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The biggest hurdles I've had to overcome as a Christian entrepreneur are distractions. For example, I'll start to put together a new Business Bible Study, and I'll be halfway through completion, and something comes up in one of my companies and I'll pause the project for an extended period of time to go tend to that issue. By the time I come back around to finishing what I've started, the chess game has changed and now I find myself unmotivated to continue. My mind wants to do so many things.  I want to start other book reports, more devotionals, open new channels of revenue in my business, form new partnerships, increase my marketing efforts, hire more staff, and the list continues! We entrepreneurs have so many opportunities.  What we have to watch out for is which opportunities are from God, and which are the enemies tactics to distract us from the task at hand. How can we smell when something is from the enemy trying to derail us from the project God has called us to complete? In the Bible, Nehemiah was near the completion of the wall when the enemy comes in to try and distract him, take him off course, and possibly derail the entire project. Nehemiah 6:1-4 says When word came to Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem the Arab and the rest of our enemies that I had rebuilt the wall and not a gap was left in it—though up to that time I had not set the doors in the gates— Sanballat and Geshem sent me this message: “Come, let us meet together in one of the villages on the plain of Ono.” But they were scheming to harm me; so I sent messengers to them with this reply: “I am carrying on a great project and cannot go down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and go down to you?” Four times they sent me the same message, and each time I gave them the same answer. Nehemiah displays the ultimate show of discernment. He has the ability to judge matters according to God’s view of them, and not according to their outward appearance. Picture Nehemiah going to the Word of God and equipping himself with discernment. Perhaps he read Proverbs 27:6: "Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful." That passage alone would remind him to not look to outward appearances, but to judge soberly. You've likely been the victim of deception by outward appearances of opportunities. This lack of discernment produced some kind of suffering. You've listened to others who give a good appearance, but don’t walk in the nature of Jesus. You've likely accepted things blindly because it looked good or sounded good, without carefully judging it against the whole counsel of God’s Word. We've all done this. So the question becomes... How can we develop entrepreneurial discernment? First, if you want to see things as God sees them. This means you need to get to know His Word. A "Daily Godpreneur" isn't just a cute name for a blog...it's a calling for entrepreneurs to get to know God's Word so that we can stand up against the deception of the enemy that wants to take us from our purpose and calling. Second, discernment comes through spiritual maturity; Hebrews 5:12-14 says that discernment is something spiritual babies don’t have (a baby will stick anything in his mouth). Third, discernment can be given as a gift from the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:10). Seek Him for it. Without discernment in business, we can think a dangerous opportunity from an enemy is really a blessing from God. We can think a good idea is a God idea. We can think our own noble desires to serve are God’s promises for success. We can think God is saying “now” or “later” when He is really saying “later” or “now.” We can think another entrepreneur is a great guy or a spiritual leader when they are really doing damage to God’s people. Look around.  Where is the enemy trying to attack you?  Is it the lure of a giant contract?  Is it a new business opportunity your brother in law is presenting? The enemy will often hit you when you're down - you've lost a key player on your team or sales drying up and the bank account is slim. This is when you are most vulnerable to the deception. We all need to watch out for the tactics distracting us from God’s original calling for us to lead God-first businesses. We need to keep our eyes on the next step. We need to focus on the ONE THING we need to do today to keep building our wall. 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. #BusinessBibleStudy #EnhanceFocus #SharpenLeadership

Milestones are times in my business life when something significant changes. I have a Google Doc of milestones in my business where God HOOKED IT UP! Whenever there’s a moment where I’m like “Dude, this is a miracle, only God could have orchestrated this”, then I write it down on my list. At least once a week (usually Mondays) I’m reading that list to myself. It reminds me that God is amazing!  It gives me a chance to celebrate what He’s done in my business, and positions my mindset to receive more blessings. God works in our businesses even before we realize it.  He’s the reason for every victory, whether we give him credit or not.  The problem is that we entrepreneurs are such forward-thinking visionaries that sometimes we don’t look back to the past to celebrate.  Sometimes we’re so focused on the FUTURE that we miss the opportunity TODAY to celebrate God for what he’s done. The people of Israel had also stopped celebrating God and it cost them the city of Jerusalem. Then, Nehemiah came back to rebuild the wall and bring back the worship of God. When the wall was finished, they celebrate who God is and what he did in the past. Nehemiah 9:6-7 says "You alone are the Lord . You made the heavens, even the highest heavens, and all their starry host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. You give life to everything, and the multitudes of heaven worship you.  “You are the Lord God, who chose Abram and brought him out of Ur of the Chaldeans and named him Abraham." This verse teaches that whatever ability they had to rebuild that wall, they served and glorify God according to the utmost of it. The priests were leading the people to glorify God so that they would be kept humble, thankful, and watchful to not fall back into the sin they had just gotten out of. Hopefully, you're at a place where you've rebuilt your business God's way and you're in a new place along your entrepreneurial journey. If God is first in your business, should be feeling really good about your operations, the people you’ve invited into your wall, and your ability to lead them to new heights. Celebrate this milestone and remind your staff to also celebrate! Send out an email this morning to your team…a celebration email. I do this at the start of each month. Set a recurring calendar reminder to do this. Whenever God has done something amazing in your business, have a Google Doc list where you’re keeping track of this. Each month, send some victories to your people and let them celebrate with you. If we can become Godpreneurs that celebrate all the amazing things that God has done, I believe we are setting our hearts in the right spiritual vibrations to continue to receive all that God has promised for our businesses.  Amen! 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. #WhatBusinessIShouldStart #FindMyCalling

I was once involved in a startup where, once the first money started coming into the business, my partner began buying expensive furniture and artwork for himself. This would have been fine if he was using his own profits, but he was taking from the company money to furnish himself with perks. When I started to see my partner doing this, I became very concerned. It got to the point where I decided I didn't want to be in a partnership with him anymore. If this is the way he was going to be spending the company's money, I didn't want to be any part of the building of this company. Then, disaster struck. My partner figured we would keep making these amazing profits that we were experiencing, but one day, the business ran into big supply chain problems and the money stopped coming in. He was left with over $100,000 in debt to repay because he had personally borrowed over what he was supposed to take. We entrepreneurs are sometimes in positions where we are ‘entitled’ to do things because of our position that can end up playing a burden on our own employees, vendors, and contractors.  We give ourselves perks, take off more days, take longer breaks, more vacations, etc. God is searching for hearts that are aligned with His. He’s seeing how you treat the perks that are rightfully yours. In the book of Nehemiah, we read that he was appointed Governor of Judah. As Governor, he was entitled to tons of perks.  He was given allowances for food and wine, money, and more.  He could get anything he wanted, however, he took a different mindset. Nehemiah 5:14-15 says, "Moreover, from the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when I was appointed to be their governor in the land of Judah, until his thirty-second year—twelve years—neither I nor my brothers ate the food allotted to the governor. But the earlier governors—those preceding me—placed a heavy burden on the people and took forty shekels of silver from them in addition to food and wine. Their assistants also Lorded it over the people. But out of reverence for God I did not act like that." Like me, maybe you also find yourself as part of a startup. Or maybe you're like Nehemiah and you find yourself rebuilding your company. Both mean that your business is in building mode.  It’s all hands on deck. When you're starting or restarting your company, especially if you're doing it because God is moving you to do so, this means that God is going to be seeing how you manage the "perks" that are going to start coming your way. Will you be enticed to bathe in the luxuries of your position, or will you stand side-by-side with your lowest rank employees in building the business? We serve a God that is training our hearts to be aligned with his.  It’s not about the product or service you provide, it's about the purpose and the heart behind the business. We all need to stay focused on our mission to produce a business that glorifies God. Once the business is up and running, from our own profits, we will enjoy the fruits of our labor. 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. #AgencyOwners #SharpenLeadership

If it´s to read a leadership book he's put on your heart, then read.

When I’m interviewing a client looking to start a business or rebrand their company, one of the first questions I ask is, “what do you see wrong in your industry that you feel you have the solution to?” The reason I ask this question is that what hurts or pains my client reveals something unique about themselves that helps me to guide them towards the product and solution offering that they should bring to the marketplace. For example, two of my biggest pains in branding are My friends and family launching businesses that they have no business being in because it’s nowhere near their calling in life My friends and family taking FOREVER to launch their business idea – either from procrastinating or because they are working with someone that’s taking too long on their branding Because I hurt and pain for these things, I came up with a solution – Launch in 2 Days. It’s a weekend event where I help people discover what they were born to do in business, and I help bring it to life. This isn’t self-promotion. I’m illustrating that out of my pain, my hurt, and my mourning for friends and family investing their hard-earned money into a business idea, and seeing them do it all wrong; I was inspired to create something awesome. If we think about it, entrepreneurship is the art of seeing that somethings not right in the marketplace, and we have the solution for it. There wasn’t a breakfast spot close by to enjoy (which is tragic), so someone built one. There wasn’t a tool for making sure the frames on the wall are hung straight (which is painful to look at), so someone invested one. A client took an entire year of revision to finalize their logo, then blames it on the agency and asks for a refund (which is both frustrating and sorrowful), so someone came up with a way to get it all done in two days. When we face evil, sadness, pain, or tragedy in our businesses or our personal lives, God sees our sorrow, comforts us, and puts our brains to work to come up with policies, products, services, and solutions to resolve that life doesn’t have to be this way. Jesus says: Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. (Matthew 5:4 NIV) What Jesus is telling entrepreneurs is that business is tough, but there’s a silver lining for those with the mindset of processing the pain correctly. Jesus’ second step to achieving greatness in business is that without pain, there can’t be a gain. The world around you is broken, nothing is perfect. Bodies aren’t perfect, so doctors and scientists work tirelessly to fix it. The weather isn’t perfect, so meteorologists and inventors fix it. The economy isn’t perfect, so Wall Street, the government, and financial institutions fix it. Relationships are tough, so a world of coaches and counselors aid it. When you are blessed with the ability to mourn about something in your industry or marketplace, you can receive the ideas you need from the Holy Spirit (your calling in business) to come up with the products and services to fix it. It’s a blessing to go through pain in business because the million-dollar idea can be birthed through the tragedy. Sometimes the pain you experience in business was caused by your own mistakes. If you know you took forever in completing a client’s project, and you see all of the areas where you went wrong in the process, that anger and pain you feel when the client fires you should be used not to retaliate or insult the client, but to feel the need to change your systems and processes, so it doesn’t happen again. That little tweak in your operations can make a million-dollar difference and can change the trajectory of business moving forward. You might even come up with a service called Launch in 2 Days because of this. It’s ok that we mourn in business. It’s essential to the health of our business that we go through tragic times. If we Godpreneurs never grieve over anything, it means one of three things: We’re out of touch with the marketplace, we’re out of touch with our own emotions, or we don’t love. Because when we love, and we see or experience sad things in the world, then that can make us grieve and come up with a solution. Loss in business is the tool that God gives us to get through the transitions towards achieving the untapped potential that’s always waiting within us. Imagine if we all went back in time and addressed painful experiences hurt us, and we dealt with it and genuinely mourned over it. What kind of changes would that bring about in our daily operations or the products and services we are currently offering? Today, go back and grieve. Is there any evil or pain in the world that you want to bring before God in prayer today so He can reveal your breakthrough? Let me pray for you. Dear heavenly Father, you created us to pain for the things you pain for. Help us to acknowledge that sorrow and be comforted by you so we can receive the divine inspiration we need to give us the courage to find solutions and take action to fix it through the businesses you’ve entrusted us with. In Jesus name, amen! #BusinessBibleStudy #SharpenLeadership Jesus’s 8 Steps For Achieving Greatness in Business Achieving greatness starts when we learn about humble dependence on God and trust that He will always bring new resources into our business. Heard of the Godpreneur Academy? Grow Your Business, God’s Way! Bible-Based Video Courses for Entrepreneurs Putting God First In their Businesses Click here to create a Free Account

I have some weak spots in my business life. Let me name a couple. I’m easily taken into new entrepreneurial ventures and ideas.  This can be bad if you’re already focused on building another. Also, I’m great at starting things but often not great at finishing and closing them out to completion. Instead of ignoring or giving into my weak spots, I’ve recognized them and put some things in place to combat them. First, I have a productivity planner I look at every morning to keep me on track with my main priorities. I meet with my project manager each morning and he holds me accountable to staying on track, not letting me venture too far into the "serial entrepreneur" mode. Second, I hired a business manager for each of my businesses.  They are diligent and detail oriented and can get things done. The enemy will come and try to attack us in our weak spots. He knows them, sometimes better than we do. If we don’t recognize our weaknesses - or worst, recognize them but not do anything about them - we’ll find ourselves and our team fighting an enemy that is well equipped to take us down. Nehemiah was going through attacks when he was rebuilding the wall of Jerusalem. But like a military strategist, he moved to fortify the areas.  And as the leader, he gave a pep rally and tells everyone not to be afraid. Nehemiah 4:14  says "After I looked things over, I stood up and said to the nobles, the officials and the rest of the people, “Don’t be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your families, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your homes.” God is your commander in chief.  God leads you and your team. Hold a mental picture of God when you see the attacks coming. If God is for you, who can be against you? "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters." (Colossians 3:23) The enemy won’t stop attacking, but neither will God stop being for your success. Imagine if all entrepreneurs visualized God leading our businesses.  Wow, what an incentive to help us keep going and growing through the good times and bad.  That should be our only incentive to keep us going. #StrengthenIntegrity #BecomeDisciplined 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.

At the very beginning of the rebuilding of my company, I had a good friend come to see me and ask what I was up to.  We had done business together and she knew I was going through a major mid-life identity crisis within myself and the company. At the point that she came, I had already heard from God that I needed to REBUILD Creative Complex, but the steps weren’t totally clear yet. When she quizzed me on my strategy, I was stuck. She sensed my hesitation and said the words that no entrepreneur ever wants to hear: Alex, have you thought about closing the company up and getting a JOB? I nearly fainted. I stared blankly back into her eyes. For a moment I doubted myself and thought how nice it would be to quit and get a job. After she left, anger built up inside of me at the audacity she had to diagnose me as needing to get a job. To be honest, I’m still hurt.  I pray for that person and try to not hang out with people like that as far as I can control it. We’re all going to have Haters come alongside to try to derail us. They can’t stand the fact that you have grit and determination to REBUILD your business. How do you combat the Haters?  What do you do in the face of opposition?  What does God say about your enemies? As we continue to chronicle Nehemiah and the rebuilding of the wall, we meet him in Chapter 4 as the Haters begin an attack campaign. A hater named Sanballat shows up on the scene to hurl insults and incite others to wage an attack on the team Nehemiah had formed.  This compelled Nehemiah to take time out to pray… a curse on them! He didn’t retaliate, he didn’t render evil for evil, he used the arsenal he had—prayer! Are you aware of “haters” in your circle? They will usually be close to you. What can you do to deflect their influence? Do you need to stop hanging out where this person hangs? How can you pray for them?  Have a list of “enemies” that you pray for. Don’t think that your enemies are going to stand back and watch your progress in your business. Whenever you do anything to further God’s kingdom, the devil will be waiting for an opportunity to attack you at the point at which you are most vulnerable (which is usually when you’re financially down). As Godpreneurs we can make a concerted effort to focus on the tasks of rebuilding our businesses and ask God to let us not become distracted by those who are against the work we do for God’s kingdom. Pray: Lord, guard my lips that I will not become embroiled in petty arguments even though my feelings may be hurt. Keep me steadfast in the work you have called me to do. ACTION: Take your phone and delete any haters on your phone. Delete them from your social media too. 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. #AttractingRightClients #ShareYourTestimony

From January to March of 2015 I spent a lot of time in prayer.  The identity of my company had changed, I wasn’t sure where money would come from, but I remember having a vision of what I wanted, setting some financial goals, and praying God’s favor. From May to June I had my best quarter EVER!  My accountant couldn’t believe it.  The turnaround was incredible.  We were totally out of debt and finding our groove! When we declare our vision and write down out goals to meditate on daily, God see’s that we’re doing the right things to prepare for His favor.  I didn’t make any more phone calls than I normally did.  I didn’t spend money (that I didn’t have) on advertising and marketing.  I didn’t positioned myself as any kind of authority in anything.  I was just declaring the vision and goals. Despite our greatest efforts as entrepreneurs, our authority, wealth, and power cannot compare with receiving favor at the hand of God. In Nehemiah 2:4-6 we see Nehemiah finding favor as well. “The king said to me, “What is it you want?” Then I prayed to the God of heaven, and I answered the king, “If it pleases the king and if your servant has found favor in his sight, let him send me to the city in Judah where my ancestors are buried so that I can rebuild it.”   Then the king, with the queen sitting beside him, asked me, “How long will your journey take, and when will you get back?” It pleased the king to send me; so I set a time.” First off, Nehemiah knew what was coming.  He had a plan.  You could say this was all premeditated. Second, Nehemiah even said a quick prayer in between answering the question to the king.  Next time you’re pitching a big contract, say a 2-second prayer in your head, that brings God into the negotiations. Third, we see Nehemiah had a vision and goals set way before this encounter.  Did you see how detailed he was in his request?  This was the biggest meeting of his life, and he was ready for his one shot. What do you want for your business?  What are your vision and goals? Sometimes we are afraid to voice our request…out of fear…out of seeming greedy…out of feelings of unworthiness…out of feeling our request is beyond God’s capacity to deliver. Never doubt God nor limit his ability to bless your business beyond comprehension. The Bible tells us that God’s “power at work in us can do far more than we dare ask or imagine” (Ephesians 3.20, 21) if we would ask, seek, knock (Matthew 7.7, 8). Take the time to evaluate the needs of your business. Do you have a written down business plan?  When you pray, if God were to ask, “What do you want me to do?” are you prepared, as Nehemiah was, to give an answer? When your business receives favor at the hand of God, remember to acknowledge both the gift and the giver. Pray: God, thank you for your favor over my entrepreneurial career… a priceless gift that can only be obtained from you. Let me be a grateful receiver, and let me seek to share what you have given me with other business owners. Your Entrepreneur Compass, Alex Miranda #FindMyCalling #WheretoStartFirst Let’s write down some goals.  I have an easy entrepreneur compass goal sheet for you to download. P.S.  Share this series with other business owners that could use a restart button on their business lives.

caused distrust in the accounting, no single vision for the future, no way of venting and no clear leadership

I’ve admitted to you before: I was a terrible boss. I love people. Everyone will tell you I’m a very nice guy. But when it comes to being a boss, something wasn’t clicking. And I’m searching for that reason why… Today I came across a clue that might help me, and I thought it might help you too. In the story of Adam and Eve, after they ate from the tree, they were naked. In response, they hid from God and covered themselves with fig leaves. They sinned, they let God down, they were less than perfect, so they hid. The legacy of Adam and Eve’s act is that we entrepreneurs are still hiding today. I’m guilty of hiding from my employees when I messed up, things are bad, or even if someone else messed up. Golfing, food, drug abuse, and sometimes even exercise represent our “fig leaves.” And even though we’re hiding, God will still ask us “where are you?”. What are your fig leaves? Next time, stop and realize what you’re doing. Then, ask yourself, WHO do you need to confront or what sin do you need to repent from so that you can stop hiding. #SharpenLeadership

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had to “restart” my business. One day things are going great, there’s momentum, the vision is clear, everyone’s on board, we’re making money. Then, bad news. Bad news has come in many forms. For me, it happened each time a partner of mine left the company. It also happened when I lost my biggest client. The latest one happened in November when I dropped the nightlife from my service list and the accountant told me I had a couple of weeks of survival before it was all over. We’ve all had setbacks in our business. We have good days and bad days. But sometimes we get news so big that it rocks the entire foundation of your business, your plans for the future, and ultimately, your identity as an entrepreneur.  We feel depressed, lonely, like a failure, like the dream is over. I’ve been there, and it's likely I will be there again. But there’s good news!  God has a plan, and he wants us to REBUILD! Yup!  And in these next series of posts, we’ll look at the book of Nehemiah and how he was sent to REBUILD the city of Jerusalem. Most of the time in the bible when something bad has occurred we see people going straight to God first. In Nehemiah 1:4, he says: “When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven.” News about the destruction of Nehemiah’s beloved homeland evoked such a response in him. His feelings of patriotism, of concern for the Jews in Jerusalem, made him heartsick. But he didn’t just turn around and keep living his life defeated. In his distress, he wept bitterly and went to God in prayer for solace. Step 1 of Restarting our businesses is going into prayer. You don’t have to be in business long to know that bad news comes in 100 ways. God expects us to have trouble and concerns. But He has plans for those failures. God wants us to act, but he desires that we come to him first, in prayer, for guidance and direction. What is your typical reaction to bad news or news that involves the danger of failure to your business? Did you pray? Ask God to direct you to a particularly troubling issue in your business. Spend time praying and fasting for its resolution. PRAYER TO RESTART YOUR BUSINESS Lord, thank you that I can come boldly to your throne of grace. Make me sensitive to the holy spirit and where it wants to guide my business and let me seek your loving support through the gift of prayer. In Jesus' name, Amen! I'm praying for you, too! 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. #EnhanceFocus #IncreaseEnergy

I get distracted easily. Sometimes I’m so distracted that I’m so far off the thing is supposed to be doing that the business starts to suffer for it. But when I realize I’ve gone off the rail and I get back on track, things seem to start running smoothly again.  Sigh of relief! This is similar to our walk with God. We get distracted by things that seem like they’ll make us money, deals that are too good to be true, partnerships that we think will suit us well, but deep down we know it's either against God’s Word or not in the vision He’s given us.  Believe it or not, going against God is a sin. However, if we’re aware of it, confess and turn our businesses back towards God, He will be faithful to the vision and promises He has given. After Nehemiah decides to pray and confess, he reminds God of the promise He made to his ancestors.  Nehemiah 1:8-9 says: “Remember the instruction you gave your servant Moses, saying, ‘If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the nations, but if you return to me and obey my commands, then even if your exiled people are at the farthest horizon, I will gather them from there and bring them to the place I have chosen as a dwelling for my Name." Are you relying on any of God’s promises to motivate you? When God promises, it's for real.  Not like “Honey, I promise to take out the trash,” and then you forget.  No. God’s promises are true. Every single one of them. What has God promised you for your business? What does the bible say about His promises for you to prosper? Are you relying on any of God’s promises to motivate you in business? Keep that top of mind so that when you face adversity, you can remind yourself of His promise, and move on! 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. P.P.S. Let me know a promise that you lean on as an entrepreneur by commenting on this Facebook post. #EnhanceFocus #StrengthenIntegrity #RestartYourBusiness

I have some things to confess. I’ve cheated on my taxes. I’ve deposited checks that I knew the client overpaid on.  The list goes on and on… Before coming to a true relationship with God, doing these things was actually FUN!  It felt like I was winning; beating the system. I wasn’t a mobster or anything like that, but I knew it was wrong. Also, for years, I serviced the nightlife industry. I knew this wasn’t an industry that God wanted me to be a part of, at least not anymore.  But I continued in it for the wrong reasons, which in hindsight paralyzed me from the bigger opportunities God had lined up for me. We all have things in our business we do that we need to confess to God.  Confessing lets God know that we acknowledge our wrongs and are committed to the change of making it right. In Nehemiah 1:5-7, we see he has just broken into prayer, but the key is in the confession: Then I said: “ Lord , the God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with those who love him and keep his commandments, let your ear be attentive and your eyes open to hear the prayer your servant is praying before you day and night for your servants, the people of Israel. I confess the sins we Israelites, including myself and my father’s family, have committed against you. We have acted very wickedly toward you. We have not obeyed the commands, decrees and laws you gave your servant Moses." When you make the commitment of Restarting your business and get on your knees to pray, confess the parts of your business where you knowingly went against what God would bless.  Confess any little thing.  Get it off your chest, out of your body, and leave it with God. You’re now fresh and renewed, ready for the journey up ahead! #DifferentiatingMyself #ShareYourTestimony #RestartYourBusiness

My partner and I would frequently get in email battles and heated arguments in front of employees. The biggest problems my partners and I had was not knowing how to communicate properly. Notice I didn’t say ‘a lack of communication’. I communicated a lot…I worked in the same small office. We all get into arguments with our partners. But what’s it all for? Can we even remember WHY the last argument started? The way to a restored and happy business partnership is through good communication, but we don’t know how to speak what matters, let alone to listen well and respond. The Bible says in Ephesians 4:29 "Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen." God wants us to be great communicators by listening and really knowing your partners needs. I believe God wants us to 1) Think about this greater purpose next time you’re talking with your partners. 2)While most daily talk is simply to share information or discuss less-than vital decisions, try to be fully present with your business partners even when discussing the most mundane of details. 3) Make it a practice to share with each other when you’re stressed or excited about. 4) Make the goal of communication with your partners developing greater compassion for one another. What I learned over the years is that communication isn’t just the act of speaking.  Communication is also listening and empathizing its really a self-less act. We all start out born knowing how to communicate one way….cry to get fed. But if we want real change in our partnerships, we have to learn the other side of communication: listening. #BusinessPartnerships #ShareYourTestimony #EnhanceFocus

In 2005 I formed a 3-way partnership with two of my really good friends.  One was a graphic designer, one was a website developer, and I was the Cornell University business graduate that was supposed to know what he was doing when it came to running a business. So naïve yet full of energy and excitement, the three of us desired to leave the corporate life and take control of our lives. We had visions of growing an agency full of the best creatives and doing amazing work for our clients.  The name of the company spoke our hearts desire: The Creative Complex. We sought to build, literally, a fun place to work with ping pong tables and games and a relaxed working atmosphere. We really did want it to work out….but…. You can probably fill in the story from here based on your experience in partnerships. We all desire one thing when we start, but things change. People change. Visions change.  Plans change.  Circumstances change.  We change.  And when you start making money, hearts change. So what happens when partnerships go bad? What can we do to bring them back to life?  How can we….just go back to when we first started? What I’ve discovered over repeated failed and successful partnerships is a key to cracking the partnership code. This key, when applied, can help unlock restoration and a renewed sense of hope in the business. Revelation 2:4 in the bible says "But I have this complaint against you. You don’t love me or each other as you did at first!  Look how far you have fallen! Turn back to me and do the works you did at first. If you don’t repent, I will come and remove your lampstand and from its place among the churches." The key I’ve found is that we have to go back to the basics, back to why we started this, back to our first days of excitement. In your marriage, you reminisce on the dating, wedding and honeymoon and all of the sudden the fighting stops and there’s peace (for a little). It’s the similar concept in business. So here are some practical steps to going back. Re-reading the business plan together: Where you start in business largely determines where you’ll end up. You can make significant progress and possibly avoid conflict if you spend some time thinking about what you hoped for most at the start.  (And if you don’t have a business plan, well now you know why the partnership is failing.  How can we expect the business to fulfill our dreams and expectations if they aren’t articulated or well defined? Create a business plan together.) Dream brainstorm: after the meeting above, then dream together of the future.  See yourselves succeeding.  The Bible says God has plans for you to prosper.  This is true for your partnerships too! The process of investigating and sharing our deepest desires for business is on-going.  We need to make it a habit to do a periodic mental exploration together to think about the dream you had of what business would be like when you were starting. Add a RECURRING event in your calendar to at least have a yearly looking back meeting followed up by a looking forward meeting.  And if you can do it 2-4 times a year, EVEN BETTER!  The more we get to know each other and communicate, the better chance we have at restoring and strengthening our business partnerships. #DifferentiatingMyself #FindMyCalling