by Larry Sharp What is the opportunity? By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail. – Benjamin Franklin IBEC’s first consultant and later CEO, Ken Leahy drilled into me, “You do not have a business if you do not have a customer”. Since then the key question for me is to identify a […]
Once a month, our panel of mentors answer your practical business questions. Send us your questions! Dear BAM Mentor, How and when do I go about my spiritual impact plan? Do I write this at the same time as my business plan? Any practical advice about writing an integrated plan? ~ Perplexed Planner Dear Perplexed, Talking […]
by Colleene Isaacs In every new business I have had the pleasure of being able to build, or at least participate in the process, the ultimate plan that proved successful for the business was not the original idea that got the team on board. My partners and I started out on one path and soon […]
Once a month, our panel of mentors answer your practical business questions. Send us your questions! Dear BAM Mentor, How and when do I go about my spiritual impact plan? Do I write this at the same time as my business plan? Any practical advice about writing an integrated plan? ~ Perplexed Planner Dear Perplexed, Unless […]
By Robert Andrews I would ask questions like these in a couple of iterations, meaning I would go through them once quickly to see if there is some clear deal breaking problem, and then again in more detail, and finally as part of the development of a detailed and researched business plan: 1. Is it a […]
Once a month, our panel of mentors answer your practical business questions. Send us your questions! Dear BAM Mentor, How and when do I go about my spiritual impact plan? Do I write this at the same time as my business plan? Any practical advice about writing an integrated plan? ~ Perplexed Planner Dear Perplexed, A business […]
Insights from a BAM Practitioner Peter has lived and worked in a professional and business capacity for over 40 years throughout Asia, Europe, the Middle East, South and North America and is a pioneer in the business as mission movement. He currently consults on business as mission all over the world and is the CEO […]
by Peter Shaukat Peter Shaukat, CEO of Transformational SME (TSME), identifies five stages in the emergence of a new business as mission company. Each stage, from conception to launch, involves the integration of missional and commercial elements. Preparation Stage This is before the ‘baby is born’, the preparation that has taken place even before the […]
Book Review: From Concept to Scale From Concept to Scale is a collaborative production out of Praxis Labs. The book information reads: From Concept to Scale tackles the inevitable challenges every entrepreneur faces when bringing something new into the world. Starting with a Gospel-minded approach to organizational development, the authors examine the opportunities and common […]
by David Skews Tensions tend to arise when we take our eye off the ball. We need to be constantly asking the questions, Why are we here? Why are we doing what we are doing? Because we are in business and are employing business methods, it is easy to allow our motivations to become aligned […]
Once a month, our panel of mentors answer your practical business questions. Send us your questions! Dear BAM Mentor, I am feeling some tensions as I begin to integrate mission and business goals together in my business operations. What tensions have you felt and how have you overcome them? What practical tips or principles have […]
Insights from a BAM Practitioner Ajay co-founded an IT company in India 14 years ago and regularly coaches BAM practitioners. Keep a long-term perspective Having a long-term perspective about what you are doing helps when with dealing with challenges. You can’t just dabble! Having invested many years, we are not going to give up easily […]
It was after a survey trip to a small city in India 20 years ago that Ajay and colleague Jason saw a desperate need for someone to live out the gospel there. They both committed to relocate with their families and went about assessing the needs and opportunities there. One great need in the community […]
by Joseph Vijayam Information Technology is a knowledge industry that relies almost entirely on the knowledge of people working in the industry. If you are setting up an IT company you will need to look for people with skills and experience that are aligned with the services you aim to provide. If you are unable to […]
by David Stone I think there are seven keys to finding the right people with an aptitude for IT in an underdeveloped country: Keep relationships primary Share your motivation Develop a very close Friend Be a close friend to Christian expats and their NGOs Know the owners of other local […]
Ben and Yumi co-founded an outsourcing and software development company in Vietnam, joining Vietnam’s rapidly growing tech industry. We asked them what got them started, what are some pros and cons of being in IT, and what advice do they have for up-and-coming BAMers looking at the IT industry. What got you started in business as […]
Once a month, our panel of mentors answer your practical business questions. Send us your questions! Dear BAM Mentor, I am hiring in a more deprived, less developed context, how do I find the right people with an aptitude for IT? Any other tips and ideas you have for hiring and staff training? ~ IT Starter-upper […]
By Mats Tunehag How can we connect Sunday and Monday? How can our faith inform our actions in the marketplace? What are key building blocks in economics and business as we pursue a society built on justice and mercy? These were key issues addressed by 175 people from 26 nations gathered at the European Economic […]
Insights from a BAM Practitioner Tim has been in business in SE Asia for 18 years. Keep both the big picture and the detailed picture in view Don’t get so bogged down in the detail that you lose sight of the big picture and the rationale for what you are doing. Conversely, make sure you don’t spend […]
We asked people engaged with BAM around the world to share how they see the sacred-secular divide affecting thinking in the Church in their country – and how this influences engagement of Christians the business sphere. Perspectives from Europe and Africa Patrick Kuwana – South Africa In South Africa there is a church on almost every street […]
by Kevin White Rather than barricading ourselves within the confines of the church, Christians must view their business as a calling and an opportunity to bring to light of God into all spheres – business, government, art, music, science, and education – for the benefit of humanity and for the glory of God. This is […]
This post was first published on Leadership.com.sg. There is no spiritual distinction between serving in the marketplace or doing ministry, as we should treat everything we do as worship to our King. Luke 19:13 says, “So he called ten of his servants, delivered to them ten minas, and said to them, ‘Do business till I […]
Should I shut my business down if I’m not seeing spiritual fruit? This is a very important question, one that leads to some other questions and observations: How do you know if there is fruit? Why am I not as successful as others? Things to think about while sowing Let’s talk about each of these […]
We asked people engaged with BAM around the world to share how they see the sacred-secular divide affecting thinking in the Church in their country – and how this influences engagement of Christians the business sphere. Perspectives from North and South America João Mordomo – Brazil My day-to-day experience in both mission and business, as well […]
Should I shut my business down if I’m not seeing spiritual fruit? Instant milk. That’s how a Brazilian friend recently portrayed the challenge of how our contemporary church culture often trains, and equips us to think about, and plan for results. We mix the powder with the water and voila – we have instant, pat-yourself-on-the-back […]
Once a month, our panel of mentors answer your practical business questions. Send us your questions! Dear BAM Mentor, Should I shut my business down if I’m not seeing spiritual fruit? ~ In Two Minds Dear In Two Minds, I think this is far too simplistic a question. The most obvious oversimplification is “not seeing spiritual fruit”. This begs at […]
by David Stone What is the great divide? We categorize certain activities as sacred and others as secular. Orphanage ministry or business activity. Sacred or secular? We are still stuck in the divide! On a recent trip to Kathmandu, Nepal, I was visiting with a small expat short-term missions team on outreach. Two of the […]
A landlocked nation hedged in by the Himalayas, Nepal is an isolated frontier. With high shipping costs, an unstable government and corruption cascading from the top down, Nepal presents a challenging climate for incoming foreigners to start a business – to put it mildly. Yet there are huge needs and opportunities. There are deep labour […]
Insights from a BAM Practitioner ‘Julia’ has been a business owner in Mongolia for 12 years. Investing in people is challenging, but worth it My husband likes to quote his habitat for humanity friend on this: “It is easy to build houses and so hard to build people”. Houses stay put where you build them […]
Have you got any advice for me concerning HR issues that involve a clash of cultural or Biblical values? I want to pay my workers equally for doing the same job and in Nepal where I run my business, men and women don’t usually receive equal pay. It’s not so much an ethical dilemma for […]