Have you ever wondered why some entrepreneurs become successful, and others don’t? Well, who hasn’t? The problem is, we often assume that successful business owners have something we lack, be it extraordinary talent, money, and connections, or simply a lot of luck. And sure, these things might help – but they’re not what success is made of. Instead, success in entrepreneurship is the result of resilience: the ability to face criticism and rejection in the marketplace when pursuing your goals. So if resilience is the key, then for us GODPRENEURS, what does the Bible say about resilience? Resilience is the biblical norm for Christians. The Bible contains many admonitions to press on (Philippians 3:13–15), overcome hardship and temptation (Romans 12:21), and persevere in the face of trials (James 1:12). It also gives us numerous examples of people who suffered greatly but continued to follow God’s plan for their lives. Proverbs 24:16 could be seen as the theme verse for the resilient: “Though the righteous fall seven times, they rise again, but the wicked stumble when calamity strikes.” For GODPRENEURS, we have an unfair advantage because we're already taught to choose to trust in the Lord rather than rely on what we understand. This is the best way to practice, perfect, and stay resilient. 💪 #DifferentiatingMyself #EnhanceFocus

When I’m doing a job for a client, sometimes I hire subcontractors to speed up the process and get the work done by a specialist. These contractors are, mostly, partnering with me for a short period of time on a project. They would be considered temporary business partners. There have been a few times that I haven’t been satisfied with their work. I take responsibility for things I didn’t do, and I try to move on so we can keep doing a great job together. But I don’t always entirely move on. A little piece of the mistake they did lingers inside of me and carry it on to the next project. Partnerships are hard because we’re stubborn people and we like to hold on to grudges, past hurts, and mistakes, even after a sincere apology. Genuinely forgiving an apologizing business partner is hard work. Why is it hard for us entrepreneurs to move on when we’ve been wronged in the past? Here’s a short list of maybes We think the apology isn’t sincere, probably because we, ourselves, have been insincere apologizing to someone in the past Since this probably isn’t the first time the partner wrongs us, we see a trend, and we’re wary of the sincerity Are we enabling more of the mistakes when we forgive? Let’s be honest, staying angry gives us a Dog I the next big showdown. We can bring up the past hurts as evidence for negotiating things the way you want them. Your hurt becomes an asset. But God says there’s a better way for us. The Bible says “Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you” (Colossians 3:13). When you hold on to anger, it poisons your soul and the soul of the business. You end up telling other partners or employees, and it begins to create a culture of hostility. The toxins marinating inside of you will even affect your own roles and responsibilities to the partnership. I know when I hold on to anger, I’m not able to see the very gifts and values for my business which I hired that subcontractor for, and it keeps me from seeing his efforts to make things better and grow in his craft. So, how do we break it? How do we let go? We remember the massive debt that Jesus paid to forgive us. It pales in comparison. If we are unforgiving, we risk God doing the same on something for us. In His holy sanctification, God will do whatever He needs to do to make us more like Him. Godpreneurs let unforgiven go and let God change our hearts so that our businesses can grow. #BusinessPartnerships #BusinessBibleStudy Finding Purpose In Your Business Partnership Instead of reading the blog posts, take the video course!  I personally teach you the method.  You get: Workbook 3-Video Teachings Access to dozens of courses in the Godpreneur Academy! 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

The business partnerships I’ve been in were hard because it involved two selfish people trying to build something together. At some point, when the new car smell wears off from the partnership, either my partner or I would begin to feel the sting of not getting something our way. My partnerships became especially harder the closer I drew to God. My partners weren’t on the same spiritual growth path. As I learned about being less selfish over time, their human nature was to continue to look out for themselves. Nothing terrible ever happened, but nothing good was happening either. Lucky for me the partnership dissolved in peace and we’re all friends, but I still wonder what we could have been if we all were a little less selfish. We entrepreneurs don’t need to read a book about being selfish. We were born with that, and our good parents were supposed to lovingly (hopefully) guide us towards a life of sharing, caring for others more, putting others first, being sensitive to other people’s needs, etc. But when our parents leave, and we’re on our own, who’s there to continue to guide us away from the software that’s forever installed in our brains? If we don’t get the selfishness under control, the natural stresses of business will cause such a great pain of loss and rejection that partners quit with the attitude of “I have to take care of me for a change.” “It’s my time now.” “I need to be looking out for number one.” This is precisely the opposite thinking that we need. So how do we remove selfishness from ourselves? The Bible says: "Don’t be concerned for your own good but for the good of others". (1 Corinthians 10:24 NLT) You and your business partners will drive each other crazy because you don’t notice the things that are important to one another. What you do and don’t do can make blood boil inside. You’ll be fighting a natural software installed in your mind. You’ll have to uninstall the software daily, only to realize the next day that the software has automatically established itself again. It’s a virus, and there’s no cure for viruses. We can only suppress a virus. We Godpreneurs do it by choosing to draw closer to Jesus daily. It’s not that we need to be less selfish in our business partnerships, it’s that we need Jesus more in our own lives. This will suppress the virus to the point where it could possibly lie dormant for the rest of our lives if we get really good at making Jesus first always. When we draw closer to Jesus, His ways rub off on us, and we begin to show Christ-like-behavior: “No one should seek their own good, but the good of others” (1 Corinthians 10:24). We Godpreneurs can triumph on our partnerships even when the other partner isn’t showing the same level of Christ-like behavior. We just have always to be thinking, “What does he or she need?” instead of, “Here’s what I want.” It is part of the awesomeness of putting God first in your business that when we put our partners first, our own needs get met too. #BusinessBibleStudy #BusinessPartnerships Finding Purpose In Your Business Partnership Instead of reading the blog posts, take the video course!  I personally teach you the method.  You get: Workbook 3-Video Teachings Access to dozens of courses in the Godpreneur Academy! 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

The business partnerships I’ve been in are hard. Looking back now, I can see that a lot of the problems stemmed me coming into the venture full of pride of ownership and pride of the gifting and/or financial contribution I was bringing to the table. So when things didn’t go right, my pride would puff up and I would begin to criticize, point fingers, play the blame game, and deflect the conflict back at my partners. Oh, and forget about me ever saying “I’m sorry.” (laughing out loud). Now I’m different. I’m a Godpreneur in various business Partnerships with other Christians and non-Christians. I’ve learned that apology is the cure for pride. Apologizing to our business partners is hard work. Saying I’m sorry and changing our business behaviors is even harder, and what makes it so hard for us is pride. Being in a partnership always to some degree involves each person fighting for control. It’s like being in the longest game of tug of war where the only way to stop struggling is for someone to fall. When our behaviors in the business partnership are driven by pride, we want to win every argument about money, always be right about a client. If we see difficulties in the operations is our partner’s fault, we bring up our partner’s admitted shortcomings of the past, and explain away or deny our own sins and weaknesses that we brought into the partnership. We need to change our mindset entirely on this partnership dilemma. Partnerships can be the very thing that God’s put into our lives to continue to mold and shape us into the likeness of Christ, thus becoming the best Godpreneurs possible. We need other people’s input and critique to know how we sound, how we look, how our actions affect other people in the business. In humility, we need to realize that we aren’t quite as brilliant and tough as we think we are. The Bible says: “Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you” (Romans 12:3). When your business partner has an issue with something you did or didn’t do, develop the habit of stopping for a moment and asking yourself “How did I contribute to this issue?” The golden nuggets you’ll discover will propel you and your business to heights you could have never imagined. Then, just say “I’m sorry, you’re right, I could have done XYZ different, and I’m taking responsibility for that.” Easier said than done, but imagine if we all operated from this mindset of self-reflection and personal responsibility? Wow! Godpreneur Rule: Godpreneurs say I’m sorry and take responsibility to grow in our partnerships. #BusinessBibleStudy #SharpenLeadership #BusinessPartnerships Finding Purpose In Your Business Partnership Instead of reading the blog posts, take the video course!  I personally teach you the method.  You get: Workbook 3-Video Teachings Access to dozens of courses in the Godpreneur Academy! 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

As a Cornell graduate, I held myself to a high standard in business. Admitting that I did something wrong would be counter-intuitive because…well…Cornell guys don’t get things wrong. Right? This is precisely the attitude that landed me in problems with my partners. My pride and self-righteousness led me to believe that I had it all together, and this was the picture I wanted everyone to see. Why would any of us openly admit our wrongdoings in business, especially the ones we can hide? We confess because denial thwarts transformation. If we value the appearance of success and wholeness over the real deal, our image becomes everything. But if we’re serious about wanting to have a dynamic business partnership, we have to move through that resistance and become transparent truth tellers. The Old and New Testaments communicate that God hates lying (Exod. 20:16; Prov. 11:1; Eph. 4:25; Col. 3:9). In James, we read "Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results." James 5:16 NLT I wasn’t taught this value when I was growing up. Instead, I was shown that you avoid conflicts at all costs, retreat and hide when arguments arose, and come back together later when cooler heads prevail and forget things happened. This is why early on in my partnership, I felt no conflict by denying that I didn’t have the accounting all figured out when confronted by my partners. I wasn’t stealing, I just had no clue how to read and interpret financial statements to help guide our decision making.  As a Cornell graduate, I couldn’t admit that. Truth is, I hated my financial management classes. I’m confessing this now…but back then I was singing a different song. Regardless of why we choose to dodge the truth, lies are lies. They deaden our consciences, prevent our partners from knowing us, and provide no impetus to stop sinning. Confession takes truth-telling up a notch. Rather than waiting for your partners to ask if you finished the accounting reports, spent several hundred dollars out of the budget on an unnecessary expense, or not follow up with a big potential lead and subsequently lose the business, you forthrightly admit it—humbly and nondefensively. It’s really quite simple. As the apostle James advises, “Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed” (James 5:16). By design, confessions mortify us. We hate having others see our less-than-perfect selves. When we openly confess our broken thoughts and actions, we allow God to create a crack in the false images that we’ve worked so hard to perfect. This crack ruins the veneer but also allows forgiveness and grace to seep in. #BusinessPartnerships #BusinessBibleStudy

When I first stayed my agency with my partners, the agreement was to split the company 3 ways. We’d each get 33%, which in all of our minds meant that we’d each put in equal parts work. Seems fair, right? The problem is that we each have a different definition of work and value, therefore there is no equal scale to evaluate sweat equity work put in. This expectation isn’t real, and it led to many disappointments and struggles in my business partnership. When we experience disappointment in business and it’s no one’s fault (such as a hurricane or loss of contract due to a client closing their business), we generally get upset and figure out how to move on. It’s the disappointments that point back to our unrealistic expectations for each other that tend to be stickier. These hard-to-shake disappointments can sometimes be described as disordered attachments—misplaced desires that compete with God for our heart. By following the thread that runs through our disappointments and our persistent anger, we can uncover their origin. My business partners and I have had our share of sticky disappointments; that’s part of what broke us up in 2013. When we got together to create our agency, naïve optimism overshadowed the reality that one of them was ambivalent if we grew or not, the other had a very short fuse, and neither liked doing the sales. That same optimism obscured the reality that I struggle to need them, I am too quick to judge, and prefer doing the selling! These partnership speed bumps were definitely not marked with fluorescent orange paint or signage of any sort. After we twisted and turned and experienced whiplash on the roller-coaster of entrepreneurship more times than I care to admit, it began to dawn on me that perhaps I needed to find a more productive, less destructive path through my disappointments. I asked probing questions such as, What if rather than blaming each other for our disappointments, I confessed my failures and owned my areas of weakness? What if I looked at the disappointments to discern if they revealed any egocentric expectations, disordered attachments, or misplaced hopes? Once I stopped avoiding these seemingly problematic feelings and started investigating them, something shifted. We’ve all been to weddings and heard 1 Corinthians 13 over and over. Did you know that this verse was not written for husband’s and wives. It’s for all of us. You love your business partner, right? I do. Not the same love as my wife, but brotherly love. Now read this verse with them in mind: "Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance". 1 Corinthians 13:4‭-‬7 NLT Again, this verse was written for all of us. We just have been acclimated to attach it to married couples. Rather than continuing to blame my partners for my disappointment, I started asking God to help me do three things: repent of any unfair expectations appreciate my partner’s strengths, and develop reality-based expectations. Of these three objectives, developing reality-based expectations has been the most difficult. My unrealistic expectation of everyone working equal amounts died a slow death because I clung on to it. Clinging is a form of denial that masquerades as hope. We persist in clinging because it gives us something to hold on to and allows us to sidestep the hard work of changing what we have control over: ourselves. You are learning to let go of your unrealistic expectations by choosing an internal posture of holy resignation. Practically speaking, holy resignation means accepting and loving your business partners without demanding that he or she change, resisting the vortex of despair and blame, and standing in faith that God will complete a good work in the business—regardless of current circumstances. Imagine if everyone in the partnership had this holy resignation? Businesses that we do business with would produce a great experience because there would be this culture of love and respect that would start at the top, permeate through the employees, and make it down to me and you – the consumer. #BusinessBibleStudy #BusinessPartnerships Finding Purpose In Your Business Partnership You and your business partner are unique individuals and God is creative in the way He wants to use both of your gifts together. 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*

Three years into our business, we had one of the biggest fights of our partnership. Though we were not conflicted rookies, the intensity and stickiness of our anger unnerved us. It was as if this single event somehow epitomized every deficit in our partnership. Month after month, we hunkered down in our workstations and shot nasty emails at each other. This unproductive and childish behavior went on for much of our partnership until we finally went our separate ways. It’s only in hindsight, and with the wisdom, I’ve picked up from years in the bible, that I now know where we went wrong. Without being aware of it, we had been minimizing and avoiding our disappointment and anger. As a result, we never learned what these feelings were trying to teach us and endlessly looped around the same half-dozen fights. Sound familiar? In the context of business partnerships, if we find ourselves disappointed and angry, we have four options: divest and/or quit, pretend that everything is fine (which is dishonest), try to change our business partners (which never works), or ask God to use the anger and disappointment to transform us so we can love our business partners independent of their behavior. If we want our partnerships to thrive, we really only have one choice. How do we arrive at that final option? The bible says: "Sensible people control their temper; they earn respect by overlooking wrongs". (Proverbs 19:11 NLT) First, you need to make a paradigm shift. We often assume that disappointment and anger indicate there’s something wrong with us, our partners, or our businesses. Such conclusions may cause you to feel shame and to pull back from the full intensity of the partnership, to get along with only the basic requirements. In order to give more of yourself rather than pull back, you need to reframe anger and disappointment as holy invitations rather than dire pronouncements. When we can look at our business partnership and see that it’s really there, as iron sharpens iron, to make us holy, not happy. It’s another way God consecrates us to himself. Partnerships are preparation for our face to face with God. If all Godpreneurs had this mindset, then, as we press into these disquieting feelings and conflict in business, we can accomplish three important objectives: discern what drives them, decipher the message they intend to communicate, and develop reality-based expectations. #BusinessPartnerships

The year was 2007 when I started my “revolution of the mind.” This was when I became aware that personal development was an integral part of human living. I was learning so many fascinating things about myself and the fact that I could change certain thought patterns and be a different person through the transformation. I was so excited that I tried to bring my business partners alongside the personal development track with me. I figured out that if we all did it together, we could be better people and thus the company would also grow. Makes sense, right? The problem was that they didn’t agree with me. It didn’t hit them the same way it hit me, and by them rejecting it, I felt they were rejecting me. This rejecting led me to treat them bad, look down on them with disdain, and snap at them in anger for anything they did wrong. We all have expectations of being on the same page when we get into business with others. But what happens when our expectations are shattered and what we thought would go one way, goes the opposite way. Our wounds, personal preferences, and internalized cultural values not only inform our beliefs and actions, but they also become the foundation for many of our expectations. As we enter into business partnerships, we have dozens of unspoken expectations for the small, seemingly incidental details of business together (e.g., who cleans the bathroom?) as well as the major, significant components of business (e.g., who will be in charge of accounting?). Sometimes we’re not even cognizant of our expectations until our business partners fail to meet them. Sometimes an expectation emanates out of our wounds, which makes it more difficult for us to identify the expectation, let alone discern what drives it. Though I had legitimate reasons to be frustrated at my partners’ ambivalence towards personal development, their offense was a level three (out of ten—not that big a deal) and my response was a level eight (in other words, out of proportion). This disparity clued me into the possibility that maybe this dynamic was uncovering a historic wound. When we have the same conflicts over and over again with our business partners, it’s likely that there’s something deeper going on that will provide an opportunity for healing if we can stop reacting and start exploring what’s driving our broken patterns. That was certainly true regarding our ongoing discord about personal development. When I was twelve, I remember my mother listening to tapes of Stephen Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. I don’t remember my dad listening to it. I do remember my dad reading his Bible when I was small, but that stopped. What I remember was my mom wanting to grow and my dad just focused on doing his job in the military. During my middle and high school years, I saw my dad slip into a fixed mindset while I saw my mom showed me about having a growth mindset. There was an obvious connection between what I saw as a child and my strife in business. My business partner’s uncaring attitude with personal development uncovered my unresolved pain and amplified my unprocessed anger. My response replicated my family of origin’s patterns and certainly did not help my partners feel good about being in business with me or grow in their personal development skills. Of course, hindsight is 20/20. Today, I would do things differently. The bible says: "Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior. Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you". (Ephesians 4:31‭-‬32 NLT) "And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you". (Philippians 4:8‭-‬9 NLT) "Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love". (Ephesians 4:2 NLT) When you don’t feel like doing any of the above bible verses, that is a sign that there’s something deeper. You need to be aware of this and start jotting down some notes on your phone or in a journal about what’s going on. Try to remember something related in the past. We all WANT great partnerships, and most of us are willing to put in the work to make it right, especially since our lively hood and financial stability is at stake. If we can all become aware that our expectations could be trip wires, and if we can train our minds to react as Christ would in a business partnership, we could be one step closer to experiencing great business partnerships. #BusinessPartnerships #BusinessBibleStudy Finding Purpose In Your Business Partnership You and your business partner are unique individuals and God is creative in the way He wants to use both of your gifts together. 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 a vision board that I look at almost every day. I love this exercise because I get to envision what I want my life to look like. I can add, remove, rearrange, and re-engineer my life whenever I want. This board fuels me. I get to see where I want to go visually. Sure, it gets frustrating sometimes when I haven’t achieved something on my board yet, but its purpose is really to FUEL me to become a better version of me. Envisioning our ideal business partnership and God’s purpose for it can also fuel us to become all He intended for us and our business. As partners, we must ask ourselves what we really want for our partnership. What’s the perfect vision of our joining together for this venture we’re in? It’s an easy question to ask, but difficult to honestly answer. Why? Because the answer is often buried under a whole bunch of other fake answers. Here’s what our vision is NOT: what others expect or desire for our business partnership what our parents, kids, or pastor wants for your venture what we want to want what we know we should want what we feel obligated to provide for our partnership Now that we know the answers we DON’T want to cloud our minds with, we can approach the question with an open and prayerful heart: what does God want for our partnership? The Bible lets us know that it’s possible for us to know what God thinks. And yes, even though his ways are higher (Isaiah 55:8-9), we see a counterbalance back to let us know we can get the vision too. The Spirit of God guides and empowers our business thoughts to align with His (Romans 8:11). God’s Spirit convicts and corrects us when our businesses get off track (Psalms 32:8; John 14:26). Godpreneurs have the mindset of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16), and when we seek Him first in our business partnerships, He gives us the desires of our heart (Psalms 37:4)—the things our business is passionate about when surrendered to our Creator, actually come from Him. Those passions and the goals you already envision for your business partnership reveals His purpose. The most important question you and your partner need to sit down and ask yourself to be successful is: As partners, what do we really want for our season in business together? Imagine where business partnerships would be worldwide if we all started with asking ourselves what the ideal partnership would be and God’s purpose for it. If we did this, the vision would help fuel our partnerships to become all He intended, and the marketplace as a whole would have better products, services, and people. Godpreneur rule: Godpreneurs intentionally set aside time to dream together as partners. #BusinessPartnerships #BusinessBibleStudy Finding Purpose In Your Business Partnership You and your business partner are unique individuals and God is creative in the way He wants to use both of your gifts together. 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

My business partner and I have great chemistry together because we both are on the same page about a few critically important areas of our business. First, we both give to the church. Second, we both have the same calling of helping people and companies figure out what God created them uniquely to be and do in the marketplace. Third, we believe every business has a way to put God first in the way it operates. If we’re going to succeed in a business partnership, finding and maintaining common ground will be paramount to the success. It’s ok to be different in so many areas, but how we approach the business spiritually, financially, and emotionally needs to be in common. When entrepreneurs can’t agree on financial principles together, like where you cut cost and where you spend money, it can be a significant source of frustration. When the two partners don’t see the importance of each other’s spiritual growth as paramount to the entire business, then the business won’t grow as fast as it could. God wants us as Godpreneurs in business partnerships to make a commitment to build on a shared vision and move toward a common purpose. When we do this, our businesses embrace God’s big purpose for our joining together in the venture. The Bible says "Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil". (Ecclesiastes 4:9) When you and your partner start a business together and share common goals, the reward is better because you’ve built your business on the common ground. When the forks in the road of business success come, you guys won’t be easily divided in the direction you’re headed in because you’ll share a fundamental common ground. Do you want to experience perfect oneness in your business partnership? The more of these “common ground examples” you share, the better the partnership’s purpose can shine You do most important things together like big meetings, tradeshows, and networking events. You share traits in common, like cultural or past experiences You both teach and instruct together about your services, products, and the brand message You impact others together so greatly that you gain respect and favor from everyone you guys meet Do you want to grow together, spiritually, with your business partner? Then each of you needs to: Individually decide to connect with God every morning Go to church (doesn’t have to be the same church) so you each can keep knowing God more Make time to connect with God, together. My business partner and I have lunch 2-3 times per week, and we purpose to take the conversations to God and let Him speak to us at this time. Do you and your business partner want to know the secret to being on the same page financially? This one starts with realizing the entire reason the business exists is that it’s a gift from God. When you walk around your business with a mindset that everything comes from God and belongs to God, you’re able to make wise decisions in the direction of your purpose. What this mindset does is alleviate the pressure of ownership and positions us as caretakers over God’s property. He’s the CEO, you’re both co-Presidents that have been hired to run the business His way. It’s His purpose, His mission, His vision, and you both steward the financial profits towards His desires. Just ask your partner: “God, what do You want us to do with Your profits?” We’re all busy. Entrepreneurs especially. There’s a lot we do and oversee. We have packed calendars. But as Godpreneurs in a partnership, we need to connect together and commit to fellowship. Our families should be hanging out together, we should be growing together. If we want blessings, significance, purpose, and connection in our partnerships, we need to build on common ground—spiritually, financially, and emotionally. If we can, we will indeed see that two is, in fact, better than one. Godpreneur Rule: Godpreneurs build on common ground with our business partners to better expand business and influence together. #BusinessBibleStudy #BusinessPartnerships Finding Purpose In Your Business Partnership You and your business partner are unique individuals and God is creative in the way He wants to use both of your gifts together. 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 wish I could go back in time to change some of the ways I viewed my former business partner. Instead of letting our differences be a tool to make us stronger, I allowed them to drive a wedge of separation between us both. I’m different now. I can see differences the way I’m supposed to: as something to be celebrated and necessary for us as individuals and for the business to continue to grow. Owning a business with someone else will always present opportunities where someone is going to be offended. It’s weird, but what used to be a good quality we liked in someone could easily become a cause of irritation if we lose perspective on our differences. Have you ever said He’s very disorganized She’s so OCD He’s always late She’s scatterbrained He’s lazy She’s a workaholic He’s computer illiterate She’s not well-spoken There’s a ton of meaningless differences that can distract us from running our businesses and discourage us from being in the partnership. WARNING: A house (business) divided against itself will fall (Mark 3:24−25). If we don’t value one another, we start to talk bad about the other. If we’re speaking negative things about the other, then conflict grows between us. When conflict continues to rise, the end of the business is right around the corner. So what can we do if we haven’t turned that corner yet? Is there still hope for our business partnerships? Yes! One of the best things about business partnerships is that we have the opportunity to practice and perfect appreciating each other’s differences. I’m not talking about simply “putting up” with differences, we need to celebrate them! The Bible says: "As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend". (Proverbs 27:17 NLT) You and your partner were made different and brought together on purpose because of God. He intended for both of you to sharpen each other’s imperfections, releasing the dull parts of us, and exposing new sides of us that will be ready to cut into the marketplace, attack and fight off enemies, and conquer new territories together. I know this sounds amazing, but the reality is that two pieces of iron hitting each other doesn’t happen without friction, collision, pain, and sparks flying everywhere. It often takes many strikes, more heat, bending, breaking, restoring, and continuing repetition of everything I just mentioned. In our business partnerships, God wanted us to be different and diverse and for us to leverage that and celebrate our differences. The Bible says: "But our bodies have many parts, and God has put each part just where he wants it". (1 Corinthians 12:18 NLT) Paul wants to illustrate that we’re all different for a reason and that together, we form a complete body. As we continue to pursue uncovering God’s purpose for our business partnerships, remember that our differences make us stronger and empower us to do more things than we could ever do apart. Ask yourself if you’re in business with a partner or an opponent. How could turn the differences into an asset? #BusinessPartnerships #BusinessBibleStudy Finding Purpose In Your Business Partnership You and your business partner are unique individuals and God is creative in the way He wants to use both of your gifts together. 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 was sitting in my office with one of my partners when my phone rang with an opportunity of a lifetime. A successful company had relocated to Miami, and they were looking to hire consultants to help them with out-of-the-box marketing ideas and strategic thinking. My kind of client! It happens to be that I noticed they didn’t really have a strong brand story. They were ready for what we had to offer. But the timing of the call was what piqued my curiosity. See, my partner wasn’t supposed to be at my office at that time. Also, we hadn’t done a project together in a while. We were meeting for something related to Daily Godpreneur, and this excellent branding opportunity popped up out of nowhere. No business partnership reaches its destiny in a single leap. Instead, we fulfill God’s purpose for our partnership by putting one foot in front of the other, moving in the marketplace as God directs us, and by continually evaluating, “What has God called us to in the business world? What has He promised us Godpreneurs? And where is He leading our business?” Easier said than done, of course. As entrepreneurs, we’re always running so fast that we never stop to think about these things. And if we do ask, we doubt our ability to recognize the answer. Amazingly enough, we serve a God that is NOT in the business of deception or trickery. Our God reinforces His directions for our businesses clearly, confidently, and concisely. I’ve learned 3 truths about how God operates that keeps me believing and growing in my partnerships: He will reveal His purpose for your business partnership through His Word. He will confirm His plan for your partnership with your business circumstances. He will affirm ongoing direction through people – employees, vendors, contractors, prospects, clients, and yes, your business partner. The Bible says: All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: (2 Timothy 3:16 KJV) If you get in a great habit of reading the Bible every morning, you’ll begin to notice that God’s Word provides directions. It gives directions for your business, the purpose for your entrepreneurial life, and the measuring stick to discern whether what we’re thinking about our business is His idea, our idea, or something for someone else to do in the marketplace. You can trust this: God will never instruct you to do something in your business contrary to the Bible. His Word leads you, instructs you, and serves to affirm our daily walk as Godpreneurs so we can press on. And as you’re developing a daily habit of reading the Bible, you’ll notice that God used circumstances and people to continue to guide us in His purpose for us. Mary was comforted when John the Baptist leaped in Elizabeth’s womb Joseph was reassured through his dreams Moses saw a burning bush and his staff turn into a rod, confirming that God was with Him in the ultimate purpose He had for him. We entrepreneurs are details people. Seeing is believing for us. We plan, and we like to see the numbers add up. Things need to make sense, so walking a journey of faith is a tough ask. But if we stick to our business partnerships in faith, and faithfully follow Him, He will confirm the purpose of our partnerships through His Word, and He’ll affirm His purpose for our coming together through our circumstances. Godpreneur Rule: Godpreneurs in partnerships know that God is speaking to us through His Word, confirming our purpose through our circumstances in business and affirming our partnership through others. #BusinessBibleStudy #BusinessPartnerships Finding Purpose In Your Business Partnership You and your business partner are unique individuals and God is creative in the way He wants to use both of your gifts together. 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’ve had some terrible experiences hiring people. It all starts off great. I’m excited to share my knowledge, they’re eager to grab the ball and run. But somewhere halfway down the field, they fumble the ball. I’m cool with mistakes, we learn from them and move on. But when mistakes start stacking up, I get frustrated. My mind immediately starts to doubt the partnership with this employee. I begin to sabotage the relationship by focusing on all of the problems, and eventually, I get fed up and want to let the person go. That’s the old Alex. I’m a Godpreneur now. I’ve learned from this mistake, and I choose to operate from a different mindset now. Now, instead of focusing on the problem, I ask myself “what is this person’s personality in life, and how does our union fit into God’s purpose, my own purpose, and the business’s purpose?” And guess what happened when you ask a question like that: You find what you are looking for. We entrepreneurs have read enough books on mindset and the power of thoughts. We can all agree that we become what we think about, we get from business what we expect, and we find what we’re looking for. One of the most profound revelations we can have in our business partnerships is applying this Purposed-Focused mindset to the relationship. King Solomon, the wisest Godpreneur who ever lived, said it this way: “As a man thinks in his heart, so he is” (Proverbs 23:7). The outcome of your partnerships begins with your mindset. If you constantly focus on your issues, past mistakes, hurts, and failures, then you make the problems even bigger; and you didn’t even know it was happening. Out of control and totally unaware of your actions, you sabotage the relationship – like I used to. Instead, you need to HARNESS the way you think to align with God’s EMBRACE the truth that you and your business partner were created on purpose and the business was created for a purpose REAP the benefits of running a business fully and powerfully in the design He ordained for your lives and joint venture. Listen, problems will always happen in business. You’ll always have a conflict with your business partner. That’s by design, too. Adversity is part of every Godpreneur’s relationship. The solution, though, depends on your ability to shift your focus from your partner is on the other team to be on your team, and that the team has a reason for existing, and that’s what needs to be kept in sight at all times. That’s how you triumph in victory in every business partnership. God’s power and purpose for our business partnerships are magnificent. When Godpreneur business partnerships begin to shift our attention from the problem and focus on living God’s purpose in our business, amazing purpose-focused business happens. Romans 12:1 encourages us to not be conformed to the world, but to be transformed by the renewing of our mind. Ephesians 4:22-24 says we need to put off the old man with all its deceitful ways and be renewed in the spirit of our mind. Philippians 4:8 says “if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things” As a Godpreneurs in partnership, we are not powerless to our thoughts (2 Timothy 1:7). We marketplace ministers can demolish every lie in business opposing who God says we are by capturing our thoughts and making them obedient to Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5−6). Take a moment to ask yourself: Do I live problem-focused or purpose-focused in my business partnership? Imagine a day where both you and your partner fully embraced the mindset that God designed you both distinctly for a purpose and equipped you with everything you need to fulfill your business partnership purpose. Godpreneur Rule: Godpreneurs focus our attention on God’s intention for our business partnerships and exchange our problems for His purpose. #BusinessPartnerships #BusinessBibleStudy Finding Purpose In Your Business Partnership You and your business partner are unique individuals and God is creative in the way He wants to use both of your gifts together. 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

There’s a whole bunch of reasons why people partner together to form a business. It could be a husband and wife that are looking to work on their own terms. I’ve seen complementing partnerships between two realtors wanting to handle separate parts of the same transaction each is more suited for. I’ve branded best friends, brothers, and partnerships of 5 entrepreneurs coming together to form a conglomerate. Although we come together in business for a variety of reasons, God has established 3 main purposes for business partnerships. Regardless of the circumstances, relationship, industry, or opportunity, God had already established even higher purposes for the coming together with our partners. All business partnerships exist for the same exact reason under God’s eyes. The Bible says: "For everything comes from him and exists by his power and is intended for his glory. All glory to him forever! Amen". (Romans 11:36 NLT) See, from God’s point of view, He’s looking at the bigger picture of how our coming together relates to His purposes established by Him and for Him. For you and me, it’s important to understand that there are 3 main purposes God established business partnerships for. God intended for every business partnership to make Him known to employees, clients and all those that will do business with you guys. As Godpreneurs, we are light to the business world. That light will start in our own place of business and then radiate from there. The Bible says: “You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father. (Matthew 5:14‭-‬16 NLT) It all starts with the way you treat each other and your employees. What happens behind closed doors at your office will eventually be revealed to the marketplace. How you respond to each other, and your employees will be a clear indication of what prospects, vendors, contractors, and clients will get. God wants to use your partnership to be a light to the marketplace. When you understand this principle, you realize that your coming together was much bigger than the widgets and gadgets you sell. God Intended for every business partnership to bring Him pleasure in as you succeed (and fail). When you are living out your purpose, and giving back to Him through tithes or donations to charity, we are bringing God pleasure. The Bible says: "for through him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can’t see— such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world. Everything was created through him and for him". (Colossians 1:16 NLT) This is why the husband and wife leading a church or a real estate office can both bring the exact same pleasure to God. Neither is above the other because God isn’t looking at what they are doing, God is simply asking that we are doing the thing we were born to do and pouring back into our communities. God Intended for every business partnership to show the world what His unconditional love looks like. Every business partnership starts off fantastic. There’s usually a high level of respect and love (brotherly love) for each other. But our love has conditions going into the partnership. Our past hurts, previously failed partnerships, and expectations for success all muddy the concept of showing unconditional love. We all have conditions entering partnerships. But your individual expectations will obstruct the ability to show unconditional love to your business partner. And this directly opposes one of God’s greatest to love as He loves us. The Bible says "So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other". (John 13:34 NLT) Our business partnerships serve as another relationship where we can practice and perfect the greatest commandment Jesus left us: love one another. As we continue to seek out the purpose and meaning behind our business partnerships, remember: every joining up of two or more Godpreneurs to do business together will make God known, bring Him pleasure, and give us the opportunity to show unconditional love. Imagine a marketplace where all we sought to do was to live for God’s purposes, and through that, find our specific partnership purposes. #BusinessBibleStudy #BusinessPartnerships Finding Purpose In Your Business Partnership You and your business partner are unique individuals and God is creative in the way He wants to use both of your gifts together. 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

The toughest branding jobs I have been in are business partnerships. Do you think agreeing on where to eat lunch is hard? Try deciding on a logo and website when you’ve got two visionaries with unique views. I’ve had clients literally fight in front of me. Arguments got so heated where I felt this was the day they would finally break the partnership. I’ve seen statistics suggesting that 95 percent of people struggle to identify their God-given purpose. I can back this up from personal experience because I meet with entrepreneurs every day who haven’t figured it out yet. Now throw in the fact that two people don’t know their own purposes; how could they possibly see their combined purpose? The chances just got exponentially worse for them finding it. Living out our purposes as individual entrepreneurs is hard enough, let alone combining it with someone else’s. Employees, market struggles, and our everyday demands in and outside the office clarity, make the business even more uncertain. Yet God’s big vision, His single purpose for your business partnership, will be accomplished. The Bible says: "Only I can tell you the future before it even happens. Everything I plan will come to pass, for I do whatever I wish. I will call a swift bird of prey from the east— a leader from a distant land to come and do my bidding. I have said what I would do, and I will do it". (Isaiah 46:10‭-‬11 NLT) God declares His plans for your partnership even before the guys signed the business documents and ensured they will be done. And although partnerships are rough at times, like marriages, they are meant to have a great purpose. So, what is God’s big idea for your business partnership? In Genesis, we read: “Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule…'” (Genesis 1:26). Typically we think of this passage in the form of husband and wife. But I believe this can also be the case for business partnerships. God’s big idea is that He created you and your partner to bear His image in the marketplace. He destined Adam and Eve’s union like He destined your joint venture. Then He invites the new partnership to “fill the earth and subdue it” (Genesis 1:28). This is the business framework for every existing partnership and presents a prerequisite for accomplishment. God’s purpose for you and your partner can only be completed if you fulfill it together. Since the time of Adam and Eve, nothing has changed. You both are still to govern over your company, dominate in your marketplace, and multiply yourselves and your products and services, both physically and spiritually—just like Adam and Eve (without the sex, unless you’re married, of course!) God created our business partners and us for a product or service that only the two of us could accomplish the marketplace together. He knew all our differences in business and combined them perfectly to mesh together. With the perfection only He could only have done, he made our gifts and talents and common interest line up for a time like we’re in right now. And with even more precision, our partnerships serve God’s greater purpose of being His light in our industries. Ecclesiastes 4:9−12 reminds us, two are better than one. Together, we will accomplish more in business than either of us could on our own. We need to invite God to reveal His purpose for our partnership and take steps toward living purpose-driven business partnerships. Could you imagine if all Godpreneurs knew exactly why our partnerships existed? How much less fighting would we have? How much would more meaning our products and services have? How much better would our employees and clients be? I pray for all Godpreneur Partnerships to discover their purpose and invite you to continue reading this series as we explore the purpose of business partnerships. #BusinessPartnerships #BusinessBibleStudy Finding Purpose In Your Business Partnership You and your business partner are unique individuals, and God is creative in the way He wants to use both of your gifts together. 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