There are two phases when it comes to your success as a faith-driven entrepreneur:
- Creating a Plan
- Following that Plan
However, knowing what to create and then the best way to follow it may not be the easiest thing to discover or to decide.
I have seen many clients (and others) who are continually busy but unproductive. They are doing everything they ‘think’ will make their business successful but are just spinning their wheels.
Let’s go over FIVE steps that will help you create a plan and then follow that plan for success as a faith-driven entrepreneur.
Creating a plan for success as a faith-driven entrepreneur
Step 1- Trust God has given you a good idea.
Make God the CEO (Chief Everything Officer), the boss, the Lord, overall in your life. This includes your business. He has a place for you in His overall plan, and you have a specific part to play in His Story.
Only by being close to God can you have the understanding and wisdom to follow that plan. God is there to guide you every step of the way. By. . .
- Reading His Word
- Journaling
- Prayer
This is how you align yourself with Him and cooperate with His plan for success as a faith-driven entrepreneur.
God has placed in your heart that pull to do something more. He has orchestrated your life so you have acquired skills, experience, abilities, and knowledge about your areas of interest and created you to be satisfied when you work in your ‘genius zone.’
He has placed this idea in you, and now it is up to you to live it out, one step at a time.
How can you live it out?
By creating a business that is uniquely suited to you.
You have been created as a one-of-a-kind masterpiece. There is no one else who can bring your part of God’s plan into the world. He has reserved it for you. Knowing how He created you uniquely allows you to create a business that energizes you daily.
God will help you build your business in a way that will attract your ideal clients and customers. He wants you to use all those unique things about you (personality, values, talents, gifts, experiences, strengths, expertise) to show up authentically in your business.
Find the person (or persons) to help you navigate the doubts in your mind and will point you to what God wants you to do.
Step 2- Research best practices that align with God’s Word.
Over my last 13 years working with Christian women entrepreneurs and business owners, I have read many, many business books. I also host a Book Club where we discuss the books we are reading and put them through the filter of the Bible.
I know this sounds like it is very time-consuming. But, when combined with the study of the Bible, the good practices outlined in those books become evident.
And there are many things to learn as you set up and operate your business.
Professionally, you need business growth opportunities like. . .
- marketing
- messaging
- relationship building
- attracting clients
- sales call strategies
- course building
- social media strategies
- creating a website
- email marketing
. . . should I go on?
Personally, you need personal development approaches.
This requires ways to be more disciplined as you attempt to conduct your business and your life. I think of the following.
- accountability methods
- relationship building techniques
- practices to stay consistent
- continued commitment to excellence
and connecting your faith & business so you serve God in an integrated way that makes your life seamless.
How can you accelerate your learning about best practices for your business?
By belonging to a community with others ahead of you on their entrepreneurial adventure. Let’s face it. . . there is a lot to learn and a lot changing almost every day. Keeping up with all of it can be exhausting.
The best way to plan biblically and follow best practices is to connect to mentors who are ready to help and want to see you find success as a faith-driven entrepreneur.
Following the plan to achieve success as a faith-driven entrepreneur
Step 3- Execute the plan you have carefully put into place.
Vision is the first part of the plan. Seeing the projects that will get you there is the next part of the plan. Breaking those projects into actionable steps follows in the plan. AND creating routines to complete each step in the plan makes you successful.
Wasn’t it Benjamin Franklin who said, “Failure to plan is a plan to fail“? That is so true, but in my experience, I have seen many fail to GO. They fear intimidation, have imposter syndrome, or want to get one more credential. These are barriers that are constantly keeping them from moving ahead.
When God called you into business, He did not plan for you to do it alone. And He did not intend for you to do it by the seat of your pants. It’s hard work to be an entrepreneur.
A plan that works for you and can be followed consistently is critical to executing well. Having others around you for support, encouragement, accountability, and challenge is vital to keep you on track.
Grow, grow, grow towards success as a faith-driven entrepreneur
God does not promise that everything you need to know will just come to you, that you will have wild success just because He gave you this idea. God is using your business to grow you, grow your character, and grow you more into the image of His Son.
Remember. . .
- God chose to grow, stretch, and transform you through business. He wants you to be dependent on Him for your work and your results.
- God is providing opportunities for growth by bringing people, tools, and resources across your path at just the right time.
- God is giving you opportunities to serve Him by serving your clients. You find our significance and satisfaction by doing the work He is calling you to do.
Being in a community can give you what you need to accomplish your plan. The right community can also help you grow spiritually and be transformed through Bible study, prayer, and connection with other believers.
Step 4- Stay with your plan and continue to work on it.
Here is the fundamental problem I see when it comes to staying with or sticking to your plan. You may have shiny object syndrome. You think you should follow every ‘new’ method, so try them.
This is a distraction from the enemy. When you listen to too many people, you cut off what God has put inside your heart.
When you focus on what is important to you, your key metrics become your guiding beacon to how well you are doing as you work on your plan and accomplish your goals.
Taking the time to dive into, think through, and make a concrete plan does give you a map for success. It gives you the motivation, purpose, and inspiration to keep going and achieve success as a faith-driven entrepreneur.
How can you avoid going off on a tangent and truly focus on your plan?
By organizing your day, week, and month around what God is calling you to do. By prioritizing your plan and its actions to accomplish your goals and vision.
Write it out
The best way to stay focused is to write down the plan. When the plan is written out, you can see it, adjust it, and create a consistent routine that is doable.
It is impossible to grow a business without a strategy that moves you in the right direction. Doing things haphazardly and trying to create a strategy does not work.
When your plan is front and center, you can prioritize it. Your next step, then, is to start to take other activities’ off your plate.’ Then you can plan the day you want (the life you want). One that energizes you not drains you. One that gives you a sense of accomplishment, not one that happens to you.
Staying accountable to others is the best way not to be distracted and to continue to work on the plan you have decided for yourself.
Step 5- See the results of your plan and readjust when necessary.
I know you want enormous results from the effort you put into your business. Realistically, you can expect a 10% ROI (return on investment) for any marketing activity.
That can be postings, webinars, LIVES, videos, email, workshops, etc.
I often find women trying to do things others have told them work for them. (I can’t tell you how many multi-day virtual events I have participated in with others.)
When you are grasping at a methodology that is not aligned with your plan, it does not work.
What do you do when the results are not what you planned?
How do you keep moving forward in your business after a disappointment?
Reframe the situation
Let’s talk about the feelings first. When things are not going your way, you can feel disappointed, resentful, and frustrated. These emotions close your eyes to any good that might be down inside the experience.
One technique I use is to reframe a situation. Seeing past the result and seeing the process. Instead of shutting down and procrastinating on the next move, shift and keep trying new things. It is a matter of try-adjust-try again thinking and doing.
Knowing your uniqueness is the key to creating strategies that will work for you. Don’t be distracted or led away from who God has designed you to be. Be open to the try-adjust-try-again mindset for actual growth.
That is the philosophy of the Calling Clarity Community. We sympathize with you when something does not work out as planned. We are also here to mastermind these challenges and give you new ideas to think through.
Supporting the plan to achieve success as a faith-driven entrepreneur
There are two phases for achieving success as a faith-driven entrepreneur: Create a plan and follow the plan.
There are five steps for success inside those phases:
- Trust God has given you a good idea.
- Research best practices that align with God’s Word.
- Execute the plan you have carefully put into place.
- Stay with your plan and continue to work on it.
- See the results of your plan and readjust when necessary.
Take time first to make God the CEO of your business by meeting with the boss; follow the vision He has given you and trust Him for the results; and create a business that highlights all your incredible skills and abilities so you shine for Him through your business.
Don’t try to do it like everyone else. Be faithful to who God has called you to be.
Belonging to the right community that understands your needs, helps give you a plan, and ensures you are executing it is invaluable!
That is a bold statement.
Here’s what I know. . . if I had this community from the start of my business, it would have saved me a lot of time, money, and trial & error. It would have given me the tools I needed to succeed all in one place.
Become a part of this ‘one another’ Community where we accept one another, are devoted to one another, honor one another, serve one another, help one another, teach one another, and genuinely love one another.
I invite you to join the Calling Clarity Community. Check us out HERE.
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