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Statehouses from Maine to Montana are debating whether to join Vermont and Michigan and allow companies to organize as Low-Profit LLCs (LC3), businesses that are created to solve social problems.

This doesn’t mean that the Pfizers and First Solars of America will be able to reorganize as tax-free entities. LC3s are operated (and taxed) just like LLCs, but profits must be secondary to achieving a charitable or educational goal.

The main advantage of the LC3 designation is that it allows foundations to easily become financial stakeholders in private enterprises without needing lawyers to sign off that the business would qualify as a “program related investment” in the eyes of the IRS.  LC3 advocates argue that this structure frees up funding to support everything from newspapers to affordable housing projects.

However, with endowments shrinking along with the rest of the market, traditional charities are struggling to win ever smaller slices of the grant pie.  Nonprofits whose value to society primarily involves “raising awareness” about an issue will face stiff competition from LC3s that can attack a problem while also creating jobs in a community.

Yet the LC3’s entrance into the market does not necessarily have to be a zero-sum game.  Charities can also create LC3s to maximize revenue from their commercial activities.

After all, a little competition is a good thing, right?

Wondering if your job is safe? Even if your manager says yes, in these tough times you should be taking steps to secure your position. Now is the time to be proactive and find projects that will play up your talents. In this BNET video, executive coach Leila Bulling-Towne shows how you can create your own opportunities and remain essential to your company’s success.

By now, you’ve probably read plenty of posts on BNET and elsewhere explaining why your company should consider embracing Twitter.

But if your firm can’t execute a proper Twitter strategy, it may be best to avoid the platform altogether.

Small Business IT Weekly has compiled a decent starter list of rookie mistakes made by businesses on Twitter.  Here’s a summary, edited down for clarity:

1. Don’t think of it as a tool to talk at potential customers. Twitter is most useful for listening.

2. Don’t have someone tweet for the company owner.

3. Don’t bother with Twitter if you can’t monitor it 24/7.

4. Don’t use Twitter if you need to vet copy through several layers of staff and your corporate attorney.

5. Don’t even think about paying people to follow your tweets or stacking your followers with bogus people planting bogus tweets.

If you don’t have the resources to use Twitter correctly, the tool will be a time waster.  Plus there’s that public relations nightmare lurking if your CEO’s “ghost Twitterer” decides to go rogue.

Sure, there’s lots of valuable data within the Twittersphere.  But think about whether setting up a Twitter account is the most efficient way to collect it, since you can periodically search the Twitter network anyways without actually joining it.

After all, perhaps the next social media platform will be better suited to your company’s marketing objectives. Flutter, anyone?

(Twitter logo map by Boris Veldhuijzen van Zanten, CC 2.0)

With millions of viewers each month, YouTube provides a low-cost way for businesses to get their message out. But it’s not as simple as uploading a commercial or corporate video. In this podcast, veteran ‘tuber Alan Lastufka offers practical advice on what equipment you need to produce an engaging video on YouTube and how to build an audience. Lastufka is one of the Top 100 Most Subscribed Comedians on YouTube and co-author of the book
“YouTube: An Insider’s Guide to Climbing the Charts,” published by O’Reilly Media.

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Today is Earth Day, which means businesses across America are touting their latest green initiatives.
Greenbiz.com has a solid a recap of today’s green pitches by everyone from eBay and AMD to Wal-Mart and Sears.

Politicians are taking the day to promote clean energy and “green” jobs. In Iowa, President Obama has been visiting wind farms while the Democrats in Congress launch three days of hearings on renewable energy and climate-change legislation.

With a federal cap and trade system now a priority for the Obama Administration, lobbying for the climate has become one of the hottest “green” jobs in America, reports the Chicago Tribune:

“This is the biggest game in town,” said Joe Stanislaw, a senior adviser with Deloitte, who has followed the climate legislation closely.
A recent analysis by the nonprofit Center for Public Integrity estimated that 770 firms and interest groups hired some 2,340 climate lobbyists in the past year.

While many big businesses are preparing for cap and trade, the system is not inevitable. Many Republicans are convinced that cap and trade will amount to a harmful, hidden energy tax.

The EPA, however, has just released an analysis of the main cap and trade proposal floating around the House, arguing it would only have “a relatively modest impact on U.S. consumers.”

This Earth Day marks the beginning of a contentious economic debate. Stay tuned.

Every president hopes their administration will leave a lasting impact on the country. But what about a personal impact on individuals? If John F. Kennedy inspired public service, could President Obama inspire a generation of brilliant public speakers and persuasive influencers?

Whether you agree with his policies or not, there’s a lot you can learn from the suave stylings of the 44th president. I mean, the man won the Grammy for Best Spoken Word Album twice – in 2005 and again in 2008 — for reading his books on tape.

With the milestone of his First 100 Days in office coming up next week, there are two key areas where Obama has already proven worthy of emulation:

1. Public speaking. Executive speech coach Sims Wyeth shares “Five Ways to Speak Like Obama,” including tips on how to anticipate and incorporate opposition and how to pull off the president’s signature profound pause. For more see Michael Fitzgerald’s review of Shel Leanne’s book “Say It Like Obama.”

2. Selling an idea or proposal up the chain. BNET Blogger Stacy Blackman looks at a paper by two Stanford and Columbia professors on how Obama “marketed” the stimulus package to get it passed.

If, on the other hand, you want to learn how to get a senator to give you a cute dog, sorry — you’re on your own.

(Obama image by springhill2008 via Flickr, CC 2.0)

Layoff announcements often come down with no warning or input from staff. Paul Levy wanted to avoid that scenario when he sent an email to the entire staff of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, asking them for ideas about how to avoid layoffs. It resulted in thousands of cost-cutting suggestions from people working on the front lines, such as nurses and lab techs. Levy discusses the pros and cons of being transparent in this podcast, as well as the end result of his experiment.

Featured Guest: Paul Levy, president and CEO, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.

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What is a zombieconomy? Umair Haque of HarvardBusiness.org says it’s an affliction that occurs when corporations are unable or unwilling to make decisions to address the challenges that face them. He says companies need leaders who are willing to test boundaries and make better decisions — and wake up from the zombieconomy.

Featured Guest: Umair Haque, author of the “Edge Economy” blog on HarvardBusiness.org.

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It’s simply not enough to be smart and diligent in today’s job market. You need to be authentic, pro-active and vocal. In this podcast, Wall Street veteran Carla Harris shares her tips for long-term success in any career, including how to get feedback from your manager and colleagues, and how to leverage your voice. She’s written a book titled “Expect to Win: Proven Strategies for Success from a Wall Street Vet.” Harris is managing director at Morgan Stanley and has been the recipient of numerous honors and awards, including Black Enterprises’s “75 Most Powerful Women in Business.”

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The economic downturn has produced different layers of consumers, from those who haven’t been affected by the crisis to those who are watching every penny. In this podcast, John Quelch explains how to reach out to all of those consumers and maintain market share in recession.

Featured Guest: John Quelch, author of the Harvard Business Review article, “How to Market in a Downturn.”

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