Due to Baby Boomer’s aging, it’s estimated that over 8 million businesses will either sell or be passed on to the next generation. Many are calling this the Great Wealth Transfer. Many business owners have worked hard to build a culture that pleases God. But often taking the highest sale price can result in selling to someone who destroys your ...
Up until the 1980s, pension plans were a common approach for employers to help employees with retirement. Unfortunately, the investment risks became a bigger burden to carry than many businesses felt they could afford. Ted Benna, a benefits consultant, however, shrewdly discovered a 1978 tax provision that could replace the investment risk of these pension plans with what became known ...
John Patterson is a little-known businessman who significantly raised the level of professionalism for sales professionals. In the 1880s, Patterson founded the National Cash Register business to sell high-quality cash registers. Patterson realized his product needed much more public awareness. So, he formed a team of sales professionals who were trained to dress professionally, overcome objections, and were provided sales ...
For those business owners who desire to give from their profitability, a donor advised fund (DAF) can allow them to donate into their DAF in late December for their tax deduction. Then in January, the business owners can determine to which ministries they desire to give. DAFs, however, take away the urgency of selecting ministries to support. This sometimes results ...
As we begin a new year, many people have developed their strategic plan, their marketing plan, or their financial plans for the year. How many businesses, however, have ever considered developing a ministry plan? If you’re sincere about your faith, wouldn’t it be helpful to have a plan with your goals and how to best minister to your staff ...
In 2001, I owned a consulting practice that morphed into less consulting and more ministry. God’s blessing on those ministry activities led to forming a nonprofit today called Unconventional Business Network. During that transition I wanted to assure that I was following God’s vision rather than mine. I fasted, prayed and journaled. The result was a document outlining God’s vision ...
It’s hard to know whether the plans I develop for the New Year are from me or from God. I’m a very optimistic person so my plans can lean towards being unrealistic. Yet, a common question is, “If I’m carrying out God’s purpose, wouldn’t He provide all that’s required?” Although I don’t have all the answers, what has helped has ...
Did you know that until 1752 our forefathers celebrated New Year’s Day on March 25th? Our culture tries to undermine Christianity, but New Year’s Day is an example of the far-reaching impact Christians have had, even on our calendar. In 1582, Pope Gregory XIII decided to standardize the calendar by creating the Gregorian calendar. He began by declaring January 1st ...
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 ...
In a recent Harvard Business Review article, Scott Cook, cofounder of Intuit, and Professor Nitin Noharia discussed how to enhance customer value. The article highlighted CEO of RELX, Erik Engstrom. Engstrom has been asking his team customer-obsessed questions for twenty years. Some of Engstrom’s profound questions include: “How does the customer measure value? How do we know? How do we ...
Equipping Others to Do Work Differently
