Business Entrepreneurship

This is the second article in the series dealing with Biblical Entrepreneurship. In this article, we will focus on one of the main components of being a Christian entrepreneur. The topic of today is service.

A business that is based on biblical principles must be grounded in service. Focusing on servicing your customers’ needs will set your organization apart from your competitors. To truly have a customer-focused business, your company must have a ministry philosophy. In order to get a clear understanding of ministry, you can model yourself after a great person, Jesus Christ.

Jesus’ ministry is the perfect standard of a customer-focused organization. He ministered to the needs of those around Him. Jesus declared in the Gospel according to Luke “for I did not come to call the righteous but the sinner to repentance” (Luke 9:14). From this statement we can draw valuable information that can help us enhance our customer service procedures.

The first order of business is determining whether there is a demand for the product or service you are offering. Jesus’ product was in high demand because people wanted the things He was offering. Jesus said he came to call the sinner to repentance. He knew the main need of sinners was to connect to God and the only way to do that was through repentance. Jesus had an unique marketing message (The Gospel of the Kingdom) with a customer centric product (Salvation).

The beginning of your customer service experience must begin with your customer’s needs. In the business discipline of marketing, the need of a customer is two fold. A consumer has actual and perceived needs. An actual need is water because our body must have water so it does not dehydrate. A perceived need is your desire to drink sparkling flavored water. The first is a necessity and the latter is a want. Entrepreneurs must keep this in mind as they are constructing their unique selling proposition.

The next step to having great customer service is accessibility. Ask yourself the question, “How accessible is my product to my potential customers?” Accessibility is a matter of availability. Your product must be easily accessible to compete in the marketplace. Jesus understood the concept of accessibility. He made sure his message and product was available. Jesus said that He came to earth for sinners. He placed Himself in an area where He could be easily found by sinners, in their midst. The product or service your organization is offering has to be made available in the distribution outlets where your potential customers purchase their goods.

The last component is reliability. Reliability focuses on a company’s ability to deliver on the promises you made about your product in the marketplace. The organization must be able to produce a quality product when it is purchased. Jesus knew that He was able to deliver on His promise of salvation to His customers. He understood that if people would repent for their sins that God would accept their repented heart and make them a part of His family. The credibility of your organization is based on its ability to deliver on the promises it makes to its potential customers.

Christian entrepreneurs must understand that focusing on their customers’ needs will catapult their organization to world-class status. This is done by ministering to a particular section within the marketplace and then making sure that products and services are easily accessible to potential customers. The last step is to market and distribute only quality products that the company can consistently deliver to consumers. If the desire is to establish a loyal customer, a company has to construct processes and procedures that produce products that will match customers’ needs.

I first heard about being an online entrepreneur from one of my friends. I asked her work and that’s what she said to me, honestly I do not have an idea about her work except that it’s through the internet. When I got home, I browsed some sites and there I discovered what being an online entrepreneur means. Working at your home and running a business at the same time, no wonder my friend seem to be relaxed and has a lot of time to bond with her family.

Having a regular day job and a family to take care of is a really big challenge for me. What’s more difficult is that although I do not get much time for myself and family, my salary is so minimal that we have to scrape at the end of the month just to be able to pay all the bills and buy our needs. Now what I discovered about online entrepreneurship woke up my senses, I suddenly had an urge to take on that route and see if I could succeed in that industry.

I literally took a gamble from the money for my monthly budget. I spent some in taking an online course that I found to be receiving good reviews, and of course a course that I could only afford. I want to have the knowledge, the skills, resource and tools to start immediately in earning online and since I’m a beginner in this field a course could help me out.

Luckily, I seem to be having some luck since the course I took have a lot of freebies in it. One that I immediately set up was the free websites. After studying for few days, I pushed my luck further and applied everything I learned to the websites that I have and I seem to have full of luck. In a day or two of working overnight for my website, I was earning ten dollars a day it seems minimal yes but a good start. At that rate, I could have back the money that I used to sign up in week.

Right now a few months after starting my course, I decided to give up my day job. My family was wary but I know that I made the right choice. If from working nightly, I was able to generate 100 to 200 a week, what more if I’ll spend more time in it. Now I have more time for my family and I am not stressed out from pleasing any boss, I am now my own boss.

Sometimes it is hard to believe that a good course would come out of the internet, much more it is hard to believe that you can get your income from it. I guess having the right knowledge worked for me and of course the perseverance that I exerted in pushing my online business. In spite of lack of sleep I never waver the desire to use all the skills that I have just to get my online business running. Having all the tools that I need and readily available source for help, my road to online business was quite a breeze. The only part that I need to focus is learning and applying what I have learned.

I am not that successful yet in being an online entrepreneur, but in time I know I will be. I have been successful in the gamble that I made with taking a course and now I will learn more and work more, this is my formula to being successful in this field.

“You should leave the village and never look back,” Isaac advised his son Jacob. “This place is too small, the mentality of the people here too narrow. If you stay, you will never be able to realize your ambitions.”

Isaac blessed Jacob and, standing in front of the house, he watched Jacob walk away under the sun until Jacob’s shadow merged with the horizon. Seven days later, Jacob arrived at Paddan Aram, a nearby town, and began to look for a job.

When Jacob heard that, Laban, a wealthy farmer with two daughters, was looking for a shepherd to take care of his sheep, he found out where Laban’s house was, and went there to introduce himself.

“If I hire you, will you double the number of my sheep within a year?” asked Laban full of suspicion. Jacob nodded. “Yes, but any additional sheep born beyond that number will be mine.” Jacob’s answer pleased Laban, but did not fully eliminate his misgivings.

“But if I hire you,” the wealthy farmer insisted, “will you watch my sheep every hour, day and night, never letting them out of your eyes?” Jacob nodded again and, this time, Laban accepted to hire him as a shepherd.

A year later, Jacob returned to Laban’s house and asked to see the farmer. “Your flock has doubled in size and, in addition, it has produced seventy-seven sheep, which are mine,” explained Jacob. “As of today, I will be working only for myself.” Laban was pleased with his own gain, but unhappy to see that Jacob had accumulated such a substantial profit for himself.

“Now that you are a wealthy shepherd, it is not time for you to take a wife?” suggested Laban. “My daughter Lea is the most beautiful young woman in Paddan Aram. If you wish, you can have her in exchange for your seventy-seven sheep.”

Jacob laughed at the proposal and shook firmly his head. “No woman is worth seventy-seven sheep,” he replied without hesitation. “Besides, I have never met your daughter.” Laban said that this could be arranged right away and sent a servant to bring Lea to his presence.

When Lea arrived, Jacob had to admit that he had never seen such a beautiful young woman. Lea’s delicate white hands and perfect teeth contrasted with her long black hair. Her voice was soft and her perfume sweet, although her eyes were as cold as her jewellery. Jacob hesitated. “But if I give you my seventy-seven sheep,” he said to Laban, “then I will have nothing left for myself.”

At that moment, Laban’s youngest daughter, Rachel, entered the room. She stood still in front of her father, turned to Jacob, and examined him from top to bottom. “Your clothes are torn, your sandals broken, and your beard is a mess,” she remarked with a smile. “No wonder that you need a wife.”

Jacob’s face became red but, as he heard Laban admonish Rachel for her foolish words, he could not turn his eyes away from her. Rachel’s traits were regular, her tunic simple, and her figure unremarkable. On the other hand, reflected Jacob, Rachel’s eyes and smile were as warm as fresh milk from a sheep in a winter morning.

“Take Lea as wife,” insisted Laban. “To make up for Rachel’s silly words, I will let you have Lea in exchange for only seventy sheep.” Jacob made a quick calculation in his head. Laban’s new offer meant that Jacob would be left with seven sheep. Would he be able to survive on such a meagre flock?

While Jacob was still pondering Laban’s new proposal, Rachel broke into laughter. “What a fool you are, shepherd! Before you know, you will have to sell your own clothes to pay for my sister’s oils and perfumes.”

Rachel’s words made Laban so angry that he called in a servant and instructed him to take Rachel away. “Wait,” said Jacob concerned. “Is that true?” Laban reassured Jacob that Rachel’s words were pure nonsense, but that, in order to make up for any inconvenience, he was ready to let Jacob have Lea as wife in exchange for only seven sheep.

Undecided, Jacob contemplated Lea’s delicate white hands, perfect teeth, and beautiful hair. “What a fool you are, shepherd,” repeated Rachel, this time in a low voice. Suddenly, Jacob turned to Laban and pointed his finger at Rachel. “And for this one, Laban,” he inquired, “how many sheep are you asking for in exchange for this one?”

Laban was taken aback by the question, since no one had ever asked him to have his daughter Rachel as wife. He reflected for a long moment and shook his head. “That one,” he replied reluctantly, “that one, you can have for free.” Then Jacob looked at Rachel, Rachel looked at Jacob and, shortly after, the two became one.

JOHN VESPASIAN has lived in New York, Madrid, Paris, and Munich. His stories reflect the values of entrepreneurship, tolerance, and self-reliance. See John Vespasian’s blog.

http://johnvespasian.blogspot.com/

The next pillar we must examine in biblical entrepreneur is purpose. Biblical entrepreneurs must know who they are and why they are creating their organization. The creation of your enterprise is the by product of the purpose and destiny God the Father placed inside of you.

Purpose is the reason and why something or someone is created. Fulfillment of your God given purpose must be the main focus of your life. Discovering the reason for your birth will unlock the door to manifesting your potential.  Let us use a light bulb as an example. The purpose of a light bulb is to illuminate an area. The light bulb has the capability to be used many ways to produce a result but in the mind of the creator if the light bulb is used in any other way then it’s original purpose it is being abused. It is only being used properly when it is manifesting it’s reason for being created which is illumination.

Once you find the reason for your birth you will find a direction for your life that will please your Creator, God. The question that is frequently asked is, “How do I discover my purpose?”.  To answer that question we must first deal with salvation. Without accepting Jesus Christ as your savior you can never know your purpose. The only way to get to the Father, The Purpose Giver, is to go through Jesus. Jesus declared in the Gospel of John chapter fourteen verse six, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” Based off of Jesus’ declaration the only way to reach The Purpose Giver is to believe the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus the Christ. After getting into the proper relationship with your Creator you have prerequisite to discovering your purpose.

God exposes your purpose through prayer, bible study, dreams, visions, hunches, inclinations, desires, urgings and yearnings towards particulars areas. What most individuals fail to understand is that purpose is not a single objective or outcome. It is a multifaceted calling upon a multifaceted creation. Every person has multiple areas where they must fulfill a role. Within each area of your life your purpose for being apart of that situation must be discovered. To bring balance to our emotions and imaginations we must weigh them in light of biblical teaching and a Christian lifestyle.

This moves our conversation to finding out if your emotions and imagination are pulling you towards entrepreneurship. Ask your self a series of questions:

“Do I have a desire to be an entrepreneur?”

“Have I received a vision of my possibilities within the marketplace?”

“Do I have yearnings and desires to minister and serve a particular segment of consumers?” 

If you have answered yes to these questions you are on the road to becoming a biblical entrepreneur. Now you must talk to the Father so He can lead and guide you to the correct industry.

Earlier in this article it was mentioned that your purpose is a multifaceted calling. Apart of that calling, if God has placed a godly ambition within your to become a biblical entrepreneur, is to establish you within an industry where you can play the role of an enterprise builder. There are many biblical entrepreneurs within scripture. To name a few there is the Apostle Peter, Apostle Paul, Lydia, Job and Jesus.

The Apostle Peter was a commercial fisherman. He was in partnership with his brother Andrew building a fishing business (Matthew 4:18). The Apostle Paul was a Sole Proprietor. He had a tent making business (Acts 18:3). Lydia the first convert to Christianity in Europe was a self employed merchant selling purple (Acts 16:13). Job was a very industrious farmer. The livestock Job had in his enterprise would have allowed him to launch many business ventures. Job had 7000 sheep which could have started a wool clothing company. He also had 3000 camels which could have made a great freight hauling business. His 500 oxen would be a great foundation to start a tracker leasing enterprise to smaller farmers. Lastly Job’s 500 donkeys had the potential to place him into the dairy industry (Job 1:3).

The epitome of Biblical entrepreneurship is the savior of humanity, Jesus the Christ. Jesus used his entrepreneurial passion in the social area of life. Today we call this area the not-for-profit industries. Jesus employed his purpose to transform humanity. His reason for being alive also metamorphosed time changing it from B.C. to A.D. Jesus was a change catalyst within in the life transformation industry. Christian entrepreneurs must use biblical entrepreneurship in both sectors of business, for-profit and not-for-profit.

The Parliamentary Republic of Botswana declared its independence from the United Kingdom on September 30, 1966.  With a population as of 2003 of 1,573,267 Botswana has great potential for accelerated entrepreneurship.  The GDP per capita is 15,800. 

Since independence, Botswana has had the fastest growth in per capita income in the world.  Economic growth averaged over 9% per year from 1966 to 1999.  Much of that is due to the stockpiling of foreign exchange reserves and most of the impressive economic record has been built on revenue generated from diamond mining to fuel economic development.  The economy, closely tied to South Africa’s, is dominated by mining, especially diamonds, cattle, and tourism.  Some going concerns of the country are that it is the second highest HIV infection rate in the world after Swaziland, and that it is heavily reliant on mining for economic stability.

Botswana is seeking to further diversify its economy away from minerals, and tourism and entrepreneurship may play an important role in this.  The government welcomes this.  The national language is English and the Batswana further wish to entice foreign investment and business.  As of 1999, Botswana abolished foreign exchange controls and has lowered the corporate tax rate to 15%.  They also have no prohibitions on foreign ownership of companies, and will develop plans to further advance their competitiveness on a global scale.  Some U.S. companies that are prevalent in the country are H.J. Heinz and AON Corporation, as well as Kentucky Fried Chicken and Remax.

Globalization will be necessary in order for Botswana to become a stronger economic and entrepreneurial force.  Currently 70% of Botswana’s electricity is imported from South Africa.  Botswana will need direct foreign investment in order to grow further.

Economic freedom has flourished under a contemporary multi-party democracy, which has promoted entrepreneurship through domestic and international educational and training programs for Botswana’s citizens. Although the majority of Botswana’s income is from mining, the entrepreneurship push is allowing areas such as construction and technical fields to be explored.

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