Questions lie at the heart of most every business. Whenever you engage with clients or customers, you’re probably careful to ask clear questions to elicit the specific information you need to accomplish your client’s objectives. As a life coach, you want to know what your client’s values are. As a …
business owner
Does Your Environment Support Business Building? (Julie Fleming, JD)
There are these two young fish swimming along, and they happen to meet an older fish swimming the other way, who nods at them and says, "Morning, boys, how's the water?" And the two young fish swim on for a bit, and then eventually one of them looks over at the other and goes, "What the [heck] is …
How to Avoid Burnout and Nurture Your Creativity (Jory Fisher & Julie Fleming)
Whether you’re an entrepreneur, a ministry leader, or just plain human, stress is a part of life, especially during the holiday rush. The more roles you juggle and the more demands you face, the easier it is to find yourself alone on Pain Island, feeling stressed out or even burned out. That’s …
Two Restaurants: A Parable of Hospitality (Rev. Larry Davies)
Mell (my wife) and I were attending a conference at a large hotel. The session ended early so we wandered through the lobby looking for a restaurant. At the entrance of one restaurant, the greeter said: “We’re closed now but should be open in 30 minutes.” “We were hoping to eat an early lunch,” I …
A Do-Over (Mike Van Vranken)
I was in my mid-twenties and only with the company for a few years when I was given a large advertising project to complete. My specific mission was to arrange for the printing of tens of thousands of circulars, in color, which included four pages of discounted products. The headline item on the …
FAIL No More! (Shawn Sommerkamp)
There are only two types of blockers in business — external blockers and internal blockers. External blockers are those you can’t prevent or control. For example, you have a big client you want to close. You are taking a flight to that city and have a short layover. While connecting, a storm …
Is Jesus the Lord of Your Business? (Mike Van Vranken)
When I was a freshman in college, a close friend came to me late one Saturday night and asked if I had ever made Jesus Christ the Lord of my life. I smiled and said, “Sure. I’ve been a Catholic all my life.” He said he wasn’t asking if I was a Christian. He wanted to know if there were any parts of …
