“I can guarantee a profit in your business!” Do you believe me? All you need is for your income to exceed your expenses. In my first 7 years of business ownership my accounting system was terrible and I believed that if I worked harder than my competition, I would make a profit. For many weeks, my only goal was to have money for payroll. I had no way to know if I was making a profit. A few times, I questioned if it was even possible to make a profit. Profit is not a 4-letter word!
I like to illustrate “profit” using world cup soccer, which the rest of the world calls “football”. The offensive side is attempting to score, which represents “income”. Whereas, the defensive side is attempting to keep the opposing team from scoring, which represents “expenses”. The team with the highest score wins. The score board for all businesses is “profit”, like it or not. If you are in business without profit as your goal, I suggest you identify your business as a “non-profit” organization or a “hobby”. Profit is not a 4-letter word!
I think some people “over spiritualize” their business. Don’t get me wrong, I want God’s leading in every aspect of my business. In the book of Acts, Jesus told his disciples He must leave this earth so He could send The Comforter, The Holy Spirit, Our Helper. When I was the lead-person loading furniture in my moving business, I would ask my helper to lift the other end of the furniture to help me. If we had a long distance to walk, it was good if we walked in step. This other person was my helper and he was looking for me to lead and give him guidance. God is waiting for us to take the lead in making a profit. God can’t help us very much unless we are willing to: work hard, concentrate on gaining product knowledge, keep current in technology, understand my competition, control my spending, and etc. Profit is not a 4-letter word!
Using profit for the glory of God must be our purpose. We can learn to hear God’s voice in how to use profit for His Kingdom. Providing good jobs with fair wages, providing good products/services for our customers, being a part of the supply chain in our local economy, and giving to advance the Kingdom of God, are exciting reasons. In the process, I am blessed to use a portion of the profit for my enjoyment.
If you have business experience, I encourage you to go out of your way to help a younger businessperson with encouragement and mentoring. I believe helping others is critical because when we are willing to help others, a special blessing flow from God is opened to us. If you should be in a position to travel abroad with us, we have many opportunities for you to share business lessons like this lesson. Contact us at www.BusinessMissionTrips.org.
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