How Christian Men Can Tell A Good Idea From A Business Opportunity

Just about all of us have had those moments when the light bulb goes off inside our head, so how can you know whether yours is a money making venture and not just a good idea?

Whatever great idea or business opportunity Christian men get from God, selling your product to Christians should be part of your marketing strategy. A study conducted by a major Christian retail channel shows the retail value of Christian products sold by its members through all distribution channels reached $4.63 billion in 2006.

These are not just Bibles and books. Their members offer a wide range of products and services from apparel, curriculum, gifts, greeting cards, music software and videos.

There are 5 questions that Christian men can ask upfront to uncover some key points before you sink your hard earned cash into any business.

1. What is your unique selling proposition?

Yes, you do have to sell your product Virginia Wolf and knowing what makes your product better than it’s competitors is crucial to its success.

2. What makes your product appealing?

A good product should have some kind of sensory or emotional appeal to consumers, in other words, it should make them look or fell better.

3. How will your products show value?

Value isn’t only about pricing. What about quality and there is the emotional aspect that's important too.

4. Is your product idea interesting and exciting?

Your product will be competing against lots of other established and new brands and being a dull "me too" won’t motivate sales.

5. Product features.

A good product has to deliver in more ways than one. It should be able to last longer or offer more uses than your competitors.

These are just a few of the many considerations every product should go through before it can take it's place on the shelves of any store. The Bible reminds Christian businessmen in Proverbs 21:5 to have well developed plans, so do lots of research before spending too much money on any business.
If you want more information on deciding if your product is a great idea or a business opportunity, I recommend Christian men take a few minutes to read, "Is Your Great Idea a Real Business". Melanie Lindner hits on a few more things you may want to consider about going from an idea to a viable business.

If you already have a product you would like to introduce to the Christian market, check out the website for the CBA it's one of the leading Christian retail channels. Christian businessmen should make every effort to attend one of the many trade shows and conferences they host for retailers of Christian products.

How Christians Can Profit from Ideas for A Successful Business

All of us have had several great inspirations for products or services that we failed to act upon only to witness someone else using our idea to become wealthy.

The average person gets 3 to 4 money making ideas a year that can probably make them financially independent, but most people fail to follow up on them. So what is it that keeps Christian men from profiting from their ideas for creating their own business.
The Drive to Succeed

There is a story that illustrates this point, about a young man who graduated at the top of his class in high school and received a scholarship to Howard University and at his 10 year class reunion was recognized as one of the most successful people in his city. He told everyone how his father had been an abusive alcoholic and he worked hard so he wouldn’t end up like his dad.

His younger brother on the other hand, managed to throw away every dime he earned and lost job after job because of his problems with drugs and alcohol. He would tell all of his friends, if his father hadn’t been an abusive alcoholic he wouldn’t have ended up living on skid row.

Same family, different outcomes, why? Whether you profit from your ideas for a successful business depends heavily on how you view situations.

Setting Goals

The difference between the dreamer and the doer is not very much. One has clearly defined goals while dreamers lack specific goals. So what is it that stands between Christian men and materializing their ideas.

The root of the problem is procrastination and doubt. They work together to get you to stop in your tracks or fail to act at all. According to one of the country’s foremost experts on successful businessmen, Dr. Dennis Kimbro, these two culprits may be hindering Christians from profiting from their many ideas for success by fostering three feelings inside their mind.

How to Avoid Self-defeat

Low self image
The result of a false belief that we’re not good enough to succeed.

You don’t believe in yourself
This will cause you to become afraid to make mistakes or interact with others

Lack of faith
A lack of faith in yourself or a lack of faith in God can be harmful to you.

Each of these can rob you of the drive, desire and discipline to reach your goals.

Pursuing Your Business Ideas

You can attack these 3 enemies of success by surrounding yourself with your goals and ideas in both words and images.

Place your goals where you can see them when you shave. Put them where you can read them when you get up every morning, throughout the day and every night before you go to sleep.

Learn to recognize the signs of a doubt and procrastination. As a Christian man, you should never settle for giving less than your best effort on every task you undertake. Then nothing will be able to keep you from attaining the benefits that you deserve from harnessing your ideas for a successful business.

Key Resources for Every Christian Businessman’s Tool Box

(image credits:baskets by Karon.com)


Every Christian businessman needs ways to cut through the fog to keep their marketing on target, take a look at some of these techniques that will increase your profits.

Wrenches with shiny handles and well worn screwdrivers are staples in every man’s tool box. If you’re like me, you keep an assortment of helpful things to fix and repair the equipment used in your home and business. What do you use to fix the ROI when your company starts puttering?

Why You Need A Business Tool Box?

Top performing organizations know the importance of having an assortment of resources to aid its success. To rise above the survival mode and reach higher profits Christian businesses should have a few key techniques to drive sales and improve their marketing efforts.


If you don't have any tools, you need to think about getting an experienced marketer to assist you. For businessmen who already have some basic knowledge about marketing, these are just a few of the valuable pieces you need in your business tool box to provide cost-effective ways to increase your profits.

Key Business Tools


Sales Letters

These are the doors of opportunity that savvy entrepreneurs use to reach new customers and keep existing clients informed about the latest products and offers. Good sales letters should explain your competitive advantage, the benefits of doing business with you.

Post Cards

This is a tried and well tested channel to get customers to use your product or service. Post cards should be short and to the point with your key benefit as a headline. You can target a large or small group of customers with this handy tool.

Flyers

Effectively designed flyers are strategically focused on a specific area of service or product. There are a lot of different formats that work on flyers, constantly test and redesign them to see what works best for your particular customers.

Signage

You need to use signs that speak to more than one group of customers. Take all of your customers into consideration when you make a sign. Consider using graphics instead of words, because they speak to your customers effectively in any language.

These are by no means the only tools that your business need. These are the ones that every business can use to leverage their traditional marketing efforts effectively. Follow the links below to resources that can help you build a better business tool box.

Supplies For Your Tool Kit


Sales Letters
Postcards
Flyers
Signage

5 Things Christians Can Do to Build Their Business

The Christian business man’s approach to success is a path that requires a mix of traditional techniques and outside the box thinking, that based on faith. This is not a new paradigm. In 1929 James Cash Penney employed this method(Pr 3:5-6)during the depression.
His belief in the Golden Rule, the biblical principles he followed, was so strong that he gave credit during the depression when it was nearly impossible for customers to repay him. This sent him into bankruptcy, but he continued to practice the Godly principals, and rebuilt the J.C. Penny empire.

Five business building tools

Build a network of contacts in your industry that are Christians who are willing to assist you. These can be members from your church, chamber of commerce, suppliers or any one in your industry that is knowledgeable about your field of interest.

Build a portfolio. This is not just for artist and writers. If you do landscaping or give seminars, you need some samples of your work to show that you are able to get the job done. This also can open the door for more opportunities and a chance to learn to use some of the special features on the software and digital cameras that you should already own.

Develop your leadership and management skills(Pr 10:14). Even when you are strapped for cash, you can find free classes. Small business development centers and community colleges are just a few of the places where you can find low cost business courses and other training.

Reach out to others in your field. You should be having fun and making friends whether you’re in line getting a permit, attending a retreat or a convention. They are ideal places to meet other positive, happy and creative people, in your field, to share ideas with.

Pray to meet people you can help and those who can help you over time(Pr 11:25).

Find a mentor. We all should seek help to shorten the learning curve. Mentors that are Christians can also tell you how to stay on track spiritually and help you find answers to those tough questions that come with business.

Using Faith to Succeed

I’ve detailed these 5 steps to help Christians in their business or career (Pr 16:3). They are practical things that everyone can use, but Christians experience an extra benefit by praying for God’s guidance and favor to maximize them.

Do you view your faith as a fork in the road to a profitable business, or do you feel it shouldn’t be considered as a tool for success.