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I love starting my Mondays off with Joel Osteen. He’s an amazing motivator. I highly recommend making a calendar appointment once a week to listen to his messages of hope and inspiration. The title of his message is something I’ll build my week around.  I’ll try to remember its application and implication throughout the days of business and personal interactions. I’ll play it on the way to work or during a morning run. You can find his podcast in the iTunes store or any podcast app. I used Pocket Casts: http://pca.st/hr7VF0 You’ll see me do some blogging about the messages sometimes because they almost always have a Godpreneur message in them. #ChristianBloggers #FindMyCalling

When I started my business I had two awesome business partners. Through various circumstances those partners ended up leaving me. And although at the moment it seemed detrimental to my business, God was removing them to help me soar to new heights. As business owners, there are times when people of great use come into our lives to help us achieve great things. We come to rely on them and their amazing gifts and talents so much. But then, as if you were being stabbed in the back, something happens that seems so wrong and negative that takes them away. What happens when this key employee or partners leaves you alone all of the sudden? What do you do when you feel like its over and there’s no possible way to move forward without this person. Can I encourage you to listen to a message I heard Joel Osteen give called ‘Pushed Into Your Purpose’? God brings people in for seasons and then moves them (and you) into new areas of growth and expansion. I hope this helps you understand why that person is leaving as much as it did for me. http://pca.st/ThYz #AgencyOwners #FindingMyPurpose

That’s how wisdom works. Its time-tested and proven ways of living. Its as good today as it was half a century ago. We have at our fingertips the ability to continue learning amazing wisdom every day. Maybe you didn’t have a dad to pour into you. It could be that your single mom had to raise you and didn’t have a lot of time to instruct you in wise ways.  Maybe you didn’t grow up in a Christian home and the things you learned are getting you nowhere. God provided the book of Proverbs so that you wouldn’t have this problem anymore.  Everything your mom and dad taught you or should have taught you is in there. Godpreneurs, it would be very wise to read a chapter of proverbs everyday. But don’t take my word for it: Proverbs 1:8-9 "My son, listen to your father’s instruction, and don’t forsake your mother’s teaching:   for they will be a garland to grace your head, and chains around your neck." I’m constantly doing devotionals on proverbs because of the wisdom. I have to keep reading proverbs daily because as an entrepreneur I’m constantly sliding back into old habits that don’t suit me anymore. Proverbs 1:32-33 "For the backsliding of the simple will kill them. The careless ease of fools will destroy them.   But whoever listens to me will dwell securely, and will be at ease, without fear of harm.” #GainConfidence #IncreaseEnergy

When we’re worried we do the weirdest things. We bite our nails, twist our fingers like doubled jointed contortionists, shake our legs uncontrollably, and have total mental blocks and breakdowns. We’re overcome with doubt. Our peace has been robbed from us. We face many challenges in entrepreneurship and are sometimes overcome with fear and doubt. In these times, we have a choice to indulge those fears or to meditate on the promises of God. The enemy will use worry and fear and doubt to rob you of your God given peace. At times I couldn’t pay the rent on my office space. Fear would overcome and I considered closing up shop and working from home. But then I remembered God’s promise to me: ‘I will use your space to bring people to know me.’ So here is the key: you have to have some promises of God under your belt ready to bust out when fear and worry come…because they will come, especially as business owners. It is an act of obedience to reject the lies of fear and worry and to concentrate on God’s love and sovereignty and his desires for your business to succeed and grow. We do not know the plans God has for our lives or the lives of our employees. Our finite minds may have trouble understanding His eternal purposes for our businesses. Our peace, however, comes in knowing that He is a God who is loving, wise, and in control.  He’s your boss, and this verse calls us to concentrate on the attributes of God: Philippians 4:8 "Finally, brothers, whatever things are true, whatever things are honorable, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report; if there is any virtue, and if there is any praise, think about these things." So you don’t know how to meditate? Did you know that worry is meditation. Its meditation, but in the wrong direction. Shift your thoughts to things of Philippians 4:8 and you’ll be meditating in the right direction. Godpreneur Rule #48: Godpreneurs don’t focus on their fears, they choose to meditate on the goodness of God. #StrengthenIntegrity #FindMyCalling

As entrepreneurs, we all do it. We seek the pleasure of unstable things such as approval of employees, big money accounts, power over competitors, beautiful branding, or fame in your market. But what happens when the money is low, your biggest client leaves you or biggest your competitor just came out with a cooler widget than you, threatening to take a chunk of your market share. When we chase after the broken promises of unstable things, we put ourselves on the worlds fastest rollercoaster that’s stop button doesn’t work.  You’re stuck on that ride forever. The solution is simple.  Godpreneurs work for an audience of one: God.  He’s your boss, He’s the only one that will be at the table at your 90 day evaluation, He cuts your check, He validates and loves the work you’re doing. That’s why I wake up every morning to read the bible, even if its just 5 minutes of Proverbs.  I chase after the wisdom and knowledge of God.  Its like a fresh glass of water.  If I chase God, everything that’s supposed to come to me will follow. Godpreneur Rule #36:  Chase after God, place your trust in Him and His Word, and He will refresh you with living water. #MakingMoreSales #SharpenLeadership

My wife and I fight about money all the time. But not the fighting over paying bills and wondering how we’ll make rent. Our fighting is over the MINDSET of money. See, my wife grew up under the teachings of “money is the root of all evil”.  So wealth doesn’t have a positive affirmation behind it, therefore any talk about wealth, success or abundance turns her off. I’m the opposite. I’ve come to know abundance as a positive gift from God that He wants to bless me with….if I work diligently towards it. Yes, the bible says that the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.  But notice how this time I threw in the word LOVE.  See the difference? If we think about it, money is simply an exchange of your gifts and talents for a piece of currency that is good to buy other gifts and talents from other people. God approves of your making money, and he would like you to build wealth for your family’s needs, for community investment, and for generosity in spreading the gospel. Making money means you’re not on your butt doing nothing.  If money is the exchange of gifts and talents, then making money (and lots of it) is the exchange of a lot of gifts and talents. Don’t want to make money?  Do what a lot of people do.  Be lazy. But just know that, “Lazy hands make a man poor, but diligent hands bring wealth” (Proverbs 10:4). My wife isn’t a Godpreneur, but she’s married to one whether she likes it or not. #MarriedEntrepreneurs #FindMyCalling #WheretoStartFirst

I love telling stories of how God came through for me miraculously at the last minute in my business. He brought the perfect circumstances for my company to be in the warehouse we’re occupying today, at a rent that only God could have negotiated. In the area of finances, He always provided just enough for my company to stay in business for years because He has great plans for it, and He has patiently waited for me to do some ‘growing up’ in order to bring that to pass. You know why I love these stories of faith? Because I get to tell them to employees, vendors, contractors and my friends.  Believers or nonbelievers, stories of faith are encouraging and give hope. Most importantly, stories of faith in your business keep God front and center at the helm of the ship guiding the path and always in a position of thanksgiving.  Because of God, I’m in this warehouse and still in business, so moving forward any employee or persons working with me are a faithful result of God’s working. What are your stories of faith in business that you’ll pass along?  Comment below to share with others. #FindingMyPurpose #ShareYourTestimony

I love entrepreneurship because the opportunities to solve problems is endless. But I’ve also struggled sometimes for this same reason – opportunity overload. I have to be careful to always keep it real with my personal calling and not get pulled in different directions that I could probably make some money doing, but it wouldn’t be in my zone of genius. We entrepreneurs can take our brands in so many different directions. A company could start out with one vision and mission, and without knowing, could be influenced by certain trends or circumstances that lead them away from what they first intended to do. This is when “brand integrity” becomes a very real and important concept for entrepreneurs to grasp onto. It’s possible for an entrepreneur to lose himself or herself and become too obsessed with appearance and image and what the rest of the world is doing. How do we keep it real (have integrity), when everybody else is faking it? Remember – the world doesn’t have integrity. Many seemingly successful people are scooting by, skimming, cheating, and not keeping their promises. But we are Godpreneurs. And there is only one way Godpreneurs can keep it real – by caring more about God’s approval than the approval of other people. The only way we Christian entrepreneurs can ever become men and women of integrity in our businesses is by seeking God’s approval… DAILY. The bible says: “How can a young person stay on the path of purity? By living according to your word” (Psalm 119:9 NIV). The Psalmist is giving life wisdom to someone – if you care about what God thinks, then you’re going to do the right thing. Can you see that the opposite could be true too – if you care more about what other people think, you’re often going to do the wrong thing. The only way you’re going to know what God approves of for your business is by reading your Bible, daily. The only way you’re going to know what and how God thinks, so you can receive the blessings of a pure heart, is by reading the Bible. You have to stay in God’s Word – daily! If you don’t, you will not have the strength and the stamina to run your business with integrity. I created my free daily devotional for Christian entrepreneurs because I myself found it hard to stay in the word daily. Sign up at www.dailygodpreneur.com/subscribe. We Godpreneurs need to have a daily quiet time with God in the Word. I know if I miss a day, my staff knows because I’m a little off that day. We need to always be in the Word so we can stay connected to God and get the spiritual power we need to bring the best of our gifts and talents to the business. In other words, we need God daily so we can have the strength to live with integrity. Entrepreneurship for Christians is tiring. Always trying to do the right thing, keeping things real, and finding the power to stay motivated can be exhausting! But God’s Word gives the strength we need and equips us to stay refreshed. Let’s all stay thirsty for reading and studying the Bible, our integrity and our business depend on it. #BusinessBibleStudy #StrengthenIntegrity

I started out my company with 2 other partners. Along the way we made deals with 7 other people to take pieces of the company in exchange for shares in the company. The money was very enticing. We got a new office on South Beach, new computers, hired a lot of employees. It felt good to be in control and growing an agency! But after a while in business, I began to notice that we all believed in different things and wanted to go in different directions. They had their own lives and goals, I had mine.  They had their own ethics, morals, standard and habits while I had developed different ones. This became a wedge that split the relationships. As entrepreneurs, the idea of partnerships and investor money sounds so great to us. We get more help, and we feel like a real business ready for the NASDAQ! But what happens when the excitement of the beginning partnership fades away and people start being real. What happens if half way through your business you have a spiritual awakening that changes every way you handle business? God only has one solution for us…. Proverbs 6:1-5 says, "Dear friend, if you’ve gone into hock with your neighbor or locked yourself into a deal with a stranger, If you’ve impulsively promised the shirt off your back and now find yourself shivering out in the cold, Friend, don’t waste a minute, get yourself out of that mess. You’re in that man’s clutches! Go, put on a long face; act desperate. Don’t procrastinate— there’s no time to lose. Run like a deer from the hunter, fly like a bird from the trapper!" Over the next 6 years God disassembled the entire team, removing anyone and everyone that I could be unequally yoked with. In November 2014 the final remnants of the past were totally removed, and now God had a clean slate to work with. Now I wait on God for pretty much everything and every partnership opportunity in my business. I patiently wait for God to open up doors to walk through instead of forcing myself in. I don’t just hire any regular Joe off the street or partner with the next guy who has a great idea. I make sure God brought the circumstances for that person to be there. You might be in a bad partnership.  ou might owe money you borrowed.  Pray for God to create the circumstances to get out and focus all attention on the opportunity that will free you from this. Imagine if we all just waited patiently for the plans God already created for us to succeed?  But in order for that to come to pass, we must be emptied of our past. Godpreneur Rule #67: Patiently wait on God for your partnerships and He will give you results greater than you could have done on your own. #HiringtheRightPeople #BusinessPartnerships

The things I love to do most, pay me the most money.  I get paid up to $300/hour to consult a business owner. Dude, I love consulting in the area of identity and marketing.  I can’t believe I even get paid for it! We all have that special gifting we can be paid handsomely for. But it’s not obvious and most won’t discover it right away.  It could take years. But what I’ve discovered is that those years can be shortened the closet we draw to God. Proverbs 10:22 says, "The blessing of the Lord brings wealth, without painful toil for it." When God called Abram to go to the Promised Land (Genesis 12:1-3), He promised to BLESS him, make his name great, and through him, to BLESS all the families of the earth. The blessings here are plainly associated with happiness and welfare, both for Abram and others. I don’t know about you, but happiness and welfare is what I feel when I’m working in my strengths and gifts, living in my passion, leading a business with purpose. Imagine doing what you love to do all day every day, getting rich off of it, and not feeling like it’d hard work at all. That’s God’s word in Proverbs 10:22, and that’s the reason for the 22 behind my name.  I feel passionately about people receiving God’s blessing over their entrepreneurial career. I’m praying blessings over yours today. #DifferentiatingMyself #WritingGreatCopy

The other day my coordinator followed up with a lead I had spoken to back in March about a branding and website package.  My first conversation with this prospect was awesome!  Seemed like he was going to buy on the spot.  I sent him the email follow up with a payment and scheduling link. When my coordinator gets on the phone with him, he angrily complains that we never followed up and it’s too late now and he’s already gone with another firm and to not call anymore. When I heard this I was very surprised. I had a great conversation and everything seemed like the start of something awesome. My surprised attitude quickly turned to an anger inside because I was now insulted at the claim we never followed up. As entrepreneurs we are constantly being angered and insulted and pushed around. Sometimes from clients, sometimes from our own employees. So what do you do when that anger boils up and you feel like telling that person off? In Proverbs 15:1 we read A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. God says hold your tongue. God says to show love. When I got back to my desk I went straight to the email I had originally sent following up and I replied to the email and calmly explained that I was sorry he may have missed my follow up email and if there was anything we could do in the future to help we are here to serve. I even wished him good luck on his new venture! He replied that he was sorry that he didn’t see the first email and that he’s busy now and will get back to us. I could have replied angirly. But instead it was a gentle reply that opened the relationship back up. #SharpenLeadership

Back when we were a graphic design fulfillment company, I would send artwork on canvas to my clients every year.  It was an awesome way of showing how much I appreciate their business.  They would hang it up in their offices, and I would make sure it was a piece they would be proud to show off. It’s easy to give gifts to our current clients….they’s paid us! But should we be giving gifts to those that aren’t our clients yet?  They haven’t paid us any money, doesn’t make sense! The bible says: Giving a gift can open doors; it gives access to important people!” (Proverbs 18:16 NLT) Gifts are totally unexpected, undeserved, and given from a heart that wants to strengthen a relationship. CURRENT CLIENT GIFT IDEAS For current clients, I recommend getting on SUBSCRIPTION GIFT GIVING.  Subscription gifting is the perfect way to show appreciation and stay on your client’s mind. The best part? As the on-the-go gifter, you have the ability to ‘set it and forget it! It still requires thoughtfulness to find the perfect fit for a client, because if he or she is going to be receiving something from you once a month, it had better be something well-liked!   So you sign your client up to Dollar Shave Club Birchbox Sock 101 BarkBox Graze PROSPECT GIFT IDEAS God has shown us gift-giving, so what can you be doing in your business to give gifts to PROSPECTS? A book or ebook that you wrote (this is major authority builder) Cupcakes, candy (any food really) A sample of your service (this is a little lame, but it could work) Something 3D in the mail, like a stress ball Do you have any ideas that have worked for you?  Share below! #SharpenLeadership #MakingMoreSales

Yesterday I asked my 18-year old son “If I gave you $80,000 to start a business tomorrow, what’s the first thing you would do”? His answer surprised me. He said he would hire a consultant. He continued to explain that he had an idea of opening a used car dealership, and although he’s gifted at picking out great cars to flip, he lacked actual business management knowledge.  He says he’d pay someone who has done it before to tell him what to do correctly. He’s smart.  That’s why he’s my son ???? Back in 2005 when I started my business, I had someone invest that much into my business.  It was all gone in less than a year with no record of a return on that investment. Why wasn’t I as smart as my son back when I was given this money? I think we tend to think we don’t need consulting. Its like how there’s a stereotype that men don’t ask for directions. We, as business owners, almost feel like we’re not worthy to be entrepreneurs if we ask for counsel. Then we find ourselves hitting the same walls, distracted, starting over, or worst…shutting down. But God didn’t design business to be done alone.  He didn’t design for anything to be done apart from counsel. Proverbs 24:5-6 says The wise are mightier than the strong, and those with knowledge grow stronger and stronger. So don’t go to war without wise guidance; victory depends on having many advisers. God also talks about a multitude of counselors in earlier proverbs. Not just one consultant…but MANY! Not good with your accounting?  Consult an accountant. Not good with marketing?  Consult a marketer. Everyone you need for your business to succeed is around you already. God has already lined them up.  Imagine if you had everyone in a board of director type setting, everyone giving you wise counsel.  How could you go wrong?!?! Godpreneur Rule #73:  always seek counsel before making your big business decisions. #SharpenLeadership

My goal as an entrepreneur has always been to discover new ways to better serve my employees and my customers. That’s what entrepreneurship is. It's discovery – then it's fulfillment of the discovery. We all need to understand that we are discoverers, and that God takes delight in our discoveries. In fact, the bible says in Proverbs 25:2: "It is God’s privilege to conceal things and the king’s privilege to discover them."(Proverbs 25:2) You have to realize that there’s a whole world of discoveries for you to make in your business. Discover a new book. Discover a more productive way of arranging your day. Discover the diet that fits you best. If you realize that God’s concealing it and waiting for you to discover it, then it helps you to know that it's already there for you to grab, you just have to put in the time… like a scientist puts in time to discover the cure for a disease. Start by praying to God to reveal the discoveries He wants you to know.  Then go along your day knowing that God is going to let you discover something new today. Godpreneur Rule #39: Godpreneurs never stop discovering the things God is concealing from them. #NewEntrepreneurs #FindingMyBrand #LaunchingMyBusiness

One of the biggest mistakes I made as an entrepreneur was not staying involved in the quality of the product my employees were producing.  The saying “nobody can do it better than you” is true!!  Instead of handing it over to someone and walking away to sell more, I should have stayed involved. But then…who was going to do the other 100 tasks that need to get done while I was growing my business? As entrepreneurs, we were almost every hat in the business. We are the baker, the banker, the broker, the bill collector, the cook, the accountant, the hr department, all wrapped up into one person. And that’s great because you need an understanding of everything. But the most important thing you are is the engineer of the one product or service that sets you apart. In Proverbs 27 verse 23-27 we read Know the state of your flocks, and put your heart into caring for your herds, for riches don’t last forever, and the crown might not be passed to the next generation. After the hay is harvested and the new crop appears and the mountain grasses are gathered in, your sheep will provide wool for clothing, and your goats will provide the price of a field. And you will have enough goats’ milk for yourself, your family, and your servant girls. At first we think this is taking about your employees, and caring for them.  Metaphorically, you are correct.  But while that is true also, and Proverbs talks about caring for employees, this proverb literally is talking about the service or product you produce. These were farm owners, and their products (herds of sheep and goat) are what bring in the money.  As a farmer, if you didn’t tend to your product, you weren’t eating that winter…period. The same goes for us entrepreneurs.  The most important asset we have is the product or service we produce.  That’s the money maker.  And always tending to it comes before, during, and after everything else in the business. Godpreneur Rule #30:  Godpreneurs always know the state of the product they produce. #MarketingMyServices