Lately, it seems, all my friends are starting businesses. Ok, not all of them… but it seems to be happening all around me: a publishing company, a flower shop, a fabric store, and now a coffee shop. And it’s great to see a line at the drive-up window on this, the opening day of Evart’s 7th Street Coffee Shop.
I’m not an entrepreneur in the traditional sense, but watching these businesses get off the ground, I get excited… and I’ve noticed a few things about the people starting them that those of us in ministry would do well to emulate.
They dream big.
No one launches a business with the idea that they will last six months and then sell all their stuff at public auction. They launch with a vision of where the business will be 6 years from now. This is what drives them… and while a focus on this dream doesn’t guarantee success, it sure is a contributor.
They take calculated risks.
I am risk-averse. I prefer the sure thing. But these people are willing to pony up, believing that the return will be worth it. And, while some are purely risk-takers, the really successful ones take on only the necessary risk to bring their dream to life.
They seek counsel.
We’re often a little blind to the problems closest to us, downplaying the risks and overestimating the upside. The entrepreneur knows he needs the counsel of trusted friends and people who have walked the road before them to provide insight into their plan.
They work hard.
The lights at the 7th Street Coffee Shop have been on early and stayed on late for months… not because they were serving coffee yet, but because the owners were hard at work, doing whatever it took to be ready for today.
We don’t need to be starting something new every other week… but we should ask ourselves these questions:
Am I dreaming big enough? At SpringHill, we have a BHAGG (a Big Hairy Audacious God Goal, our adaptation of Jim Collins’ idea in his book Built to Last). It’s the dream that by 2025, we’ll serve 260,000 people a year in a SpringHill Experience. That’s big. And it’s the focus on that vision that drives us.
Am I taking the right risks? We all take risks, but some of us waste our energy and resources on the wrong ones. In ministry, we have to, like the first servant referenced in the parable of the talents, invest wisely for the greatest kingdom return.
Am I seeking good counsel? Facebook forums don’t count. If you’re in ministry and you don’t have someone to call up and meet for coffee, who has been there before and can provide insight into your life and ministry from a different perspective… find that person today.
Am I working hard? Most of us don’t know what hard work is. Ask your grandpa what hard work is. He will tell you. And the truth is: we’ll never see our vision become reality if we don’t double down and do the hard work of the Kingdom.