So what does it take?
As a Lawyer, an award winning Entrepreneur, and a Spiritual Life & Business Strategist, I’ve learned that there are 4 foundational things that you must have in order to be successful in your business. No matter what the definition of success is, you will need to master these 4 things.
Spiritual Alignment to your gift
You must be spiritually aligned to your gifts. This means that you should know or understand what your God given gifts and purpose are. Once you know what your gifts are, have faith in using those gifts. Understand that God is your ultimate provider and when you are operating in spiritual giftings, success flows to you automatically. So for example, if you have a gift of teaching, then you want to be sure that you are imparting knowledge in whatever you do. Don’t use your gift of teaching to prophecy over another. Use the gift that God gave you. When you operate in your spiritual gifting, you will enjoy serving others.
1 Peter 4:10 “Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms”.
Business Alignment
Your business must be in alignment with your spiritual gift. This means, if you have a gift of giving, your business should be geared towards helping others. For example, a not for profit organization, that fundraises to give back to less fortunate people. If you are operating the wrong business with your gifting, then you will find yourself struggling to make money and keep customers. I operated a payday loan over 17 years ago. I have a spiritual gift of giving. My business was successful because it was aligned to my spiritual gift. I not only made money, but I had many customers. In fact, the business grew very fast and I was not prepared for such fast growth. Something that is unheard of for a small business in its first year. We all know that during the first year or two of business, it’s difficult to make a profit. Most businesses suffer a loss in their early years. Forbes Magazine stated that almost 90% of small businesses fail within the first year. This is partly because people go into the wrong businesses. They tend to focus on what is making money as opposed to what are the Gifts that God has given you to be successful. When your focus shifts to operating in your gifts, with the right guidance, you can come out of your first year victorious.
Romans 12: 6-8 “We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; 7 if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; 8 if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully”.
Business Mindset
Many entrepreneurs start their business all too often with the wrong mindset. When operating as an entrepreneur, you will need to fill many caps. You will need to be the receptionist one day, and a marketing expert the next day. At the same time, you must be able to discern when you will need to delegate some of the responsibilities. You must understand what message your business is putting out to the public because if the public does not see you as a solid professional business, your reputation will suffer and this will cause you to lose money and potential customers. So you have to get your mind right. Understand that you are now an entrepreneur and operate as such. If you work from home, then get up every morning, get dressed and show up. Be ready. Don’t roll out of your bed at mid-day, scrambling to take a business call. That’s not professional, it’s not a business mindset. You have to have your mind ready and operating as an entrepreneur at the appropriate time.
Luke 12:35 “Be dressed in readiness, and keep your lamps lit…”
Strategy
All successful businesses should have a strategy. You must have a plan as to how you will execute your business, where you plan to be in the years ahead and how you plan to get there. It is important for creating a strong, important and profitable business. It is a plan that will help you to implement your vision. Your plan must also have mechanisms in place to handle customer disputes, develop the customer experience, marketing and staying organized. Without such a plan, your business will likely struggle. We are at times, tempted to jump head in and start a business without first having a strong foundation. However, no matter what stage in business you currently are, you can still implement strategies. It can be hard to stay organized and focus on your vision when you are trying to balance your business while having to pick up children from school. It’s very easy to lose focus and get side tracked. Only to realize that your day is over and you did not return your customers queries or you forgot to place advertisements for new clients. When you have a strategy in place as to how you will operate your business and where you want to take your business in the future, you will save valuable time and energy because issues become easier to manage. Give your plan to the Lord and trust that he will see it through.
Proverbs 21:5 “The plans of the diligent leads only to plenty…”
Conclusion
Entrepreneurship is hard and research and statistics have shown that not many will make it through their first year. However, when you operate from your spiritual gifting; your God given purpose, you have just increased your chances of success. Align your business to your spiritual gifts, shift your mindset and put strategies in place so your business will operate smoothly. Follow these tips and you will be well on your way to building your empire, Gods way. The sure way.
