This is part three in the True Success Series. In part 1 we discussed Jesus’ investment in success. Part 2 covers how our approach to business should resemble that of  Jesus’s example of investing in success. This post will cover more on the investment process we should be following for true success.

Invest in Preparation and Training

In Luke 9:1-10 we see where as a result of Jesus taking the time to prepare and train the disciples for success, when they came they were ready for their marching orders. They had a mission to complete but they needed to be trained to do so. Christ took the time to prepare them and give them the training they needed for a successful journey. He trained them by being the example and giving them on-the-job-training. They saw first hand how he went forth with the Good News.

Jesus knew the his time here on Earth was soon coming to an end and He had to get the disciples ready for the task at hand.

Before I further, you may be expecting the rest of this posts to be spiritual in nature. While it is, we must remember that there a very human aspect to running a business because you have to daily put your hands to it. Now let’s move on!

In business we have to be prepared to do the same for those we work with in an capacity. Every facet of your business needs to be documented. You should also have some sort of organization system. Your business should be ran like a business. I know the truth in this because for the first year of my business I did no sort of organizing and it showed. When it came time for me to outsource some of my projects to a VA, I had no idea which way to go because nothing was documented.

I had no idea what money was coming or going. I never looked at the financial statements that Paypal provided and I was always in the red because my

Ask yourself:

• Am I organizing my business effectively?
• Do I have training manuals in place for those who I may outsource projects too?
• Am I setting goals and taking action steps to get them accomplished?
• Am I allowing fear to get in the way of running my business effectively…..I know this one well!

There are many things to consider when you are preparing and training. No two people are alike and no two business will run alike. Find and stick to a system that works best for your business.

I use binders and notebooks like they are going out of style but it works for my record keeping purposes. I create forms to help me maintain what I do. My daily planner sheets are based on the needs of my business. Buying a typical planner does not work for me because I could never quite wrap my head around filling in all those spaces and by the end of the year I would realize that I spent about $80 on something that I did not use to its full potential. That is why I created my own.

So create and stick with a system for preparation and training.

That is exactly what Jesus did with the disciples the entire three years of his earthly ministry. His method for preparation and training was to provide practical advice and examples of what it means to carry out the Good News message.  He even did s a little one the job training when he sent the disciples out in teams.

Now that’s an organized business.

Invest in Others

Next in Luke 4: 16-21 we see that Jesus invested his time and energy in others.

This may be a tricky one because you may be wondering “Well aren’t I in business for myself”, and while this is true, there is one key component that you should always carry with you. That component is SERVICE!

We as God’s children are all called to a ministry of service. Everything we set out to do should involve serving in some way and this serving must be done in love and humility. If we move forward with our business with the intent of making money, money and then more money then we have missed the point.

We have mission that must be carried out and whole each person’s mission is different, the foundation of service has to be the driving force behind carrying out the mission. This is even true in business.

The mission of your business should be about serving others. Ask yourself how will you serve others and what they can expect from you. Be honest with yourself and don’t build up a fluffy all things positive mission. Your mission has to be authentic in that is shows your true desire to really help someone else. Perhaps you are a VA and you specialize in transcribing audio. Your mission may be to provide the best service by being accurate and timely with assignments. That is SERVICE! You are thinking of your client first and because of this your business will grow! Maybe you are a life or business coach. Your first goal should never be how much money you can charge but how many lives you can effect. That is SERVICE!

Everything we do in life affects someone else; and how we conduct our business will do exactly the same thing. As a child of the King and co-heirs to the Kingdom we are the light of the world. How we treat others does matter. How we provide service to others through our business also matters and probably more so because often times business can be so very coat throat and “me” centered.

Take some time today and take stock in your business. What is your approach?

Jesus succeeded at this quest! Read about his story and apply the lessons!

I wrote one post on this blog and then I quit posting. I really had no idea how to approach this one. I just knew that it was time for LaTara Ham-Ying dot com. I was just waiting on God because I was truly stumped as to which way to go.

There are already blogs about how to start a business, how to maintain, and all the rest. Really there are many of those and I follow a few like Alice Seba, Kelly McCausey, Ali Brown, and more. There are plenty of blogs that give you opinions about products and things like that like Dr Mommy Chronicles and even my own mom blog, Mom Unplugged.

I just felt like there should be something different. So that is why I just waited.

For those who know me, I have epiphanies often. God gives them to me while I am washing dishes, taking baths, and reading books. I can’t remember what it was I doing when the focus of this blog came to me.

Since I truly believe that you cannot separate your faith and business, I am going to share about just those things: faith and business.

Too many times we try to compartmentalize our life and it just does not work like that. Everything flows together. It is the same for business and faith. For me I cannot separate the two. This is a fact for many others who  believe in Jesus as savior and God as the creator of it all.

So on this blog you will find information about doing business God’s way. I will pretty much be sharing about how faith, business, and even life go together. Sure I will share information about resources, products, and cool things that I think any person can benefit from but my focus is on faith and business.

The world is a crazy place now and many people negate the power of God or simply deny Him all together. Even many who say they are believers exhibit a totally different persona when it comes to business. It just can’t be that way.

It is my hope to show that business and faith do mix and that when it comes to the business of a believer, that God is the CEO and Chairman of the Board.