Diary on Wealth creation in a Depression

Christmas Greetings to our readers

This is a summary of parts 2 and 3 of the article entitled “What is the “Why” of your business?”, as discussed more fully in johnreason.com

Preparation and Positioning in your internet work from home business or other business

Whether you are involved in an internet work from home business like I have been, a Christian home based business, a franchise business, a direct sales business (again, like I have done for the last few years)-or any business-preparation and positioning of the single greatest asset-that is, you (+ your skills)-is vitally important for your future business success. So said  Pastor Neil Smith from Planetshakers Church in Australia at the business breakfast hosted in 2009 by Arise Church, and recorded here from notes taken.

• If you are in a job practise (your skills) so that when the appointed time comes, you are ready with everything you need. Calling is insufficient. You need to commit to it. Are you committed to developing the skills you have been uniquely given? (not “are you committed to the job?”).
• If you’re PREPARED and POSITIONED then you can expect opportunities to come to you.

• Familiarity breeds contempt, so don’t despise having to go over and over again your current knowledge base and practising your skills. Prepare for your Calling even if it does not look like it’s happening.

Building a business that works.

Work ON your business not IN your business

Knowing how to build a business is different to building a business that works.

• A business creator or founding entrepreneur must be working “ON” the business not engrossed IN the business. Those “presiding over” should have eyes to see where the business is going.  Example: Two people may buy a franchise business. A technician will build the business around his personality i.e in a technical way. He may struggle to win customers.  Five miles down the road another man in the same franchise may be pulling in the crowds. Why? Because he has a personality that attracts customers. Franchise owners are often just “buying a job”. It’s important to have the skill-set that is required.”

• This, I found, had application to my internet work form home business and the internet marketing affiliate program that I have followed from its beta-tester stage. It is possible to be so engrossed  IN learning about affiliate marketing, and the technical side, that you fail to build your business by e.g developing customer-friendly sites or write enough articles.  Sean Rasmussen says “Don’t focus so much on the technical side (such as HTML) but rather on writing content that is interesting to read”. Rider: but in businesses that require technical input such as an  internet work from home business, obviously some technical knowledge or assistance will be required before you can think of growing your business. The forum I have been a member of this last year is to be recommended , both for the level of information provided, but also the speed at which questions are resolved by the team of internet marketing tech helpers.

An entrepreneur vs a job-owner

• An entrepreneur, Pastor Smith continued, builds an enterprise that releases them. He puts his business in the hands of managers. Build great resource if you want to have a “ministry of business”

• believe that you will create more influence

• believe that you will create more jobs.

• You should not be doing long-term what someone else can do

• Let go of things so that you can focus on what God’s called you to do. “If I and someone else can do this job, one of us is redundant“

• Focus on what you should be doing, not on what you can do.

Faithfulness in your business leads to increase

c.f Matthew 25:14-21, the Bible

If the above scripture, one learns that the five-talent and two-talent person traded and doubled their money, whilst the one-talent person went and buried theirs. The first two were commended by their Lord and were promoted and the last not only is rebuked but actually has his talent removed from him. FAITHFULNESS leads to INCREASE. The attitude of faithfulness could be displayed to your employees, your business colleagues or your business itself.

• The attitude of maintaining only what you’ve got, or of just turning up to work does not.

e.g Article in the NZ Herald (2009) states that the “self-reliant” Kiwi attitude, apparently, is holding Kiwi businesses from doing well on the world stage.  The report, “Playing to our Strengths: Creating value for Kiwi firms” by economic researcher Tony Smale states:

• Some of the national characteristics that make Kiwis great, also stop them from achieving significant international economic success.

• While English is an international language, New Zealanders are just not fluent in the dialect of business.

• They’re friendly enough but are not perceived as having the smarts or the sophistication to do business internationally.

• Kiwis can be very passionate about their “baby”,but sometimes seem “abrupt”.

• They can be unsophisticated in their business attitudes: they are awkward with concepts such as mixing business and pleasure. Kiwis (probably much like Aussies) don’t like to “beat around the bush” – even though in many cultures relationship-building is key to a successful business partnership. In fact, the report says, Kiwis ” usually don’t even want business partners – but we want everyone to love our products and want to buy them.”

• New Zealanders have reasonably simple aspirations, known colloquially as the ” three B’s”: the bach (a type of holiday flat), the boat and the BMW. When a Kiwi business owner has achieved these, or whatever luxuries are considered prestigious within their peer group, they will often fall back into the state of “enoughism”. i.e they will not think of expanding any further.

The report also said that Kiwi businesses are not great at investing in the skills of their work force; that’s probably understandable if the above mindset prevails.

Increasing what you have is faithfulness

• So Neil Smith would say that Increasing what you have is faithfulness;burying one’s talents after one has achieved one’s own narrow goals, is not a recipe for future business success and does not help the wider economy

Conclusion:

• We should go to work ON our business, and not get lost in the mechanics of being IN the business.

• Practice makes perfect. The opportunities WILL come to you if you are PREPARED and POSITIONED.

• Have the ability to change tack and switch if necessary;

• Invest in your business and in others. Increase is good!

Have a most relaxing Christmas and holiday season!

John Reason,
Salesman, Article Writer, Internet Marketer.
© 2009-2010

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An illuminating Business Breakfast

The following is a summary of the post with the same title found in my site johnreason.com. It is based on notes that I took at a Business breakfast hosted by Arise Church in Christchurch, New Zealand this year (2009). The speaker was pastor Neil Smith from Planetshakers Church in Melbourne, Australia. His teaching was very illuminating and I thought could bear a wider audience so am sharing the high points here with this blog’s readers.

The message was directed to Christians, but I believe that you will find something useful here even if you are a person of another faith or no faith. Whether you work for somebody or work from home, ideas are important in advancing your business, whether your business is to sell you skills to a boss (i.e you are an employee (see how Robert Kiyosaki differentiates employees from three other main work quadrants), or you have an online home business or internet marketing affiliate program such as I follow, or a Christian home based business or have bought some sort of franchise in your quest to break out of the rat race.

Here follows a summary of the first part of the message:

Why are you in Business?

• When you go to work you don’t just “go to work” (as though it was something separate from your Calling).

• You go to do what God has called you to do. Christian business people are not just here to “resource the Kingdom”{i.e pay tithes and offerings to their churches}.
• Ask the question: WHY are you in business? A good book to read on this is “The E-Myth Revisited: why most Small Businesses don’t work and What to do about it” by Michael Gerber . It is a technical business book which asks the question just posed.

Business is about creating

Creativity in business

Business is in essence about creating. A by-product is that you prosper.

• Seriously wealthy people look for creative ideas, and don’t {in their private social time}talk about money.

• One creative idea can make all the difference to your business.

Pastor Smith gave the example of a businessman he knows in a certain Asian city who had one creative idea about the marshy real estate in a certain Asian city’s harbour entrance. He noticed none of the big ships entered a particular harbor entrance and on enquiring into it a bit  further was told that the waterway was too shallow and needed to be dredged.  The businessman also noticed the many acres of swampy land sitting idle in the area contiguous to the waterway.  He offered to dredge the waterway for nothing if he could have the swamp land, which the city authorities gladly agreed to.  Later on this “useless” land acquired for the price of dredging the canal became very valuable and he made many millions from it.

Creativity comes from God

What was this man’s “wealth creation strategy”?

• Every Monday he fasts and prays-he does not “go to work”

• on Tuesday he and his team of business associates pray through what he felt God says to him on the previous day.
• Then they have a meeting.
• They have recognized that creativity comes from God.  And they have recognized that creativity comes from WHO you are (your “Being”) rather than how BUSY you are (your “doing”).
• In the business community today many people suffer from some kind of mental problem because of stress.
  
• Stopping doing what you are doing and taking time out to re-evaluate (in this case pray through) your goals is healthy
  

We need to recognize as business people that we are conduits delivering a concept to someone else. The truth of “Calling” is knowing what is in you -and letting it flow out of you.

These notes will be continued in a future post. You are always welcome to leave comments or suggestions, and consider bookmarking it.

Have a great day!

John Reason,
Salesman, teacher, Article Writer, Internet Marketer.
© 2009-2010

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or for U.K or European readers click here.
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