:23]
Well, there are three benefits to the actual filing for 501 c three and operating what is really a business as a 501 c three. And then there are three scenarios in which you can experience the benefit, right? So the three primary benefits of filing for 501 c three and running a 501 c three nonprofit is tax deductibility for donations. That is one of the really primary reasons that people are willing to donate is if you make Mario you know $200,000 a year and you don’t 20,000 of that you’ll be taxed on $180,000. So it can not only reduce the overall taxation, but it can actually knock you down or bracket. And some people do knock down their tax bracket by giving enough money to nonprofits that they’ll be taxed on the next lower bracket. So that’s one. The second is there is no federal income tax on that entity. So say we go out and we, you and I start a nonprofit tomorrow. And you know, talk to me after the show, we can do this, we go out and raise $2 million next year. And we’re rolling. And we only spend 1 million of it on staff and on services and everything, because maybe we have a building project that we’re planning for next year, the money that rolls over from this year to next year, or from next year to the following year, won’t be taxed as profit, because it’s a nonprofit, right? It’s exempt from federal income tax. So you can build up money in that for doing things like capital projects, and partnerships with other nonprofits, etc. So that’s the second primary benefit of filing for nonprofit. And the third, which we do all the time is we start nonprofits for business owners, right. And I’ll give you a great example, we recently started a nonprofit for a herbal extract company, right, they make compounds out of natural herbs and supplements. And they wanted to educate the greater public, right not in a way that would benefit them, but would benefit the greater public by just becoming more astute at using natural therapies. And with all the concern about pharmaceuticals and stuff, this is something that’s really being sought after, well, since that activity would benefit the general public in the way that they were doing it with education, they were able to take a portion of their corporate proceeds, and just donate it to this nonprofit, and then get others in the industry also to donate it, so that everyone sort of growing the pie for everyone. Now, the great thing is that’s going to have what we call the halo effect, it’s going to reflect positively back on to the corporation, the company that makes these herbal supplements, there is nothing wrong with doing good and doing well, as long as the activities that you’re doing with the nonprofit are legitimate. what’s called exempt activities, educational, scientific, religious community building. So those are the three primary benefits of the nonprofit vehicle. The three scenarios that I would say are most common for our founders are a, they’re able to raise money, and again, get those tax deductions. And so say you’re running, I had recently had a wrestling coach, they needed to get mats for the kids. If they raised money from people just giving them money for the mats, those people would have had to use taxable money. And then whatever entity was taking this money and buying the wrestling mats would have been taxed on that money on the way through. And instead, they set up a nonprofit because they had to raise about 100,000 for the mat, which was all able to be done with tax deductible money. So at the smallest level, where this is a volunteer run organization, there’s still financial benefits of getting the mission done. The second level is the scenario I talked about with the herbal company where there’s sort of a halo effect, the symbiotic relationship between the two, that’s perfectly fine, too. And then the third level is where people who are doing well inevitably give to non nonprofits, right, they end up I mean, look at, you know, Tony Robbins talks about Brendon Burchard, all of the people that you can consider. People who have succeeded, once they have the house and the kids’ college is paid for and you’re living, you have money beyond your basic needs. Philanthropy and giving back is where it happens. And so there are tax benefits to structure a nonprofit so that when you go to these different events, and you can provide money at a silent auction, or people ask you to support their project, you’ve got a structure through which you can do philanthropic giving. And now more than ever, entrepreneurs start companies with the intention of making a difference in the world with the money that they’re going to make. It’s part of the DNA of business now. Whereas I think 50 years ago, somebody would think about legacy after they had already made it. But now there are all kinds of companies that are started because the millennial is especially right but the founder wants to make a difference. And they want to use the economic engine of the business to enable them to have the resources to do so.

Mario Fachini [19:47]
Yeah, and I’m glad you brought that up. And thank you for sharing because this is fantastic. You know, your stuff in I knew that. But you’re just so succinct with this. It’s fantastic. I mean, wow. I truthfully don’t want to ask you too much, because I’m afraid of ruining it, you’re killing it.

Christian LeFer [20:06]
Well, I’ll try not to ramble on too.

Mario Fachini [20:08]
No, you’re doing great. I’m just like, I want to go implement this and put it into, like, my allowed to ask stuff here. It’s like, Okay, um, but it’s what I said in the intro because I think a lot of entrepreneurs, I know myself, I haven’t set it up yet. But I think entrepreneurs are just more heart centric to begin with. Ain’t no one in their right mind trains. How do I say this? Ain’t no one in their right mind. Trying to start a business that isn’t trying to do something, I’d say the vast majority 90, 95% of those people are good. I know, there’s bad people out there too. But everyone knows that takes more work. It’s not overnight, and it’s the long haul, you have to have something more to make it. Whatever that degree is to you. I mean, so that’s what I’m gonna say, trying to do something big, whether that’s malicious or not, that’s on you. But I think 95% plus are good hearted. But if you want to easily just, I’m going to shut my mouth. But most people are trying to do something good whether they do it through the business or nonprofit. I agree wholeheartedly. Most people are trying to intertwine them.

Christian LeFer [21:26]
Absolutely. And I didn’t mean to cut you off. There. We’re living in the age of convergence, what I call the convergence of cause and commerce. If you have a business today, there’s nothing that can’t be reverse engineered, we’ve got the internet, we’re able to understand how things work. And if someone’s selling mouse traps out there, it used to be okay, if you have a better mousetrap, you’re going to succeed. Now, if your personal values, your heart centered values are aligned with mousetrap B company versus mousetrap, a, you’re gonna buy a mousetrap B because they’re using sustainable, employment techniques, fair trade, better materials, all of that stuff. So it used to just be about quality and about what the buyer getting the product that they want. But now if you are not aligned with people’s human values with your business, whether it’s directly related to the business or something the business is contributing to, you will be left in the dust as a company and or as a solopreneur. Even people want to know what you believe in. And Simon Sinek is the best one that talks about this stuff. Simon Sinek says, start with why? Because people don’t care what you have or how you do it. Nowadays, they want to know why you’re doing it. And if you have that vision, that is what makes the difference between a Steve Jobs and gateway computer.

Mario Fachini [22:53]
Or like a gateway, I had one back in the day.

Christian LeFer [22:57]
Remember the cow you know, the…

Mario Fachini [22:59]
I still have it? That’s gateway g six to 66. Baby single core. Whoo, speed. No, but I get what you’re saying in the bigger point is it an ID even add on regardless of the cost? Because I know I’ve paid more intentionally. And I’m like, heck, yeah, I want to support the business because they’re doing good stuff versus whatever. Something else. Absolutely. So I want to ask you about your clients, the ones you can talk about, and we want to talk about success stories and transformations. What’s one of the biggest you can say?

Christian LeFer [23:40]
Absolutely. So I mean to come to mind. One is my dear friend Amy Scruggs. So, Amy Scruggs has a veteran’s oriented nonprofit. And Amy is one of those people. And you might know her because she just started her show on CNBC. She just launched this week on CNBC. She didn’t have anything going on like that prior to this. And I’ve watched her evolve as an entrepreneur and as a nonprofit founder. And her heart is so aligned that she’s able to do you know her show. She does. She does real estate media. And she has really become a media personality. But right along with that she has been a singer and an entertainer for years. And she has a heart for veterans. So she has been singing for veterans coming home and for other types of veterans events. And that’s actually how I met her is I had a coach who was an ex marine. And he introduced me to her and she said I want to start a nonprofit. I don’t know how I’m going to do this. I don’t know how I’m going to do anything I’m embarking on but let me tell you what I’m up to. And I was just enthralled right away. And we got back together recently. And she is launching her show on CNBC and her nonprofits are getting a ton of attention because of it. And so she is a great example. name’s Amy Scruggs check her out. What a wonderful person. The other person is. Sammy Taggett. Sammy is known as shoe box Moses, you might have seen him at an event, he does Yannick silver, he does traffic and conversion. He does Richard Branson events, mind Valley, you name it, Sammy was found as a screaming crying newborn in a shoe box when he was born in the Philippines, and basically discarded in a dumpster in Manila. And so he was brought to an orphanage. Right. And fast forward, he is adopted into the US and now has this incredible story and this incredible testimony about possibility in life. And so he is a world famous sort of jet setting, you know, our globe trotting, I should say, DJ, and he has got such a great heart that we met one day when he was doing video at a startup event in Denver, Colorado. And when he found out what I did, he pretty much backed me into a corner and said, we have to do this, I’ve been trying to start my nonprofit called the foundling for three years. And so I am now on the board of the founders. Sammy , he’s one of my best friends. And I was able to start his nonprofit with him very easily, so that he can take these trips with people over and bring these kids the things that they need, like iPads and things like that. But also Sammy is teaching kids in orphanages in the Philippines, how to be entrepreneurs, how to get out into the gig economy, get their chops and make their bones in doing something video editing, entertainment, the RT is big into and become potentially either recording star or just someone who can contribute in the gig economy and get onto the world stage right from the Philippines over the internet. So this is an incredible mission. And Sammy is just somebody I’ve watched with an idea. And all he needed was that spark, to light it on fire. And now he is bringing this whole message to the world through these major events.

Mario Fachini [27:05]
I love hearing stuff like this, I think the world needs to hear more of it. And straight up. That’s why I put it in the show. That’s fantastic. And I know you’ve worked with 1000s of people, and you could give me hundreds more, if not 1000s more, but thank you for sharing those.

Christian LeFer [27:20]
Yeah, sorry. And I can get on, I can get excited and go on a little bit about my founders. But you know, not my founders, our founders, right, these people are making our world a better place. And so I get to wake up every morning and be inspired by the people I’m serving. So it’s beyond belief, you know,

Mario Fachini [27:39]
There’s so many good people out there. And it’s part of my mission to exponentially elevate the identity of humanity. There’s so many good people out there. And I think a lot of them just don’t know what to do, whether they’re starting a nonprofit, they want to start a business, they want to, you know, how do I get on TV? How do I start a show? How do I do a book? How do I do whatever I mean, even if you go I don’t want any of that I just want to help people through my business. That’s great. There’s more than just doing the thing, because I know when I started, it was like, I’m really good at XYZ. But the second you say I’m starting a business, there’s this whole back end of stuff that people don’t realize about. And same as with the nonprofit, you know, hey, here’s the idea. And I always joke, everything’s a good idea when you have the idea, and then you have to implement it. And it’s like, maybe not a good idea. But with what you’re talking about, it’s a great idea, because what’s the fastest you’ve seen someone get approved only?

Christian LeFer [28:36]
My record and we did an interview with this person. It’s on our YouTube channel. Michael Hirshman, nine days from the day he called me. He called our office and said I need to start another nonprofit, he had already done one. And I believe it was something where people who own jeeps and four wheel drive vehicles and you Lord knows they love their vehicles, right. In Colorado, sometimes the weather is so bad. diabetics can’t get insulin, people can’t get their meds. And so these people volunteer to be in the network to go wherever they need to go up in the mountains. So this is like an adventure for them. And they serve these people. And so we got that from start to finish by phone call to the IRS letter in the mailbox at Michael’s home in nine days. So that’s just an incredible story. And you know, he like many other nonprofit founders. He’s a little bit more business savvy, but he’s learned that through the process of starting nonprofits and starting a business, but our job now is to help people that have a heart because everyone our founders, start with a heart centered piece, and now we’re helping them operationalize and get all of those business things, those back end things together so that we can truly take people all the way through those five stages and learn to raise money. For example, I spent years on the road, raising millions of dollars for nonprofits, and it’s one of my… it’s something that’s near and dear to my heart is teaching people how to take a small list even their Rolodex and turn it into hundreds of 1000s, or even millions of dollars that they don’t even realize they’re capable of. And just to watch people grow is my favorite thing in the world through all of those different processes.

Mario Fachini [30:22]
I love everything you’re sharing, and where are you tracking every single one of these? Like, the turnaround time?

Christian LeFer [30:33]
Yeah, I mean, we sort of have a rolling, you know, a lot of the holdup is, is not necessarily on our end, people. I mean, things happen, life happens, people get held up, or they start out with a board. And, you know, we recommend starting with a small Board of three, or maybe five, but usually three, because it’s easier to get things done. The more people you have involved, the more decision makers you have sometimes those processes, the decision processes take longer. But we do track every single one. And like I said, we’re not here to sell a service, we’re selling a result. And so we have consistently innovate our processes and our technology to knock down the barriers between how do I get started, and I got the letter, and now I need to go raise money and operationalize the organization. So we’ve over time reduced probably another 70%, even though we were already very fast, we’ve knocked another 70% of the work out of this for our founder, because it’s important that as little stands between them, and their and their mission as possible.

Mario Fachini [31:39]
Wow, that’s exciting. That’s very exciting. Okay, um, we’re gonna keep it exciting. We’re gonna keep it fun. I got one more question for you before we thank our sponsor. And it is the Wheel of Whatever. You know what the question is going to be?

Christian LeFer [32:01]
No idea. I’m excited though.

Mario Fachini [32:04]
Man, this thing’s going real good today, look at it go. I’m gonna have to stop it. It’s not slowing down. And neither are we. So the question I have for you is, who is a well known entrepreneur that you would love to work with that you haven’t yet?

Christian LeFer [32:23]
I would say…

Mario Fachini [32:24]
Or celebrity.

Christian LeFer [32:25]
Entrepreneur that I haven’t worked with. I would say Tony Robbins, Tony Robbins was responsible. His book, unlimited power, was responsible for really changing my life at about 26 years old. And it’s like peeling an onion. You’re never quite done with your personal development and discovery. But Tony’s message aligns with our so much that once you have, it’s time to give back. And that’s where the real joy of life is. And it would be Tony.

Mario Fachini [32:56]
Great, great answer. He is fantastic. And I hope you can connect with him. I think the two of you could do major stuff together.

Christian LeFer [33:07]
I hope so. I believe I met you at a Mike Canings Event. And that was through Pam Hendrickson, who was Tony Robbins product developer for 25 years. So just knowing Pam right, your two degrees from Tony, another person I’ve really loved to work with, if you don’t mind, my sharing is Tim Ferriss. Tim Ferriss has gone from being a successful investor in Uber and some other major companies to making a lot of money. I mean, the guy’s a walking experiment, right. And the only thing he invests in now is psychedelic research, for using psychedelics to heal things like PTSD, childhood trauma, etc. And he just raised another 30 million for Johns Hopkins Research in that area. And we just got approved for an Iosco church in the United States when most people have to fly to Peru and do those things in South America. So we’re committed also to pushing the science and the healing that can be done through those compounds responsibly forward. And it’s exciting that those kinds of projects really excite us as a company and not just me, but our entire staff. There are certain projects that just really light people on fire. So Tim Ferriss is somebody that I can’t wait to meet, and I won’t have to ask him for business tips. I won’t try to pitch him a business. I’m going to be talking to Tim on the thing he really cares about and that is pushing forward this research and the application there of.

Mario Fachini [34:32]
Yeah, and like you were saying, we’ve been talking about when you have people that have big hearts, it only helps when they are more influential and they have business savvy and they have connections and relationships because it’s like, you can make a huge dent in the world. I mean, it starts with one person but when you start getting dozens and dozens of those one person’s, imagine getting Tony Robbins, Tim Ferriss, Pam Hendrickson and us and going. Alright, here’s our goal: five years from now, 10 years from now, what Couldn’t you do?

Christian LeFer [35:10]
Absolutely. And you’ve probably seen in Mario and I’ve seen in the business world over the years in the entrepreneurial space, people would tell you that you could get in touch with people that you would think are impossible, right? But if you are persistent and creative, Frank Kern would talk about, or Joe Polish would talk about sending people crazy packages with likes, interesting things, email, lumpy mail, right? Well, nowadays, the way to meet literally anyone in the world when they have a million gatekeepers, and you know, it’s Shark Tank nation. So these guys are all being pitched on investment ideas. But what if we simply stepped back and started connecting with the people that we want to be around and we want to be influenced by and have an audience with or a dinner with? What if we started approaching those people on the things that light a fire in their hearts, like I mentioned with Tim Ferriss, and so we actually have a little mini course, we’re cooking up right now on how that is the ultimate networking tool going forward, a heart based, heart centered, networking style, right and approach versus trying to make money because these people that have already made a lot of money, they’ve been pitched to death. And they’re really interested in expanding their lives. So why not contribute to that by aligning with a cause, and then finding the people who are influential out there who believe in the same causes? That is where things are going, and that really excites me.

Mario Fachini [36:40]
It excites me too. And I’m not sure if I’ve ever said this directly. But it’s one of the things I look for on the show, I have a column that says heart centric, you know, I get applications all the time, there’s a waitlist to be on the show. And I’m just like, I’ll take a quick look. You know, if someone gets pre approved or something, I’ll take a quick look. And it’s like, I’ve shared many times, many times on social media, and I came up with this years ago. It’s not that you’re not qualified. It’s just that I don’t like you. Right? And it goes exactly into that because it’s like, you’re great, you’re fantastic. But not me, not my audience, I protect them. So I’m all about the heart. I’m also about capitalism and business and, you know, I’m not against it. But like you said, the best thing in the world. You can have both. You don’t have to wait 50 years to do the other one. So I think that’s fantastic. We’re gonna thank our sponsor, and come back for the imperfect action.

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Mario Fachini [39:18]
And we are back with the Imperfect Action Round. Christian, are you ready to take imperfect action?

Christian LeFer [39:26]
I am. Do you have one for me?

Mario Fachini [39:29]
I got a couple of them. The first one is what is the fastest path to the profits?

Christian LeFer [39:34]
The fastest path to profits is find something least in my experience. Find something that you’re passionate about that you hate and make it easier for other people. The fact that I’m in this business is so counterintuitive because I am like if I was handling the files of the 501 c threes on a consistent basis, you know I forget, right? It’d be on the roof of my car and I would drive away. I’m creative. I have ADD. I hire people on the opposite end of the Myers Briggs for me. But I was so passionate about nobody else going through the pain that I went through to start a nonprofit and bring some good to the world, that I created the system that I can now duplicate through my staff, and help people get through that process. So it’s really odd, but I heard it from Grant Cardone once too. Solve the problem that you hate. And sometimes it’s very counterintuitive that you’ll end up in that business. But chances are if you have a problem with something other people do, too.

Mario Fachini [40:41]
It’s very insightful, because I hear a lot of people say, follow your passion, and the profits will follow but find your passion. And you know, that’s part of it. But when you can solve that problem too, deal.

Christian LeFer [40:56]
Absolutely.

Mario Fachini [40:57]
Number two, what is the biggest problem you see your prospects making? And the fastest way they can fix it?

Christian LeFer [41:05]
I think the biggest problem that my prospect sees making is a lack of belief in some cases, right? So there are like I said, we have very experienced business people and less experienced people who have had a job, I had a customer I interviewed last week, we’ll be putting out that video soon. She said no one in her family that or that she even knew had ever started a business, let alone herself. And so she was getting a lot of negative feedback from people and she just was going for it anyway, we had a great talk, he’s full of energy and just a livewire. And she had to do the work that I think many people in that position do that I do and that is shifting your belief about yourself into somebody who can do it, and really must do it. And if this time, you know if there was ever a time 2020 showed us, if you are able to lead, if you’re able to find that anywhere in yourself, it is imperative that you do because the world needs leaders, kids are growing up in a place where we have to be afraid of each other, we’re not sure what’s going to happen, we’re gonna see some economic things happen. So working on the belief in yourself that you’ve been called to do this thing, and that you can and that people will help you is key.

Mario Fachini [42:22]
Amen to that. That’s all I gotta say. All right, third one. The third one is really good. It’s about maximizing customer lifetime value. You’re getting me going, I’m trying my darndest to stay focused, but I’m just like, I want to go tear up, tear up stuff and go help like another 10,000 people, customer lifetime value. What is the best way to maximize customer lifetime value?

Christian LeFer [42:53]
It really is having conversations with customers. And I know this gets pounded into people’s heads in, you know, entrepreneur, training courses and things like that did with me as well. But having done probably 10,000 20,000 501 c three startup calls, and I still get energized by them. I love talking to people. I love hearing about their ideas and their passion. But maximizing customer lifetime value is about having the second conversation. So talking to someone right in that honeymoon period, right? When we deliver them the completed application or right when we know they got their IRS approval letter, having a talk with a person right, then their heart is gonna be the most open about possibility that it will possibly be, it’s like a little honeymoon window. And then they will pour out the ideas that they want to do next. And they’ll also tell you their concerns about what they feel are in the way of them raising the million dollars and doing all the positive things that they want to do. And so you can kind of extract what they believe is in their way and then simply provide a path through that. And you will be able to have recurring products follow on products cross-selling upsells. And that is really what we’re doing with this company right now.

Mario Fachini [44:15]
You sound like you got the next decade or two planned out and you’re going to be making a huge dent no matter what even if you just keep doing what you’re doing.

Christian LeFer [44:24]
Okay, I appreciate that. And I mean, it’s a nonprofit.com is a vehicle for people to transform this world, we have a huge horizon mission. And that’s really what we’re all about is empowering 10,000 or more people in the next year to two years to grow their dream and change the world in the way that they see fit, whether it’s on the neighborhood level or globally. We believe that people should have the opportunity to serve their greatest need and we want to empower that.

Mario Fachini [44:59]
Well you mentioned a few earlier. But I want to ask you, what books would you recommend?

Christian LeFer [45:07]
Absolutely, I would recommend, depending on where you’re at, right, Unlimited Power by Tony Robbins is a little dated at this point, but it is a fantastic book. And then getting into the more short form of energy and meditation and sort of healing some of those things that might be blocked in your life, I would recommend Joe dispenza Becoming Supernatural. He’s got great meditations, I’ve taken some of his courses. And what I like about him is he sort of bridges the woowoo. And the art with the science of meditation and changing your body, changing your physiology. And he goes through a Western doctor, right? So he goes through all of the physiological stuff that we’re used to in this Western world. But then he ties that to the chakras and the energy centers in the body in a way that I have not seen anyone else do. And it’s really benefited me quite a bit.

Mario Fachini [46:08]
Excellent. Where would you like people to learn more?

Christian LeFer [46:13]
Absolutely. So you can go to instantnonprofit.com you can book a call, you can get some free training. Or you can go to instantnonprofit.com/podcastfans. And if you’re into podcasts, and you should be after watching this one and Mario, what a great job you’ve been doing with it. We’ll send you a special gift. And we’ll know that you came from the podcast. So we have a free email bootcamp. You can get through there and some other materials that will help you decide if this is the right time for you to start a nonprofit. And if not, when, and if so, how?

Mario Fachini [46:51]
Well, I appreciate everything and all that you’re sharing all the expert authority insights, Christian, it’s been a real pleasure.

Christian LeFer [46:58]
Absolutely. I loved it. Thank you so much for having me on Mario and I look forward to hearing from people and helping in any way we can.

Mario Fachini [47:08]
Alright, expert authority world and we got another great episode here today. I’ll see you tomorrow. Have a great day. And God bless.

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www.EAInterviews.com [47:49]
Hey, thanks for listening to today’s episode. I hope you got a lot out of it. I know I sure did. If you haven’t done so already, I invite you to subscribe to the show. And also be sure to check out EAInterviews.com for complete show notes, the full interview video experience links to the resources we mentioned in more. Have a blessed day and I’ll see you tomorrow.