Richard Norton served a two-year service mission in the northeastern region of Brazil from 1999-2001. While living in Brazil, he was struck by the fact that extreme poverty in the region was a result of young children being required to leave school prematurely to enter the workforce. This work pattern began a self-perpetuating cycle of uneducated workingpersons who eventually start families and are not able to satisfy the family's needs.

Norton knew something needed to be done to help his friends in northeastern Brazil lift themselves from poverty, become self-reliant, and have the opportunity to magnify the quality of their lives, religious organizations, communities and families. He saw that certain trades-people were highly skilled in their specific trades and if provided with seed capital to purchase raw resources, they would be able to expand their circle of influence, increase job opportunities and create a higher standard of living. When Norton returned to the U.S. he enrolled his father—a financial planner—in his vision for improving the situation in northeastern Brazil. Together they shaped the idea of helping individuals become self-reliant through self-employment by providing the necessary resources and training for these individuals to break free from poverty forever.

In 2003, Norton became student body president at BYU-Hawaii. Through internal committee meetings and conversations, he learned first-hand of the idea of return-ability for international students. One of the missions of BYU-Hawaii is to bring international students to the university and ultimately help them return to their native countries to become leaders who will “influence the world for good”. Again, the idea of assisting individuals in their striving for financial independence and freedom sunk deep in Norton's mind. He saw that helping others help themselves become financially self-reliant was an opportunity that could profit the world at large.

In 2004, the BYU-Hawaii School of Business held a business plan competition and Norton began preparing a plan with the concept of assisting BYU-Hawaii international students to become self-reliant through self-employment in their native lands. In the course of his research he learned that the School of Business had been working on a similar plan. Eventually, Norton and the school of business decided to combine their efforts and work hand in hand to accomplish their joint goal—to assist promising entrepreneurs to become successful in an effort to produce stronger families, businesses, governments, communities and religious organizations.

Richard Norton graduated from BYU-Hawaii in International Business Management and serves as President and Founder of Working World, Inc. He makes his home on the North Shore of Oahu with his wife Natalie and son Raleigh.