Starting Your Own Startup

Entrepreneurship is one of the only ways some folks will ever return to the workforce.

They do not have the skills.  They lack the education or experience necessary.  They are too old.  They are not equipped, not certified or not what the recruiters and headhunters are looking for in a qualified candidate.

Entrepreneurship may be their only immediate route.

Entrepreneurship may be their one and only hope.

Imagine what the recently released felon must say about his or her chances at landing the dream job.

Think about how the recovering addict fresh out of rehab.  How is he or she going to fit in with the sales and marketing team on the sixth floor?

Picture gramps who just got let go from industry leader who decided to" go in a new direction" after using him for the past twenty-five years.  He's not exactly the best bet or best fit for hiring firms as a Baby Boomer.

Some will say that you just don't have it.  They don't believe that you have it in you.

They don't feel what you feel or see what you see.

You have the knack for being in business.

You have the drive and motivation to start and stay in business.

You've got what it takes.

I found that the knack and drive to own your own business may require you to manage conflicts on your own or with your family.  You may be required to use your living room as a home office or shop for used furniture to outfit your new brick and mortar office space.  You can become your own boss.  You can give birth to your own dreams.

Promote entrepreneurship among our people who are struggling for another chance.  Give them a leg up.  Put them in touch with community banks and micro lenders.  Educate yourself on entrepreneurship.

As a freelance writer and consult, I benefit from the help, support and advice of others.  I gain a lot from online communities and social networks as well as multimedia sharing sites.  I use freelancing to supplement my primary income.  I use some of the top freelancing sites to get my words in print or online.

I understand what it takes to run a business.  I had to believe in myself.  I had to believe in my dreams.  I had do it by myself at times and with the help of others at other times.  I had become flexible and adaptable.  I had to make adjustments on the fly, too.

If you really want it, you can succeed at being in business.  If you believe in yourself more than you believe the words of your critics and the naysayers, you can have it.

Go on and stop waiting on others.

Start taking action.

Start your own startup business now.

Start from Your Heart

Commit your works to Lord,
And your thoughts will be established.
-Proverbs 16:3

A man's heart plans his way,

But the Lord directs his steps.

- Proverbs 16:9

I don't care if it's a business or a ministry, even a small group or just some friends getting together to do some good work within the community, you need to start from your heart.  That's where you get the commitment that you will need to endure any such work.  It will have to come from deep within you.  It will have to start in and come from the heart.

The Bible says so in Proverbs as we see in the verses above.  It comes up in other places in both the Old Testament and New Testament.  Don't get it wrong.  The Bible is certain to cover such a matter as this due to its importance to success of any such venture in faith.  After all, the Lord's name is on the line any time that we step out there with the blood of Jesus Christ covering us.  Other folks are looking.

Other writers have shared the importance of a leader having a heart for his or her work.  Check out how Ken Blanchard and John Maxwell deal with matters of the heart.  Steve Marr used Proverbs to publish a daily devotional for business professionals called Business Proverbs.

No matter how much you may try to rationalize otherwise, if your heart isn't in it, you can bet the rest of you isn't too into it either. Get your heart into it or get out of it. 

God doesn't want you giving Him a half-hearted effort.  What He did that towards us? Would we praise Him with our whole hearts still? Would we still sing songs of Zion to His glory? Think on that.

Get your heart into before you even get started.  Let God have your best by putting your whole heart into it.  He has already give you His best in Jesus Christ.  Go on and get your heart into whatever you will do in His name.

Articulate Your Vision

This is what the Sovereign LORD says:

Woe to the foolish prophets

who follow their own spirit and have seen nothing!

- Ezekiel 13:3 (NIV)

Everyone who is speaking about vision isn't being honest about it.  They claim to be prophets of profit or visionaries of victory.  It sounds good, but it seems worthless.  Some are called gurus.  Believe it if you dare.  They are false prophets.

They are able to lead people in a particular direction, but they do not seem to be able to accomplish true success.  Yes, they are able to have small victories and have moments of progress.  However, they have little beyond the rhetoric that they spew or the sound bites that they play repetitively throughout the airwaves.  According to Ezekiel's prophecy, they are foolish and following their own spirits, having seen nothing at all or from the Lord.

Don't be found in that category.  Lead as God leads you.  Whatever God gives you to do, articulate that vision.  Put it in words so that others can grasp the depth and the concept of the vision.  Put it in visuals where others can see the vision for themselves.  Articulate your vision with all that you have within you.

Most importantly, share the vision that God gave you just the way that God gave it to you.  Don't abridge or edit it for political correctness or popularity, not even prestige.  It's not about you or how you feel.  Your opinion doesn't even matter.  You accept it from God and make others aware of what God gave you.  Confirmation will come from God through others who speak up and say that it sounds a lot like what God had been sharing with them or what they had been reading in their daily devotional reading.  Give it to others like God gave it to you.

Seek Success

“We cannot become what we need by remaining what we are.”

― John C. Maxwell

 
Let me put some things in perspective for the would-be or wanna-be entrepreneur.  Simply put: talk is cheap.  You either need to put up or shut up. 
 
That being said, let me go a step further.  You need to have a plan and a strategy before you foolishly go full speed ahead with your small biz launch.  Think it through and get your ducks in the row.  However, you better get busy doing what you have to do. 
 
Remember: talk is cheap.
 
I chose the Maxwell quote because it strikes right at the heart of most start-up issues, particularly the barriers.  The biggest barrier is usually the person who is starting the organization or business. 
 
They know how to cook well, but they are satisfied baking cakes for the women's auxiliary at church and the PTA's annual bake sale fundraiser.  They have heart without drive.  They are in their own way much like the guy who can research and find every single thing from books and quotes to grants and special programs.  That type of person may be viewed as an asset to those who do not feel like paying for such a service, but he needs to get on and get into business for himself as a researcher and perhaps an evaluator if he wants to succeed.  Otherwise, he can sit back and keep getting stepped on and stepped over by others who will use him for nothing.
 

These are just examples of people full of potential.  They have the ability to do something special

that is of value to others, but they have yet to set out for success.  I urge you to read John Maxwell's books on success.  Make Today Count and The Difference Maker are great books to start out with for potential entrepreneurs.  Also, I would recommend Your Road Map for Success as a jewel that will offer you some keys to staying the course on your journey.

 

I share this because my desire is for others to succeed- in business, in ministry, and in life.  That's my hope and aspiration.  That's why I post such items as this with others.  It weighs heavily on my heart that so many people have skills, experience and all sorts of talent, but they lack the drive or initiative to take the risk and make more out of their lives than simply sit and wait for an opportunity to come their way.

 

Below, I have added Maxwell's "Seven Steps to Success." I suggest that you truly stop wishing about starting and succeeding in business and start working towards success in business.  The key word in start-up is start.  Get started off the right way.

 

Seven Steps to Success

1) Make a commitment to grow daily.

2) Value the process more than events.

3) Don't wait for inspiration.

4) Be willing to sacrifice pleasure for opportunity.

5) Dream big.

6) Plan your priorities.

7) Give up to go up.

― John C. Maxwell

Rethink Your Business

"Know why your business matters." - Bob Briner, The Management Methods of Jesus

If you are in business, you need to know why your business matters.

In fact, you need to know why your business matters to God.  You need to see how your business fits into God's plan.

Think back.  Let your mind run free to the time when you imagined going into business for yourself and before you started your business.  Think about the purpose and intent for your business.  Jot down those ideas and memories.  Record them for yourself.

Take a good look at what you have written down.

Look at the kingdom potential of your business.  How could your business expand or enhance the kingdom of God? Did God inspire you to start your business? How does God and His Word fit into your business plans?

Here are some ways to revisit your business:

• Go to God's Word.  See what God has to say.
• Pray to God.  Hear from God on the matter of business.
• Seek godly counsel.  Talk with your pastor.  Join a Christian business roundtable or network.

Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might; for there is no activity or planning or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol where you are going. - Ecclesiastes 9:10 (NASB)

Building Strong

Luke 14:28 speaks of counting up the costs for building a tower.  It is a metaphoric example presented by Jesus in relation to discipleship.  However, it is a practical example about business structure.

You want to build your business.  You do not desire to build a weak business with low-grade structures and systems.  You would be hard pressed to find someone who desired such a thing out of their business hopes and dreams.

Start thinking it out.  Build a business structure that leads to a strong business.  Don't try to be what you are not equipped to do in business simply because that is what the other guy does across town.  Distinctively design your business to stand on its own.