Using Strategy, Structure, Showcasing, & Sharing to Build the Business of Your Dreams
I'm back with some motivation and action steps to help you build a solid foundation for your business. If you’re new here, I'm Dr. Lorin Carter, The Corporate Consultant, and today we're talking about some tips on starting, refreshing, or pivoting in business.
The tips in this blog and vlog are applicable whether you are starting out, or you've been in business for a while and want to refresh your basics, or if you're considering a pivot in your business and figuring out how you want your business to move forward.
Our goal in business is to work with Christian entrepreneurs and organizations to start, sustain, and scale your businesses in a way that honors your faith, amplifies your gifts, serves your clients well, and is profitable longterm. We do that through our signature Founders Framework - The Strategize to Scale Method. Today we’ll go over a few tips to help you (re)start off on the right foot or to pivot well.
STRATEGY
The first tip is strategizing and setting up your business. The verse that I think about with this is Luke 14:28-29 KJV, and it asks, “For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it? Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him,”.
(In laymen terms - We don‘t want to be the leader that doesn't count the cost before building, gets midway through a project, has to stop, and then deal with others saying we didn't plan well, and couldn't finish what we started. We don't want that to be the testimony of our businesses, or of ourselves as leaders.)
So before we start, we need to stop and think about what strategy is important. What is the proper legal setup for our business? (Not everone needs to be an LLC.) How do we want to function? Is it an agency framework? Is it building as a solopreneur long-term? Do we want to offer done for you, done with you, or do it yourself services or solutions?
These are all things that we should think about as we work through the process to build our business foundations. If you've been in business for a while, but you've seen that your desire or your capacity has changed, this is a perfect step to revisit so that you can continue to build the right way.
STRUCTURE
Next is structuring for excellence, and there are two passages of scripture here that I want you to keep in mind. First, let’s look at Genesis Chapter 1. In this first book of the Bible, God created the Heavens and the Earth. We're all familiar with that process and the story, but what God also taught us over those seven days was how to optimize a system for prime operations.
He started with His basics first. He created an environment, then He created animals, then He created humans. He created things that would sustain his final product first. He did things in a specific and intentional order, which is our next passage - “Let all things be done decently and in order.” - from 1 Corinthians 14:40 KJV.
This verse helps us to think through our full process when we're putting things in place in our business, when we're figuring out how we will deliver our services or how we will operate internally. It reminds us to consider what things need to be in place so that we're not just getting through client delivery, but we are operating at an optimal level, and in a way that feels good for ourselves creatively and for anyone else that's working with us. It makes us think about things like our communication, how we will share draft products for edit, and how we will deliver to our clients. It highlights the importance of managing things well internally so we are structured for excellence.
SHOWCASE & SHARE
Our next step is showcasing our client experience and our brand. This is an invitation to think about how we are sharing what we do and how we are showing up for our clients. Let’s look at Philippians 2:3-4 KJV, “Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than themselves. Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.”
(In laymen terms this verse is telling us not to do anything selfishly or solely from the place of ambition, and to consider the needs others/our clients first.)
As we’re operating in business we have to keep that in mind that we are serving, we're not selling. Now marketing and sales are absolutely a part of what we do, but how we show up, how we engage with our clients, how we deliver our services, is all about making sure that our clients feel cared for with us/by us.
As we're putting together the components of the solutions we provide, we need to remember 1 Peter 4:10 KJV “As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.” Then be sure to ask ourselves these questions: “Am I serving my clients well? Am I meeting their needs? Am I creating solutions that actually solve the problems or the challenges that they are experiencing? Am I showing them how to fully leverage the benefits of opportunities that exist for them?
The other part of this is showcasing our brands. That is where Matthew 5:16 KJV comes in, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” This verse is a reminder that in that in everything that we do we must make sure that our light shines. Allowing God’s Light to shine through us is a crucial part of the brand that we're building, whether or not a scripture is in our marketing material, or if we put it on a t-shirt, or hang it up in our office. Our light should should shine clearly when our clients work with us. When others encounter our brand it should always be something “a little bit different about us”.
This also goes to our unique business branding. What sets our business apart? What would make our clients want to work with us over the many alternatives that exist in our field? What makes our process, our signature service, the transformation or solution we provide so unique that we are the ideal choice for our ideal client?
This is the message we have to share to make sure they know their dream solution “does exist” (like the M&Ms say during the holidays about Santa lol).
Keep these things in mind as you strategize and set up your business, streamline your structure for excellence, showcase your client experience, and share your brand. These are practical ways you can start, refresh, or pivot in your business.
If you want to go deeper on this topic, I invite you to schedule your consultation today. We would love to work with you to develop, grow, and scale your business in a way that honors God, amplifies your gifts, and serves your clients well!
Until next time, have a good one y'all!
With Joy In Purpose,
Dr. Lorin Carter
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