“Oh Lord, save us from start-up glitches! We pray for progress”.
This article is not about Christian business profiles nor a lesson on what an entrepreneur is. I saw a need to start by reminding aspiring entrepreneurs who they are and to show the beauty and necessity of running successful businesses as Christians. I call this a mindful article.
Aspiration is a desire to achieve something high and great, by Merriam-Webster. It implies striving after something higher than oneself. Similarly, and in a simpler term, the Cambridge dictionary describes aspiration as something a person hopes to achieve. An entrepreneur is a person who sees an opportunity and creates an entity to pursue it. In a nutshell, an aspiring entrepreneur refers to a someone who identifies an opportunity and takes the necessary steps to register an entity with a deep desire to seize the opportunity identified successfully.
An aspiring entrepreneur is someone who has not fully transitioned into being an entrepreneur yet and is still at the desiring stage. This article is meant to address aspiring entrepreneurs. I aim to give a push that will hopefully move aspiring entrepreneurs from desiring to being. Conversely, entrepreneurship is when a person who has an idea takes the initiative towards bringing the idea into reality by creating a business, or a start-up. Startups are meant to be nurtured and grow into different development phases. Every phase has its challenges which must be overcome to get to the next level.
Completion of the incorporation process should not be the point of a startup stagnant; business owners should strive to go beyond company registration to the pre-seed stage. A pre-seed stage is when the founders of the company get their operations off the ground. This is the point where the founders create a plan to execute their vision.
A person is led by their deepest desires, aspirations, and thoughts to take the step of registering an entity. Taking the steps necessary to transform the idea into a working business concept and climb the business ladder is what separates wishers from makers. The same deep desire that lets the person to be an aspiring entrepreneur should be a motivation enough to see the same business forward.
What is the motivation behind entity registration by aspiring entrepreneurs? What differentiate the “implementors” from the “aspired”? For some,
- is it the flexibility that comes with being your own boss?
- The potential of making lots of money that one could never make on a salaried job alone?
- The power of influence. That is, the status that comes with being an entrepreneur?
While on other hand, others are motivated by:
- Making a difference in their communities and eventually imparting the world.
- Finding satisfaction in doing something meaningful which also contributes to their personal growth.
- Helping others achieve their goals and fulfilling their needs through the product offered and the services rendered.
This is not one size fits all and none of these motivations are either right or wrong. Whatever inspires a person to challenge themselves, registered an entity and begin to work on its growth is a good enough motivator.
I’ve been conducting a study on successful Christian entrepreneurs and leadership worldwide. Christianity is referred to as a religion that is centered on Jesus Christ’s teaching. The minute you declare your business undertaking as a Christian business, eyebrows will be raised to see how you mean your business will be different from the rest. Most of the business profiles I’ve been reading about have one thing in common: that is to advance the gospel of the kingdom of Jesus Christ through their ventures. Most of these profiles are noticeably successful and progressive businesses that are run by great Christian leaders who dedicated their lives to making a difference in the business world, other than the pulpit.
This article is not about Christian business profiles nor a lesson on what an entrepreneur is; however, I saw a need to start by reminding aspiring entrepreneurs who they are and to show the beauty and necessity of running successful businesses as Christians.
Presenting excellency and success to the world can preach to millions who would like to look closer at the secret of your business success and, when they do, find Jesus Christ at the center. What a beautiful testimony!
Enough sermons that motivate Christians to start businesses for the sake of the kingdom of Jesus Christ are being preached; hence, my emphasis here is not on starting businesses but growing them to the level of world recognition and to the point of raising interest for other entrepreneurs to start conducting their businesses according to biblical principles. My desire is to motivate and inspire the enormous number of people who registered businesses, especially those founded by Christians, but they remain dormant. By dormant, I mean temporarily inactive or non-operative.
We identify Christian registered companies by their spiritual names, as most Christian founders believe in giving their businesses a spiritual name, just as we identify Christian operational businesses by the scriptures on their marketing content and biblical wording on their corporate identity. Such businesses should prosper because there is no failure in Christ. If they are stagnant, we need to look at us as founders and take the decision to put everything we can into ensuring success in our ventures so that the name of the Lord can be glorified.
Strive For progress.
Many people took the initiative to register an entity with the registrar of companies but have not been able to put their foot at the door of the business world and provide a product or service to their targeted market. I am not referring to those who thought of registering a business without a plan or set goals. Yes, there are those who have not made up their minds as to what product or services to offer to the market, yet their businesses are registered. Some are waiting on fate; they plan to use their registered companies should an opportunity present itself someday.
BUT, for those who registered companies with the intent to succeed, have a set goal, and are well prepared to ride into the business world but don’t know where to begin; for those who believe God for direction on where to take their products and services; for those who would like to ask God to open doors of opportunity to launch their business and place it on the industry map, but are still stagnant and unable to move past the incorporation stage. This mindful article is for you; strive to make progress! Take a step forward, big or small. Refuse to remain stagnant.
The question is, why are companies registered but non-operative?
In South Africa, according to an article written by Ciaran Ryan, Money Web Online (August 11, 2021), based on statistics obtained from the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission of South Africa (CIPC), 510 000 companies were registered in the year 2020, a huge increase when compared to 385 000 registrations in the previous year, 2019. The increase could be owing to the new companies that were registered for the manufacturing and distribution of COVID-19 personal protective equipment (PPE). Perhaps the pandemic brought many to the realization that entrepreneurship is the way to the future, and that led to many people making hasty, uncommitted decisions? Whatever reason there was for registering entities, keeping them dormant should not be an option.
The journey is not the destination. Successful registration of an entity is not an arrival in the business world, but a start. It comes with costly compliance and administration responsibilities, both for the revenue services and the registrar of companies. Annual returns must be filled out and paid to the register of companies; annual income tax returns must be filed with the revenue services, irrespective of whether the entity is operational or not. Business founders cannot afford to remain stagnant at the incorporation stage. Strive to progress!
- Be specific: “God deliver us from indecisive syndrome.”
I would like to address a killer syndrome called “indecisiveness.” This is not procrastination, but it steals time and opportunities in the same way as procrastination. When a person can’t make up their mind on a direction to take, they remain stuck in the same spot. When deciding to create an entity, there should be a clear vision and goal set. For a start, an industry should be selected, and products or services to offer the markets should be decided on. General supply should be avoided at all costs unless you plan to intentionally generalize to a specific industry or niche. Deciding what to offer and where should be the first decision. Don’t weave with the winds; your steadfastness will determine the directions to take in ensuring the fulfillment of your vision.
Before we can get into the spiritual side of entrepreneurship, it is important to take indecisiveness out of the way so that when we approach God, we know exactly what we are asking for. For instance;
- Identify your potential funders, know them by their names, and intentionally call their names when asking God to fund your start-up in prayer.
- Should there be operational permits and licenses required to operate in your chosen field, be specific in your prayer. For example, your prayer should go like this: “Lord, I need a permit or license to distribute oil and gas from the Ministry of Minerals and Energy.” or, Lord, I need an NPO certificate from the Department of Social Development. If possible, mention the minister by name, asking God to grant you favor with the officials to get your application approved speedily”.
- Should you need a retail shop, warehouse, site, or office space, Be specific and say, “Lord, I identified my workplace at this address, which belongs to so and so. Please, Lord, grant me favor with this person and also provide me with the money I need to secure the premises, lease, or purchase.”.
I can go on and on; however, the point I am trying to make is that if you have not made specific decisions, set a clear vision, and set specific goals, it’s impossible to move forward or to make an affective prayer to God.
2. Prayer helps with the presentation’s confidence
Schedule prayer time without compromise, and pray for your business every day. Try to be faithful to your prayer schedule, just like you would be committed to making the time to meet a potential funder or client. Always remember that presentations are well prepared on your knees. A private rehearsal that is made on your knees while praying boosts confidence when approaching physically during a pitch or presentation. The knowledge that God is backing you because you prayed makes a huge difference. As much as it helps raise your faith and confidence, God will be with you because He is faithful.
Scripture Reference: (Nehemiah 2: 6-8) NLT
The king asked, “Well, how can I help you?” With a prayer to the God of heaven, I replied, “If it please the king, and if you are pleased with me, your servant, send me to Judah to rebuild the city where my ancestors are buried.”
The king, with the queen sitting beside him, asked, “How long will you be gone? When will you return?” After I told him how long I would be gone, the king agreed to my request.
I also said to the king, “If it please the king, let me have letters addressed to the governors of the province west of the Euphrates River, instructing them to let me travel safely through their territories on my way to Judah. (Permits and Licenses)
And please give me a letter addressed to Asaph, the manager of the king’s forest, instructing him to give me timber. I will need it to make beams for the gates of the Temple fortress, for the city walls, and for a house for myself.” And the king granted these requests because the gracious hand of God was on me. (Resources).
The gracious hand of God was with Nehemiah because he spent time in private praying and preparing his pitch or presentation. When he got to the king, God took over.
3. By Faith, do it.
“But without faith, it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him” Hebrew 11:6 NKJV
After you have done it all, stand grounded in your faith, meditate on His word, and pray always so that you may be able to withstand the storms and challenges that come with running a business of your own.
Buckle up, for you are about to take off and ride on new waves. Consistency is key in all you do. Keep doing it until it is done, then move to the next level. Never wait on fate; get out there every day and work on your business until you move out of being a spiring entrepreneur to one of the Christian entrepreneurial profiles we read about. Press on until your business becomes a testimony to the power of Jesus Christ in the business world as well. Believe that you will dominate your industry, for it is the will of God for His children to dominate.
Ethics vs Ceasing an Opportunity.
Unethical practices are not for God’s children. Even in the ruthless business world.
Ethics are the core foundation of Christian businesses. For instance, it would be easier for a non-Christian to bribe a government official for a contract or to ask an official to look the other way when it comes to non-compliance penalties by bribing. However, Christian entrepreneurs are required to think of their relationship with Christ in everything they do. “And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not unto man” (Colossians 3:23 KJV).
Most businesses are motivated by profitability; factors such as employment growth and human relations come as second thoughts. These days, organizations are investing in technology as an innovative way of reducing the cost of human capital. Fast-growing trends show no concern for fellow humans in traditional job creation. The popular line says, “Don’t take it personal; it’s only business.” Christian entrepreneurs should always remember that people come first.
Faith vs confidence
Lastly, have faith in God. Yes, an entrepreneur identifies a gap in the market and takes advantage of the opportunity by providing products and services to meet the needs of their customers. Strategic planning and innovation will play a vital role in your business success; however, never place your confidence in the strength of your team and strategies alone. Always acknowledge the supernatural power that supports your excellence. After all is set and done, prayer and faith are the only tools to carry you through the waves as you engage in risky endovers that are associated with the uncertainty of the business world.
Take heart, always approach from the mind of a winner, and always know that it is about He who is with you, never about you.
Shalom.
gabik.blog on The Printed Living Word 