That’s when I knew I needed to start this blog and speak to one person: the Christian entrepreneur like Thank goodness for that, or we’d all be writing to the same person. Godpreneurs, we’re all created for good works, but we don’t have to speak to every person on the planet If you’re having trouble narrowing down your target market, try these questions Who is one person that A blog post is supposed to solve one person’s problem, and you have the answer.

There are seven key factors for succeeding at launching the purpose God has placed in your heart for you to fulfill. COURSE HERE We all, as Godpreneurs, have stories we are waiting to tell. The right time to do it is always NOW! Don’t waste time thinking twice about the difficulties or resources you don’t have in order to start, think about what you do have right now and follow both God and your heart, there’s no time to lose when it comes down to living out the dream God has planned out for you. There are seven key factors for succeeding at launching the purpose God has placed in your heart for you to fulfill. Write the story God always planned on you to write, serve Him in the best way possible: by following His wish for you and your business TAKE COURSE HERE #GodpreneurAcademy #BusinessBibleStudy #LaunchingMyBusiness

As part of your Christian personal branding, you need to craft and tell your testimony. Other Ideas for Personal Branding Stories At the very least, you should develop a story that tells about If you want to know about more ways to develop a powerful God-first personal brand, then head over to my program, Build Your Unique Christian Personal Brand. Check it out here - Build Your Christian Personal Brand | Godpreneur Academy #ShareYourTestimony #PersonalBranding

I had to curb my enthusiasm for social media recently. I found myself going on just to see how many people liked my photos. I spent little time actually looking at the feed and most time in my own feed. Why is that?  I guess I judge my popularity by likes. We entrepreneurs can tend to do this, especially if we’re doing heavy marketing. It’s all about email opens, likes, followers and reviews, right? Although those things are great indicators of “connecting” your message to your audience, we must be careful to not let it DEFINE us as ‘who we are’. God forbid one campaign doesn’t work and your life comes to a screeching halt for a day or two as you recover from the blow on your self-esteem. To become a Godpreneur, we must take on a new identity. This new identity seeks it’s approvals and popularity from one source: God. It can be tempting to let what others say about us define who we believe we are and where our businesses can go. But that’s not where our identity comes from. As a Godpreneur, you are not what others say and think you are; you are what God says and thinks you are. The Bible says: "But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” 1 Samuel 16:7 NIV You are not on your own; you belong to God. You are His, and always will be. Some clients, vendors and even employees will always look at us on the outside. They’ll think who we are depends on how many clients we have and whether we’re landing big accounts or not. But God looks at our hearts, and we’ll only have peace when we believe who God says we are: His amazing creation that He loves. Who are you trying to please in your business, God or man? While it’s important to please our clients, trust me that our clients would much rather be working with someone or a company that is ‘true to themselves’. The Bible says: "Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ." Galatians 1:10 NIV Did I get teased for changing my business identity from the nightlife? You bet. People closest to me thought it was a dumb move, and I’ve lost friends from it. And I still struggle with this sometimes. I still feel like I get teased behind my back for being Christian, and I do have a self conscious side that wants to be popular. I don’t always love who I am, and I do sometimes go on social media to feel good about myself. But now we know the truth, and our true identity will continue to set us free from the approval of man. Godpreneur Rule #29: Godpreneurs seek the approval of God alone in their businesses. #FindMyCalling #EnhanceFocus

How can we develop entrepreneurial discernment? First, if you want to see things as God sees them.

As you navigate LinkedIn and interact with those around you, remind yourself that each person you meet

I go through seasons in my business. I’m not just talking about the 4 seasons of summer, winter, spring and fall. I’m talking about the ups and downs, the lefts and rights, the expansion and contraction, the growth and decline. The frustrating thing for me is that you really can’t predict the seasons. Sure, there’s a day that summer starts on the calendar, but it’s not precise. We entrepreneurs want to know when the turn on the rollercoaster is coming. We wish that our businesses weren’t susceptible to the seasons, we wish this rule skipped over us. Share on Instagram The reality is that seasons serve two amazing purposes. Seasons make me 100% dependent on God.  Since I don’t know what’s next, I need God to guide me and walk beside me along the path. Seasons keep me changing and adapting to fit the wants and desires of the market, which are in line with the changes God wants me to make. Although seasons are awesome, they are still uncertain, and uncertainty kills us. Why?  Because we want to be God…we want to be in control…which is the original sin. In the last 11 blog posts I’ve been taking us on a journey through the book of Acts. Acts shows us the manual for expansion of the church, which I also see as how we can expand our businesses and our influence. In Chapter 12, the the Apostle James is beheaded by Harod, Peter is freed from jail by an angel, and Harod ends up being killed by God for thinking he’s God. None of these 3 central figures in this chapter knew what was coming, neither could predict that God was going to do something in their life, and ultimately, we don’t know when things will happen either. I’ll leave you with this amazing reality from Ecclesiastes 3: "There’s an opportune time to do things, a right time for everything on the earth: A right time for birth and another for death, A right time to plant and another to reap, A right time to kill and another to heal, A right time to destroy and another to construct, A right time to cry and another to laugh, A right time to lament and another to cheer, A right time to make love and another to abstain, A right time to embrace and another to part, A right time to search and another to count your losses, A right time to hold on and another to let go, A right time to rip out and another to mend, A right time to shut up and another to speak up, A right time to love and another to hate, A right time to wage war and another to make peace." Godpreneur Rule #75: God determines the seasons of my business, there is no better place than under his providence. #WorkLifeBalance #GainConfidence

Do we fret and fear in the face of the ups and downs of our business and personal lives?

But if you pray for God to reveal each person, they will begin to surround your business. 

tell them our plan, hoping that by saying it, we’re writing it down in our heads and maybe this other person

I believe all of us Godpreneurs were given dreams by God for the purpose of accomplishing those dreams and bringing those visions to life. I don’t know what that dream is that you have for your business. I don´t care how far-fetched that crazy product or service idea might appear to be. I don't care how disappointing it might have been as you’ve worked toward that dream, but here’s what I know: that dream that you're holding in your mind is possible. In the Old Testament, we read Joel 2:28 says “And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions." Christian entrepreneurs, we have been given the gift of the holy spirit. It means we are constantly downloading and receiving dreams and visions. And, sometimes we can’t see how we'll accomplish that dream, but what we do know is that it's possible to have a dream and run toward it as we work on it day in and day out in our businesses. However, most entrepreneurs don’t work on their dreams. Why? For many years I didn’t. One is because of fear - the fear of failure. What if things don’t work out. And, the fear of success - what if I do succeed and I can’t handle it? The other thing that happened is some entrepreneurs get comfortable. They have a good thing going. The family business is stable, why rock the boat. They stop learning and growing. They stop working on themselves. They stop stretching. They stop pushing themselves. And there's another group of entrepreneurs that I want to talk to. You guys that had a dream, pressed play on it, invested all your time and resources, you followed God's prompting and, yet, the business failed and took you down with it. You've ended up becoming very cynical about entrepreneurship, and you throw in the towel on yourself and on your families and on your dreams. For others listening, you don’t feel worthy. This happens to a lot of 9-5 workers with a dream of entrepreneurship, but not willing to take the risk. You keep thinking about pressing play, but because you don't have a college education, because I don't believe in yourself, because you allow other people's opinion of you to control your destiny, you don't act on your ideas. Can I share with you that passion for something will outwork and win out over knowledge, skills, talent, natural talent, natural gifts every single time.

In July of 2014, I installed an ‘INTRANET’ at my company. An intranet is a private network within my company. Only employees and contractors are allowed in. In this intranet, I talked about the mission, vision, and goals of the company.  We displayed growth stats, had courses my team could take, and dialog amongst each other.  It was also a mini social network of our own. Why would I build an intranet for my company? The primary reason was that I wanted us all to be on the same page moving into the future. I realized that the visions God gave me, he didn't give to the team. I’m supposed to interpret them and relay the message at the right time, in the right way. The second reason I built the intranet was to arm and equip my team with the knowledge, training, and resources to move into the future. This future would include battles…battles of distraction, competition, letdowns, employee turnover, and all other sorts of bumps that entrepreneurs experience. We, as business owners, are in charge of our team. It’s not about YOU anymore.  This is about your team. We will find ourselves in times of attack by the enemy, and thus our employees will too. Our first line of defense is prayer, of course. And when we're done praying, it's time we equip our team to defend and succeed! In the book of Nehemiah, we read that he's on a mission to rebuild the wall of Jerusalem. We see a leader that knows how to equip his team, knows the importance of what this does mentally to His team and doesn’t just rely on his initial prayers. In Nehemiah 4:16-18, God’s word says: "From that day on, half of my men did the work, while the other half were equipped with spears, shields, bows and armor. The officers posted themselves behind all the people of Judah who were building the wall. Those who carried materials did their work with one hand and held a weapon in the other, and each of the builders wore his sword at his side as he worked. But the man who sounded the trumpet stayed with me". God wants you to succeed. He is for your business! He’s looking for leaders that will equip their teams. If you’ll focus on covering your team in prayer, training them for success, and equipping them for battle, your business will be impenetrable to the forces that don’t want it to exist. Imagine a world where every company was led by a Godpreneur - an entrepreneur under the full authority and direction of God. I pray we all can become the Godpreneurs God has created us to be. #GainConfidence #WorkLifeBalance #AgencyOwners All my best, Alex Miranda Get to know me at www.alexmiranda22.com P.S. I did a Business bible study called 40 Days to Restarting Your Business, God's Way. Check it out: 40 DAYS TO RESTARTING YOUR BUSINESS, GOD'S WAY A business Bible study to help you rethink, reinvent, and restart your business, but this time, God's Way! We parallel Nehemiah's rebuilding of the wall to your journey in rebuilding your business. Also, coaches and Christian business leaders, you can use, edit, and repurpose the teachings for your own tribe! Check it out.

Are you feeling discouraged that business isn’t going the way you wanted? Has your business turned into BUSYness, and you’re overwhelmed? You’ve assembled your team, you have a plan, but the enemy keeps attacking from different angles. He’s got your team discouraged, and the once excitement in Restarting the business has now turned to them being afraid. If this continues like this, the business will likely fail and everyone is looking for a new job. But that’s not the plan God has for you. God has plans for you to prosper and grow! In the Bible, the book of Nehemiah gives us entrepreneurs an amazing example of how to lead through a rebuilding project. At the beginning of the project, there is encouragement, excitement, team building, and overall great spirits for what God was doing. However, in Nehemiah 4, we see discouragement settle into what was once an exciting revitalization of the rebuilding of the wall. Nehemiah 4:10-11 says "Meanwhile, the people in Judah said, “The strength of the laborers is giving out, and there is so much rubble that we cannot rebuild the wall.”  Also our enemies said, “Before they know it or see us, we will be right there among them and will kill them and put an end to the work.” Nehemiah's project is being threatened by exhaustion, discouragement, and an overwhelming feeling that this is "project impossible." And to make matters worst, fear has crept into their minds. Sound familiar? You’re not alone in your struggle. This is every entrepreneur's rollercoaster ride when rebuilding, and relaunching a business.  You’re always in one of 3 places: in the middle of a trial, coming out of one, or going into one. Right now you’re in the thick of it. Successfully Restarting a business - God's Way - means you'll be honoring God more in the marketplace, and that’s not something the enemy will allow easily. We need to hold on to God's promises. We need to not give in and not give up. We need to pray up and press on! Victory is ours because God said so! All my best, Alex Miranda Get to know me at www.alexmiranda22.com P.S. I did a Business bible study called 40 Days to Restarting Your Business, God's Way. Check it out: 40 DAYS TO RESTARTING YOUR BUSINESS, GOD'S WAY A business Bible study to help you rethink, reinvent, and restart your business, but this time, God's Way! We parallel Nehemiah's rebuilding of the wall to your journey in rebuilding your business. Also, coaches and Christian business leaders, you can use, edit, and repurpose the teachings for your own tribe! Check it out.

One day, I had a new plan for rebuilding my company. I prayed about it, and now it was time to take action. I gathered up the people closest to me and formed a new team that would help accomplish the vision. What’s my vision? In a sense, it was the same as Nehemiah’s when he had the vision to rebuild the wall - I wanted to see my company rebuilt! Why?  Because God made me passionate about making sure people are living in the identity and purpose they were born for. I had a dream, a vision, a plan, and an unwavering commitment to seeing it through because this plan was coming from God. We’ve been praying and planning and plotting, now it’s time to set this business in motion. Nehemiah had a plan and there was no question that he believed it would succeed. Nehemiah 2:17-18 says "Then I said to them, “You see the trouble we are in: Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates have been burned with fire. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, and we will no longer be in disgrace.” I also told them about the gracious hand of my God on me and what the king had said to me. They replied, “Let us start rebuilding.” So they began this good work." I love his commitment to the cause.  Here we find a man on a mission! Does your business feel like you’re on a mission from God to make it happen, or you’re just on a mission (Miami lingo for things not going as planned)? You need to gather the troops, unfold the plan, and get to work!  If they see that you’ve been called to do this, and if God has placed them there for you, they will give you a vote of confidence. If we’re all press play on the plans God has for us in living the identity and purpose we were born for, we as entrepreneurs will see more joy and happiness from what we do and there is nothing that will stop us. Get going with the plan! All my best, Alex Miranda Get to know me at www.alexmiranda22.com P.S. I did a Business bible study called 40 Days to Restarting Your Business, God's Way. Check it out: 40 DAYS TO RESTARTING YOUR BUSINESS, GOD'S WAY A business Bible study to help you rethink, reinvent, and restart your business, but this time, God's Way! We parallel Nehemiah's rebuilding of the wall to your journey in rebuilding your business. Also, coaches and Christian business leaders, you can use, edit, and repurpose the teachings for your own tribe! Check it out. #WheretoStartFirst #FindMyCalling

One person, in particular, helped me through this ‘restart’ phase.