With so many opportunities to get known and build your reputation for you and your God-centered business, how do you decide which opportunities are best to let others know how you can help them through your God-centered business?
Have you done any of these things to build your reputation?
Built a website, been a podcast guest, started a podcast or a YouTube channel, posted on social media every day, created a Facebook group, private messaged people, spoke for an online summit, looking for collaborations. . . should I go on?
You ‘could’ do so many things. But, when you are not focused on the best thing for you, it all becomes tiresome, and you make lots of little splashes in all these different places that ultimately do not build your reputation but keep you small.
I want to chat about How you can build your reputation for your God-centered business by giving you the means to filter those opportunities so you can make the best decisions for you.
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Don’t try to do it all
I want to chat about this topic because when I got started in business, I was told I needed to dominate every space out there, online, to build my reputation.
I tried to do it all. And I failed. The plan stretched me too thin and gave me anxiety. I was working with a coach who directed me to create a brand, build a website, do videos, rip off the audio from those videos and put it on a podcast, get speaking gigs, and get on every social media platform.
While that may sound like a detailed plan. . . it was not what was good for me. I had not taken the time to determine what I truly wanted and how to build my reputation.
Looking back, I can now see if I had taken some time to look at God’s design of me, what my strengths were, and how I wanted to ‘show up,’ I would have saved myself from the added pressure and all the time it took if I had just done it my way in the beginning.
Ways to filter your opportunities
So how do you know what opportunities are best for you? How do you begin to filter through the possibilities and pinpoint the best way to build your reputation?
1. Know what you do best
The first way to filter is to understand who you are and how God has created you to be in the world. Start by asking yourself what you enjoy doing and what you are good at doing.
Speaking opportunities are not for you if you fear getting in front of an audience. And, if you are introverted and shy, you probably don’t feel comfortable being on camera. But, on the other hand, podcasts may be your thing if you love to talk. Or, if you like to create conversations and explore topics, then a Facebook group could serve you well.
These are all means of creating an excellent reputation, but you need to know what you do best and do that to the best of your ability. When you follow someone else’s blueprint, it may not fit and probably won’t get you the desired results.
I help my clients understand this vital concept of God’s design to create a business that energizes them and then help them choose opportunities that align with that design.
If you are looking for a way to stop doing ‘all the things’ and hone in on God’s design of you, I invite you to check out the Calling Clarity Course.
Doing your ONE thing well will build the reputation you want, grow your reach, and get you better results.
2. Filter your opportunities through a word for the year
The second way to filter your opportunities is to use a WORD.
What do I mean? Every year I choose a word for the year. Now I do this with lots of prayer and petitions to God because I really want to stay aligned with Him and what He wants me to do. This is one of the best ways to give me focus when deciding if an opportunity will advance my reputation. Simply asking God if the opportunity aligns with my word.
One year my word was MERAKI. This is a Greek word that means doing something with your entire soul. It means putting all your creativity and loves into the work. So that year, I evaluated every opportunity through that criterion.
I asked myself. . .Could I get into this project/opportunity and really give it MERAKI?
Use your word as a filter
Having a word to focus on, I could immediately know if an opportunity was right for me. And by having a focus word, I also built my reputation around it for that year. So each WORD has been a building block in my reputation as a business owner.
I encourage you to go to God and ponder and pray about what your WORD could be for the rest of this year. If you have one already, I would love to know in the comments what word you chose for this year. Use your journal to consider how to use this word to build your reputation.
MERAKI helped me grow my reputation as an author, speaker, and coach the year I used it. It catapulted me from being a local businessperson to being known nationally and internationally and starting my online reputation.
3. Have a method for evaluating opportunities
The third way to filter what opportunities are best for you is to give yourself a way to evaluate and think through each opportunity specifically. The problem I see with Christian women entrepreneurs is that we want to say YES to every opportunity that comes along.
That’s probably why I just did everything my first coach told me to do. But having a specific method to evaluate is super helpful.
I know many people use pro/con lists, or maybe you are the type that thinks through the ‘what ifs’ to understand if the opportunity is right for you. Perhaps you look for a trusted friend, advisor, or mentor to talk to. But, no matter what you do, in the end, you have to decide if it is right for you and if it is what God wants you to do.
That doesn’t mean waiting for some supernatural sign, either. Instead, there are a few questions you can ask yourself that can keep you aligned with what God wants for any opportunity presented to you.
As always, I encourage you to use your journal if you are praying/thinking through this over several days. You can see what God reveals each day as you consider the opportunity.
FOUR questions to ask yourself. . .
- Is this something that goes against what the Bible says or what the Holy Spirit has revealed to me in scripture?
- Is this something that Jesus would not approve of because it comes from a place of arrogance, immorality, greed, rebellion, or pride in me?
- What is the effect or fruit of choosing this opportunity? What would the result be? Would it positively build my reputation?
- Do I need a guide? Someone outside of myself to bring more knowledge and experience to understand better if the opportunity is for me.
Building your reputation really comes down to deciding what opportunities will have the effect you want on your reputation. How you want to be seen as a certain type of person. And how you want your business to be known for certain things.
Creating opportunities that are perfect for you
Building a reputation takes time. But what if I told you there was an easier way to build that reputation by being a part of a community where there are opportunities to build your reputation through connection and collaboration? A place to cultivate your reputation more rapidly through activities that get you known by your ideal clients and referral partners?
The Calling Clarity Community is your place to grow your reputation, learn more about faith and business, and grow into the person God has called you to be.
I know you may be doing all the things right now. . . putting up your website and showing up on every platform. It may make you known, but are you known for the right things?
You get to decide how to build your reputation
Decide what you want to be known for, and then decide how you can best display that repeatedly. Do you want to be known for being . . .
- Creative & inspirational?
- Fun & enthusiastic?
- Transparent & empowering?
- Collaborative & communicative?
Whatever it is, YOU are making choices about what opportunities will work best for you.
At the end of the day, your business will rise OR fall based on its reputation, on your reputation.
Choosing opportunities that make sense for who God has designed you to be, creating methods to filter those opportunities, and asking if it is the best opportunity for you is what will build the reputation you want, the one God wants, for your God-centered business.
Has this given you some ways to decide on your next opportunity? Do you see how choosing the right opportunity leads to building your reputation how you want?
Let me know in the comments what you will do next.
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