When I restarted my business in November of 2014, I let go of more than 3/4 of my staff. The ones I kept were essential to the new direction I wanted to go in. One person, in particular, helped me through this ‘restart’ phase. I remember thanking God for her and praying for God to show her favor and success in growing her career. She blessed my business tremendously in the transition, and I know why. When we pray for others and intercede on their behalf, God finds favor in you AND them. In Nehemiah 1:10-11, we find Nehemiah in prayer to God, however not for himself, but others that will help him build. “They are your servants and your people, whom you redeemed by your great strength and your mighty hand. Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of this your servant and to the prayer of your servants who delight in revering your name. Give your servant success today by granting him favor in the presence of this man.” Do you want to restart? You can’t do it alone. There are people around you that God also wants to bless using your business. Do you realize that the success of your business could put someone else’s kid through college? Do you realize the opposite is true as well: if you don’t succeed, someone else isn’t moving forward. Take a moment now to write down 3-5 people that you know are going to be instrumental in you Restarting your business. These can be employees, contractors, vendors, clients,  consultants or a friend that loves to help. Pray for them and their success. They have goals and dreams too, pray that God grant you favor in your business so that many can benefit from its success. All my best, Alex Miranda Get to know me at www.alexmiranda22.com #RestartYourBusiness #HiringtheRightPeople 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.

From January to March of 2015 I spent a lot of time in prayer.  The identity of my company had changed, I wasn’t sure where money would come from, but I remember having a vision of what I wanted, setting some financial goals, and praying God’s favor. From May to June I had my best quarter EVER!  My accountant couldn’t believe it.  The turnaround was incredible.  We were totally out of debt and finding our groove! When we declare our vision and write down out goals to meditate on daily, God see’s that we’re doing the right things to prepare for His favor.  I didn’t make any more phone calls than I normally did.  I didn’t spend money (that I didn’t have) on advertising and marketing.  I didn’t positioned myself as any kind of authority in anything.  I was just declaring the vision and goals. Despite our greatest efforts as entrepreneurs, our authority, wealth, and power cannot compare with receiving favor at the hand of God. In Nehemiah 2:4-6 we see Nehemiah finding favor as well. “The king said to me, “What is it you want?” Then I prayed to the God of heaven, and I answered the king, “If it pleases the king and if your servant has found favor in his sight, let him send me to the city in Judah where my ancestors are buried so that I can rebuild it.”   Then the king, with the queen sitting beside him, asked me, “How long will your journey take, and when will you get back?” It pleased the king to send me; so I set a time.” First off, Nehemiah knew what was coming.  He had a plan.  You could say this was all premeditated. Second, Nehemiah even said a quick prayer in between answering the question to the king.  Next time you’re pitching a big contract, say a 2-second prayer in your head, that brings God into the negotiations. Third, we see Nehemiah had a vision and goals set way before this encounter.  Did you see how detailed he was in his request?  This was the biggest meeting of his life, and he was ready for his one shot. What do you want for your business?  What are your vision and goals? Sometimes we are afraid to voice our request…out of fear…out of seeming greedy…out of feelings of unworthiness…out of feeling our request is beyond God’s capacity to deliver. Never doubt God nor limit his ability to bless your business beyond comprehension. The Bible tells us that God’s “power at work in us can do far more than we dare ask or imagine” (Ephesians 3.20, 21) if we would ask, seek, knock (Matthew 7.7, 8). Take the time to evaluate the needs of your business. Do you have a written down business plan?  When you pray, if God were to ask, “What do you want me to do?” are you prepared, as Nehemiah was, to give an answer? When your business receives favor at the hand of God, remember to acknowledge both the gift and the giver. Pray: God, thank you for your favor over my entrepreneurial career… a priceless gift that can only be obtained from you. Let me be a grateful receiver, and let me seek to share what you have given me with other business owners. Your Entrepreneur Compass, Alex Miranda #FindMyCalling #WheretoStartFirst Let’s write down some goals.  I have an easy entrepreneur compass goal sheet for you to download. P.S.  Share this series with other business owners that could use a restart button on their business lives.

I’m constantly cheering my son on, praising him for his accomplishments, and even cheering him up when he fails. I’m not naturally a cheerleader, and my father wasn’t a cheerleader, so I didn’t have it modeled in my life. It wasn’t until I read books on parenting that I discovered that I needed to constantly be letting my son know that I’m proud of him. It does something for his self-esteem. What’s fascinating is that my mom was a huge cheerleader in my life, yet something was missing because my father didn’t. It’s almost like it didn’t matter who else praised me – if my father didn’t, then anywhere else would fall short of filling that need. Listen, we also need to hear praises in our business and marriage. It fuels the business; it gives passion to the marriage. Praises are a powerful source of energy that we all need. But our earthly dads are no longer in the picture. Sure, they may still be alive, but that need for praise and approval we get from dad was in our early years. Now…now it’s time to seek the praises of our heavenly father. We entrepreneurs often go about our days checking how many likes our post got, how many people opened the email, and how many new signups to our business. And then we get home, and we want our spouse to tell us how proud they are of our accomplishments and for our children to come up and thank us for laboring all day to bring the food to the table and keep the lights on. Or even worse, we seek approval from people we don’t even like! How many of us dream of the day that we make more money than that competitor that always seemed to beat us for contracts? If we want to experience breakthroughs in our business and marriage, we should seek the praises of our Heavenly Father only – not our spouse, children, employees, vendors, contractors, or competitors. The bible says Yet at the same time many even among the leaders believed in him. But because of the Pharisees they would not openly acknowledge their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue; for they loved human praise more than praise from God. (John 12:42‭-‬43 NIV) Even the biggest religious leaders at the time of Jesus were caught up in pleasing others. You’re not alone. This is part of the enemy’s plan to take you off your game, distract you from your calling and have you living a life that doesn’t follow God’s will, but instead the world’s will. And this is precisely why you’re in the situation of needing a breakthrough in your business and marriage. But we’re going to fix that… TODAY! So the formula is for us to get our praises from our heavenly father, right? So how do we get His praises? We start by seeking and implementing what His will is for our business and marriage. We have to uncover the purpose of it all. We have to understand that our business was allowed to be created because the creator of the universe wants to use it for His purpose. We have to know that the marriage to our spouse was meant for more than just sex, companionship, and sharing of responsibilities. When we discover what our business and marriage was born to do, and we live and live doing just that, we are implementing God’s will for our life, and the praises come down from above! But we must let go of any idols we’ve brought into the office or bedroom. The business or marriage itself can become an idol we’ve placed above God! Our children and employees can become idols that we worship more than God. When we put God first in our business and marriage, and follow His will, we will not only have a fulfilled life, but we will obtain the praises of the Heavenly Father – praises that our earthly father was only supposed to give in our youth while we couldn’t comprehend what God was…but now we do. Now it’s on us, not on our parents’ past shortcomings. God expects us to be doing what He created us to do. Ephesians 2:10 says “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” I rest my case. If we’re not doing what God created and designed us to do, then this Bible verse is wrong, and the whole Bible is wrong. We know this isn’t the case 😉. Godpreneurs, let’s start today by listening to our hearts, asking God how our life can be used to give Him praise. We need to stop living a self-fulfilled life seeking the praises of man, and let God begin to use our businesses and marriages for His purpose! Then we’ll receive God’s praises, and we’ll begin to experience the breakthroughs we’ve been seeking in this season. Godpreneur Rule: Godpreneurs constantly ask God to reveal how we can be used by God and receive His praises in our businesses and marriages. #BusinessBibleStudy #MarriedEntrepreneurs 21 Days of Breakthroughs in Business and Marriage This course provides needed strength and faith, in the truth of God’s holy Word, for breakthroughs in both your business and marriage. 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

When I went to college, I learned to account like this: Revenue - Expenses = Profits What does this mean? You go out and sell a bunch of stuff. That's your revenue. Then, you deduct your expenses. You pay your employees, your bills, and all of that stuff. Once you've gone out and sold stuff and paid everything off, there's money left over for ME! YEAY! The only problem was....many times there was no profit left over for me. Everyone else got paid, but I didn't. So then, the next money I would try harder - Sell more, pay everything off, and hopefully this month I can pay myself. This went on for years...and years...sometimes paying myself, but most of the time not having enough. Those of us that are "college-educated" in accounting are left wondering if owning a business is actually worth it. And when there's no money left over, we're thinking "man, I'd rather be the employee that gets the money first than the owner who pays himself last." If you can relate to this, then I'm about to blow your mind. In 2018, I read a book called Profits First. The author had a different formula for accounting. It went like this: Revenue - Owner's Pay - Profit - Taxes = Expenses That's odd...why are the expenses the LAST thing? The answer is GENIUS...and it's the way God wants us to manage our money. In the profits first method, you go out and serve the marketplace with a great product or service, and you collect revenue for that. Then, pay yourself first. Next, you save some money. Then, you pay Uncle Sam (your government taxes). Now, whatever is leftover from that, this is what you have to pay your rent, employees, and the cost of running your business. But wait, Alex, what if there's not enough to cover rent, pay employees, and pay all the bills? Well...then that means YOU'RE RUNNING THE BUSINESS INCORRECTLY. You're mismanaging the business. Things you need to consider are your prices are too low your rent is too high you've got unnecessary expenses you need to let go of some employees See, if you keep paying for all of these things first, then you'll always think YOU are the problem because there's no profit at the end. No...you aren't the problem. Your heart is in the right place. You have a great product or service. The problem is the mismanagement of what God has entrusted you. God has given you money and resources, and you're not managing it all correctly. That's the issue. The reason we need to change our accounting formula is that we need to rule money, not have it rule us. We need to tell the money where to go, or it will grow legs and walk away on its own. In a nutshell, when money comes in, you automatically send a percentage to separate accounts you’ve set up for profits, your pay, taxes, and operational expenses. The bible says: Cast your bread on the surface of the waters, [be diligently active, make thoughtful decisions], for you will find it after many days [be richly rewarded]. (ECCLESIASTES 11:1) As a business owner, you must make diligent decisions with your money. The same way I wouldn’t let my 2-year-old son make his own decisions, you shouldn’t let your money come in without a plan behind it. Taking the ideas from the Profits First method, I’m going to share exactly how I divide up money when it comes in. I highly recommend you read the book for yourself so you can build a customized plan based on your revenue and goals. Like I mentioned before, when money comes into my account, I automatically divide it up into operational expenses, taxes, my pay, and profits. (Amazon Link to Book: https://www.amazon.com/Profit-First-Transform-Cash-Eating-Money-Making/dp/073521414X/) Here’s the plan. Operational Expenses (55%) This is the money needed to run the business. This is your rent, employee Pay, vendors, software, utilities, etc. If you can’t run your business with 55% of the revenue coming in, you likely aren’t charging enough, or your costs are too high. You need to make some adjustments. Taxes (10%) A percentage of your money will go to taxes. It’s better to put the money away each month than to be left with a big bill at the end of the year that you’ll have to scramble (or cheat) to pay. Owners pay (30%) I pay myself 30 percent of the money that comes in. What’s the point of owning a business if I’m not going to have money to pay my bills? And if you can’t pay yourself this much, then once again, something is wrong with your pricing or business costs. You must keep your formula the same and instead look at your revenue and expenses and begin to make changes. Don’t sacrifice your pay! Then what’s it all for? Profits (5%) This is my favorite account to watch grow. This money forms the backbone of my company and helps me make purchasing decisions for cool new upgrades I want to make for my business. Money here goes towards the future of my business. I’ve shared a system that I use for my own business that has helped me get out of debt and be excited to own a business. I was excited before, but now I’m excited because I’m the best financial manager for God that I can be. Once we all start getting in the habit of telling our money where to go, we open up God’s financial blessings over our businesses. Imagine if we all were great stewards of the money coming into our business? How much more would God bless us if we were diligent with our finances like he commands us to be? Godpreneur Money Rule #18: God wants us to develop systems in our business of dividing up money so we can experience financial freedom and wealth. #BusinessBibleStudy #WorkLifeBalance #Pricing The 19 Rules of Money Management for Christian Entrepreneurs This course will help you develop a better sense of money management in God’s way. 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

I have several businesses and brands that produce my revenue. I also have some books on Amazon and online courses that sell without me having to do much. A few years back I learned something important in business: Don’t have all your eggs in one basket. My company’s revenue was 90% dependent on nightclubs, bars, and lounges. When I decided to leave the nightlife altogether, my entire paycheck left with it. I had to start over from scratch. It’s good for us entrepreneurs to stay focused to develop roots in our businesses, but we also need to understand the most important rule of Money Management – Diversification. Don’t take my word for it. "Give a portion to seven, or even [divide it] to eight, for you do not know what misfortune may occur on the earth."(Ecclesiastes 11:2) Solomon, the wisest man to ever live, said it himself – diversify 7…no, even eight different ways! We Godpreneurs can receive three types of income: Portfolio – Income from investing in the stock market or having a 401K Passive – Cash coming in from rental properties or the sales of a book or online course Active – Money we work for like providing a service or selling products in our businesses You are likely earning an active income. Some of you are earning passive income. Fewer of you are earning portfolio income. But the Bible says you need to be involved in all of them. Personally, here is what I have going on so you can learn from: My Portfolio Income I don't have any of my money in stock market portfolios, bitcoin, or a 401K. My personal preference is to invest in my own companies and ideas. Therefore, I have a portfolio of brands that I invest my time, money, and resources into. I'm creating my own portfolio of companies to invest in. My Passive Income I have a company I started back in 2018 called www.vaLocator.com. It's a virtual assistant staffing agency. I started the company, then hired a CEO to replace me. I get on a call once a week to go over branding ideas and I'm a primary driver of business through referrals. And at the end of every month and 4 times a year, I receive passive income from this venture. I'm not involved in the day-to-day operations. I also have this Godpreneur Academy. People buy my business Bible studies and business courses. That's passive income I receive from creating a product once and being able to sell it many times over. My Active Income I'm very active in my business at the beginning. I start businesses with the goal of turning them into passive investments. I add them to my portfolio of businesses. However, from its inception until I can hand it off, I'm very active and I pay myself a salary during those times. In this case, I receive active income. God is overseeing the way we manage the money and funds he sends our way, as long as we manage these correctly, he will bless us with more. As Godpreneurs we must prove to Him that we can have the ability to manage money. I hope this post provided you with the insight you needed to develop a better sense of money management, God’s way. Continuing to learn how to find the perfect balance between money management and God’s blessings is key in order to make money the RIGHT way. Don't stop at this post. Keep going. Every time you feel there’s not enough money coming in, it’s probably because you haven’t been managing it correctly. God is testing you and your ability to please Him, only this way will you hit your goals. Here are some other studies you can take inside of the Godpreneur Academy about money: Secrets of the Millionaire Mind (FREE) Attracting Money In Your Business, God's Way Removing The Stress of Money in Your Business 5 Lies of Money and Business Leave a testimonial below on how this post has helped you out. Praying for your success in money management moving forward! #BusinessBibleStudy #MakeMoreMoney #AccountingHelp #RaisingCapital The 19 Rules of Money Management for Christian Entrepreneurs This course will help you develop a better sense of money management, God’s way.

I’ve learned over the years that if I don’t go “all in” on something, I might as well not make any commitment to it. The problem with going halfway in on something is that my mind and heart are also only halfway in. My level of focus is cut in half, I’m halfway in, halfway out, I’m doing other things, and I’m not fully confident. It ends up showing. Take CrossFit for example. If you've followed me long enough, it’s obvious I love CrossFit. I don’t step into other gyms. I don’t subscribe to other ways of working out. I’m 100% committed to the philosophy, the training, the culture, the events, and the people. And guess what? It shows in my level of fitness performance and athletic ability (not so much in my stomach, I still eat terribly… Pray for me!) Also, take my marriage for example. When I first got married, I thought I was 100% committed, but I wasn’t. Theoretically, I was. But deep down, I had baggage. I had hurt from my past and doubt about my future. It wasn’t until I went all in, erased the notion of divorce, and committed myself fully to the institution of marriage when I began to reap the benefits God had for me all along. And the same happened to me in business. Once I decided to stick to one niche, one target market, with one message, and one overall plan of service, I began to reap the rewards of entrepreneurship. My commitment to one niche helped me serve that group the best way possible – the way God designed me to serve…the way He would serve them. We married entrepreneurs need to ask ourselves, are we 100% committed to God and His plan for us? Many of us may think we’re giving God our best. We think it’s good enough to God if we pray, go to church, and attempt to be a good person. The reality is that if we want to receive the fullness of marriage and business and the breakthroughs God promises He will deliver, then he needs our 100% commitment to Him. God wants all of your marriage and business, not part of it. Jesus said: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ (Mark 12:30 NIV) Like with any new diet, new business, or a new relationship, if you don’t fully commit to the plan, you won’t get the results. That’s why I don’t have a six-pack stomach yet… I’m not committed to an eating plan. (Well, I am committed to a plan, just the wrong one!) And with God, commitment to His plan the same thing. Being partially obedient to God in your business or marriage is pretty much disobedience. You might be holding on to a part of your business that God’s trying to get you out of. Stop clenching your fists and let it go. It takes trust and faith to do that. However, that’s the kind of obedience that gets rewarded. Remember the story of Abraham and his son? God asked Abraham to sacrifice (kill) his son. Abraham obeyed. And seconds before the final act, God stops him abruptly and says “Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son” (Genesis 22:12 NIV). Abraham was more committed to God than holding on to his son. I’m not even sure I have THAT level of commitment myself! The Bible is full of people committed to the cause. It’s also full of people not committed to God - but then turn their lives around, make the commitment, and become the heroes we read and talk about today. You might be putting things, people, money, or your success before God. And just because you’re obedient in some areas, drop a little money in the bucket at church, and read a blog or two of mine, you’re good and that God’s still going to bless you. If He does, it’s because He’s showing you grace and continuing to give you chances to turn around, make the commitment, and give yourself to Him. But He won’t give you the full breakthrough you so eagerly desire until you give yourself fully to Him. Some people think this act of giving ourselves up in obedience makes them feel like they are jailed up and unable to be free. Let me tell you:I have more freedom now than ever before. I’m free to do what I was born to do. I’m free to love my wife unconditionally. I’m free to run my business the way God intended and to reap the rewards of that. I’m free to love my child, employees, vendors, contractors, clients, and even competitors the way I’m supposed to love them. Now I feel like I’m OUT of the jail I was in before. My mind is free, my heart is alert, and I’ll never go back. The irony is that the more you give up your old self to God, the more freedom your new self has. When we Godpreneurs give all of our business and marriage to God, that’s an act of surrender and sacrifice. Like Abraham, we might not know what God is up to, but even when it doesn’t make sense, we need to obey. If we give our marriage and business fully to God, he’ll return them to us restored, reunited, and ready to break through to new levels. When Abraham thought the act of sacrificing his son was going to please God, God revealed that the commitment was greater than the sacrifice. That’s when the angel told Abraham that his descendants would be as numerous as the stars in the sky. One commitment to God turned into all the stars in the sky. Do you see it? The bible says If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the good things of the land; (Isaiah 1:19 NIV) The formula for success in marriage and business is right there. It’s called commitment to God. It’s called going all in for Christ. It’s called taking off our old self and putting on our Godpreneur self. God is no different today than He was back in Abraham’s day. He’s looking across all of the earth picking out Godpreneurs who are committed. The moment we follow Him, surrender, and let go, God promises He will bless us with the breakthrough. We have to trust God knows what’s best for our business and marriage. If a business plan isn’t working, give it to God. If the marriage retreat high is fading away, give it to God. When we surrender our plans to Him, it might hurt for a moment, but God will turn that sadness into strength. Once you get to the level of commitment I’ve gotten to, you’ll wonder why you didn’t take it to this level much sooner. My prayer and hope... are that my own experiences would help you find your breakthrough much faster than I did. Mine took nearly ten years. It didn’t have to take that long. If I only had some good teaching like this, I could have saved myself a lot of heartaches…and money! I promise that if you commit to this Christian walk, you will obtain peace, which the business world or your spouse cannot give to you. If you want to make that commitment as I did years ago, I want you to repeat this prayer out loud. Say “Lord Jesus, I repent of my sins. I say I’m sorry. I commit all of my mind, body, and soul to you. I make you my Lord and savior.” Godpreneur, if you just prayed that prayer, I believe God heard it, and you’re exponentially closer to your breakthrough! Get connected to a great church take your relationship with God to the next level. I pray this time we’ve spent together has blessed you. I want to invite you to get plugged in and stay connected to me and my teachings. I’m gathering a group of us Godpreneurs in the Godpreneur Academy. I’m teaching business and Bible lessons, we’re growing in our faith and finances, we’re being held accountable to our calling, and we’re staying plugged into the spirit that wants to guide us to growth both personally and entrepreneurially. Click www.godpreneur.com/academy #BusinessBibleStudy #MarriedEntrepreneurs #LaunchingMyBusiness 21 Days of Breakthroughs in Business and Marriage This course provides needed strength and faith, in the truth of God’s holy Word, for breakthroughs in both your business and marriage. 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

I once got into a business venture that ended with my partner borrowing over $130,000 from my credit cards with no ability to pay me back before the payments were due. Imagine owing that much money to credit card companies, and you can't make the minimum payment. The situation nearly destroyed me. I couldn't sleep at night. I was angry and bitter. I had no idea how I was going to get out of this mess. My partner also didn't have a way to repay me. It was a dark time in my entrepreneurial journey. Now here's the weird part about all of this: while I was going through this terrible external situation, I was still growing in my walk with God. I read my Bible, wrote my blog posts for Daily Godpreneur, and put out my YouVersion devotionals. Nobody would have ever guessed that I was going through such a bad business situation as I was in. But if I could sum up all of my feelings into one statement, it would be this: the inner peace that Christ promises doesn't feel like very much when everything is chaos around the business. Can I get an 'AMEN' from my Christian entrepreneurs? The struggle is REAL! Entrepreneurship in the spirit, and the inner peace it brings, is a nice thing to have, but when our outer business situation is terrible, inner peace might not feel like it's worth very much. However, does accepting the present automatically lead to a passive way of running our business in which we are not mindful of or willing to change anything that troubles us? We both know the answer to this question is a resounding 'NO.' The Bible says You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. (1 John 4:4 NIV) John is reminding the reader that the power of Christ, who lives in the believer, is greater than the power of the world. The Holy Spirit living in the Christian is far stronger than any attack by the Devil. This encouragement should empower believers to trust the Lord and obey His commands rather than fear Satan and external factors. By doing so, believers can walk with boldness in business and overcome the powers of darkness. Doing business in the present is an internal process of communing with your Holy Spirit through feelings and insight. It doesn’t entail you having to develop a passive external behavior of giving into circumstances. That's what the enemy wants you to do! For example, if you’re late paying a credit card bill, you don’t simply tell yourself that you always wanted to fall into credit delinquency. Instead, you try, without panicking, to generate sales to at least make a minimum payment. Walking your daily entrepreneurial journey in the present can even provide you with new resources and new ways to solve problems. God can work through your Spirit to inspire new thoughts. The word inspiration has the word "spirit" because it's God's communication line to us. As Godpreneurs, we should not waste our inner Spirit resources creating problems. Instead, entrepreneurship in present tune with the spirit can bring us new forms of strength and determination. In fact, by operating in the present, you see what God sees: no problems – only individual, manageable situations that you can solve, one by one. This makes you a much more effective business leader. Operating in the spirit and accepting the present does not mean we commit to a passive business life or choose not to try to change things for the better. Instead, exercising the use of our God-given Holy Spirit and focusing on the present, while starving the enemy by not feeding into past or future thoughts, we are more able to see clearly whatever it is that’s wrong at any given moment, and the Spirit gives us the strength to change those things for the better. #DifferentiatingMyself

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had to “restart” my business. One day things are going great, there’s momentum, the vision is clear, everyone’s on board, we’re making money. Then, bad news. Bad news has come in many forms. For me, it happened each time a partner of mine left the company. It also happened when I lost my biggest client. The latest one happened in November when I dropped the nightlife from my service list and the accountant told me I had a couple of weeks of survival before it was all over. We’ve all had setbacks in our business. We have good days and bad days. But sometimes we get news so big that it rocks the entire foundation of your business, your plans for the future, and ultimately, your identity as an entrepreneur.  We feel depressed, lonely, like a failure, like the dream is over. I’ve been there, and it's likely I will be there again. But there’s good news!  God has a plan, and he wants us to REBUILD! Yup!  And in these next series of posts, we’ll look at the book of Nehemiah and how he was sent to REBUILD the city of Jerusalem. Most of the time in the bible when something bad has occurred we see people going straight to God first. In Nehemiah 1:4, he says: “When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven.” News about the destruction of Nehemiah’s beloved homeland evoked such a response in him. His feelings of patriotism, of concern for the Jews in Jerusalem, made him heartsick. But he didn’t just turn around and keep living his life defeated. In his distress, he wept bitterly and went to God in prayer for solace. Step 1 of Restarting our businesses is going into prayer. You don’t have to be in business long to know that bad news comes in 100 ways. God expects us to have trouble and concerns. But He has plans for those failures. God wants us to act, but he desires that we come to him first, in prayer, for guidance and direction. What is your typical reaction to bad news or news that involves the danger of failure to your business? Did you pray? Ask God to direct you to a particularly troubling issue in your business. Spend time praying and fasting for its resolution. PRAYER TO RESTART YOUR BUSINESS Lord, thank you that I can come boldly to your throne of grace. Make me sensitive to the holy spirit and where it wants to guide my business and let me seek your loving support through the gift of prayer. In Jesus' name, Amen! I'm praying for you, too! 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. #EnhanceFocus #IncreaseEnergy

I get distracted easily. Sometimes I’m so distracted that I’m so far off the thing is supposed to be doing that the business starts to suffer for it. But when I realize I’ve gone off the rail and I get back on track, things seem to start running smoothly again.  Sigh of relief! This is similar to our walk with God. We get distracted by things that seem like they’ll make us money, deals that are too good to be true, partnerships that we think will suit us well, but deep down we know it's either against God’s Word or not in the vision He’s given us.  Believe it or not, going against God is a sin. However, if we’re aware of it, confess and turn our businesses back towards God, He will be faithful to the vision and promises He has given. After Nehemiah decides to pray and confess, he reminds God of the promise He made to his ancestors.  Nehemiah 1:8-9 says: “Remember the instruction you gave your servant Moses, saying, ‘If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the nations, but if you return to me and obey my commands, then even if your exiled people are at the farthest horizon, I will gather them from there and bring them to the place I have chosen as a dwelling for my Name." Are you relying on any of God’s promises to motivate you? When God promises, it's for real.  Not like “Honey, I promise to take out the trash,” and then you forget.  No. God’s promises are true. Every single one of them. What has God promised you for your business? What does the bible say about His promises for you to prosper? Are you relying on any of God’s promises to motivate you in business? Keep that top of mind so that when you face adversity, you can remind yourself of His promise, and move on! 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. P.P.S. Let me know a promise that you lean on as an entrepreneur by commenting on this Facebook post. #EnhanceFocus #StrengthenIntegrity #RestartYourBusiness

I have some things to confess. I’ve cheated on my taxes. I’ve deposited checks that I knew the client overpaid on.  The list goes on and on… Before coming to a true relationship with God, doing these things was actually FUN!  It felt like I was winning; beating the system. I wasn’t a mobster or anything like that, but I knew it was wrong. Also, for years, I serviced the nightlife industry. I knew this wasn’t an industry that God wanted me to be a part of, at least not anymore.  But I continued in it for the wrong reasons, which in hindsight paralyzed me from the bigger opportunities God had lined up for me. We all have things in our business we do that we need to confess to God.  Confessing lets God know that we acknowledge our wrongs and are committed to the change of making it right. In Nehemiah 1:5-7, we see he has just broken into prayer, but the key is in the confession: Then I said: “ Lord , the God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with those who love him and keep his commandments, let your ear be attentive and your eyes open to hear the prayer your servant is praying before you day and night for your servants, the people of Israel. I confess the sins we Israelites, including myself and my father’s family, have committed against you. We have acted very wickedly toward you. We have not obeyed the commands, decrees and laws you gave your servant Moses." When you make the commitment of Restarting your business and get on your knees to pray, confess the parts of your business where you knowingly went against what God would bless.  Confess any little thing.  Get it off your chest, out of your body, and leave it with God. You’re now fresh and renewed, ready for the journey up ahead! #DifferentiatingMyself #ShareYourTestimony #RestartYourBusiness

Buy it on Amazon:  http://a.co/j6XefG7 Discovering Your Calling as an Entrepreneur The Ultimate Purpose-Driven Roadmap to Creating a Business of Meaning and Significance “DISCOVER THE BUSINESS GOD CREATED YOU TO START.” WARNING: This book will completely change your current business and the way you view it. If you’re comfortable where you’re at, I suggest you don’t read this book. The contents will revolutionize your mindset on why your business exists and what you have to do moving forward to answer your calling in the marketplace. This book is expressively for Godpreneurs – entrepreneurs who put God first in their business. It’s for those of us that want our lives and our businesses to mean something…something more than just chasing the next fad or revenue marker. This is for those who are feeling purpose-less, going on with their day thinking “there has to be more than this” to owning a business. Knowing your calling is incredibly valuable to you, and you are constantly thinking “how can I stay in the zone.” Serial entrepreneur Alex Miranda delivers a fresh take on the matra “do what you were born to do” as he shows you how to drastically re-engineer your entire relationship with God, your business and the marketplace, and if applied faithfully, achieve peak personal purpose and receive many blessings. Learn how to: FULLY UNDERSTAND WHAT CALLING IS – and put a plan together for understanding yours. SLAY FEAR – and develop a faith that overcomes the enemy that doesn’t want you in your calling STOP JUST EXISTING – and start running a business of purpose and passion ACHIEVE WHAT YOU WERE BORN TO DO – with a formula for finding your calling GODPRENEURS RULES of running your business CONNECT WITH GODPRENEUERS in a community of like-minded business owners BE THE LIGHT so you can impact the marketplace for Christ PREPARE YOUR TEAM for the new direction your business will go in BEGIN TODAY with the new vision for your success ALEX MIRANDA is the creator of dailygodpreneur.com, a blog for Christian entrepreneurs who want to learn what God has to say about the business. He is a brand strategist, serial entrepreneur, author, speaker, entrepreneurs’ coach; marketing strategy consultant; and content contributor to other blogs and books. Buy it on Amazon:  http://a.co/j6XefG7 #FindMyCalling #LaunchingMyBusiness

I’ve read the book “Secrets of the Millionaire Mind” many times.  The last time I read it, I got the crazy idea of giving a book review, but from a Christian perspective.  My goal was to take every concept of the book and run it through the Word of God and see what God has to say about it. Want to know what I discovered? I found that each and every concept taught in the book is something taught in the Bible too!. I know anything with the word “Millionaire” in the title automatically brings skepticism, especially in the Christian community.  But that’s EXACTLY the author’s main point – we have been pre-conditioned to think negatively about money, and this needs to change!. An 11-Day Journey to a Millionaire Mind My hope is that thousands of us Godpreneurs worldwide will take my 11-Day email video teaching together.  Each day you’ll be able to comment on the lesson of the day and work through the concepts together. I’ll also be doing a few LIVE sessions during the 11 days to answer questions that come up. Click here to sign up for the journey! What’s in it for me? The bible says: “Be Transformed by the renewing if your mind” (Romans 12:2). We Godpreneurs must learn how to recognize that our thoughts could be wrong, and how we can adopt new attitudes and implant “millionaire thinking” into our minds. Synopsis There are key guiding principles and patterns in the minds of millionaires that help them accumulate wealth.  They live by these rules and their minds don’t deviate from them. But not all of us grew up around millionaires, so our minds don’t operate like theirs.  By the grace of God, we’re all able to think differently in order to produce a new outcome in our financial lives. The best-selling book Secrets of the Millionaire Mind (2005) explains how we Godpreneurs unconsciously developed behavioral patterns and strict attitudes in our relationship to money that we learned from our parents – and in order to change our future wealth, we need to transform our minds. Summary These lessons will show you: How to Reprogram to Be Wealthy Teaching Your Kids To Be Godly Rich How to Handle Money God’s Way Transforming Your Mind to God-Like Wealth How to Break Bad Money Habits First Step on the Path of Prosperity How Christians (wrongly) Detract Money The First Commandment To Becoming Rich Want to Make a Million Dollars?  Do This. The Frugal Method to Becoming a Millionaire You Must Overcome This to Become Rich Begin the journey today!  CLICK HERE to sign up. #ArticulatingMyIdeas #WritingGreatCopy #GodpreneurAcademy #WorkLifeBalance

I've been writing a lot about entrepreneurship in the spirit - how to be fully present with the holy spirit and engaged in the right here and right now of what God wants me to do. Along my journey to stay present, I discovered that most of the anxiety, pain, and feelings of sadness I feel as an entrepreneur are caused by the enemy's control over my mind throughout the day. However, I also discovered that even if I run my business entirely in the present, some feelings of sadness and pain are simply unavoidable - like the pain inflicted by others or the pain of a failed business venture. While it’s true that most pain we feel as entrepreneurs is self-created, that doesn’t mean we create all of it. For example, suppose a client isn't close to Christ and uses their destructive mind to hurl insults or deliberately do something that negatively affects our business. In that case, the pain we feel is unavoidable. As much as we'd like, we cannot lead everyone around us to enlightenment. Another unavoidable pain is the pain of losing a business venture. The pandemic caused many businesses to have to shut down permanently. Years of hard work, blood, sweat, and tears all ripped away suddenly. The dominoes fall and lead to debt, confusion, and an identity crisis. This pain was unavoidable. So what should we do with the pain we can't avoid along our entrepreneurial journey? Just suppress the feelings and pretend that everything is ok? That doesn't sound right. What does the Bible say about unavoidable pain? Ecclesiastes 7:13‭-‬14 NLT says Accept the way God does things, for who can straighten what he has made crooked? Enjoy prosperity while you can, but when hard times strike, realize that both come from God. Remember that nothing is certain in this life. As good a shelter as God's wisdom is, it cannot shield from every possible painful event one might experience in life. Everybody faces such situations. The wisdom Solomon teaches here is to resign to the circumstances by submitting that there are times that nothing can be done to avoid certain problems. Because there are things, God is doing that you can't understand right now, and since the Holy Spirit is your connection to God, you must focus your present thoughts on the Spirit's understanding of this truth. This will, therefore, take you from negative thoughts to positive peace in the present. When unavoidable pain shows up in the form of having to shut our businesses down, you have to discern the time, resign yourself to it, and gracefully and humbly accept it, allowing God to work out His purpose without complaint. This is the Biblical way of dealing with unavoidable pain. The flip side of not accepting things as they are is allowing the business shutdown to depress you and dominate your thoughts to such an extent that you do virtually nothing positive about the things you can change. Instead of surrendering to God and communing in the presence of the Holy Spirit, you've fed the enemy in the mind, which causes anxiety and depression. That is when Satan wins because, having put yourself into a weakened attitude, you more readily cave to his devices. As Godpreneurs, Solomon essentially counsels us to learn to “roll with the punches.” We took a risk to start a business, things didn't go as planned, and we must make careful efforts to make the best of the situation, understanding that God has seemingly shut the venture down for our good. This is the peace only entrepreneurship in the spirit can give. God has commanded that we business owners must live by faith. The enemy will nag us to try to figure out the precise reasons for the failed business. It's futile to mull over it - a huge waste of time and energy robbed from the gift of being present with the Lord. This wisdom may not satisfy some entrepreneurs because of its simplicity, but it is right: Trust God! #DifferentiatingMyself

Miracles are an act of faith, and faith has proof in advance for the things that are not yet in existence. It is about believing you have it when in the real sense, you don't. Christian entrepreneurship is faith-based. To be in business, an entrepreneur requires a thousand daily acts of seeing the unseen future. A miracle worker, or rather an agent of miracle, must have faith. The miracle of entrepreneurship is in value creation. It is in bringing into manifestation those things that never were. It starts this way: A man wakes up with an idea (divinely inspired solution) and he is not sure that it would work out. Anyways, he engages his mental or creative energy with few resources available to vivify that idea. Time breathes on the product of that mental engagement, and a few years down the line, that idea becomes a multi-million dollar company. Miracle? This entrepreneurial man just created things (products, services, infrastructures, solutions, etc.) that never existed. This event can only be ascribed to as a miracle, and it's only the ability to create value that can give birth to this kind of miracle. Entrepreneurs are idea inventors. The invention is a miracle of creation. The prerequisite for creating value is converting ideas and opportunities into problem-solving products to meet market needs. The ability to create is the force behind the miracles. We are called into entrepreneurship because we have been blessed with unique ideas and creative abilities to produce the values needed to help people. In the same way, we are not bereft of the faith to engage in the journey. I believe our challenge is exercising our faith to produce the miracle. Jesus shared one secret idea with us, and He said, Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds (John 12:24 NIV). No matter how potent, any idea remains what it is (a seed, unproductive, dormant) unless it is cultivated. Just like the seed of wheat cited here, every business idea will have to be subjected to the process of planting, nurturing, and waiting before it can produce lots of other fruits. Planting, nurturing, waiting, and harvesting are acts of entrepreneurship. In the process of time, the miracle is in one idea giving rise to other ideas and giving birth to other investments. When the miracle happens, the entire humanity becomes sharers of it. Entrepreneurs must never think that they are the real miracle workers, never! God simply uses us to work miracles. What happens in the process is entirely supernatural. It is like this: He also said, “This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground.Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how (Mark 4:26-27 NIV). God does the actual miracle, in the acts of growing and the multiplication of the seed, but endows us with creative abilities to work them out. Those who hoard their business ideas can neither be agents of miracles nor experience one. You can recall the story of that man who hid his Master's money instead of investing it and having multiplication like the other servants (Luke 19:20). Jesus once hosted a multitude of people who were in need of food, and he had only five loaves of bread and two fishes (little ideas). These were far from being enough to feed the multitude. He moved by faith, by praying upon the provision, believing they would take care of the multitude, and it happened that 5,000 people were fed and they had leftovers (Matthew 14:15-21). This should be the attitude of Christian entrepreneurs. Jesus has just taught us that a few can be enough and more when subjected to acts of faith. Engaging all you have been endowed with, you can have as many miracle entrepreneurship experiences as you are willing to stake your faith in. But remember, faith that works is based on the knowledge of God and His Word. Through your faith, you can always step into your miraculous entrepreneurial future from your point of the dream. If you can see it, then you can have it. When miracles happen, an entrepreneur becomes a blessing to his community and, indeed, to mankind for generations to come. This is the reason we are here. #FindingMyPurpose #DifferentiatingMyself

I had a close friend and business partner that I couldn't be around for a long time because we'd always end up in an argument. I still can't be around him for too long because something mysteriously doesn't click between us...anymore. I say "anymore" because we used to be on the same page about the nightlife, partying, women, and drugs, but not anymore. As I began to leave that world, disconnecting my mind from the enemy's control and becoming more spirit-filled, he and I simply weren't getting along anymore. After I studied the opposing forces of the enemy's control of the mind versus the present holy spirit in us, I've come to realize that it's not my friend and former partner that I couldn't be around; it’s that darkness and light don't mix. When we Godpreneurs grow in our relationship with God and commune more with the Holy Spirit, we become able to do business in the present and are no longer completely dependent on the enemy in our mind. Naturally, this conversion will cause changes in our daily routines. Our interactions with people will begin to change. How do we manage this change, especially if you're already in a business partnership with someone who won't change? How do we handle clients and employees who are not in our same mindset? As I encountered with my former partner, it’s extremely difficult for a “non-spiritual” person to interact daily with someone who lives entirely in the presence of their spirit. The enemy's control of the mind of the non-present person feeds on problems, while the person who is present, calm, and at peace with their spirit is experienced as a threat. The non-present person’s ego (enemy) reacts by creating further problems – for instance, by debating a trivial issue in the business to disrupt the peace, insulting the other person, or continually referring to past incidents to pull them out of the present. Why would they do that? The Bible says Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness. Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him there is no cause for stumbling. But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes. (1 John 2:9-11 ESV) Just as the darkness cannot survive near the light, it is difficult for a person whose mind is still controlled by the enemy to be near a person living in the present for very long. Strong opposites cannot exist in close proximity. If you put water on the fire, the flame extinguishes. If you place a candle in the darkness, the darkness disappears. However, if you do it correctly, entrepreneurship in the spirit can also significantly improve your relationship: you’ll be able to stop judging, criticizing, or trying to change people. Furthermore, the insight you gain by operating in the present can be used to disrupt otherwise endless cycles, like debates that never conclude. The inner peace that being present with your spirit brings enables you to hear your partner without judging. God wants us to see someone else as an independent person who is ALSO in need of a savior who will tip the balance from the enemy's control to the Spirit's control. Acts 26:18 ESV says, "To open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me." If we live in the present, the day-to-day operations can be complicated on our closest relationships. It's why the Bible says not to be unequally yoked. It can even become a new test of the relationship. In the long run, however, it can offer an excellent opportunity for positive change – for all parties involved. Imagine if all Godpreneurs were like Paul, recognizing the depths from which we have been rescued, and therefore be willing to testify to the truth of the glorious gospel of Christ so that by His grace, many minds would be turned from darkness to light and be rescued from the clutches of Satan and brought into the present with their holy spirit and personal savior, Jesus. #DifferentiatingMyself