Search results for "leadership"

I wasn't a guy that gave a lot of praise to my team. It didn't come naturally for me to recognize people’s efforts. I did it because I read in books that it’s good for team and relationship building...but it always felt forced. However, when I did praise my team, it felt great! And I also noticed that giving praise and appreciation to my team did magic in keeping the fire and passion lit of any ongoing project or initiative. What would happen if all we did was work our team to exhaustion and never say thank you or give credit for their role in the rebuilding? What if the opposite was true - What if all we did was praise our team for their amazing talents, recognizing we couldn’t do this alone? In the book of Nehemiah, we see a leader who has gathered a team to rebuild the wall in Jerusalem. And if you pay attention to what's going on in chapter 3, you'll see the author devotes almost the entire chapter to listing the names of the people that are helping him build the wall. The New International Version titles chapter 3: Builders of the Wall. 1 - Eliashib the high priest and his fellow priests went to work and rebuilt the Sheep Gate. 2 - The men of Jericho built the adjoining section, and Zakkur son of Imri built next to them. 3 - The Fish Gate was rebuilt by the sons of Hassenaah 4 - Meremoth son of Uriah, the son of Hakkoz, repaired the next section. And the list goes on for all 32 verses. Nehemiah was praising his team by giving credit to where credit was due. Talk about an amazing leader! God gives an example of a leader that praises - while rebuilding! What can you do to praise your team along the way? Sending handwritten notes? Private messages? WhatsApp them something fun! Tweet publicly. Post something on their Facebook wall. What can you do RIGHT NOW? Stop, pull out your phone, and text someone on your team. It's going to feel great! I’m glad that I’ve changed - and now it's becoming natural for me to give recognition. If we recognize those helping us build (or rebuild) our business, it will encourage them to continue the fight, encouraged and motivated by a charismatic entrepreneur! #HiringtheRightPeople #IncreaseEnergy #HumanResources 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.

When I got into my first business partnership we didn’t exchange vows or perform any ritualistic ceremony. We signed some papers at Bank of America and had lunch afterwards. That was it. There aren’t any “till death do us part” type of transactions between business partners.  But maybe there should be!  I know there are legal documents partners sign, but none go deep into what’s necessary to keep and grow a partnership. I propose there are 5 essential promises we should make as business partners. we’ll pursue each other: remember the convincing it took to even make them your partner?  Remember the wining and dining, the drinks at the bar, the things you did to sell the vision? We got to keep doing those things. we’ll keep one partnership: I don’t know what it’s like to be in two partnerships at the same time. If ONE was more work than I could handle, I came imagine two. You can ‘invest’ in other businesses, do joint ventures, dabble in real estate and trade stocks all at the same time…but its going to be challenging to have multiple proper business partnerships and a private life.  Something is going to fail. we’ll believe the best of each other: we’re all a piece of artwork being sculpted until the day we die. It means we’re going to be better tomorrow than today. Just because I didn’t like some of my partners traits today doesn’t mean I shouldn’t believe the best for him today. With this attitude, then I will treat him great today. If not, I’ll have anger and resentment towards him. we will be the definition of partners: first off, we signed a partnership agreement. That needs to always be honored. Second, we share equally in the work, success and failure. the partnership is my 2nd or 3rd priority:  after your relationship with God, the partnership with your spouse is next. If there’s no spouse, then you’re married to the business partners you’re with. And just like we give God priority in our lives, your partners get your priority. You pick up their calls always, ask how they are doing, care about them more than the business itself, and want to serve them wholeheartedly. Consider each of these promises as you work through the issues of your partnership. If you have problems today its likely because one or all of the promises above have not been addressed and/or kept. Imagine a world where we actually incorporate tangible ways to live out these promises.  Each represent areas of potential growth in the business partnership if you can master them. We might be strong in one or two, but there’s always improvements than can be made. Remember, we’re all sculptures being fashioned daily. #SharpenLeadership #BusinessPartnerships

The first year or two of owning a business with my friends was so exciting!  We were kicking butt, hiring people, got a cool office on South Beach and doing work with some high profile clients.  We were 25 and 26 year old entrepreneurs starting an agency in Miami…doesn’t it sound like a movie?!?! Well, it was everything you can imagine plus more! One day something happened that started a heated argument between myself and one of my partners.  We exchanged abusive emails for 1/2 a day, even copying our 3rd partner in who had nothing to do with it. The emails got longer and longer, more bitter after each send. In the early days when I first started the business, I thought I would have a perfect partnership automatically. Oh boy was in for a ride for the next years. I knew at this point the honeymoon period was over. Remember MTV’s The Real World? I love how the opening statement goes:  ‘When people stop being fake and start becoming real’. That’s what happens in a partnership. We all enter in with high hopes and expectations from our partners, and almost certainly go through seasons of disappointed, let downs, back stabbing, gossiping, side-taking, finger pointing, verbal and even physical abuse. Experience tells us business partnerships are harder than we think. As we grow in clients and revenue, eventually, we realize our initial ideas about business and management aren’t realistic and something needs to change or someone needs to leave this partnership. The truth is that this disconnect in expectations is NOT A SURPRISE TO GOD.  You think he would make everyone different and not have lessons for us to break free from these great expectations? The bible says in 1 Corinthians 13:11 "When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me." In essence, Paul (the writer of Corinthians) is telling us that when our businesses were in their infancy, we thought one way. But now that the enterprise is growing, its time to put those thought behind because God has so much more in store for us. Our initial expectations must be replaced with biblical truth. Your business partner’s ideas about communication, conflict resolution, management of people, spirituality, job roles, time off, pay structure, accounting, and myriad other business things were determined long before you came on the scene. But most partners never deeply explore these concepts intentionally. I’m not an emotional intelligence expert and I don’t resolve conflict for partners for a living. I can only share my experiences both in marriage and in business partnerships (which are identical by the way). What I know is that there has to be a pow wow to let this concept of expectations be known and to explore ideas about how you connect with your partners. What areas of disagreement or difference do you have in connecting, communicating, and the list of other ideas I mention 2 paragraphs before? We can allow God to shape our great expectations for business in partnership so we can experience co-working in which God intended for us to interact and prosper. #TimeManagement #GainConfidence

respectfully show a partner where a financial error has been made, or supply the courage to address leadership

The other day I was in the hotel lobby bar having a mineral water and dessert when a man comes next to me to order a drink from the bar tender. Down the bar he catches a glimpse of an attractive woman. He nudges me and says “take a look at that one.” I glanced, smiled at the man, and continued eating my dessert. Some years back I might have engaged in this man scan of the bar, but things are different now. There’s a lot of habits I had to start changing when I decided I was going to let God be my boss and my company’s CEO. I realized that I had a new responsibility to be an example of a changed leader to my employees, clients and vendors. What if that man that nudged me was a potential client, who later on would find out I’m a believer and married. He wouldn’t have not done business with me, but I wouldn’t have been able to be the best light possible in his life. My change as a Christian entrepreneur wasn’t overnight, and sometimes I still say a curse word or two, but its dramatically less than before. But I didn’t realize this right away. For a while, I was going to church and doing the right things outwardly, but inside I hadn’t fully built my trust in Christ. Instead of being a “light in the world”, I was behaving like an unbeliever. We may profess a deep trust in Christ, but what we truly believe will emerge in our words and attitude. Take a moment to consider your conversations with other entrepreneurs. What characteristics would stand out to them? Do you have a tendency to gossip, argue, curse, or complain? If so, you may want to reevaluate the source of your contentment. Problems will arise in business, people will make you upset, there will always be an opportunity to lose your cool. As Christians, we have an eternal hope in Christ that allows us to face the challenges of life with calmness and peace. If you find yourself relying on favorable business circumstances or the actions of employees to bring you happiness, ask God to strengthen your faith in Him. Let your words and actions reflect the love of Christ in your business life and be a light to your employees, prospects, vendors, and other entrepreneurs. #DifferentiatingMyself #EnhanceFocus

There’s a song I dedicated to my wife before we were married.  It’s a beautiful song that captured my emotions at the time I dedicated it. Later on, I took her to the concert and the band played "our song."  That song eventually became our wedding song. I also played our song on the car ride home from the hospital with our new baby boy.  It brought us both to tears. What's the song? It's called "Two is Better Than One" by Boys Like Girls. I love the song because it's a reminder of my commitment to her. Sometimes I’ll play it when I’m mad at her because I know it brings my heart back in alignment. Dedicating that song to her was powerful and has helped me in good times and bad. I think we all know the power of dedication because we’ve experienced this in the past. Whether it was a dedication to your wife or a song dedicated to someone that hurt you, hearing the song brings up strong emotions for us. We have the ability to have similar emotions in our businesses by dedicating our businesses to God.  We dedicate things so that we create a bond between the two subjects. How amazing would it be to dedicate your business to God so that there is an eternal bond and a higher sense of purpose and passion as you continue building? The Bible shows us what that looks like as we read the final chapters of Nehemiah. Nehemiah 12:27-30 reads "At the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem, the Levites were sought out from where they lived and were brought to Jerusalem to celebrate joyfully the dedication with songs of thanksgiving and with the music of cymbals, harps and lyres. The musicians also were brought together from the region around Jerusalem—from the villages of the Netophathites, from Beth Gilgal, and from the area of Geba and Azmaveth, for the musicians had built villages for themselves around Jerusalem. When the priests and Levites had purified themselves ceremonially, they purified the people, the gates and the wall." What´s going to happen now when people walk past the wall of Jerusalem? They will think of the time they dedicated it to God and the songs of praise and thanksgiving.  It will be a good memory impressed in their minds. Dedicating your business to God will add protection and align your heart with God’s.  It will give you a crutch to lean on during bad times. Similarly, it will give you a podium to speak from during the good times. When we dedicate something to God, we give it all to him. We hold nothing back. It is given in full and joyful surrender. It is all for God’s pleasure, all for his use, all for his glory. God’s desire is for us Godpreneurs to be like him…holy! (1 Peter 1.14-16). If we want to restore our businesses, we must first ask God to help us walk in holiness. Then, we will become “living stones being used to build a spiritual house” (1 Peter 2.5). How would you plan a dedication of your business to God? What elements would be included? What would such a celebration look like? A PRAYER OF BUSINESS DEDICATION God, we want to uplift your name among the people. Help us to dedicate ourselves and our businesses for your glory. Give us the encouragement we need, and remind us that you are always with us. I'm praying for you, too! All my best, Alex Miranda Get to know me at www.alexmiranda22.com Want to learn the book of Nehemiah from an Entrepreneur's point of view? In this business Bible study, we parallel Nehemiah's rebuilding of the wall to your journey in rebuilding your business. Check it out here: 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! Also, coaches and Christian business leaders, you can use, edit, and repurpose the teachings for your own tribe! Check it out. #EnhanceFocus #IncreaseEnergy

All you have to do is ask? Well, if you believe in the Bible…then YES! MAT 7:7-8 says: “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: for every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.” The law of attraction is very real. I know some aren’t comfortable with that law because ‘The Secret’ hijacked it and removed God. But the reality is that its God’s very own law and promise to us. So what business should you start? Ask God. He created you from before you were in the womb. He had plans for you already. So why would you waste any time trying to figure it out on your own? If you need help with this, take my Entrepreneurial Vision Experience. Who is going to help me? Seek counsel. When I was looking to move in a new direction, I prayed for counsel to surround me. All of the sudden, courses and teachings started appearing on Facebook that weren’t there before. Who will buy my service? Knock on doors. This is where you’re going to get your money. Most people think they need a loan to start a business. Nope, you just need ONE person to give you cash, check or a credit card. Then you start. My first business (The Creative Complex) started when I collected $500 from a drywall contractor to make their website. I didn’t even have a business account yet, but I told them to make the check out to The Creative Complex. Then I went and opened the account and deposited the check and got to work. It’s that simple. If you start by asking God, then the seeking and knocking will be revealed as a result of the first, and you’ll have a business in which you’re fulfilling God’s vision for your entrepreneurial career. #WhatBusinessIShouldStart

If you read my previous post, you’ll read on how to partner with God on your business decisions. So, now what? Once you discover what God wants you to do you have to then FOLLOW THROUGH on what you discover. Knowing without doing could lead you to a fallen business, but when you make a plan to discover what God says and then follow through and do it, you’re setting your business up to win. #EnhanceFocus #FindMyCalling

People might think I’m an extrovert that loves to go out and connect with people. Can I share a secret? I’m not a networking kinda guy…. Don’t get me wrong, I love to connect with people.  I can meet a stranger at a party and by the time we leave, I’ve inspired that person to think differently. However, do I PURPOSE to go out and connect? No. It’s just not in my nature to be intentional about it…yet. We’re all made to serve our marketplaces, and we can certainly make a great impact without intentionally going out to connect with people, but connecting with others is PARAMOUNT to building a Christian personal brand. We can’t build a personal brand without being…personable. We can’t be personable if….we’re not intentionally stepping out of our comfort zone to connect with others. God has so many great opportunities lined up for our calling, but He’s going to bring that about through us connecting with others. Who we connect with today will change the blog posts and videos and testimonial stories we share tomorrow! The Bible tells a great story of how one man’s intentional desire to connect with others changed the course of history! "Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people. News about him spread all over Syria, and people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed; and he healed them. Large crowds from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea and the region across the Jordan followed him." (Matthew 4:23‭-‬25 NIV) Jesus’s ascension from obscurity to authority started when he connects with people around Galilee and recruits his first disciples who begin to travel with him and eventually form the core of the early Church.  The next scene is Jesus connecting with more people, healing the sick, more people find out and come to where he’s at, and the rest is history. Jesus didn’t start out like a rockstar preacher.  He was called to this, but he wasn’t the authority on the scene…yet. Jesus had a plan to reach out to anyone who would give him a chance to share his newfound ministry. Jesus’s decision to connect didn’t just change his story; it changed history. You see, Jesus was 12 connections away from altering the course of his humanity. And those connections became the 12 disciples that started the Christian church you call home today. You may be one podcast interview away from changing your story.  Any opportunities that come your way, paid or not, that are anywhere near to being relevant to your personal development, take it.  God is lining connections up for you on your personal brand journey. We’re one friend away from a better client. You’re one reader away from your next business partner. You’re one conversation away from getting a coaching client. You’re one mentor away from understanding your gifts and becoming a better Christian business influencer. Let’s be intentional about connecting with the right people.  On the same coin, who do we need to DISCONNECT with to open up space for God’s connections? #FindMyCalling #NewEntrepreneurs #LaunchingMyBusiness #PersonalBranding 7 Steps to Launching Your Christian Personal Brand There are seven key factors for succeeding at launching the purpose God has placed in your heart for you to fulfill. 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

One of my biggest struggles in entrepreneurship is getting involved in too many things taking me in too many different directions. For me, it’s a blessing and a curse. My gifting is to activate, launch, press play, bring things to life, move forward despite all odds, and go into the unknown in faith. But if left unchecked, I can easily launch things that are out of line with where God wants me TODAY. I stress the word today because I’ve learned that just because I got a vision doesn’t mean that I need to press play today. Now I find myself going back and pausing (or even canceling) projects that I feel God may open up opportunities for later on. Christian entrepreneurs have good intentions or at least some kind of justification for the things we do in business. Most of us have this desire to do more and be more. God is so awesome to us that He’s given us the gift of vision – seeing our future in a different way. God has also deposited ambition in our hearts to fuel us along the journey of entrepreneurship. But too many times we take on projects we’re not meant to do right now, sacrificing the launch and focus of our God-First personal brand.  We don’t take the time to really stop, take a time-out, pray about it, sleep on it, or get guidance. And even though we had good, godly intentions behind our actions, we seem surprised when we find ourselves a long way from our goals and even further from the location where God wanted us to be today. How can we stop a train that’s already moving? How can we take time to really know what we’re supposed to focus on today? How do we develop the skill of easily dropping projects that, if we were honest, probably wasn’t the next step on our Godprenurial journey? The big changes in our business lives—both negative and positive—happen with a series of decisions we need to make as soon as possible. The Bible says "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." (Hebrews 12:1‭-‬2 NIV) God’s Word says to “throw off everything that hinders.” Hinders what? Hinders from running the race marked out for us! You have a calling from God to launch and grow your personal influence in business. He’s waiting to use you. There’s something that God has put on your heart, and although the other things may seem related or a building block, it’s really a distraction that’s entangling you. When you’re entangled in other projects or businesses not related to your personal brand calling, you’re in sin because it’s disobedience to what God wants you to do TODAY. I know it’s harsh. It’s harsh for me too. I’m with you on this sin. But when a project, business idea, or job is taking us in a direction we know is moving farther away from the business God has called us to personally do, we need to pause not only to consider the financial and strategic consequences but also to decide to stop traveling in the wrong direction. How Can We Turn From Non-Calling Projects? The Bible verse above starts out with “therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses…” First, we need to realize that God didn’t design entrepreneurship to be a journey you travel on your own. He knew the enemy brings all these distractions and sins along the pilgrimage of your pursuing your personal calling. That’s why we have the Holy Spirit, the church, and a series of guides, coaches, consultants, and mentors along with way.  We might need to step toward accountability, a new partnership, or a new place to work from. Second, we have to “throw off everything that hinders” us from pursuing our calling.  We need to assess what’s taking us in a direction we don’t want to go or that God doesn’t want us to go? What do you need to stop completely?  What can we stop in order to move you closer to the business God created us to start? What we need to do to STOP distracting projects is Take a day or half-day. Fast and pray for guidance. Sleep on it. Get some godly wisdom from business people you trust. Picture the possible outcomes. Then, ask yourself, “Is this something I should stop completely?” The decision we make here is the next stepping-stone toward our destination!. In order to start on the journey of our personal brand calling in business, something else has to stop. It’s likely MANY things have to stop (especially if you’re a freak like me and love to launch things!). Although the word ‘stopping’ is usually seen as negative, it’s not so negative when we think of stopping to get gas. Stopping can be one of the most productive things we do in business! When we stop to take inventory of where we are and where we want to go, we can then decide how to move into our calling in business. In other words, stopping actually means stepping in a new direction in our entrepreneurial journey. What can you stop in order to move you closer to God’s divine direction?. My prayer for myself and for you is that we stop, repent, and turn away from anything that’s not serving our entrepreneurial calling and return to God and His path for our personal brand. #ChristianBloggers #SharpenLeadership 7 Steps to Launching Your Christian Personal Brand There are seven key factors for succeeding at launching the purpose God has placed in your heart for you to fulfill. 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

Today my company, The Creative Complex, turns 9 years old. I have a confession:  I’ve grown more int he last 9 months than I have in the last 8 years. I wish I could have known what I know today, 9 years ago. But the truth is this:  The Lord wants to teach us endurance. Like it or not, the ability to persist under difficult circumstances is an absolutely essential ingredient of the successful entrepreneur. Scripture tells us that “Tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope” (Rom. 5:3-4). Our business hardships are designed, not to crush us but to refine us into the image of the entrepreneur that God wants us to be…an entrepreneur that reflects Jesus. When we abide under the pressures of vision, sales, marketing, operations, finances, human resources, and all of the other hats we wear with complete reliance on the Lord for His strength and perspective, we come out of the process looking more like our Savior! If you’re struggling with vision in your life…if God hasn’t revealed the entrepreneurial vision clearly, maybe you need to stay exactly where you are, because God has some lessons he still needs you to discover. Stay hungry and thirsty for tribulation in your business life…that’s when God can do amazing things in and through you. #AgencyOwners #GainConfidence

I’ve been doing logos and websites since 2005. We used to shoot first and ask later. In other words, I would take people’s money first, get started on projects, and then I would start asking questions as we were producing work. I needed the money, I had my eyes on the green, and I was willing to do whatever to get it as fast as possible. After all, most clients presumably needed their projects 911 fast! It’s no wonder projects took forever, there were tons of changes, and we spent a lot of time having to undo and redo tasks. We would eventually fix things, but it came to be done after a lot of time spent. Another unintended consequence of not planning was that I wasn’t taking the time to consult the client through the big decision they were about to invest in. After all, we’re talking about starting their business and giving them an identity. That’s a big deal for a new entrepreneur. Years later I realized that if I spent more time planning with the client before starting, I could save a lot of time and money not having to go back. Planning literally cut the time of project completion in half. Furthermore, the more time I spent planning with my client, the more I could consult them in the right direction. Before collecting deposits, I had to learn to stop, look, and listen. Do you have a tendency to leap into projects without weighing them carefully? That can be a good thing if the client is under the gun and needs their stuff for a trade show that’s this weekend. However, being impulsive can be fatal for your business if in your haste you are run over by oncoming traffic. Control your impulses and respond prudently. How? I started selling a strategy session BEFORE selling them logos and websites. I broke up projects into 2 parts. You first buy consulting and strategizing. We would work through all the possible scenarios, business options, and creative directions. This lets me slow down the process and intelligently enter the project. With a plan, the execution took HALF the time. Oh, and I got to make money upfront by providing my expertise on brand strategy. The Bible warns against being imprudent. "Don’t agree to guarantee another person’s debt or put up security for someone else. If you can’t pay it, even your bed will be snatched from under you". Proverbs 22:26‭-‬27 NLT A careful Godpreneur will not be right in every decision he or she makes, but will not enter into any decision too lightly either. The prudent business owner understands that everything does not turn out the way it seems it will at first glance. So we think our decisions through, especially the ones with wider implications. Godpreneurs weigh our decisions carefully so we can double our profits. We can smear all of our profit in a moment of haste. #SharpenLeadership

The most difficult moments for me as an entrepreneur are moments of darkness. When I can’t see the big picture and I can’t see the whole plan played out, I get anxious. Clarity isn’t always certain, and darkness will always come. In those moments of darkness, it's easy for us to lose sight of the vision and get frustrated, possibly even make bad decisions. But the hope for a Christian entrepreneur is that there is a LIGHT that is always on and forever shining a light at our feet. In Isaiah 50:10 we read “Let the one who walks in the dark, who has no light, trust in the name of the Lord and rely on their God.” Maybe we’re not supposed to see visions all the time on purpose. Maybe God designed it this way so we can keep our eyes on the next step we’re taking, not the road 5 miles ahead. A runner needs to have two perspectives: the big picture glance, but the constant stare at the ground in front of him. Don’t get discouraged when the vision goes dark. Rely on God as the lamp on your feet. That’s God telling you he needs you focused on today…on the now. ACTION STEP: What’s the ONE THING you need to accomplish today? Forget the BIG goals, what’s the small objective you can today? Leave me a comment. Share this with someone you know that’s experiencing a season of darkness. #EnhanceFocus

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.

For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. (Ephesians 2:10 NIV) You were born and handcrafted to serve the marketplace, and God’s gifted you with something others don’t have. Your “toolkit” is what you should reflect on today. These gifts and talents point the way to your exact business. For example What are your top talents? What do people come to you for advice for? What comes easy to you, but others struggle with? What could you do blindfolded? What spiritual gift has God put inside of you? There are many tests out in the marketplace that help us discover more about ourselves in this area. There is a StrengthsFinder assessment to identify “Strengths/Talents,” and that’s available at gifts.churchgrowth.org. This one will help find your spiritual gifts. I developed the www.GodpreneurTest.com which will reveal both your strengths and weaknesses. God placed gifts and talents inside of us for our business’s success; He knit us from other mother’s womb (Psalms 139:13). Knowing what our talents are equipped us to launch businesses more in line with our calling and helps us lead purpose-focused brands into the marketplace. It’s not about what we do; it’s about who we are in Christ. There’s a big difference! Godpreneur Rule – Godpreneurs uncover who we are first so we can then know what we were born to do. #BusinessBibleStudy #FindMyCalling #GodpreneurAcademy The Business God Created You To Start Have you ever wondered why you received the talents and gifts you have been given? We, as entrepreneurs, were born to do. 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