Encouragment for Small Business Owners|Little Guys doing BIG things
This post is dedicated to small business owners... whether you are a photographer, own a hardware store down the street, or sell Young Living Oils or Arbonne Health Products, you ARE a business owner!
I have been a business owner since 2006, first as a MaryKay representative, then as a photographer. Working in the wonderful world of MaryKay, I learned a lot about the organizational and marketing side of business, and although selling MaryKay ultimately was not my calling, I am exceedingly grateful to the many ladies (some of whom I still keep in contact with) for allowing me the opportunity. Later, many of the foundations I learned from selling MaryKay in college has helped me (and my husband) to be able build SL Hunter Photography (Formally New Vision Images) from the ground up.
As all successful businesses know, talent is not everything. In addition to having a 'knack' and a passion for something, hours of research, dedication, monetary sacrifice, experience, and development of your talent is necessary. In addition to that, creativity, wise money management, and perseverance come into play as well. What I find to be one of the most important things however is self-motivation: if you believe in your business and have the highest regard for the product that you produce, then you are already on the road to success. Who wants to buy a product that not even the retailer believes in?
A long while ago, when we still lived in Warner Robins GA, our pastor at Hope Church talked about a certain disabled man in John 5:1-18. This man was lame--meaning he could move, but very slowly, and his complaint to the Lord was that every time he inched forward toward the healing pool, someone jumped in front of him, and he missed out on his opportunity! Supposedly, this had been happening for months and months on end, and the lame man seemed to have made up his mind that he would NEVER get to the pool, so instead he sat waiting for someone to carry him in.
When starting a business, for the first few months or even years, we are going to be like the lame man--slowly inching our way toward success. During this time, it is incredibly tempting to throw in the towel and say 'I'll just wait for some better opportunity to come along'. But if you read on in the story of this man, we see that after he reveals his plight to the Lord, Jesus immediately says 'Get up and walk!' What a huge amount of faith it must have taken for this man to gather his strength, trust his withered legs, and do something he had probably never done before--at the risk of failure or being ridiculed or disappointed again! But it says that the man got up, picked up his mat and walked away. When God has called us to do something--anything in life, to include ownership of a business, it is not our prerogative to be immediately successful, or to throw in the towel when we are not. It is our job to take each day one inch or so at a time, as the lame man had done--and there will be some days when you will be frustrated and wonder if this is even your calling, or if you made some mistake along the way--but know that though these days are inevitable, God has given us talent not only in our product, but also as a businessperson, and if you never forget your goal and where you want to be, and keep your eyes on Him, one day he will say to you "get up, and carry your mat!" as your business takes off at warp speed!
Mc Donald's started as a diner on the corner in 1940, SEARS as a mail order catalog in 1888, and Facebook as two college kids goofing off in 2004... what do these multi-billion dollar industries have in common? They started right there where we are...as a small business! God bless you and your businesses!
Feel free to leave encouragement under 'comments'