In the last 9 years of owning a business, I’ve probably lost it all and gained it back about 5 times. It’s been a hell of a roller coaster ride. At one point, I had an office on South Beach, 8 employees, and I was on top of the world with a fast-growing marketing agency. We had the backing of some major money; everything was awesome. And almost overnight, it collapsed in my face. And then I rebuilt. New employees, new direction, but a smarter me. A couple of years later, I was rocking and rolling again. This time I had several businesses, and I was managing to make all of them happen. Momentum was great! And almost overnight, it collapsed in my face. As Entrepreneurs, we live on this roller coaster of highs and lows. And if you’re like me, the lows are DREADFUL times, and you’ve had times when you lose great employees, huge contracts, valuable clients, strong partnerships, and big bank accounts. For me, it's almost a pattern, but the most recent case has been very different. The low doesn’t have the devastating effect that it used to have on me. I’ve learned something amazing that I want to share with you entrepreneurs to minimize the low blow. One of the things I’ve learned is that God comes from the story of Job in the Bible. Here is an entrepreneur that owns 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 5,000 oxen, 500 donkeys, and a large number of servants. He had 10 children. Even in today’s economy, Job would be considered a pretty big farmer….imagine back then. I’m not an economist, but if I did some math, he’d probably be a BILLIONAIRE, or close to it. But in one night…it was all stripped away. His animals, his servants…even his children. You and I have probably not experienced what Job went through. Granted, his experience was probably the most recent extreme of examples of having it all taken away. But God’s lesson is still valuable for us. The same night of losing it all, Job kneeled and prayed.’ “Naked I came from my mother's womb, naked I will depart. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised.” What I’ve learned is to lessen the blow of the low, our hearts need to be set on God daily, our minds need to be focused on the vision that God has for our business life, and our immediate reaction to blow off the low needs to turn to God and praise Him. #BusinessBibleStudy #EnhanceFocus

God wants you to have bold faith in your entrepreneurial walk. Bold faith is having no doubt in the power of Jesus in all your business dealings. God can do the impossible, Godpreneurs just have to be bold enough to believe. God commands us Kingdom builders to be fearless and to be strong and courageous in our respective marketplaces and industries. #GainConfidence

I personally teach you the method. 

friend of mine gets a divorce, I’m immidiately hesitant about getting into a partnership with this person What a person does in his private life is a strong indication of what is going on in his heart.

I know business partnerships are messy. I know two entrepreneurs don’t always get along, no matter what kind of front I see them put on. But I can’t help to be envious of some partnerships out there. They just look so….perfect. I remember one time someone told me that I had the perfect partnership going on. My partnership was far from perfect. In fact, we’re not even partners anymore! But his comments mean something different to me now. Now, I’m a Godpreneur. Now I realize that everything I do, others are looking on. Now I realize that even my business partnerships are a testimony to others of what Christ looks like. Jesus said: "In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father". (Matthew 5:16 NLT) Your business partnership could have an impact on others, both good and bad. People out there are looking in and seeing what Christianity looks like in a business partnership. Regardless of the partner’s faith, if they know you are a Godpreneur, and they are too, they are looking to learn and see how to navigate those waters. The best way to be a testimony to others is not to talk bad about your partners to anybody. Always be lifting them up, even when you’re in a crisis, or they messed up. Trust me, there’s more to celebrate than to put down, it’s just hard to see it when there’s conflict. I had a good thing in my partnership, and I should have been more grateful and not focus on our challenges. God has given us Godpreneurs a great blessing in our business partners and in our businesses. We need to focus on the good in our partners and in business, and celebrate that! Your Godpreneur partnership together is more significant than our partners and us. Allow the partnership to be a blessing to other partners out there. We don’t have to be business partnership “experts” to do this. We can help somebody from our unique experiences in co-owning a business. #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

In Proverbs we read: All a person’s ways seem pure to them, but motives are weighed by the Lord .

As entrepreneurs, it’s easy to have a ‘successful’ week and want to reward ourselves. It’s so simple to look at last week’s amazing numbers and say “let’s go out for a steak dinner.” Rewarding yourself and going out for a steak dinner takes you off the vision you’ve set for yourself. One of the most important positions in medieval times was the night guard, protecting the castle at night in case of an invasion.  It required his vision to be clear, unadulterated by his phone, social media games, sleepiness, etc.  If he closed his eyes for a second, that’s when the enemy could attack. Just when you think everything is fine, and the reports are coming back that the cancer is gone, the weight you wanted to reach is here, the contract you’ve been waiting for was signed, don’t rest.  Stay alert. How many books are you reading this month? How many blog posts have you read about your specific industry? When you get on the phone with a new vendor or prospect today, what NEW information are you going to bring to the table? What will make you look like “Man, this dude is up-to-date on everything!”? Staying alert means keep up with the trends. Staying alert is knowing your competition is on your tail. Staying alert is realizing that your clients are always looking for a better deal, better service, better quality. Why stay alert?  Because not staying alert will produce HURT. Hurt your pocket, hurt your relationships, hurt your reputation, and hurt your ability to succeed. Stay alert….don’t get hurt. #EnhanceFocus

Notes from Joel Osteen Podcast When you put God first, he’ll take care of you. God can bless you in spite of what’s going on around you. You can be in an unfavorable situation, the facts say one thing, but God can reach down and take you where you’ve never dreamed. The conditions don’t have to be right you have to be right. The odds may be against you but God is for you. God controls the environment. He has the final say. Don’t let the facts talk you or if what God put in your heart. When God put a promise in your heart, turn your mind off from the facts. #ChristianBloggers

I confess that I’ve had unhealthy ambitions to create a name for myself, and this temptation still plagues me at times. Deep down, I want to build a big brand with my ventures so I can be recognized as a thought leader, innovative entrepreneur, and build wealth so I can be rich. I’ve created out of a desire to make a name for myself, or, to put it in more worldly terms, to accumulate fame and fortune. If I’m honest with myself, I’m essentially trying to save myself. Let me explain. When I came up with my companies, I wasn’t content simply putting my innovations to work to help others. I wanted to leverage my creations to make a name for myself. Why? What is it about the human condition that causes me to use my work as a tool for proving something to the world? Deep down, I know there’s something wrong with me. I know I’m flawed. I know I’m not “right.” Deep down, we know that I “have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). Each entrepreneurial venture is me trying to cover up these flaws with my accomplishments. I think that if I write a bestselling book, or sell a business for millions of dollars, or have hundreds of employees, or get 100,000 Instagram followers, or build the world’s largest agency, then I’ll be able to mask my sinful human condition. Essentially, I use entrepreneurship as a means of saving myself. I know better! And every day I’m choosing to transform and renew my mind. I know it’s not that I need a bigger company, it’s that I need Christ to be bigger in me. The bible says I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:20 NIV) As a Christian, I know that the work of salvation is complete! Because Jesus said, “It is finished,” I no longer have to use my companies as a means of saving myself. What incredible freedom I experience when I let that truth really sink into my heart! Because of the gospel, I am free to work and create not as a means of making a name for myself, but as an act of worship to the One who made me, saved me, and called me to Godpreneurship. This truth replaces my improper ambition with proper ambition that flows out of a love for Christ and a desire to make His name famous throughout this earth and the next. Father, help me to remember this every second of the day as I lead my businesses. (PS – I write self-deprecating blog posts for 3 reasons. First, to confess to others. This helps call out the sin. Second, to process my own thoughts and declare new ones to myself. Third, that it might help you too.) #StrengthenIntegrity #EnhanceFocus

I’m married. But I was a single entrepreneur before, so I can speak as to the “before and after” of having a business while single versus being married. I’m writing this because I have single entrepreneur friends that look at me with envy and think “man, I wish I was married. If I was married, I think my business would do better.” I’m also writing this because I have married friends that tell me they would be so much more focused and driven if they didn’t have a wife nagging everyday about how they feel neglected because they care so much about the business. I’ll just start by saying that neither is better or worse. They are simply a season of your life. If God is present throughout all seasons of my life, then each season has its glory (and challenges). Single entrepreneurs…whoever told you or whatever thoughts crept into your head thay “I can’t be successful and happy unless I’m married” is simply false. Think you have to be married to be whole and happy in business? Get this: Paul spends the whole chapter of 1 Corinthians 7 convincing people not to get married. Now for the matters you wrote about: “It is good for a man not to have sexual relations with a woman.” … I wish that all men were as I am [Paul was single]. But each of you has your own gift from God; one has this gift, another has that. Now to the unmarried and the widows I say: It is good for them to stay unmarried… I would like you to be free from concern. An unmarried man is concerned about the Lord’s affairs – how he can please the Lord. But a married man is concerned about the affairs of this world – how he can please his wife – and his interests are divided. An unmarried woman or virgin is concerned about the Lord’s affairs: Her aim is to be devoted to the Lord in both body and spirit. But a married woman is concerned about the affairs of this world – how she can please her husband. I am saying this for your own good, not to restrict you, but that you may live in a right way in undivided devotion to the Lord". —1 Corinthians 7:1-1, 7-8, 32-35 Do you believe you can’t have a successful business unless you’re married? The truth is this: Singleness is either a gift to cherish or a season to enjoy. And for my married entrepreneurs…. Listen. The loneliest entrepreneurs I know are not single. The loneliest business people are people I know trapped in a bad marriage. Marriage is not the happiness pill a lot of people think it is. If I want to be happy in business while I’m married, everyday I must remind myself that true joy and fulfillment are found only in Christ. Marriage isn’t meant to make me happy in business, it’s meant to make me holy for the marketplace. God’s word says, “in Your presence there is fullness of joy.” Lay claim to that truth right here, right now, no matter if you’re single or married, happy or discontent. Married or single, all of us entrepreneurs should turn our hearts towards God as our source of true fulfillment – filling each of us until we’re full – in “need” of nothing else. #MarriedEntrepreneurs #BusinessBibleStudy 8 Lies of Entrepreneurship In this course, I show you 8 lies that keep Godpreneurs bogged down in feelings of inadequacy, insecurities of owning a business, and 8 truths to combat lies. 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’m balancing different clients, services, vendors, employees on top of my personal life.

Because of God, I’m in this warehouse and still in business, so moving forward any employee or persons

Do you get envious when you scroll through Instagram and see other friends that are entrepreneurs succeeding and seemingly doing amazing things? I’ve always struggled with this because I partly do self promotion and partly do marketing of my company. I dance the line of boasting vs. blessings. Have you been involved in conversations with other business owners and felt yourself swelling with either pride or envy? There’s a difference between boasting about your successes, and being genuinely proud of your accomplishments. One causes envy. The other causes people to look at God. Where does being blessed end and boasting begin? Gal. 5:26 says, “Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.” It seems many of us feel the need to validate ourselves through our businesses, yet this is the very thing we are instructed not to do. When talking about our business to others, we might use these passages as a “motive check.” Galatians 6:14 says, “May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.” Being blessed is the side I stay on and the side entrepreneurs should be on. When showing a clients work, I’ll try not to say “Look at the work we did” but instead focus on the client and their amazing service or product. So the focus isn’t on me, its on my neighbor. When I land a speaking gig or a bit contract or something amazing happens in my business, I try to call it a blessing so people know that it wasn’t all my doing that bright about the success. That takes the pride off of me and puts it on God. Is God glorified when you speak about your business? #FindMyCalling #BecomeDisciplined

There’s a lot of decision making when you’re an entrepreneur. I’m constantly making decisions: what’s my next move, who do I contract, who do I call next, what’s most important on my to do, how do I close this deal, where can I get a better deal? And if you’re like me, you’re probably making these decisions alone. This is dangerous for me and you. One IS the loneliest number when it comes to business. The bible talks about there being wise counsel in the multitude. So I have a couple of coaches that I rely on. But the bible also says that if I rely on God and His wisdoms for my business, its like building a house on a rock. When the problems come, I’ll still be left standing. Years ago I made a commitment to strengthen my relationship with God. In making that commitment, I was entering into a partnership that would allow me to have wise counsel whenever I pleased. Are you making business decisions based on what YOU think is good to do, or are you praying and talking to God and reading His Word to find out what HE wants you to do? So that’s what we need to start doing. My commitment in 2015 is to know God better by spending a set time each morning in prayer and meditation, to LISTEN to God’s vision for me, and to FOLLOW THROUGH with what He tells me. #FindMyCalling #ArticulatingMyIdeas

I can’t remember the last time I said “Thank you God, for blessing me with the gift of entrepreneurism.” As Godpreneurs, we believe we’re on this earth to accomplish a duty and obligation God has set before we were born. But our hearts are still deceitful. It helps to ask ourselves, “Why do I serve the Lord?” Is it to gain His favor, earn His blessings, impress others with our “godliness”, or avoid His wrath? Or is it because He commands me to do it? As entrepreneurs are bombarded with the demands of life on earth, mainly financial demands, we often lose sight of the eternal perspective. I started a new routine in the mornings to help keep me aligned. Start your work day by recognizing who He is and what He has done in your business. This will help you obey Him not from a robotic sense of duty, but from the overflow of thankfulness that is in your heart. Be a Godpreneur because you love God above all things…even over the financial gains. #StrengthenIntegrity #SharpenLeadership