Sole Proprietor - small business, make a profit, set my own guidelines and follow few by government. The best reason to chose this option is that I can control most of the finances and my profit can be invested back into my business and to pay the people who work with me.
501(c)3/6 - non-profit which would mean I have to follow strict government guidelines however that is because I would be funded (mostly) by the government. If I were to go this route I plan on operating like a normal business (with a profit) but instead of keeping the profit and investing it back into my business I want to pick a handful of other not-for-profits and charities to donate it to. I would have my client pick the ones they want their money to go towards or just say split it evenly among all of them. Now the problem with this is, my client would have to pay full-price for everything. Meaning, how ever much rental fees and services are they pay that, because I would have less control over my finances. I'd hope I could get a discount from the suppliers and venues but if not, I don't have a pot of money sitting around that I can reach into at times to create a stronger business relationship.
Not only is giving back near and dear to my heart but it would allow my clients to use my service as a tax write-off as well. Who's going to say no to an event planner they can use to better the community and save money on? Not many :) I would be able to hold benefit dinners for my charities and my business and find people who want to give to my cause, my creation(donors) and luckily I have some experience with stakeholders and already have connections to people who would potentially be interested in supporting Intrigue Events. The main drawback here is how tightly I'm going to have to budget, but hey, I do that every day anyways! And the reward of doing good much outweighs the stress and uncertainty of operating a not-for-profit organization.
*Now the best of both worlds: is it possible to in a sense combine these two? Can I operate as a Sole Proprietor with the same basic concepts of a 501(c)3? I think so....This means I would gain a profit from my services/clients, investors & possibly small-business or women-in-business grants; but I would still choose to give some of my profit (the specific percentage to be determined or negotiated later) to my charities. I like this....I like this a lot. I don't have to deal with the government and financial difficulties of a 501(c)3 but still give back. Issues that may arise are can I make enough to fund myself and give back? The giving to charities may have to come after some financial ground is steadied but I have a feeling I could find investors from the get-go to be able to give back asap. My clients no longer have a tax write-off in my services and I wouldn't have the unique status of an Event Planning 501(c)3 but I'll figure out a way to make all this work....
(Do you see my thought process through this page? lol, I hope so!)
501(c)6 - need to look into this status more
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