Mind Your Own Business

Headline News!  You just woke up this morning as a business owner.  Did you know you either mind a business entity or company, or a family business (your family at home), or maybe both? Or if you are single, you mind your own business.  Your entity, company, family, or even your own life IS your business.  So it is about time you mind your own business!

Ever heard the phrase, “Mind your own business?”  If you don’t mind your own business, no one else will mind it for you.  So whether your business is your personal, family, or business entity that you own, it’s yours to lead and lead well.

Mindshift on Business

It’s time to shift the mindset, a paradigm shift, a different way of thinking.  If you are more concerned about:

• control
• no one doing it as well as you
• investing little but hoping for a big return
• not knowing your assets
• paying (for) expenses/liabilities instead of making investments (in assets)
• being safe and comfortable and so never making strategic risks or calculations in moving forward
• using excuses as to why your business isn’t moving forward instead of strategizing solutions…

…then I’m going to make a bold statement, “You should not be a business owner.“  I know that’s not very encouraging.  So let me encourage you since my blog post is about Words of Encouragement. I encourage you to make a shift in the way you think and do things…if any of the above applies.

“Oh, You Own A Business!”

Remember, you don’t have to ‘own’ a business to be minding your own business. You should be minding your own business.  As John Nens, a great friend and encourager to me, puts it with ‘Nens, Inc.’ he says, “We’re running this small business (our family), and it’s our job to manage every penny that moves through our business. So we ask ourselves, are we managing the money for Nens, Inc. well?  Should we fire ourselves?” 

Like ‘Nens, Inc.’ your family business would be your last name, with Inc. following it – “___________, Inc.”  I would say you should relate that not only to the way you manage your money for the family but to how you lead your family as well.  So your family is your business and no one else’s.

How are you minding your own business?

• What is your Vision?
• What about your culture, what is that like and are you building a positive culture built on trust?
• Is it a dictatorship, or a team effort – do others have input?
  • Do you take time to understand other’s stances before making your decisions?
• Is there an opportunity for learning and growth?
• Is there open communication or do you have a closed-door policy?
• <<add your wisdom in the comments below>>

Amazing at how scripture can really relate:

1 Thessalonians 4:11-12a  MSG

Stay calm; mind your own business; do your own job. You’ve heard all this from us before, but a reminder never hurts. We want you living in a way that will command the respect of outsiders,

Business Leadership

Owning a business (again including your family) is about leadership. Much goes with that. Biblical leadership versus a dictatorship (and control).

So what is a business owner?  Technically it is

As an owner, the assets are yours and no one else’s.  What you do with those assets will either make you or break you.  Think of that as the owner of your family business.  You own the assets.  Okay, so the words ‘own’ and ‘assets’ are a little strong when talking about family, but your assets are your kids and spouse, and they are yours (no one else will own them).  So as a family, your assets are each other (technically your house, your cars, and any other toys you have are liabilities).  What are you doing with your assets?

Jesus The Business Owner

Okay, I need to stop there because this can get deep.  But think of Jesus as a business owner and His company as Followers, Inc.  How does He lead His business?  What is His focus?  What is His culture?  What is His communication policy?  How about His opportunities – learning and growth?  What were His assets (people), and did He even have any liabilities?

It’s all about recognizing what/who your assets are, and investing in them. I have to recommend again (in previous blog posts) Simon Sinek’s book, The Infinite Game. You will see all of this and more in his book.

Jesus made some heavy investments – He gave His life for His company, for His plan.  And His time and investment paid off.  Once He completed His work of building His business, He became an absentee owner.  And He built the greatest company ever. He was in the Infinite Game, investing for all of eternity!

A Biblical Foundation for Any Business

2 Timothy 3:16  ESV

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,

Matthew 6:33  ESV

But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

Challenge of the Week

What is it that you need to work on, to then build and lead the best company ever for you, or even better yet, for the Kingdom?  Did you build the kind of company that can grow and thrive without you?  Take one step today to begin to do that, especially the business of being about your family.  So be it.