Christian Entrepreneur

Brock Shinen

Description

The road to launching a successful business can be long and confusing. Where do you start? Should you rent office space or work out of your garage? Should you register as a for-profit or a nonprofit business? How should you handle legal issues that come up? What does it mean to be a "Christian" entrepreneur anyway?Drawing from his work as a legal expert and business coach, Brock Shinen combines practical wisdom and a biblical worldview to help Christians turn their dreams and passions into viable businesses. This easy-to-use guide includes self-assessment tools that will walk you through four stages of starting and running a business: Assess and clarify your dreamsTurn those dreams into an actionable planImplement and execute your visionGrow your business while keeping your faith and character at the centerBe inspired and encouraged as The Christian Entrepreneur helps you through every stage of your journey.

Sujets

• Philosophie et théologie
• Entrepreneurship

Informations

• Publié par: Baker Publishing Group
• Date de parution: 04 février 2020
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781493422630
• Langue: English

Extrait

Cover
Endorsements
“We’ve known Brock Shinen personally and professionally for more than twenty years. He has been a trusted adviser to our entire family of businesses. Brock has steered our business straight countless times and also helped us win a legal battle against one of the largest retailers in the world.”
—John and Mike Anderson, founders, Anderson Brothers Design & Supply, Tankfarm & Co.
“Shinen brings refreshing and practical straight talk on how you can start and grow a Christ-centered business, demonstrating the excellence, wisdom, and pure goodness of God in the marketplace.”
—Shae Bynes, founder, Kingdom Driven Entrepreneur
“Brock’s advice has been crucial to my career as an artist. I’ve often relied on him to navigate the complexities of the music industry. I’m grateful for his guidance and perspective as a believer and would encourage any businessperson to dig into the principles of this book.”
—John Mark McMillan, singer-songwriter
“Brock has a unique ability to distill complex topics into simple, easy-to-implement steps, and his book for entrepreneurs is no exception. Having spent a significant amount of time in and around a variety of business environments, I’m well aware of the risks and failure points that so many entrepreneurs face. Brock takes a methodical, calculated approach to breaking down the timeline of a business’s origin, from idea through growth, and shares his war chest of tips, experience, and action steps. I’ve worked with Brock and have seen him in action, and I can see that this book captures his knowledge and experience in a way that few books could. If I were dreaming about starting a business, or anywhere on my entrepreneurial journey, I’d want this book in my hand.”
—Miles McPherson, author, speaker, and pastor
“Brock is a man of the law and a man of God with a rare gift as a strategist. If you have an idea for a new or existing business that you want to take to the next level, while carrying the heart of the Father—get this book.”
—David Noroña, cofounder and director of the studio division at Bethel Media and cofounder of Bethel Conservatory of the Arts
Half Title Page
Title Page
Copyright Page
© 2020 by Brock Shinen
Published by Bethany House Publishers
11400 Hampshire Avenue South
Bloomington, Minnesota 55438
www.bethanyhouse.com
Bethany House Publishers is a division of
Baker Publishing Group, Grand Rapids, Michigan
www.bakerpublishinggroup.com
Ebook edition created 2020
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—for example, electronic, photocopy, recording—without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Control Number: 2019950006
ISBN 978-1-4934-2263-0
Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, New International Version® NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com.
Scripture quotations labeled NKJV are from the New King James Version (NKJV) Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations labeled KJV are from the King James Version of the Bible.
All dates, place names, titles, and events in this account are factual. However, the names of certain characters have been changed in order to protect their privacy.
Cover design by Brand Navigation
Author is represented by The Fedd Agency
Dedication

Tammy Shinen, the love of my life, you inspire me to achieve, grow, learn, and dig into the deepest parts of myself. Your love, support, and encouragement for me is without limits, and I’m forever grateful for you. You helped me think out this book and all the ideas whirling around in my head. Thank you for building a future with me.
Tristen and Sienna, my children, my heart beats with you, and I hope to build a legacy for you to walk in. Watching you grow up is what inspires me to walk boldly into the future. I pray my words draw you closer to the heart of God and closer to your own dreams. Never stop pursuing what makes you come alive! I love you both forever.
Contents
Cover 1
Endorsements 2
Half Title Page 3
Title Page 5
Copyright Page 6
Dedication 7
Prologue 11
STEP ONE: DREAM 17
1. The Making of a Good Idea 19
2. The Foundation: From Good Idea to Viable Business 33
STEP TWO: PLAN 53
3. The Vision: Making a Business Plan 55
4. Planning for a Financially Sound Business 67
5. Building the Right Team 81
6. For-Profit versus Nonprofit 93
STEP THREE: EXECUTE 101
7. Customer Engagement 103
8. The Legal Landscape 115
9. Everything You Need to Know about Disputes 121
10. Negotiation Skills 135
STEP FOUR: GROW 151
11. The Values of a Christian Entrepreneur 153
12. Growing Pains 169
13. A Christian Entrepreneur in a Secular World 187
Epilogue: Ten “Commandments” for the Christian Entrepreneur 201
Appendix A: Sample Business Plan 209
Appendix B: Sample Budget Worksheet 213
Acknowledgments 217
About the Author 219
Cover Flaps 221
Back Cover 222
Prologue
H AVE YOU EVER HIRED a “Christian” business and been disappointed by the product or service they delivered? Or maybe you’ve worked with a secular business and wished they could have had a little more “grace” when you couldn’t make a payment on time?
As Christians, we want the Christian benefits of grace, forgiveness, and conciliation even in the secular marketplace, yet in that marketplace those attributes are often viewed as counterproductive to making money. We Christians, then, tend to see the secular marketplace as a cold, harsh, unforgiving landscape driven primarily by the desire for as much profit as possible.
On the other end of the spectrum, we adore the fact that Christian businesses and business owners understand our relationship with God, pray with us, and empathize with our personal trials as we walk together in Christ. Yet when it comes to receiving consistent, high-quality products and services from these same Christian businesses and business owners, we can be disappointed and frustrated. It seems our choice is too often limited to either a Christian business that loves Jesus but renders lackluster performance or a secular business that delivers stellar performance but is ready to take us to court over a single misstep in the relationship.
Yet plenty of businesses and business owners believe you can operate a competitive, successful, marketplace-savvy enterprise and do so in a way that has God’s fingerprints all over it. The sad reality, however, is that if you want to own or operate a business that embodies godly dynamics and is highly successful, profitable, or simply excellent at what it does, only limited resources are available to show you how to get there. It’s also an area systematically misunderstood by the church because the church wasn’t designed to teach us competitive business practices.
That’s where I come in.
I’m fortunate to work with some of the best entrepreneurs, ministries, and organizations in the world, and I’m equally fortunate to work with countless others who have both passion and a good idea. The connection point for me is guiding them all toward prosperity in the context of healthy and godly business practices. After all, what motivates me as a believer, an attorney, and a strategy consultant is to superimpose God’s kingdom over the marketplace.
During the year immediately before I launched my law practice, I asked God for what I thought was somewhat innocuous. I asked Him to always allow me to keep one foot in His kingdom and the other in the world. In practical terms, I was asking for the ability to represent the wider “church” (Christian-owned businesses and ministries as well as churches) and also the “world” (secular businesses and nonbelievers). The strange thing was that I wasn’t even sure why I was praying for that type of law practice; I just felt a pull toward both areas.
I was raised in the church; my father was a pastor, and my mother was a worship leader. It felt normal, then, to lean into the broader church family. On the other hand, I was drawn to the Great Commission and understood the need for Christians to demonstrate Jesus outside the walls (and safety) of the church building, particularly in the business marketplace. I suppose you could say that as much as I wanted to support the church with my expertise, I also wanted to bring Jesus into my professional practice and interactions with nonbelievers. The sick are the people who need the doctor, right?
It wasn’t until about eight or nine years after starting my law practice that I began to realize how vital my initial prayer had been. Or perhaps it wasn’t so much my prayer as it was what God had planted in me. I’ve become a “cultural translator.” I’m a professional who understands how to function competitively in the secular marketplace while at the same time maintaining a deep connection with Jesus, which permeates everything I do. It’s not enough to say that I practice law with integrity or that I’m an “honest Christian attorney.” Rather, no matter who I work with and in what capacity, those people and organizations experience the love and power of Jesus Christ because He resides in me in a way that can’t be hidden. His presence affects every bit of advice I give. At the same time, I’m truly good at my profession, and that’s where the intersection of career and faith gets interesting.
More important, however, is that I know why I can both showcase the love and power of Christ and excel at my work—only by God’s power and a deep commitment to learning. I also know how —by submitting all my plans to the Lord and relying on Him completely. Without God, I can do nothing, but with Him, I can accomplish anything.
You can too. That’s what we’re here to talk about.
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