The Dirty Little Secret in Our Supposedly "Post-Christian" Country

Popular Media Lies Has Christians Stumbling Around to Prove How Tolerant They Are in the Marketplace

When it comes to talking about our faith, many Christians tend to choke.  

Popular Hollywood culture makes snide remarks on their TV shows.  Outspoken voices in the media have some variation on a theme:

• Christians are intolerant.
• Christians shouldn’t legally be allowed to express our faith in the marketplace (or elsewhere.)
• Christians should be boycotted.
• Christians should be sued for everything they have (if I can't make them do what I want.)

Christians Fear Revealing Their Faith in the Marketplace

There has been a pervasive sense of fear in recent years.  Fear that keeps people quiet.  And not without cause, when you consider a certain bakery that was sued for being respectful, but acting consistent with their beliefs.  

You may have worked in a business where they were trying to create an “all-inclusive” environment by banning religious symbols and proselytization (can’t say anything about God unless cussing.)

You can have an opinion, even a crazy one and it’s OK, as long as it’s not Christian.  

Everywhere you turn, the message is “Hide and maybe people will like you.”

There's a dirty little secret that Christians are ignoring.  Instead, they give into fear and shame.

When you start your own business, it’s easy to feel like you won’t be successful in today’s anti-Christian culture - unless you keep quiet.

Hobby Lobby and Chik-Fil-A have bucked the system and gotten a lot of press because of their Christian stand.

There are many others.  Highly successful Christian companies include:  Tyson Foods, Forever 21, Mary Kay, In-N-Out Burgers, Timberland, ServiceMaster (Merry Maids, Terminix and more), George Foreman Cooking, Curves … I could go on.  These effective companies are founded on Christian values.

Christian Culture Shows Up in Interesting Ways  

Dave Ramsey has a no gossip rule in his company.  He bases his rule upon the fact that it erodes unity.  It goes so far as to exclude complaining.  His flagship financial product is overtly Christian in it’s values as well. 

Mark Oppenheimer published an article in the New York Times stating, “For some, the Bible is a kind of business manual you’d buy in an airport bookstore, offering timeless precepts that happen to maximize profits.”

He included a story from Philip J. Clements, founder of Center for Christian Business Ethics Today.   

Phillip “tells a story to illustrate how Judeo-Christian principles make business run smoothly. He once met with a group of businessmen in Africa, most of them Muslim, who complained of the corruption in their countries. So he shared with them Jesus’ parable of the talents, from the Book of Matthew, in which a master offers his servants some money for their use. … Mr. Clements’s point is that the kind of trust Jesus teaches is a precondition for an efficient marketplace.”

Why Running a Christian Business is Desirable

No one objects to ethical business practices.  People appreciate you doing what you promised, on time.  They appreciate you honoring your estimate, even if things run higher. 

No one objects to being treated with dignity - employee or client.  If you must turn someone down, as happens in most any business on occasion, there is no reason to be disrespectful.

It doesn't mean that you will be perfect, or that every Christian will agree on exactly everything.  It does mean that people will be watching how you handle your mistakes.  It means people will hold you to a higher standard.

Ultimately, it comes down to one thing:  Honoring God in all things.

Christian Principles Work

Many non-Christian business owners use these same principles, not realizing they are in agreement with the Bible.  The rules of conduct work!  Businesses run by Godly principles have a better chance of success. 

If you still aren’t sure, drive through Chik-Fil-A.  Notice how they treat you.  They get your name for personalization.  They are consistently cheerful.  Genuinely glad to see you.   

Contrast that with another drive-through.  Are they glad to see you?  Consistently?  Do they look you in the eye?  Can you tell they care about the experience you are having with them today?  

When their values aren’t as high, it shows.  

The Dirty Little Secret

If it's not a "Christian" company, no one thinks twice.  Yet you can still expect a level of honesty and quality.  Without it, the business dies.  We the people have standards.

You see, the dirty little secret in our “post-Christian country” is that Christian values are deeply ingrained here.  The people who dislike Christians still benefit from these values.

Since I specialize in copywriting for Christian growth products, my business is overtly Christian.  Not everyone’s business makes sense to have it front and center.  Though you would run it with Christian ethics, someone can still tell why you do things the way you do from a statement in your business statement. 

How do you live out your faith in your business?

Make Your Last Professional Act Classy

Doing This Assures You a Professional Send-Off

 Pre-planning for your death doesn’t mean you will die sooner.  I promise.  All it does is make life easier and possibly more affordable for your loved ones in the event of your loss.  

I wanted to finish the emergency planning month with the biggest emergency.  The one that’s hardest on your business. Your death.

Your Choice: Just Details or A Nightmare?

It’s easy to neglect this part of your business.  After all, you won’t actually deal with it. 

This can be just another aspect of settling the estate.  Or it can be a disorganized horror for your loved ones to sort through as they grieve their loss.  Here are a few nightmare-reducing things to consider.

Important Contacts to Organize

Have you hired an accountant?  Perhaps a personal assistant?  Have you outsourced product fulfillment?

Developing an easy to access contact list of vendors and clients will make it so much easier for the person handling your final affairs.  A simple instruction sheet of where to look for the list, how to use it (phone, online, mail, etc.) and even what to say means one less thing to figure out.

It may also save money by avoiding unwanted shipments or charges for monthly services.

You need a short list as well.  On this, include your retainer clients and other active clients.  They need to be informed immediately so they aren’t left hanging with looming deadlines and no product in sight.   

Leave clear directions for the bank accounts to make sure refunds are issued to appropriate parties.  If you are able to direct someone to fulfill orders, leave clear, step-by-step instructions. 

An extra touch of class would be to refer them to someone to fulfill the contract where possible.   It would be like having a godparent for the business setting, only less binding.  

Keep your research and work organized so that it's easy to send back to your client, reducing time for the next person to get up to speed. Your clients will appreciate your thoughtful preparedness.

Remember Your Other Contacts

Consider your personal contacts.  Friends you’ve developed over the internet via blog hopping or other forums may never know what happened to you.   They'll be pleased you thought enough of them to have them informed.

To avoid simply going dark, draft a final email, addressed to those people. You’ll want to remember people who recommend you through networking rather than client relationship.   

Facebook has a way to turn your page into a memorial page. Other accounts can only be shut off.  It's worth considering, if you don't want to run the risk of identity theft plaguing your estate and your family.

How You Want Your Legacy Products Handled

Are you blogging?  Make a draft final blog post.  Leave copy and paste directions so when it is used, it doesn’t appear to have been written years earlier if that is an issue on your particular blog. 

While you are thinking about your blog, do you want it left up for the benefit of new readers?  Will you have an online product that is automatically fulfilled?    

You’ll need to plan your business estate to account for keeping that up.  Include a way for funding to be addressed, including payment for your website.  Leave clear instructions for running that aspect of your business.   Include passwords, email addresses, information on any income sources such as affiliate relationships like Amazon or from banner ads. 

This will allow you to continue providing income to your family after you have passed as well as impact the lives of those who read your blog or buy your products.

Awareness is Key

The bottom line is to be aware of what would happen if your spouse or other loved one had to step in tomorrow morning and figure all this out alone.  Figure out how to make it easy to navigate. 

And get a lawyer to get things set up properly for minimum fuss to your survivors.

Make appointments to update this information regularly.  Your loved ones will bless you for loving them so much.

Weekly Challenge

I finally got my website live last week.  I don’t like it much.  Being lean on resources, I need to figure out how to do much of this for free.  My site looks incredibly boring.  Aside from the banner, it’s black and white. 

Much as I want to take time to do something about it, learning SEO is a higher priority.  Otherwise, I can’t be found without directly typing in my address.  That is my goal for this week.

Does this section hold any interest to you?  I’m considering dropping this section.  Comment below and let me know!

What are you doing to build your business this week?

Will Your Business Be Crushed By THIS Emergency? Ignore at Your Own Peril.

Ways to Safeguard Your Freelance 

Business from Natural and Man-Made Disasters

Please don't blow this off as something that doesn't matter.  If you are in business, it matters.

In 2012, a derecho hit our area.  The area had widespread power outages.

We were fortunate our power was back within three days.  Many people went five to seven days before their power returned.  People in outlying rural areas spent up to three weeks without power.

I didn’t have a business at the time, but not knowing how long until the power returned was a big deal.

What is your most likely natural disaster?

At least one of these is a possibility in your area:

• Hurricane
• Lightning strike
• Tornado
• Wildfire
• Earthquake
• Mudslides
• Flooding
• Extreme winter conditions
• Wind blowing trees down

 Other Situations to Consider

• Nuclear power plant disaster
• Rioting
• House fire
• Pipes burst

We know emergencies happen.  We just don’t know how or where it will show up. 

Our businesses don’t need to take a heavy hit from “surprises.”  To that end, here are some areas for you to consider.

Data

Your email list, client contact information, and your vendors are the life-blood of your business.  You need two things to protect your data:  a safe place and a way to get to it. 

External hard-drives are good, but not so great in water or fire.  Either you need a water and fireproof safe to store it in, or a bank vault. 

Cloud storage is good.  You will need a way to remember the password, assuming your computer must be replaced.

Clients

Assuming you have clients not affected by the disaster, you’ll want to get in touch with them as soon as you reasonably can.  They need to make an informed choice to wait or find another vendor, even if temporarily.

Savings

You may need to replace key equipment and consumables as soon as possible.  Insurance money may not kick in for weeks or months, depending on the scope of the disaster.  What do you need to operate your business?  Developing that list now, before disaster strikes, will help you bounce back with less effort.

Where to Go for Access

You’ve heard about not letting your gas tank get too low and keeping some cash on hand in case of an emergency. 

One of the most urgent things I can think of would be a car charger for your cell phone and laptop.  Depending upon the severity of your emergency, impassable roads may cause gas shortages, so a charger might not take you very far.  

On the other hand, if roads are clear, it will allow you to drive somewhere where power and Wi-Fi lets you carry on with business almost as usual.

Have maps printed in advance.  Some directions could be impassible, so options are nice.  Knowing contacts you can visit outside of the zone may prove invaluable.

Bottom Line

There are many sites dedicated to the art of emergency prep (with or without the political fear mongering accompanying some prepper sites.)  Those will give you a lot more tips and tricks for the physical aspect of dealing with the emergency.

The bottom line is this: simple preparations ahead of time reduce the stress of a disrupted routine.

Most Realistic Emergency Likely

In all reality, minor, but equally disruptive emergencies like a computer or modem breakdown are more likely.  It all goes back to your preps.  Do you have the savings in place to run down and replace your equipment immediately?  Is your data backed up in a safe place you can easily access?

If you missed last week, here's the link where I talked about personal emergencies.  Next week, I'll be talking about preparations to make life a little easier on your family, in case of the ultimate emergency.  

I get that you may not have the resources to make it all happen today.  However, you CAN make a plan and set timelines for reaching those goals.

Whether or you are preparing for big or small disasters, being prepared makes navigating the challenge a lot easier. 

Are there important preps I missed that you have done for your business?  Please share below!

Weekly Challenge

I didn’t finish my website.  I was busy with outside stuff.  I also ran into a technological hurdle.  I’ve dealt with that and am charging ahead full steam.  I have promised my accountability buddy that I’ll have my site live by 5pm on Wednesday – even if I don’t have graphics the way I want them.  Sigh.  Sometimes moving ahead is more important than having everything perfect.

After that, it’s on to getting my LinkedIn updated, which it sorely needs.  Then I need to review the plan and see what’s next.

What are you doing to build your business this week?