Photos by Amy Gee
Meet Megan Genest Tarnow. She’s the entrepreneurial leader of Mobius Group, one of the 18 values-driven businesses that have come together in support of Pollen’s mission to invest in human connection. Together, they challenge Pollenites to raise $20,000 by Give to the Max Day on November 15, which they will match dollar for dollar.
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All About Mobius Group
Megan Genest Tarnow comes from a long line of small business people, and continued that legacy when she founded the Mobius Group in 2000. Since then, the Mobius Group has provided accounting consulting to mission-driven nonprofit organizations using a simple concept to propel its work: create elegant solutions. “Our core values are pretty succinct,” says Megan. “Start with WHY. Be bold in your knowledge. Stay curious and open to change. Strive for joy. Make a bigger circle.”
Mobius Group knows that many organizations see the accounting function as a necessary evil—but they want to focus on the “necessary” part. With solid data and a firm accounting foundation, organizations can better focus on their mission, purpose, and story.
Above all, Megan takes this nonprofit finance stuff REALLY seriously.
“We really REALLY love setting up QuickBooks to help people get better data without calculators and outside spreadsheets,” says Megan.
“We are crazy passionate about nonprofit finance.”
Let’s hear from Megan
Pollen: What responsibilities do you feel as a business leader in your community?
Honestly, I feel like my community is both small and wide.
I feel an obligation to share knowledge where I can, and to lead by example, creating a company that is coherent.
I want how we function on the inside to be the same as what we reflect to the outside.
Pollen: How has your approach to connecting with community changed since you started your business?
I felt so alone when I started back in 2000. But there are so many ways to connect. I seem to live in the tiny intersection of QuickBooks and nonprofits. Locally, the Nonprofit Financial Group keeps me connected to others in the field. My QuickBooks ProAdvisor community is global, and has introduced me to nonprofits across the country and into Canada and Africa. There is this amazing group of people who are really committed to supporting nonprofits while having high expectations about how they will behave, both internally and out in the world.
Pollen: What are some of the biggest challenges in being a small business owner?
So similar to what small nonprofits face! How to use our time, when there are so many things that should have been done yesterday. How to address the capacity gap.
Being clear on who we are and what we want to do. You don’t have to get more than a degree or two off course to end up somewhere really far from where you intended.
Pollen: What is your favorite part about living where you do?
Saint Paul is awesome! My grandparents came to visit when I first moved here 25 years ago, and I joked that my neighborhood was like the ‘50’s. They said NOPE. It’s like the ‘30’s, in the way people were out and about, and relating to each other. Even with all the development happening near my home in Merriam Park, I don’t think it has changed all that much. We’re just getting more restaurants!
Pollen: Why do you value being part of the Pollen community?
There is such joy in the nonprofit community here, and in those of us who support it. People seem to come from an mindset of “plenty,” which lets us work in a spirit of friendly competition. People from other places can’t believe it!
Join Megan: DONATE TO MATCH THE HIVE TODAY
Find Mobius Group and give them an online hug for supporting Pollen.
Twitter: @megantarnow