While coaching a young entrepreneur I was reminded of several common mistakes made by new business owners. The third most common mistake I’ve encountered is “the lack of a clear purpose.” When one starts out in business, the pursuit of cash is so pressing that many entrepreneurs do whatever job that pays the bills. This practice expands the original business […]

While coaching a young entrepreneur, I was reminded of several common mistakes made by new business owners. The second mistake I see frequently is inadequate bookkeeping. For many business owners, bookkeeping and administration is a bother. New business owners often intermingle personal and business monies in the same checking account. Some rarely keep track of their income and expenses, and […]

While coaching a young entrepreneur recently, I was reminded of several common mistakes made by new business owners. The first mistake I’ve seen many times is the impact of taxes on a small business. When you collect money from customers, it’s easy to assume it’s all yours. But it’s not all your money! The biggest mistake for many is to […]

Recently, I met with a retired businessman. While discussing his future this man shared, “I’ve made enough money to care for my wife and I, my kids, and my grandkids for their lifetime.” He continued, “God’s made it clear that He wants me to give away my excess to advance God’s kingdom.” Jesus told a parable about a rich man […]

When business is booming, it’s tempting to pour your profits back into the business for the sake of expansion. There is a tension, however, in also keeping an eye towards the future. In Genesis 41, Joseph not only translated Pharaoh’s dream, predicting seven years of prosperity to be followed by seven years of famine, he also wisely told the king […]

As we near the record for the longest economic expansion in US history, many forward-thinking leaders are beginning to prepare accordingly. With almost 10 years of upward momentum it’s easy to begin feeling invincible and not fully understand what may be coming. Recently, I’ve had more conversations with wise leaders who do have experience with recessions. Many of these leaders […]

Imagine if there were no years. Day after day, life continued without an opportunity to hit reset. Not every culture celebrates January 1st as the new year. Rosh Hashanah, the celebration of the Jewish New Year, is typically around September or October. According to Jewish tradition, in the days following creation, God was yet to determine the fate of mankind. […]

In the 90s I owned a consulting practice. I often stayed late on New Year’s Eve because I wanted to tally up our final profit and loss numbers! It wasn’t to greedily examine my profits. Instead, it was to determine how much extra I could give to charity before the tax year ended. Joy would fill my heart as I […]

According to Mobilecause.com, 12% of total annual giving is done in the last three days of the year and 30% is done in the month of December. This begs the question, “Why?” Taxes is certainly a part of the answer, but as I work with many generous business leaders, I have realized that December is much like the harvest season […]

Christian cognitive neuroscientist, Dr. Caroline Leaf, in her book “Switch on Your Brain,” says, “How we think not only affects our own spirit, soul and body but also people around us.” The thoughts we dwell on impact every area of our lives. They are indicators of our future success.  Our thoughts frame our success even in relationships. If we dwell […]