Moms of Faith

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. - Gal 5:22-23 NIV

In order to have a fruitful business you need to have a fruit filled one! As Christians we are not only responsible to our jobs and ourselves in our conduct—but to God as well! Because of this everyone, especially non believers, pay very close attention to our attitudes and actions, especially when it comes to business! Are you exemplifying the above qualities on a day to day basis in your life and job?

This week and next we’ll be discussing each of them and how you should be incorporating them as a part of your business.

Love – Do you love your job, your employees, your co-workers, your clients? If your answer is no then why don’t you? Love is listed first and is should be such a huge part of the Christian life. If you have a genuine concern for everyone you come in contact with it will make the rest of this list—and your life—so much easier!

Joy – I’ve often heard that joy is not based on circumstances or feelings (that’s happiness) but a continual attitude that each Christian should have. Do you have joy? Is your joy spilling over to your business? Would your colleagues describe you as a joyful person? With everything that Christ has done for us we should be continually joyful!

Peace – Are you at peace in the job you’re doing or the business you’re running? Do you feel that it is God’s will for your life, that it is what He is calling you to be doing at this moment? You are never going to be successful if you are continually second guessing yourself-or even worse going against what you know you should be doing or continuing in something you should not be.

Kindness – These days in many businesses it’s a cutthroat corporate ladder all the way to the top and the only way to get ahead is to trample all over your competitors. What I love about the Christian (& sometimes even secular) small business community is I constantly see businesses—even ones that sell the same types of products or services—continually helping out each other, talking about and promoting each other, and just being an encouragement to each other. Kindness—not only is a fruit of the spirit but “what goes around comes around” and even though it might seem strange to others, promoting other businesses and even competitors will gain you a more loyal client base yourself!

Try implementing each of these 4 fruits into your business and watch how much God will bless you and how much your business will grow!

Written By Nicole Elliott: Nicole is the administative assistant for CMB Resource and Mommy Bag Marketing, Inc. She also owns www.artisticalbumsbynicole.com She is filling in as the guest columnist for Faith & Business 101 in the month of August while MariLee is on vacation.

<-- Note: I wrote an ebook filled with a TON of great info and advice on weightloss. It is actually how I was able to lose the weight I did and keep it off! I plan to use the SAME concepts again to get off the final pounds. If you would like a copy, I am offering it for ONLY $10, let me know (I will email you back in invoice). OR you can Click Here for the table of contents and more info about it.

If you would like to join the "Get Fit Challenge" we currently have going on here, it is free and as simple as reading a post each week and commenting on your status! Click Here to see all posts on this topic.

Proverbs 3:13-15 Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding. For the merchandise of it is better than the merchandise of silver, and the gain thereof than fine gold. She is more precious than rubies: and all the things thou canst desire are not to be compared unto her.

Any time anyone starts a business or begins a new job they want to succeed. No one ever begins looking to fail or be fired. One of the best ways to succeed in business, and every area of life, is to have wisdom. It’s prudent to get training and advice for any job you’re in or any business you run. There are many online sites that offer valuable articles and advice for many different aspects of your job or business. Books are always a wonderful resource as well! If you head to the library you’ll find huge amounts of books from people who have been there, done that, and succeeded. All of these areas are ones you should be utilizing and gathering wisdom from.

As Christians, however, any other way of seeking wisdom should come after we go to the true source of wisdom—God! James 1:5 tells us that all we have to do to receive wisdom is to ask God for it! Any time you have a major business decision, the first things you should be doing are hitting your knees and grabbing your Bible. God says He’ll give us wisdom if we ask for it—but we also need to realize that he’s already given us a huge book that is just filled with wisdom, including wisdom for business decisions! The Bible has much to say about how we are to act in business, what kind of people we should and should not be in business with, and what good opportunities look like. Wisdom is not just important for huge decisions, though. We also desperately need wisdom in the day to day areas of our life as well. The Bible covers everything from “the big stuff” to every day life. Proverbs 31 is filled with many verses that show how the Christian business woman should be running her business and home on a daily basis.

What is sad is that I know that many times I think of prayer and Bible reading as almost an afterthought when it comes to seeking out wisdom for how to run my business or how to apply it to my job–especially on a daily basis. I’m afraid that it’s this way for many other Christians as well. We get so busy and caught up in things that what should be our first resource becomes our last resort. My challenge to myself, and to you, is to seek out the wisdom that only comes from above and apply it to your business! The results are sure to be amazing!

Written By Nicole Elliott: Nicole is the administative assistant for CMB Resource and Mommy Bag Marketing, Inc.  She also owns www.artisticalbumsbynicole.com She is filling in as the guest columnist for Faith & Business 101 in the month of August while MariLee is on vacation.

<-- Note: I wrote an ebook filled with a TON of great info and advice on weightloss. It is actually how I was able to lose the weight I did and keep it off! I plan to use the SAME concepts again to get off the final pounds. If you would like a copy, I am offering it for ONLY $10, let me know (I will email you back in invoice). OR you can Click Here for the table of contents and more info about it.

If you would like to join the "Get Fit Challenge" we currently have going on here, it is free and as simple as reading a post each week and commenting on your status! Click Here to see all posts on this topic.

Not to us, O LORD, not to us, but to your name be the glory, because of your love and faithfulness. - Psalm 115:1 niv

Let’s take a minute and reflect on this verse. How does it apply to your business? Are you working so hard just to get ahead, to help yourself and your own family? If so…I encourage you to re-think that. There’s nothing wrong with hard work to help out your family. The Bible encourages that! The Proverbs 31 woman works night and day to help provide for her family. But in verse 20 it also says that “she opens her arms to the poor and extends her hands to the needy.”

Are you inward focused or outward focused? Is every cent you make going to pay off your own debts or going into the family pot…or are you giving some away, too?

I ask you to pray and seek the Lord about that this week. I have learned that when my goals and dreams are more outward focused, God does amazing things! When I’m focused on my self, there’s no room for the work of God in my life.

Dream Big!

If your goal is to climb the latter of success on your own…you’re not going to get very far and will most likely fall. If your goal is to help others reach their full potential, everyone gets a lift!

Paying off debt is GREAT! But while you’re doing that, expand your vision! Take a little out and give it away to someone in need.

Getting a promotion is GREAT! But while you’re at it, how can you use your influence to help a colleague reach their goals, too?

Bless someone else and you will be blessed.

Back to the verse at the beginning: It’s not about US! It’s all about the love and faithfulness of God. It’s about loving others as Jesus does.

In life.

In business.

Until next time…

MariLee Parrish

Copyright © MariLee Parrish, Moms of Faith, All Rights Reserved

<-- Note: I wrote an ebook filled with a TON of great info and advice on weightloss. It is actually how I was able to lose the weight I did and keep it off! I plan to use the SAME concepts again to get off the final pounds. If you would like a copy, I am offering it for ONLY $10, let me know (I will email you back in invoice). OR you can Click Here for the table of contents and more info about it.

If you would like to join the "Get Fit Challenge" we currently have going on here, it is free and as simple as reading a post each week and commenting on your status! Click Here to see all posts on this topic.

Five Things To Do When Marketing Your Online Business

1. Set up a Facebook account and use it to connect with friends, clients and potential clients. Be personable. Be Real. Comment on friends’ posts.
2. Join Facebook groups and fan pages that you are actually interested in. Make new friends inside those groups by responding to their comments and making a new connection.
3. Set up a Facebook fan page for your business and invite your friends to come and “like” your page.
4. Set up a Twitter account and follow friends and potential clients. Use www.wefollow.com to find likeable people to follow. Tweet about interesting things. Read other people’s tweets and respond.
5. Create a blog and write valuable, informative posts; posting something new at least once a week Link to your blog posts on Facebook and Twitter.

Five Things NOT To Do When Marketing Your Online Business:

1. Don’t friend request a ton of people on Facebook that you do not know or try to add the friends that a mutual friend has. It’s annoying to people and you’ll also get flagged for spam.
2. Don’t join every group and fan page that you can find, and don’t start friend requesting everyone inside of those groups or fan pages.
3. Don’t invite the same people over and over again to “like” your fan page and don’t send a million messages asking friends to help you get more fans! One request is enough. If several months go by and a friend hasn’t “liked” your page, consider sending them one—just one– reminder message.
4. Don’t sign up for “automatic followers.” This will just get you a ton of questionable and adult-type followers and lots and lots of spam!
5. Don’t post on your blog once every month or two and expect a loyal following. Don’t fill up your blog with lots of buttons and ads. This will make your blog look cluttered and unappealing.

All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty. – Proverbs 14:23

Until next time…

MariLee Parrish

Copyright © MariLee Parrish, Moms of Faith, All Rights Reserved

<-- Note: I wrote an ebook filled with a TON of great info and advice on weightloss. It is actually how I was able to lose the weight I did and keep it off! I plan to use the SAME concepts again to get off the final pounds. If you would like a copy, I am offering it for ONLY $10, let me know (I will email you back in invoice). OR you can Click Here for the table of contents and more info about it.

If you would like to join the "Get Fit Challenge" we currently have going on here, it is free and as simple as reading a post each week and commenting on your status! Click Here to see all posts on this topic.

As a mother and a small business owner, you will probably have people working closely with and for you in the coming years. While you may not be able to afford a full time assistant or hire any permanent staff, chances are you make choices on a daily basis about who you choose to do business with: the print shop, graphic designer, web host, web designer, etc.

When I was first starting out in business, I couldn’t afford much help at all. I was doing all of those things myself. But as my business grew, I needed to start selecting a team of people to work closely with. To date I have an assistant, a marketing consultant and 10 event coordinators that work for me. The people you choose to work closest with will either make or break you. I have made some mistakes selecting team members in the past and sometimes you have to learn the hard way. I cannot stress this enough so I’ll say it again: The people you choose to work closest with will either make or break you.

Here is an excerpt from John Maxwell’s Leadership promises for everyday:

Red Auerbach, long-time president of the Boston Celtics, said, “How you select people is more important than how you manage them once they’re on the job. If you start with the right people, you won’t have problems later on.”

I want people close to me to…

Know my heart
Be loyal to me
Be trustworthy
Be discerning
Have a servant’s heart
Be a good thinker
Be able to follow through
Have a great heart for God

This excerpt was originally taken from the book “Developing the Leaders Around You” by John Maxwell, which I highly recommend. Maxwell goes on to describe each characteristic of the people He chooses to be closest to him. It’s wonderful advice and I hope you’ll get a chance to pick it up if you are working with a team in any way.

I encourage you to think ahead. If you are earnestly plugging away at your business, then there is a great chance you’ll be hiring people to join your team in the future. I can tell you from personal experience that it is no fun at all to have to ask someone to step down from your team. So take my advice: pick your team wisely and prayerfully!

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. Philippians 4:6

Until next time…

MariLee Parrish

Copyright © MariLee Parrish, Moms of Faith, All Rights Reserved

<-- Note: I wrote an ebook filled with a TON of great info and advice on weightloss. It is actually how I was able to lose the weight I did and keep it off! I plan to use the SAME concepts again to get off the final pounds. If you would like a copy, I am offering it for ONLY $10, let me know (I will email you back in invoice). OR you can Click Here for the table of contents and more info about it.

If you would like to join the "Get Fit Challenge" we currently have going on here, it is free and as simple as reading a post each week and commenting on your status! Click Here to see all posts on this topic.