Category Archives: Business
8 Kingdom Entrepreneur Top Characteristics
March 3, 2017
As I look back over the years since I accepted Jesus Christ as my personal Lord and savior on 11/25/04, I am thankful for all that God has revealed to me about following the leading of the Holy Spirit. He has taught me the distinct differences found within a Kingdom Entrepreneur as you compare them to other types of entrepreneurs (not limited to) such as: Survival, Achievement and Lifestyle Entrepreneurs. If you want greater teaching on that please contact your Live with Purpose Coach and asked for our resource called – “The Path of the Kingdom Entrepreneur ™”. As you search your heart and reflect on how you operate currently as a non-profit / ministry leader or an entrepreneur, I pray this list would inspire you to walk in the fullness of the divine empowerment and freedom that Christ has made available to you!
May God bless you richly as you obediently serve the world…
Joe
The office of the Kingdom Entrepreneur is a sacred charge. These individuals have been blessed with an advanced life purpose that is focused on holiness. It is many times an evolution from that of the Lifestyle Entrepreneur, or perhaps even the Achievement Entrepreneur. The big difference is that the other two might bring forth fulfillment, at least in terms of being an entrepreneur, but the Kingdom Entrepreneur has something very precious and unique.
Exit Planning – What does it look like in a Self-Managing Company?
February 2, 2016Let’s examine what your exit strategy might look like as you work toward building a self-managing company. Should you even have one?
Most entrepreneurs have this idea that they’ll work forever, or at least until the day before they die. Is that really a good idea?
For the purposes of this post I’d like to identify Three types of entrepreneurs. Survival, Achievement, and Lifestyle. As in any start-up there are sometimes months and even years of just getting by. Scraping for every last available dollar to keep the venture going. Building a clientele and a business is no task for the faint of heart. As opportunities for growth become more a way of life and the viability of the business is proven I’d shift status to that of an Achievement Entrepreneur. Profit is evident, debt is being eliminated (unless it’s productive debt), and a shift to more consecutive quarters of positive earnings provides a bit of a cushion for the cycles to come. Lastly, a Lifestyle Entrepreneur is able to choose exactly how he or she may want to balance their life between work, family, faith, social, physical, philanthropic and almost any other category of life you’d like to toss in to the mix. Call it a work/life balance.
What’s in Your Top Box?
November 11, 2015It’s a question I heard recently from Bill Hybels at the 2015 Global Leadership Summit. Bob Buford was asked the same question from a high powered strategic planner he hired as he was considering how to move from success to significance in the second half of his life.
I’ve asked that question of myself more than once during my 35 year career as a business owner, employee and leader.
It’s a question that each one of us needs to ask ourselves. Whether in our business, our home, our ministry, or in any role where people look to us to bring a sense of purpose to our mission.
A simple parallel may be considered as you envision an old, deeply rooted tree. The root system represents our core values, beliefs and mission. Who we are and why we exist. The trunk, our operating principles. How we do things. The branches represent the culture or behaviors that exist in our organization. The fruit – The Results. Those results ultimately reflect back to the roots; our mission and the WHY behind doing what we do.
Besides coaching and consulting with CEO’s and business owners I’ve had the privilege of owning and leading a small business that provides our guests with some of the best food you can pack in a glass jar. Now in our 19th year in operation and located in the village of Intercourse, Pennsylvania, Intercourse Canning Company (ICC) offers a seemingly countless variety of canned edibles. You’ll find pickled vegetables, jams, jellies, relishes, salsas, sauces, fruits, dressings and more on our shelves. You name it. That’s the real “fruit” of the labor of many hard working folks and originating with our Creator. The ‘what’ and ‘how’ are obvious. The WHY? Not so much. You might say, “To feed people.” I say it’s more than that. It’s to care for those, while on vacation, who are looking for a place to enjoy themselves and disconnect from the pressures of life. Yes, they purchase a specially crafted and unique food but really it’s about the experience they have when they walk through our front doors. To graze on incredible samples of a variety of goodies; to see how canning was done the old fashioned way and learn how it all started. Our team members are charged with the mission to make the experience a special and memorable one. That’s the “Why.” To create a moment that they’ll talk about and enjoy for quite some time and when chowing down on the “fruit of our labor” they smile about the respite from life during their visit.
August Devotional
September 1, 2015This weekend the group of teenagers and adults that I serve with in our Children’s ministry at church reflected on how we can better reach and influence the children we interact with on Sunday. We had discussion and really reflected together on how we can best do this. As I was sitting in the discussion group the thought came to mind that these principles are not just for dealing with children but really everyone in our lives. This simple truth or lesson is something we should take into all relationships and not just in our closest ones. It’s a truth we likely all know and have heard before. But I know it’s one we all struggle with from time to time and can grow in. I can go as far to admit that this truth encouraged me this weekend.
There have been some people in my life as well as a few clients I’m sure that have exhausted me lately and I know it has shown in my actions, words, and in my thoughts. This fresh perspective gave me a renewed thought process in terms of how I treat people. What would happen if we treated every co-worker, client, business or person like they were made in the image of God? It should make a difference in everything we do. See Leviticus 19:18. Think about it. If we treated everyone (not just the titles mentioned above) like they had the potential to believe, to love, to be kind, to trust, to be trusted, to have value, to improve, to be successful… Then it should change how we treat and relate to them. It shouldn’t matter if they believe what we believe, whether they go to church or not, or even if they are Christians.
The Sales & Marketing Professional’s Summer Reading List
June 10, 2015
There is something about summer that makes us want to compile a reading list and see it through, or in this case, read it through. Perhaps it’s because summer tends to be vacation season and what’s better than digging into an interesting book while at the beach or mountain cabin? Maybe it’s the fact that the days are longer and as long as the sun is up why not make use of it! Either way, business owners, entrepreneurs and sales/marketing pros should check off a few of these books on their summer “to read” lists in order to grow and maximize their business(s).
Salesdog.com recently released a ‘Top 10’ list of books that are sure to produce good value for people looking to cultivate better sales and better overall performance/fluidity with their business. The list is as follows in no particular order:
Becoming the Dumbest Person in the Office – 2.0
February 12, 2015Our very own Joe Sharp published a blog in October of 2009 titled ‘The Power of Becoming the Dumbest Person in the Office.’ In his blog, humility and “teachability” are identified as key ingredients in developing as a successful leader and business owner. This theme was also covered in Chapter Five of his book, Running Down Your Dreams.
From the perspective of an entrepreneur or business manager, embracing humility is a standard with which to strive for, many times resulting in a team that’s generally more devoted to their work. A team that is true to its mission and committed to diligence draws its attitude from the top and whatever is projected from its leadership, whether good or bad, tends to trickle down to each member of the team. This is the role of the leader: to set the “corporate tone,” establish and maintain the organization’s mission through word and deed, and to encourage and elevate his/her team. So, if the leader dictates the pace, what role should the other team members assume?