JOSEPH BUSINESS QUARTERLY
Publication of Joseph Center® Foundation
Volume 1 - July 2020
Business Trees
by Melissa Duff BrownBut he answered and said, Every plant, which my heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up.
(Matthew 15:13)
Entrepreneurship, combined with ideas, labor, resources, and capital, should produce a profit. The entrepreneurial spirit is characterized by innovation and risk-taking and is an essential part of a nation’s ability to succeed in an ever-changing and increasingly competitive global marketplace. But what does that mean for Kingdom entrepreneurs?
In a recent sermon referencing Matthew 15:13, Dr. Bill Winston said, “Believe God first and let Him guide you. Christianity gives you your life back and puts you in control of your destiny, but first, you have to dig up the trees.” He explained that trees are any wrong image or negative beliefs that stop the flow of God’s power and creativity from manifesting in our lives.
On a daily basis, we, at the Small Business Development Center of the Joseph Center ® , work with entrepreneurs and assist them at every stage in the development and growth of their businesses. We see people of faith applying the principles of faith, and some are more successful than others. As I meditated on digging up trees, many questions brought themselves to the forefront.
How do we get the promises of God to manifest in our lives daily? How do we manage the spiritual and natural parts of our existence? Why are so many people who faithfully attend church unable to access the power of God when it is needed? And, the final question, after reviewing a report on the global effect of the coronavirus pandemic, was what do business trees look like?
Business trees can be negative images and beliefs about our businesses or the marketplace, which can manifest in many ways. These trees can show themselves as old architecture; outdated tools, policies, and procedures; impractical security protocols; or just a plain lack of desire and commitment. Sometimes our current business methods are doing more harm than good. For example, is your business protecting the status quo or looking for new ways to innovate and create value? As Kingdom entrepreneurs, we have the ability to determine the outcome in advance. Ask yourself, am I playing the game or changing the game?
In the Bible, Isaac experienced a 100-fold increase in the time of famine. During this modern-day famine caused by the virus, we have to ensure that the people of God keep looking for opportunities to grow. How would you create a business model that a calamity could not disrupt? Today, more than ever, our systems and processes must include an effective continuity plan where no virus, disaster, or calamity would stop us.
The only way to uproot business trees is to do business God’s way. The future requires us to be resolved to use the Word of God and apply biblical principles in the daily operation of our businesses, and to be committed to not giving up. Additionally, what do you have in your house? We have to recognize opportunities in order to reimagine, innovate, or reform our current systems.
The only way to uproot business trees is to do business God’s way. The future requires us to be resolved to use the Word of God and apply biblical principles in the daily operation of our businesses, and to be committed to not giving up. Additionally, what do you have in your house? We have to recognize opportunities in order to reimagine, innovate, or reform our current systems.
George Washington Carver is an excellent example of depending only on God’s Word. He never brought any other book into his lab but the Bible. This practice led to hundreds of product inventions, including more than 300 from peanuts (milk, plastics, paints, dyes, cosmetics, medicinal oils, soap, ink, wood stains), 118 from sweet potatoes (molasses, postage stamp glue, flour, vinegar, and synthetic rubber) and even a type of gasoline.
In 1939, the first commercial pressure cookers were released and were mostly designed for steaming vegetables. Sanders bought one and modified it into the first pressure fryer, which he then used to fry chicken. This new cooking method reduced production time to be comparable with deep frying, while not compromising the quality of pan-fried chicken. This innovation significantly increased the number of customers that could be served daily in his 142-seat restaurant.
Sanders Court and Café was located in Corbin, Kentucky, and primarily served travelers driving through town. When a new interstate bypassed Corbin in 1955, the new highway dramatically affected Sanders’ restaurant business. He eventually had to close the café and use all of his funds to settle his debt. But Sanders looked at what he had in his house and discovered a new business model. Driving thousands of miles by car, Sanders began licensing his chicken recipe to restaurant owners throughout the South.
Too many successful businesses no longer exist today because their leaders lacked the foresight and ability to recognize opportunity or industry disruption.
Most people know Blockbuster as the long-running industry leader until it filed for bankruptcy in 2010. But did you know that Blockbuster had an opportunity to buy Netflix? In the third year of operation, Netflix co-founders, Mark Randolph and Reed Hastings, met with the CEO of Blockbuster, hoping the video-rental giant would purchase their business for $50 million. Online streaming was in its infancy, and although Netflix was only mailing DVDs at the time, they knew the internet would revolutionize the industry. Blockbuster turned them down because, from their perspective, online streaming was a niche market. Today, Netflix’s annual revenue in 2019 was $20.1 billion, a 27.6% increase over 2018.
Success requires that we recognize opportunity, take action, and make changes. Each of us has to be intentional, looking at our business operations and industry trends to determine what barriers have been created that inhibit the flow of the anointing. Take the time to find out what business trees need to be rooted up to make the dominion mandate in Genesis 1:28 a reality in your life. Remember, as I’ve heard many times, until something changes within you, nothing can change around you.