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5 Essential Business Principles from the Bible

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5 Essential Business Principles From The BibleThe Bible is full of advice on how to handle money. Every business owner can (and should) build their business on these essential principles straight from the Word of God. As you read through these Bible verses and associated principles, ask yourself where you see room for improvement in your own business dealings.

1. Conduct your business with humility.

Be realistic about your human nature. Everyone makes mistakes, and I’d venture to guess you’ve made a few. Humility causes us to listen to our customers, to hear their concerns, and to address their problems. Having a large ego won’t get you anywhere and can cause your business to stumble.

Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall. – Proverbs 16:18 NIV

Does someone not like your product? Give them a refund. Show your customers that you want to make sure they’re getting value for their dollars. In several of my eBooks, I suggest that if the buyer dislikes the book that they send me an email requesting a refund. I want my work to be worth the cost. Don’t you?

2. Be diligent and avoid laziness.

If your job is draining you of your energy, and you can’t seem to work as you should, it might be time to change jobs. Find work that you can be passionate about. But in whatever you’re doing, be diligent. Laziness won’t bring in the money – customers pay for results.

Lazy hands make for poverty, but diligent hands bring wealth. – Proverbs 10:4 NIV

Some practical ways to boost your energy include getting adequate rest to avoid exhaustion, exercising regularly, and eating foods as close to their natural, God-intended state as possible.

3. Be fair and don’t cheat in your business dealings.

Do not have two differing weights in your bag—one heavy, one light. – Deuteronomy 25:13 NIV

Standardized weights and measures were used in Biblical times to conduct business transactions. The Bible here is speaking out against cheating others in business dealings. Both parties – the buyer and the seller – should “be on the same page” regarding a transaction, each understanding exactly what they are to receive as a result of the deal. Selling a product or service? Thoroughly describe what it is that you’re selling. It’s also a good idea to “test” your description by having potential customers ask questions about the product or service before selling it to them. The less questions they have, the better job you’ve done at describing what it is you’re selling.

4. Gather little by little.

Television likes to tell the stories of people who encounter windfalls of cash: business ventures that are overnight successes, lottery tickets that bring in millions, and attic-retrieved antiques worth a decade’s worth of wages. These sudden windfalls probably won’t happen to you – the odds are very much against you. Instead, the Bible teaches to gather money little by little.

Dishonest money dwindles away, but whoever gathers money little by little makes it grow. – Proverbs 13:11 NIV

There are honest circumstances under which one might earn a windfall, but the Bible tells us that our focus should be on earning money little by little.

5. Don’t be timid.

Be humble and bold at the same time. The Holy Spirit can give you power to run your business and self-discipline to manage your time.

For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline. – 2nd Timothy 1:7 NIV

What is it that you’d love to do? In what areas of your business do you need more boldness? If you’re looking to improve your business and your life, make sure you stay rooted in the Word of God. The Bible has much more to say to those looking for help. Take these verses to heart, and seek the Lord. And if you only remember one piece of advice from this article, remember this:

So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets. – Matthew 7:12 NIV

What are some other Biblical business principles that you think should be practiced?

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Bob is the founder of Christian Personal Finance, a website helping people make more, save more, and give more away.

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Invest In Your Business

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When you are starting a new business, every dollar is important. You are either starting your business on the side as you continue your current job, or you are using savings while you are not earning a “traditional income”. The natural inclination is to spend as little money as possible. However, this approach can actually be worse than spending too much money too early in your business.

The adage is often true – “You must spend money to make money.” You must invest resources, money included, to increase your visibility and productivity. If you are cheap instead of frugal, you can easily become overwhelmed and frustrated as you try to do too much with too few resources. There are several areas where you must invest money to begin a viable business. Investing wisely in these two key areas, without overspending, will give you an advantage as you build your new source of income.

Invest in marketing

No business survives without sales, and sales come from visibility and exposure. Marketing is designed to promote the benefits your business provides to your target market and ideal customers. One great way to maximize your marketing investment is to identify your ideal customer. You cannot be all things to all people, so don’t try. Instead you need to identify the specific customer you want to attract and start marketing to them wisely.

Your first marketing investment should be a good Internet presence.

There are two key parts of building a good website. The first, registering a domain and finding a solid web host, is not very expensive. My domain for $11/year and host it for under $7/month, which is very inexpensive!

Designing a good website can cost more money, but is well worth the investment. I tried to design my own website using WordPress, but it looked very amateur so I ended up hiring someone to design my website and Twitter page as part of an overall branding exercise. I spent about $500 for this service, and it was well worth the investment!

In addition to a great website, you should invest time and/or money to attend networking events and join online communities. I budget $30/month to attend networking functions and other events where I can talk with professionals. I also invest in two online communities that advance my goal of self-employment. One community, Free Agent Academy, is $125/month. The other, Accidental Creative Engage, is $10/month. You should find the communities that will give you the skills and contacts to succeed and invest the time and money to be a valuable resource.

Invest money in your business

I know accounting is not the most exciting part of running a business, but you must have good financial information to run your business. Sound finances are the foundation of your business, so be sure to invest in a sound financial setup. There are three accounting programs I recommend you review to start tracking your spending. All three services are web-based and let you access your information through any computing device with a web browser.

Kashoo – I tested this service about a year ago and liked it. It is designed for service businesses and has a clean, user-friendly interface. Kashoo just introduced an iPad app so you can now enter and review information without using your laptop.

InDinero – This service markets itself to brand-new businesses with a very simple method of tracking your information. InDinero offers a very clean dashboard showing you key information at a glance and also tracks spending patterns to create the starting point for a budget (which is a must).

Xero – This is the software I will use as I transition from an Excel-based system; I also recommend this tool to my coaching clients. Xero offers more invoicing and product features than Kashoo and InDinero, including the ability to price and track inventory. Xero also has a great iPhone/iPad app for your mobile computing needs. If you sell products, I would recommend reviewing Xero.

Invest in your business!

Marketing and finances form the foundation for your business, so be sure to invest in both. Not only will you save time by having more help, you will also present a better brand and be more productive with your limited time.

Write a Business Plan That Works [Part 2]

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In my previous post, I explained why every aspiring entrepreneur must create a business plan. If you are serious about starting your own business while you keep an existing job, a business plan will help you focus your effort and determine what not to do as you build your business. This week’s post will explain how to create a business plan that balances detail, strategy, and effort to help you launch your business.

Too many aspiring entrepreneurs create a business plan to obtain a bank loan. Your business needs a roadmap against which you measure success or improvement needs. Banks and investors will be interested in a business plan, but you must create and maintain your plan to help you run your business. A strong business plan is the most important tool you will create for eventual business success.

Here are four tips to consider to create your own business plan. Every business is different, so please consider these as guidelines and tailor each tip to your unique situation. Feel free to contact me at dc@whiteboardbusiness.com if you have more specific questions about the business planning process.

1. Business plans must tell a story

We all relate better to stories than technical terms or dry language. The more you can write your business plan as a story, the more the business comes to life. Think of a story from your childhood. What details can you remember? Can you see the colors, smell the food, or hear the unique sounds? Great movies or television shows also draw us into a story. We simply follow the details of stories more than technical language.

Great business plans take the creator and readers through the story of the business. Provide examples of how you plan to help people. What “pain points” will your business help? Who are the ideal customers or clients you plan to serve? How will you “wow” these ideal customers with your idea? All of these questions and ideas form the story around which your business will revolve.

2. Business plans cannot start with sales

I created a video on my Whiteboard Business Partners blog several weeks ago showing why starting a business plan with sales assumptions is a bad idea. While the idea of serving

others is noble, the truth is all businesses must earn profits and cash flow. We can’t start a business plan assuming a certain level of sales, because sales are the most unpredictable part of any business plan.

I recommend you start your business plan with what I call a “bottom-up” method of planning. Start your planning by determining your target level of profit, then add your expenses to your profits to reach the needed level of sales. Here is a very simple example of bottom-up planning to illustrate my point.

  • Desired profits – $50,000
  • Expenses – $25,000
  • Required sales – $75,000

In this example, do you believe your business can generate $75,000 of sales? If not, then you must plan for lower expenses or reduce your profit expectation.

When in doubt, assume higher expenses in your planning. Even the best business owners tend to be too optimistic about their expenses. Hidden expenses such as taxes, additional office supplies, and extra advertsing and marketing can quickly make your planned profits evaporate. Be sure to always add additional expenses to your plan to cover any unexpected expenses.

3. Set short-term and measurable goals

Do not focus too much on financial results. While we all want to know “the bottom line”, financial figures are the scoreboard representing the success of our efforts. Focus your goals on what you can control. For example, a consulting company can measure how many sales prospects it meets and how many free consultations it offers. A product business should measure how many products it sells compared to its plan. Most of these goals should only measure the next 90 days of activity. While it’s important to consider what your business can do in the next several years, your immediate focus must be on what you are doing in the immediate future to generate profits and cash.

4. Start business plans from the inside out

Tim Berry, the principal author of “Business Plan Pro” and “Plan as You Go“, emphasizes starting your business plan with the heart of your business. Your identity, target market and ideal customer, and focus are what you can create and develop in your business. Do not start a business plan with financial figures. Start with why you want to start your business and who you can best serve.

Business planning should not be a long, detailed, and boring exercise. Your business planning process should get you excited about where your business is going and how you will deliver meaningful value to your customers.