WEBVTT 00:00.551 --> 00:11.439 [SPEAKER_00]: You are listening to Blessed and Boston, presented by Anchor DeMedia, an entrepreneurship podcast for Christians all about how to make God the CEO of your business. 00:12.060 --> 00:19.225 [SPEAKER_00]: Get ready to be inspired, challenged, but, well equipped, to live and build your destiny his way. 00:28.215 --> 00:56.235 [SPEAKER_00]: Hey guys, welcome to another episode of the Blessed Embossed Parkest, last week or in the last episode, I talked to you guys about how I got a question that was submitted when I was doing the Millback episodes where the listener was talking about how she listens to the episode, she goes and studies the script shows that we bring up, but there was this disconnect of being able to really apply, was she was reading in the word and it was a question that I sat with for a few weeks. 00:56.955 --> 01:10.348 [SPEAKER_00]: And I knew that I couldn't answer it in just a one-off episode because I really wanted to break down all of the pieces that collectively go into building a business with the Lord and for his kingdom. 01:11.069 --> 01:16.674 [SPEAKER_00]: I've been doing this for the last eight years, so a lot of things are second nature to me, but I don't want to... 01:17.695 --> 01:26.839 [SPEAKER_00]: allow that to cause me to assume or to neglect those of you who may be in those beginning stages of trying to figure things out. 01:26.939 --> 01:36.224 [SPEAKER_00]: So I thought that the answer to that question will best be served in a series of episodes where we could really address and narrow into the nuances of things. 01:36.284 --> 01:39.285 [SPEAKER_00]: So that when you are listening to a Bible on business episode, 01:39.625 --> 01:46.731 [SPEAKER_00]: you're able to better apply it and really bridge that gap between what you learned and really sing it through. 01:47.471 --> 01:59.581 [SPEAKER_00]: So in the first episode of this series I talked about the importance of clarity and I even presented you guys what a challenge called the Clarity Clients and a few of you emailed me about the length that was in the show notes. 02:00.281 --> 02:13.846 [SPEAKER_00]: I don't know what happened with my email marketing system but I fixed it so the link in the previous episode is updated and then I will include the link again in this episode so that you can go ahead and get that. 02:14.146 --> 02:24.930 [SPEAKER_00]: The clarity cleanse essentially is this 30 day detox and it's guided for you guys who are ready to break free from the noise and a distraction and really hear from 02:29.092 --> 02:35.461 [SPEAKER_00]: necessary and this walk you need to be able to hear him even when he's speaking in a still small voice. 02:36.102 --> 02:44.053 [SPEAKER_00]: It's very easy to recognize the Lord when he shows himself in these grand, huge ways, but remember he also speaks in a whisper. 02:44.814 --> 02:55.360 [SPEAKER_00]: and you have to be able to hear their hymn then as well and you have to be able to create and cultivate a life to where is sensitive to his divine interruptions and his whispers. 02:55.801 --> 03:05.467 [SPEAKER_00]: And so this clarity client is really just an opportunity for you to detox from all the internal and external noise that keeps you from hearing from the Lord in that precise way. 03:06.127 --> 03:11.171 [SPEAKER_00]: So the link is corrected, it's in the show note, so you could go ahead and download that. 03:11.891 --> 03:29.205 [SPEAKER_00]: So now that we have discussed the importance of sobriety and all the substances that keep us in our lives noisy and keep us from being able to have the sober and vigilant mindset that we need to build these businesses, now we need to talk about the fundamentals. 03:29.725 --> 03:33.428 [SPEAKER_00]: The title of this episode is Faith does not replace fundamentals. 03:34.069 --> 03:39.436 [SPEAKER_00]: Last week, we talked a lot about what happens when we have too many influences that are not of God. 03:39.976 --> 03:50.490 [SPEAKER_00]: Something else that I found over the years is that when working with Christian entrepreneurs, sometimes we could be so safe to sanctify and feel what the whole goes. 03:51.311 --> 04:06.827 [SPEAKER_00]: that we skit the fundamentals of building businesses, and so we're doing all of the spiritual things, the praying, the fasting and all of the things that we know to do to be able to live a spirit feel like, but that does not negate. 04:07.428 --> 04:19.420 [SPEAKER_00]: The fact that we have to be good business people, we have to do good business, doing good business and doing all the things that you don't feel like you're good at, are necessary to build a business that honors the floor well. 04:19.700 --> 04:24.245 [SPEAKER_00]: So you may not be good at the executive functioning skills, but you have to get good at them. 04:24.785 --> 04:31.431 [SPEAKER_00]: You may not be good at the marketing aspect, but you have to figure it out at least in the beginning until you can hire out. 04:31.732 --> 04:40.920 [SPEAKER_00]: You may not be good at more of the boring and mundane tasks, but they are necessary in order to build a foundation for a business that's one of last. 04:41.681 --> 04:49.649 [SPEAKER_00]: Even think about this from businesses that we all know and have engaged with in our day-to-day lives, think about businesses like Blockbuster. 04:50.469 --> 05:09.692 [SPEAKER_00]: There are no longer around there men blogbuster was such a staple in my childhood When I would go to my grandmother's house for the weekend we will go to seven eleven first I'll get my little sunflower seeds my chips my sour patch kids my Reese's cups all the little snacks that that she should have stopped me from eating 05:11.413 --> 05:17.979 [SPEAKER_00]: But I will go and get all the little snacks that I like me and my brother, and then we will go next door to Blockbuster. 05:18.339 --> 05:19.720 [SPEAKER_00]: He will get video games. 05:19.841 --> 05:32.732 [SPEAKER_00]: I will get my little Britney Spears dance game that I like I will get my little movies and things that I wanted to watch and then we will go spend the weekend at her house and play our games and watch our movies This was like a staple 05:33.412 --> 05:37.495 [SPEAKER_00]: And then we would drop out our things off at the end of the weekend before going back home. 05:37.755 --> 05:40.317 [SPEAKER_00]: So I loved Blockbuster, right? 05:40.417 --> 05:41.978 [SPEAKER_00]: Blockbuster was everywhere. 05:43.065 --> 05:46.588 [SPEAKER_00]: Now, in today's digital age, you don't see a blockbuster. 05:46.648 --> 05:54.354 [SPEAKER_00]: I feel like the last, if I'm not mistaken, the last blockbuster that was around recently closed within the last couple of years. 05:55.055 --> 06:08.025 [SPEAKER_00]: And the reason why blockbuster is no longer relevant or seen is because they did not have the fundamentals in their business model that allowed them to be able to adjust with the times. 06:09.345 --> 06:10.566 [SPEAKER_00]: same thing with Kodak. 06:11.167 --> 06:17.473 [SPEAKER_00]: Kodak was, and for those of you who are Gen Z, just indulged me for a second. 06:17.493 --> 06:20.175 [SPEAKER_00]: I'm a millennial, so I'm talking about millennial things. 06:21.376 --> 06:26.942 [SPEAKER_00]: Now, when I was growing up, we had these Kodak cameras, where they were these cameras. 06:27.382 --> 06:43.603 [SPEAKER_00]: that these handheld cameras that you would take your photos you about the scroll to the side in order to take the next picture and then you would drop it back off as CBS or wherever and they would develop the photos and you would go back and pick your photos up that you took on this little disposable camera. 06:44.344 --> 06:45.484 [SPEAKER_00]: that's not a thing anymore. 06:45.864 --> 06:47.705 [SPEAKER_00]: Cameras are of course digital. 06:47.725 --> 06:48.725 [SPEAKER_00]: They're in our phones. 06:48.745 --> 06:49.865 [SPEAKER_00]: They're on our computer. 06:50.145 --> 06:57.746 [SPEAKER_00]: We don't need this whole three-four-step process and physical tangible camera that we did back in the day. 06:58.147 --> 07:04.128 [SPEAKER_00]: And Kodak was not able to adjust with the types and the emerging technology. 07:04.208 --> 07:11.049 [SPEAKER_00]: And so now, what was once this Uber successful billion dollar company is no more. 07:12.060 --> 07:13.881 [SPEAKER_00]: How many entrepreneurs can you think of? 07:14.242 --> 07:25.371 [SPEAKER_00]: People that have built these businesses that you're familiar with and then these businesses have to then file for bankruptcy or individuals that have amassed wealth from various things. 07:25.411 --> 07:31.515 [SPEAKER_00]: Maybe they are thought leader and they wrote books and had these brands but they had to file for bankruptcy or worse. 07:31.535 --> 07:37.080 [SPEAKER_00]: They're in jail or had these huge tax bills because they did not pay their taxes. 07:38.338 --> 07:45.044 [SPEAKER_00]: Y'all know Uncle Sam going to get his, all ways, and the federal government is patient. 07:45.724 --> 07:50.048 [SPEAKER_00]: They will wait patiently, and it come and take everything that is owed to them. 07:50.948 --> 07:53.250 [SPEAKER_00]: And so we have to talk about the fundamentals. 07:53.270 --> 08:01.377 [SPEAKER_00]: We can't just be on this spiritual high and building these businesses that the Lord has called us too, because it is exciting. 08:01.797 --> 08:15.049 [SPEAKER_00]: When God has given you this vision and you have this drive and this excitement and you've done the clarity cleans and you've had these dreams and these downloads of what he's called you to do, it is extremely exciting and it should be. 08:15.410 --> 08:20.414 [SPEAKER_00]: We should rejoice and be glad and what the Lord is calling us to do. 08:20.434 --> 08:20.495 [SPEAKER_00]: And 08:22.216 --> 08:43.642 [SPEAKER_00]: We should channel that excitement to the fundamentals, the not so exciting tests so that we are building well, we're building things that will stand that will withstand judgment day when it's trapped by fire, but also will will stand be economy that will withstand emerging technologies that will withstand generations. 08:44.690 --> 09:08.561 [SPEAKER_00]: So that when our children inherit our businesses, should you choose for this to be the way in which you want your business accessions to go, that they're inheriting businesses that are done and ran and organized well, and they're not inheriting chaos, I've told my family straight up, if you are leaving businesses to me, please make sure that they are in order. 09:14.762 --> 09:15.423 [SPEAKER_00]: Straight up. 09:15.863 --> 09:18.486 [SPEAKER_00]: Don't leave me anything that is a mess. 09:18.686 --> 09:19.247 [SPEAKER_00]: I don't want it. 09:19.848 --> 09:30.940 [SPEAKER_00]: And when it comes to my children, I plan to have conversations with them as they are, as they get older and I start to learn what the Lord is calling them to do and they start to express interest. 09:31.060 --> 09:32.342 [SPEAKER_00]: Like, hey, what do you want? 09:32.902 --> 09:35.926 [SPEAKER_00]: Do you want to inherit a business that you have to operate? 09:36.948 --> 09:38.989 [SPEAKER_00]: Or do you want just the money? 09:39.189 --> 09:40.009 [SPEAKER_00]: That's fine, too. 09:40.169 --> 09:55.635 [SPEAKER_00]: I'll put in my succession plans that should something happen to me, cash out, lead a cash to my kids, trust funds, and then whatever, however the trust fund is set up, we'll determine where the money goes from there, but they don't have to inherit a business. 09:56.670 --> 09:59.611 [SPEAKER_00]: You may have a plan for your business where you want to sell it. 10:00.251 --> 10:04.193 [SPEAKER_00]: A lot of businesses they build it up so that they can sell the company. 10:04.353 --> 10:08.715 [SPEAKER_00]: And then cash out that way, use your money to then be able to move on to the next thing. 10:09.175 --> 10:11.276 [SPEAKER_00]: But guess what you need in order to do that. 10:11.936 --> 10:14.177 [SPEAKER_00]: You need your business to be in order. 10:14.857 --> 10:24.285 [SPEAKER_00]: When you are building a company with a solid foundation that is spirit laid, you are setting yourself up for generational success. 10:24.365 --> 10:26.927 [SPEAKER_00]: You are setting yourself up to have options. 10:27.948 --> 10:34.570 [SPEAKER_00]: And that's what I feel like is one of the greatest benefits of entrepreneurship as you have options. 10:35.090 --> 10:45.133 [SPEAKER_00]: I've seen over the last eight years the way in which entrepreneurship has provided me options in a midst of so many different factors. 10:45.533 --> 10:49.574 [SPEAKER_00]: I remember with COVID, that was a very tough time to where 10:50.254 --> 10:52.635 [SPEAKER_00]: A lot of businesses didn't know what to do. 10:53.075 --> 10:57.956 [SPEAKER_00]: So I had Anchor Media and in Under Anchor Media of course I had this podcast. 10:58.036 --> 11:05.797 [SPEAKER_00]: And so what I have found in that time with business was a lot of the corporate companies that I partnered with via advertising revenue and all of that. 11:06.197 --> 11:10.698 [SPEAKER_00]: They were becoming very conservative because of the uncertainty of the times. 11:11.098 --> 11:16.060 [SPEAKER_00]: So so many ads that I had contracted out for were canceled. 11:16.100 --> 11:18.080 [SPEAKER_00]: They were moving around, they were paused. 11:18.380 --> 11:26.705 [SPEAKER_00]: So my corporate revenue took a huge dip with the brands that I was partnering with because everybody was pausing their marketing budgets. 11:26.745 --> 11:28.746 [SPEAKER_00]: They had no clue what was happening in the world. 11:29.086 --> 11:31.448 [SPEAKER_00]: And so a lot of these marketing budgets got paused. 11:32.478 --> 11:56.199 [SPEAKER_00]: on the flip side with anchored media, a lot of consumers had a lot more discretionary income because they were no longer having the commute to work, they were now had, they had a lot more time when their hands because they were working some home, they had the same salaries, there were people who were moving, I know a pair of my husband and I even talked about potentially moving further down south. 11:56.619 --> 11:59.162 [SPEAKER_00]: So we're like, hey, things are all remote now. 11:59.643 --> 12:10.035 [SPEAKER_00]: If we moved about three hours south into like, let's say North Carolina or something like that, we would cut our cost of living tremendously with our income staying in the same. 12:10.155 --> 12:13.238 [SPEAKER_00]: We would make and keep, I mean a lot more money. 12:13.859 --> 12:20.222 [SPEAKER_00]: And so that was something we consider and a lot of people really took that seriously and moved. 12:20.262 --> 12:23.644 [SPEAKER_00]: They kept their salaries from here and moved somewhere else. 12:24.264 --> 12:27.005 [SPEAKER_00]: And so this was a very unique opportunity. 12:27.345 --> 12:32.308 [SPEAKER_00]: And so with that on the Anchor Media side, my business reached all new heights. 12:32.888 --> 12:39.699 [SPEAKER_00]: with the services that I was providing and helping people to be able to build their own brands, they had the time and they had the money. 12:40.020 --> 12:45.809 [SPEAKER_00]: And so I saw a huge increase with entrepreneurship or in my business thanks to entrepreneurship. 12:46.785 --> 12:56.736 [SPEAKER_00]: even now in this economy where a lot of things are so uncertain, I live in a DC area where the majority of people where I live works for the federal government. 12:57.397 --> 13:01.061 [SPEAKER_00]: People in my family have been furloughed for over a month not getting paid. 13:01.602 --> 13:04.125 [SPEAKER_00]: My husband worked for a federal contractor, 13:04.745 --> 13:13.911 [SPEAKER_00]: And thankfully, he hasn't been terminated or furlough, but they're still a level of uncertainty because this company contracts for the government. 13:14.311 --> 13:18.174 [SPEAKER_00]: And so if the government is shut down, they don't have projects to work on. 13:18.434 --> 13:24.678 [SPEAKER_00]: And so while they can still maintain their paychecks and things from the company, from a business standpoint, that's only one last but so long. 13:27.060 --> 13:40.086 [SPEAKER_00]: I'm going to bag groceries for my kids and my prices are going up and that is unsettling to me because it's a lot of mouths in here and these growing boys are how to greet, okay? 13:40.926 --> 13:44.108 [SPEAKER_00]: And so I've been able to see the options though. 13:44.528 --> 14:00.293 [SPEAKER_00]: with entrepreneurship to say okay let me do this because this will allow me to pull back from overhead a little bit, increase my cash flow should there be some type of income debt in our household or okay we got this with the studio. 14:01.113 --> 14:08.115 [SPEAKER_00]: I know that I may not be able to save as much right now because this desk discretionary income is smaller but I'm building equity. 14:08.635 --> 14:14.119 [SPEAKER_00]: in this building over here, we still have our residential property that is built at equity right now. 14:14.199 --> 14:26.487 [SPEAKER_00]: So cash may be tight, but entrepreneurship and investing have allowed for our future to still have a level of stability, even in the current difficult times. 14:27.566 --> 14:48.783 [SPEAKER_00]: even with me being in law school where of course I'm going to be able to provide legal services to those that are already serving those that I will serve in a future, but I'm specifically keeping my thumb on the pulse of things that are happening in this IP space specifically with AI and deep fakes and all of that. 14:49.083 --> 15:10.698 [SPEAKER_00]: to where I'll be able to serve you guys in a more intentional way so that you're able to protect your brains in this emerging space where there may be lawyers who are operating now or who have been established already who may not have the knowledge of how the law applies in these new times. 15:11.539 --> 15:17.846 [SPEAKER_00]: And so again, fundamentals are so necessary because they allow you to stay relevant. 15:18.407 --> 15:21.530 [SPEAKER_00]: They allow you to plan for uncertainty. 15:21.891 --> 15:28.538 [SPEAKER_00]: They allow you to forecast to be able to see what's coming so that your business and your plans can be flexible. 15:29.699 --> 15:37.301 [SPEAKER_00]: And the great thing about us is we have this secret weapon of the Holy Spirit who already knows the end from the beginning. 15:37.561 --> 15:41.222 [SPEAKER_00]: So the Lord will begin to give you instructions now that you have your clarity. 15:41.502 --> 15:46.683 [SPEAKER_00]: He'll be able to give you instructions on what you need to be doing now to set yourself up. 15:47.003 --> 15:54.305 [SPEAKER_00]: And then it's your job to be obedient in what he's saying and faithful and building the foundation to support what he's saying. 15:55.938 --> 15:58.662 [SPEAKER_00]: And so that's why we have to cover this on today's episode. 15:59.383 --> 16:03.088 [SPEAKER_00]: But before we get into some details, because I'm going to us to first go into scripture. 16:03.268 --> 16:04.710 [SPEAKER_00]: So you know, I'm not just blowing smoke. 16:05.211 --> 16:07.774 [SPEAKER_00]: Then I want to discuss some specific fundamentals. 16:07.814 --> 16:08.996 [SPEAKER_00]: I want you to focus on it. 16:09.477 --> 16:13.122 [SPEAKER_00]: I'm going to offer you some couple things at the end of the episode. 16:13.702 --> 16:25.467 [SPEAKER_00]: that will help you to be able to apply this practically, but really quick before we get there, I want to invite you guys to the prayer thorn, our 2025 prayer thorn. 16:26.208 --> 16:36.573 [SPEAKER_00]: If you've been listening to the show for a while, you know that we did this last year, blessed and bossed up the society, we partnered with the mornings with God Community, led by my sister, pastor Tiffany Soah, 16:42.616 --> 16:54.765 [SPEAKER_00]: prayer thought of teaching, intercession, of course prayer, and a gathering of people internationally from all over the world to intercede and to really petition heaven together. 16:55.305 --> 17:00.389 [SPEAKER_00]: We know there's a lot going on right now in the world and we also know that nothing is too big for God. 17:00.849 --> 17:04.332 [SPEAKER_00]: So I want to invite you and I want you to invite your prayer partner. 17:04.652 --> 17:10.957 [SPEAKER_00]: That person that you have been sharing scriptures with that you've committed to growing in your faith with that person 17:11.977 --> 17:15.740 [SPEAKER_00]: You guys have been each other's support and prayer partners up into this point. 17:15.800 --> 17:35.995 [SPEAKER_00]: I want both of you and if there's more invite them all to join us for this prayer thought December 31 2025 the link is in the show notes for more information and all the topics that we're going to be covering of course is free But I want to invite you to join us so that we could pray having down as we go into 2026 17:38.072 --> 17:46.594 [SPEAKER_00]: Alright, let's open our bottles to Luke 14, I'm going to start at verse 25 and I'm reading out of the English standard version. 17:47.494 --> 17:53.375 [SPEAKER_00]: It says, now great crowds accompanied him and he turned instead to them, he being Jesus of course. 17:53.915 --> 18:02.377 [SPEAKER_00]: If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, 18:05.117 --> 18:10.243 [SPEAKER_00]: Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. 18:10.724 --> 18:17.952 [SPEAKER_00]: For which of you desire to build a tower does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it. 18:18.593 --> 18:22.377 [SPEAKER_00]: Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, 18:23.578 --> 18:29.059 [SPEAKER_00]: All who see it began to mark him saying, this man began to build and was not able to finish. 18:29.659 --> 18:40.722 [SPEAKER_00]: Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with 10,000 to meet him who comes against him with 20,000. 18:40.802 --> 18:46.963 [SPEAKER_00]: And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation 18:47.403 --> 18:49.024 [SPEAKER_00]: and ask for terms of peace. 18:49.525 --> 18:56.230 [SPEAKER_00]: So therefore any of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple. 18:56.970 --> 19:03.115 [SPEAKER_00]: Now let me give you a little context so that you could really understand while we're discussing this as it relates to business. 19:03.856 --> 19:06.758 [SPEAKER_00]: So here in the text, Jesus is traveling to 19:08.619 --> 19:13.983 [SPEAKER_00]: He has these large crowds that are following him, people are attracted to his authority. 19:14.363 --> 19:20.367 [SPEAKER_00]: He has this reputation, all of these miracles and signs and wonders and things have been happening. 19:20.807 --> 19:27.772 [SPEAKER_00]: And so people are really trying to follow him based upon what they've seen and heard about the Messiah. 19:29.107 --> 19:49.444 [SPEAKER_00]: And so when Jesus addresses people here in this text, he's basically letting him know that, hey, don't follow me because of this impulse or this emotional decision based upon what you know about me, because that doesn't lack the depth that's necessary for you to truly be a disciple. 19:49.944 --> 19:57.771 [SPEAKER_00]: So he's telling them to count the calls because he wants them to consider the full weight of their obedience and make a decision from there. 19:58.471 --> 20:06.255 [SPEAKER_00]: not just what he can do for them or all the miracles that he could perform in their life, he wants them to have a true commitment. 20:06.715 --> 20:08.796 [SPEAKER_00]: And that's why he's telling them to count the cause. 20:09.177 --> 20:11.998 [SPEAKER_00]: He like, look, you got to leave everything. 20:12.358 --> 20:18.121 [SPEAKER_00]: Your mom, your dad, your sister, your brother, your children, everything, including denying your own self. 20:18.181 --> 20:21.423 [SPEAKER_00]: You got to deny it all in order for you to really follow me. 20:21.703 --> 20:28.666 [SPEAKER_00]: So if you're gonna make this decision to be my disciple, count the cost of what that actually means so that you can make it an informed decision. 20:29.146 --> 20:32.568 [SPEAKER_00]: Now so you can start walking with me and then once it gets too hard, you walk away. 20:33.907 --> 20:52.916 [SPEAKER_00]: And so Jesus was providing them a level of sobriety in that moment when they otherwise may have been influenced by all of what they've seen and heard about him and I believe that this message is relevant to us as well as we are called to build businesses for him. 20:53.336 --> 20:58.317 [SPEAKER_00]: Because it, it feels good to say, oh, I'm going to build this business for the Lord. 20:58.337 --> 21:00.038 [SPEAKER_00]: I'm going to be this Christian entrepreneur. 21:00.078 --> 21:02.358 [SPEAKER_00]: He's going to bless me and make me successful. 21:02.398 --> 21:05.959 [SPEAKER_00]: And I'm going to have this generation of wealth, then all this going to be good. 21:05.999 --> 21:15.482 [SPEAKER_00]: I'm going to impact all of these people is easy to get caught up in the emotions of what we've seen and heard the Lord do and the businesses of other people. 21:15.742 --> 21:20.623 [SPEAKER_00]: But we also have to count the cost of what is really going to take to build this thing. 21:21.523 --> 21:32.248 [SPEAKER_00]: And so this same call in warning or sobering reality that the Lord gave to his audience at the time that message still stands here. 21:33.360 --> 21:37.362 [SPEAKER_00]: And it's relevant to us building what is called us to build. 21:38.162 --> 21:40.904 [SPEAKER_00]: So we can't just make these decisions. 21:41.684 --> 21:54.971 [SPEAKER_00]: These emotional decisions without first counting the cost and that's why we have to talk about fundamentals and business because a fundamental aspect of business is counting the cost. 21:55.671 --> 21:57.372 [SPEAKER_00]: So what does counter the cost look like? 21:58.072 --> 21:58.893 [SPEAKER_00]: as an entrepreneur. 21:59.453 --> 22:03.655 [SPEAKER_00]: We have a clear example of counting the calls as it relates to being a disciple of Jesus. 22:04.116 --> 22:08.418 [SPEAKER_00]: So what does this look like as far as us building businesses for him? 22:08.819 --> 22:10.960 [SPEAKER_00]: What does that cost look like and how do we counting? 22:11.869 --> 22:36.549 [SPEAKER_00]: I don't want you to be that person who is so excited about entrepreneurship and what the Lord has called you to that you're starting these Instagram pages that you never post on after two weeks or you're forming and filing these LLCs that just collect fees every single year, but aren't really you're not doing anything with starting these podcasts that you have two episodes and then it's abandoned. 22:37.830 --> 22:42.912 [SPEAKER_00]: selling these products to where you do one season and then that's it is over. 22:43.592 --> 22:55.537 [SPEAKER_00]: Starting these businesses that are not sustained, that are not sustainable and that are not accurate representations of the Lord that you serve. 22:57.213 --> 23:04.496 [SPEAKER_00]: Think about it and he tells them here like who you go and build this house that you don't finish and the people are Are mocking you and looking at you crazy. 23:04.516 --> 23:18.181 [SPEAKER_00]: That's the Tatum translation But it's the same thing here where your building these businesses and you're saying the Lord has called me to do this and you put his name on on it But what you build does not represent him well at all so how does that witness? 23:18.781 --> 23:25.284 [SPEAKER_00]: How does that communicate to someone that they need to give their life to the Lord that you say that you represent? 23:26.064 --> 23:33.655 [SPEAKER_00]: When your representation of him is in consistency, it's building things that don't last. 23:34.256 --> 23:39.103 [SPEAKER_00]: We ain't even getting to judgment day for it to be tried by fire because it ain't lasted four seasons. 23:40.993 --> 23:54.042 [SPEAKER_00]: And I'm not trying to be harsh, but I want us to have the level of seriousness and depth in these decisions to build these businesses so that we build them well. 23:54.683 --> 23:57.985 [SPEAKER_00]: So let's answer the question of these fundamentals. 23:58.065 --> 23:59.066 [SPEAKER_00]: Take out a pen and paper. 23:59.466 --> 24:00.487 [SPEAKER_00]: I want you to write this now. 24:01.407 --> 24:06.930 [SPEAKER_00]: I will give you a template at the end of the episode, just click the link in the show notes to download the template. 24:06.970 --> 24:09.851 [SPEAKER_00]: I'll make sure to link a acting crazy like last week. 24:10.431 --> 24:13.753 [SPEAKER_00]: But you could click the link in the show notes to download this template. 24:14.113 --> 24:25.338 [SPEAKER_00]: But I want to walk you through the fundamental things that you need to have figured out and that you need to work on and your business before you even start doing anything. 24:26.369 --> 24:37.032 [SPEAKER_00]: any activities for launching your business, any of the branding and fun and cute things that you want to hop to before you do any of that start here. 24:37.772 --> 24:51.576 [SPEAKER_00]: If you already have a business and it's not going the way that you wanted to go and you feel like it is not represented in the lower well and it's not having the results that you want to have first, let's distinguish if this is a fundamental issue or this is a 24:53.937 --> 24:54.858 [SPEAKER_00]: It could be one or the other. 24:55.439 --> 24:58.862 [SPEAKER_00]: It could be everything is cool, but you just got to wait for his appointed time. 24:59.343 --> 25:00.744 [SPEAKER_00]: That's not what I'm talking about here. 25:01.085 --> 25:04.849 [SPEAKER_00]: I'm talking about there as a fundamental issue that you have to address. 25:05.409 --> 25:07.031 [SPEAKER_00]: I want you to also do this. 25:07.451 --> 25:12.817 [SPEAKER_00]: I want you to pause any business activities that you've been doing, and I want you to go back to this foundation. 25:13.958 --> 25:20.463 [SPEAKER_00]: So the first foundational aspect that you have to have built out is we're going to call this the executive summary. 25:20.923 --> 25:27.188 [SPEAKER_00]: And if you've ever done a business plan before, all of these things are going to sound very familiar, because all of this is, is a business plan. 25:28.544 --> 25:38.733 [SPEAKER_00]: So I want you to have your right now executive summary, and here is where you clearly define the vision and the mission of your business. 25:39.353 --> 25:43.336 [SPEAKER_00]: What that includes is what is your God given a Simon in business? 25:44.017 --> 25:52.664 [SPEAKER_00]: When you did that clarity cleanse, when you are spending time with the Lord, when you have your business meetings with him, what is it that he's showing you? 25:52.824 --> 25:53.265 [SPEAKER_00]: This is the 25:58.312 --> 26:01.655 [SPEAKER_00]: What problems is he calling you to solve for other people? 26:02.936 --> 26:07.721 [SPEAKER_00]: What is the transformation that he's showing you that you're going to help people experience? 26:08.401 --> 26:11.664 [SPEAKER_00]: My mission with Anchor Media is to feel the airways with good news. 26:13.045 --> 26:19.611 [SPEAKER_00]: There is such, man, so there's an overwhelming amount of demonic influence in media. 26:20.940 --> 26:38.513 [SPEAKER_00]: Some of the things that I've become normalized when I watch a TV watchers when I watch a good show or a documentary or whatever, it it it blows my mind sometimes the subtle ways in which I could see the enemy is using media and entertainment to be able to push his narrative. 26:39.394 --> 26:48.581 [SPEAKER_00]: I get frustrated even seeing a lot of Christian content in a way in which it's trying they're trying to present themselves as if they're Christlike but all they're doing is pushing 26:51.180 --> 27:17.269 [SPEAKER_00]: It blows my mind the way in which news stories are framed to produce fear and chaos that are opposite to the hope in the light that the Lord's messages often convey even when they are harsh or the truth may be a bit of a difficult bill to peel to swallow like it I can see so clearly 27:20.590 --> 27:21.771 [SPEAKER_00]: industry as a whole. 27:23.052 --> 27:35.721 [SPEAKER_00]: And my mission with anchor media is to fill the airways with good news to be salt and light with the things I create that includes anchor media that includes anything under my brain under my name. 27:36.461 --> 27:44.567 [SPEAKER_00]: When I work with people I'm specifically working with Christian content creators to help them take what the Lord has given them and to get it to the 27:50.131 --> 27:55.873 [SPEAKER_00]: something that will be able to counteract what the enemy's plan is. 27:56.013 --> 28:04.996 [SPEAKER_00]: That is my mission and the way in which that is acted out has a lot of variables and offerings and all the things, but the mission is simple. 28:06.463 --> 28:27.293 [SPEAKER_00]: And so you will find that as you sit down and you write down what the Lord is called you to do and you build out the rest of this foundation that it will be intricate it will have different maybe brands and offerings and services and products and all of these things under it, but it all serves this very clear and simple assignment that he's giving you. 28:29.203 --> 28:32.244 [SPEAKER_00]: Not easy assignment, but simple assignment. 28:32.704 --> 28:41.848 [SPEAKER_00]: So whatever it is that you found in your prior journals, whatever dreams that you've had, whatever the Lord has downloaded to you, write that down here in this executive summary. 28:42.878 --> 28:46.820 [SPEAKER_00]: After that, it's time to define your problem. 28:47.760 --> 28:50.461 [SPEAKER_00]: What problem are you looking to solve? 28:51.262 --> 28:56.204 [SPEAKER_00]: So many businesses fail because they are not solving problems. 28:57.444 --> 29:03.107 [SPEAKER_00]: My husband laughs at me because I'm always like, we do not need any more t-shirts. 29:04.247 --> 29:11.951 [SPEAKER_00]: There are so many people who are just creating things for the sake of creating them, but they are not solving real problems. 29:13.125 --> 29:16.346 [SPEAKER_00]: I came across this video on TikTok the other day. 29:16.386 --> 29:27.690 [SPEAKER_00]: There's a business owner in my area who owns a strip mall in DC, black woman, and she has these different businesses and things that don't want to strip mall. 29:28.111 --> 29:29.651 [SPEAKER_00]: And she does a farmer's market. 29:30.191 --> 29:37.074 [SPEAKER_00]: And I thought it was so cool where she has this farmer's market, where she's only asking people to bring produce. 29:37.814 --> 29:39.274 [SPEAKER_00]: it's a black owned farmer's market. 29:39.374 --> 29:41.175 [SPEAKER_00]: All the businesses are black. 29:41.215 --> 29:48.237 [SPEAKER_00]: She has even sound wellness businesses that are coming out and are doing different fitness classes during this farmer's market. 29:49.077 --> 29:51.318 [SPEAKER_00]: And a bunch of different things to help serve the community. 29:51.698 --> 29:59.420 [SPEAKER_00]: But I found it to be so funny, but it just further proves this point how she was saying and she was looking for vendors for the farmer's market. 29:59.660 --> 30:00.741 [SPEAKER_00]: And she was very clear of 30:01.841 --> 30:10.405 [SPEAKER_00]: I'm happy that you all have these businesses where you share your or sell your shade butters and your body oils, but we're not looking for that for this farmers market. 30:10.445 --> 30:25.073 [SPEAKER_00]: We're looking for people who sell produce who sell meat, fish, food that we can sell here for those who are looking to feed their families and are looking to invest in businesses that take care of their necessities. 30:25.493 --> 30:29.615 [SPEAKER_00]: She was highlighting that we have people who have problems that need to be solved. 30:29.955 --> 30:34.691 [SPEAKER_00]: and I want to platform businesses that solve actual problems, and I want to be clear. 30:35.706 --> 30:44.509 [SPEAKER_00]: This isn't to put down anybody who has businesses like these bodybutters or t-shirts or things that aren't necessarily necessities. 30:44.970 --> 30:51.112 [SPEAKER_00]: However, no matter what your business is, it's important to think what problem am I solving? 30:51.552 --> 30:57.374 [SPEAKER_00]: And it's okay if you have a business idea and you don't know what problem you're solving yet. 30:58.235 --> 31:00.976 [SPEAKER_00]: If that's the case, then you need to figure out what problem 31:04.457 --> 31:20.402 [SPEAKER_00]: Otherwise, you're going to have a tough path ahead, and I don't want to wish bad anybody's businesses, but it's going to be very difficult for you to succeed if you have not figured out what gap you're going to fill in a marketplace or what problem you're going to solve. 31:20.442 --> 31:30.606 [SPEAKER_00]: So whatever your business idea is, don't just hop straight to launch it, but validate that idea first and a way that you do that is making sure that your business solves a real problem. 31:31.386 --> 31:46.249 [SPEAKER_00]: So when it comes to this executive summary though and everything that the Lord has shown you and all the visions and dreams and things in your prayer journal, after you identify that and put it in one place, I want you to simplify it to about two to three sentences. 31:47.455 --> 32:01.781 [SPEAKER_00]: I'm sure you want to find it to be very difficult, but I want you to be clear and focused on exactly what the big picture is because that's going to inform the rest of your foundation. 32:02.910 --> 32:08.915 [SPEAKER_00]: Now after you are clear on your executive summary, now it's time to do some market research. 32:09.515 --> 32:13.138 [SPEAKER_00]: And we've touched on this a bit when I was talking about solving problems. 32:13.538 --> 32:17.781 [SPEAKER_00]: But the next thing that you need to do, again, this is all before you launch anything. 32:18.622 --> 32:27.626 [SPEAKER_00]: you need to do some market research to understand the industry that you're going into and the audience that you're going to serve. 32:28.386 --> 32:36.670 [SPEAKER_00]: I remember when I had the idea for Anchor Media Studios, at first it was just this idea because I was getting my makeup done. 32:36.690 --> 32:42.493 [SPEAKER_00]: I don't know if I've ever told like the origin story, but I was getting my makeup done one day for something. 32:43.254 --> 32:52.785 [SPEAKER_00]: and the girl who was doing my makeup, she was doing it in like a common area of a space with multiple rooms and I'm like looking around and I'm like, hmm. 32:53.659 --> 33:00.001 [SPEAKER_00]: Okay, so room right there says somebody does nails and air she was like, yeah, and she was telling me like, what each person at each suite did. 33:00.901 --> 33:02.982 [SPEAKER_00]: And this wasn't a regular, it was the last week. 33:03.022 --> 33:06.683 [SPEAKER_00]: It was kind of like a simple commercial space with just different rooms in it. 33:07.743 --> 33:19.007 [SPEAKER_00]: And she was telling me how she rented the entire space and then she subleased out these individual rooms to these different businesses and I just asked her like, how much you pay and right. 33:19.287 --> 33:24.390 [SPEAKER_00]: And she told me, and I'm like, man, if she's only paying this in rent, I know the mortgage is a lot lower. 33:24.710 --> 33:26.911 [SPEAKER_00]: And so I asked her about who owned the building. 33:27.171 --> 33:29.953 [SPEAKER_00]: And I really just planted a seed in my mind. 33:30.393 --> 33:32.094 [SPEAKER_00]: I don't think that this is that hard. 33:32.714 --> 33:35.035 [SPEAKER_00]: What if we had a space like this? 33:35.095 --> 33:42.079 [SPEAKER_00]: And I just started draining out loud, quote unquote, executive summary of what anchored media studios could be. 33:42.819 --> 33:44.259 [SPEAKER_00]: I did my market research. 33:44.459 --> 33:49.881 [SPEAKER_00]: First, I had to research the real estate market because that was one industry that I was entering into. 33:50.241 --> 33:52.741 [SPEAKER_00]: And this is a big thing for you as well. 33:53.201 --> 34:00.943 [SPEAKER_00]: You have to be clear on what industry you are entering into because it may not be as obvious based upon the business model. 34:01.243 --> 34:04.604 [SPEAKER_00]: So Anchor Media Studios at its core is a real estate business. 34:04.644 --> 34:08.105 [SPEAKER_00]: Similar to think about McDonald's, McDonald's at its core 34:13.687 --> 34:20.892 [SPEAKER_00]: And so for me understanding that I am going into the commercial real estate space, I wanted to understand it. 34:21.212 --> 34:31.920 [SPEAKER_00]: In a way that I did my market research in essence, was I started looking up online on loop net is a online space like a red fin or a zillob of commercial spaces. 34:32.520 --> 34:34.162 [SPEAKER_00]: And I was looking at different spaces. 34:34.862 --> 34:39.327 [SPEAKER_00]: I found a commercial realtor, and I just called her and asked her different questions. 34:39.727 --> 34:48.856 [SPEAKER_00]: I found, and before I even got my own realtor, I found a space that was not too far for me, and I just called the number on the listing, some random man. 34:49.962 --> 34:52.325 [SPEAKER_00]: And he met me there to look at the space. 34:52.785 --> 34:57.470 [SPEAKER_00]: And so while I was there, now at this point, I wasn't even anywhere near about to make any moves. 34:57.650 --> 34:58.892 [SPEAKER_00]: I'm just researching. 34:59.692 --> 35:01.775 [SPEAKER_00]: And so while I was there, I was asking him questions. 35:01.835 --> 35:03.897 [SPEAKER_00]: I'm like, well, how do you get a commercial loan? 35:04.037 --> 35:05.959 [SPEAKER_00]: I purchased a house before my husband. 35:06.560 --> 35:08.402 [SPEAKER_00]: But how does it work when a commercial side? 35:08.862 --> 35:09.603 [SPEAKER_00]: And he told me. 35:09.763 --> 35:10.764 [SPEAKER_00]: And I was like, oh, OK. 35:11.665 --> 35:13.206 [SPEAKER_00]: And I had all of my little questions. 35:13.246 --> 35:14.026 [SPEAKER_00]: He answered them. 35:14.126 --> 35:15.767 [SPEAKER_00]: I ended up getting my own realtor. 35:15.827 --> 35:17.708 [SPEAKER_00]: She answered a lot of questions for me. 35:18.909 --> 35:33.076 [SPEAKER_00]: After that, I started working on a business plan, going into deep dive with research or the short-term rental space and how big the industry is, who are the leaders in the industry. 35:33.136 --> 35:40.420 [SPEAKER_00]: So you have companies like we work, which is a top company in the co-working. 35:40.900 --> 35:41.420 [SPEAKER_00]: industry. 35:41.760 --> 35:47.562 [SPEAKER_00]: And so I'm looking at we work as business model, which is another real estate foundation business model. 35:48.203 --> 36:05.049 [SPEAKER_00]: I'm looking at other content type spaces and all of these different things to see what is currently going on in the industry and in how can we make sure that we stand out what needs are being presented about the consumer, what gaps are open that we can feel like all of 36:08.290 --> 36:12.853 [SPEAKER_00]: what your products and services and brand and all of that ends up being. 36:13.333 --> 36:21.058 [SPEAKER_00]: So for you, after you've done your executive summary, the next phase of your fundamentals is to do your market research. 36:21.918 --> 36:28.142 [SPEAKER_00]: And you do this by looking at what's going on in your industry as well as those that you want to serve. 36:28.763 --> 36:32.605 [SPEAKER_00]: Now here's some free places that you can start doing your market research. 36:33.465 --> 36:35.907 [SPEAKER_00]: You can go to Google Trends, write these things down, 36:39.207 --> 36:45.589 [SPEAKER_00]: It allows you to see what people are searching for, how often they are searching for it, whether the interest is rising or falling. 36:45.629 --> 36:50.630 [SPEAKER_00]: So you get a lot of insight into what people are actively searching for online. 36:51.651 --> 36:58.973 [SPEAKER_00]: You can go to, especially if you're a product based business, you can go to Amazon, best sellers, and customer reviews. 36:59.033 --> 37:02.894 [SPEAKER_00]: So look at what products that are similar to yours, are the best sellers. 37:03.454 --> 37:05.595 [SPEAKER_00]: Look at the reviews of those products. 37:05.715 --> 37:06.615 [SPEAKER_00]: What are people saying? 37:07.708 --> 37:25.688 [SPEAKER_00]: What are the gaps that leave it open is there certain color schemes or certain fabric choices that people want in these products is that certain features that might be missing from the most popular products that people want featured in this new version that you can create. 37:26.775 --> 37:31.741 [SPEAKER_00]: So do a deep dive into what's already out there and selling well and what are people saying about it? 37:31.902 --> 37:39.411 [SPEAKER_00]: We live in an age that gives so much opportunity for market research because everybody's online talking about everything. 37:40.416 --> 37:44.799 [SPEAKER_00]: It's like a never-ending focus group of the way that this internet is set up. 37:45.259 --> 37:51.402 [SPEAKER_00]: You could go to TikTok and search something that is relevant to what your business is and see what people are saying. 37:51.482 --> 37:52.463 [SPEAKER_00]: What are they tagging? 37:52.523 --> 37:53.523 [SPEAKER_00]: What are they looking for? 37:54.204 --> 38:01.868 [SPEAKER_00]: You could go to Reddit communities and see the threads and threads of individuals that are speaking about whatever is relevant to your business. 38:02.308 --> 38:05.830 [SPEAKER_00]: Things that start coming up as you're doing all of this, if there are things that come 38:09.052 --> 38:19.570 [SPEAKER_00]: If there are complaints that come up over and over again about your competitors or future competitors right them down, if there are needs that come up over and over with your audience right them down. 38:21.540 --> 38:29.066 [SPEAKER_00]: Now, if you want more official data or your potential target audience, you could go to the US Census Bureau. 38:30.087 --> 38:37.633 [SPEAKER_00]: You can go to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. 38:38.434 --> 38:40.315 [SPEAKER_00]: You could go to Pew Research Center. 38:40.796 --> 38:46.600 [SPEAKER_00]: This will give you some great insight on social trends, audience, behavior, technology usage, et cetera. 38:51.064 --> 38:55.547 [SPEAKER_00]: There are so many options of places that you can go to do your market research. 38:56.187 --> 38:59.309 [SPEAKER_00]: When you're building a foundation of your business, you are not guessing. 38:59.929 --> 39:01.410 [SPEAKER_00]: You're not going by what you think. 39:01.851 --> 39:05.273 [SPEAKER_00]: You're not going by your immediate friends and family circle. 39:05.693 --> 39:08.194 [SPEAKER_00]: You're not going by assumptions. 39:09.015 --> 39:18.421 [SPEAKER_00]: But you should be taking the time to look up research and understand actual data so that you can build your business from there. 39:19.181 --> 39:25.345 [SPEAKER_00]: you don't want to get to the point where you're figuring it out while you've already invested so much time and money. 39:25.765 --> 39:34.690 [SPEAKER_00]: You minimize the amount of mistakes that you make, the amount of waste that you may have by taking the time to do these things on the front end. 39:35.131 --> 39:40.074 [SPEAKER_00]: You shouldn't already be selling things when you realize that your audience doesn't want it. 39:40.494 --> 39:41.935 [SPEAKER_00]: You should know that ahead of time. 39:42.715 --> 39:52.197 [SPEAKER_00]: You shouldn't be, again, spending time, energy effort money into things that you are not confident is going to be received well based upon your research. 39:54.058 --> 40:02.380 [SPEAKER_00]: Now, after you do your market research, now it's time to really refine based upon what you have found out your products and services. 40:03.060 --> 40:03.880 [SPEAKER_00]: What are they going to be? 40:04.581 --> 40:09.102 [SPEAKER_00]: Based on what your market research told you, what price range do you need to stay in between? 40:10.122 --> 40:24.897 [SPEAKER_00]: Because if all of the coffee mugs are between, I don't know, $15 and $30 in your coming out with $100 coffee mug, that's going to be a hard sell, unless you have some revolutionary technology happening there. 40:25.678 --> 40:36.110 [SPEAKER_00]: but let's say you've done some research and you found that yeah the average consumer the everyday person who is let's say single or don't have let's say little kids. 40:36.711 --> 40:43.018 [SPEAKER_00]: They're not spending more than about 20 bucks on a coffee mug but that busy parent who keeps happening to 40:44.279 --> 40:47.823 [SPEAKER_00]: heat their coffee up in the microwave all day long to keep it hot. 40:48.344 --> 41:02.979 [SPEAKER_00]: They might be actually looking for a mug that has some special technology that's going to keep their coffee hot for an extended period of time and that person is actually willing to pay about 75 to 85 dollars for a coffee mug. 41:03.580 --> 41:14.246 [SPEAKER_00]: So you may not have been thinking about marketing to the busy parent, but your research is like, you know, I can increase my profit margin in my sales if I create something for them. 41:14.586 --> 41:18.549 [SPEAKER_00]: So it's still this coffee mug that the Lord has placed on my heart. 41:18.869 --> 41:32.557 [SPEAKER_00]: But I've now adjusted my approach and zeroed in on a specific audience based upon my research so that what the Lord has given me to do, I'm doing in a targeted way and I'm seeing a better 41:33.737 --> 41:41.042 [SPEAKER_00]: Then if I would have just heard the Lord say sell coffee mugs and hop straight to it without doing all of this extra work. 41:41.803 --> 41:44.685 [SPEAKER_00]: I hope you're seeing how this all fits together. 41:45.873 --> 41:48.174 [SPEAKER_00]: So again, back to your products and services. 41:48.674 --> 42:05.838 [SPEAKER_00]: After you do that market research, you should be able to clearly define what those are and have a clear boundary of how much they should cause with the price range should be, have a boundary of how much time and energy and effort is gonna take. 42:06.078 --> 42:08.979 [SPEAKER_00]: You should have a lot of good, 42:09.919 --> 42:13.203 [SPEAKER_00]: foundational elements to what these products and services are. 42:13.583 --> 42:23.354 [SPEAKER_00]: In a reason why I'm not saying you should have been finalized yet is because we still have a couple places to go when it comes to the fundamentals, the next being the marketing and sales plan. 42:25.096 --> 42:28.380 [SPEAKER_00]: Marketing is not just posting on social media, y'all. 42:29.747 --> 42:44.476 [SPEAKER_00]: Nothing frustrates me more than talking to inexperienced entrepreneurs about marketing and sales because they swear they know everything based upon the amount of content that they've consumed. 42:44.976 --> 42:54.518 [SPEAKER_00]: but they have absolutely no idea because marketing in sales is a whole section of your business for a reason. 42:54.598 --> 43:00.140 [SPEAKER_00]: It takes strategy, it takes skill, it takes intentionality, it takes creativity. 43:01.040 --> 43:07.741 [SPEAKER_00]: And this is the vehicle that's going to make a break your business if you just skip over it and 43:16.017 --> 43:25.802 [SPEAKER_00]: One thing that I always teach entrepreneurs that are work with when it comes to marketing and sales because we don't have an uptime here to go into too much detail on these things. 43:26.382 --> 43:36.347 [SPEAKER_00]: However, the best place to start where when it comes to marketing and sales is outlining your customers by your journey. 43:36.827 --> 43:39.609 [SPEAKER_00]: What that simply means is think about 43:41.073 --> 43:47.035 [SPEAKER_00]: what the process is once your audience identifies that they have a problem that needs to be solved. 43:47.575 --> 43:54.858 [SPEAKER_00]: So as a parent who has a problem with keeping her coffee hot because I'm always having to stop intent to somebody. 43:56.518 --> 44:01.980 [SPEAKER_00]: I am on a Saturday morning frustrated because it's 11 o'clock, I make this coffee at 7, it's cold. 44:02.300 --> 44:05.501 [SPEAKER_00]: I'm realizing that I need something that's going to keep my coffee 44:09.239 --> 44:10.361 [SPEAKER_00]: what do I do next? 44:10.641 --> 44:17.010 [SPEAKER_00]: If you are somebody who was targeting me to sell me a specialized coffee mug, what do I do next? 44:17.571 --> 44:19.073 [SPEAKER_00]: That's what you need to think about. 44:19.654 --> 44:24.881 [SPEAKER_00]: And so you may put yourself in my shoes to say, hmm, she's probably going to go to Target or Amazon. 44:26.002 --> 44:33.529 [SPEAKER_00]: If you know me as your target audience, you'll say she's probably going to go either to target to see if it's somewhere that she could pick up today. 44:34.070 --> 44:39.695 [SPEAKER_00]: And if target doesn't have it, she's going to go to Amazon because at least she'll get it in the next couple of days and it'll probably be cheaper. 44:41.556 --> 44:48.523 [SPEAKER_00]: So then as your mapping out this journey and think about this process all the way until I make that sale. 44:49.632 --> 44:52.113 [SPEAKER_00]: And then you need to think, where am I? 44:52.834 --> 44:54.535 [SPEAKER_00]: What am I thinking about? 44:55.015 --> 44:56.796 [SPEAKER_00]: How do you need to communicate to me? 44:57.236 --> 44:58.977 [SPEAKER_00]: What do you need to talk to me about? 45:00.111 --> 45:09.433 [SPEAKER_00]: what stage in my decision-making process and how do you need to speak to me and that stage in order to get me to move forward towards the sale. 45:09.713 --> 45:20.096 [SPEAKER_00]: You think about this buyer's journey from the moment and you could also, you can honestly think about it before they even realize they have an issue, but I'm going to just make it easy. 45:20.536 --> 45:31.981 [SPEAKER_00]: easier by saying, from the moment that your target audience realized that they have a problem and needs to be solved, what happens and what steps do they take all the way up until they make a purchase to solve that problem? 45:32.421 --> 45:33.541 [SPEAKER_00]: You need to know that. 45:34.562 --> 45:37.163 [SPEAKER_00]: Your market research will reveal this as well. 45:38.703 --> 45:44.165 [SPEAKER_00]: Now, once you figure that out, now you could then say, okay, once she gets on Amazon, 45:46.548 --> 45:48.689 [SPEAKER_00]: coffee mug that keeps your coffee hot. 45:49.149 --> 45:58.274 [SPEAKER_00]: So then that tells you in your marketing plan these are the terms and the language that I need to use and the keywords that I need to use on my listing. 45:58.294 --> 46:08.639 [SPEAKER_00]: Well, first of all, my coffee mug need to be on Amazon and then with that, these are the keywords and the tags that I need to have on my product listing listing. 46:09.620 --> 46:11.901 [SPEAKER_00]: So then boom, now I'm on your page. 46:12.713 --> 46:19.577 [SPEAKER_00]: Now I'm in a position where I'm trying to figure out if this coffee mug, your coffee mug, is the one that I'm going to buy. 46:20.017 --> 46:28.382 [SPEAKER_00]: So then on your side of your marketing plan, you knowliness about me, you've already done your market research that also includes your competitors to know 46:29.342 --> 46:36.907 [SPEAKER_00]: Okay, here's what based on market research, people are really loving about these other coffee mugs, but here's how mine is different. 46:37.248 --> 46:53.079 [SPEAKER_00]: So I'm going to address what people like about it in some FAQs, frequently asked questions, some notes or whatever, and the description of my product, and I'm going to highlight the ways in which my product stands out. 46:54.287 --> 47:00.330 [SPEAKER_00]: I'm going to specify certain things that I know that she cares about how long her coffee is going to be warm. 47:00.571 --> 47:03.592 [SPEAKER_00]: I'm going to make sure it comes in different colors so she has options. 47:03.612 --> 47:11.036 [SPEAKER_00]: I'm going to make sure it's dishwasher safe so that is easy for her to just put it in dishwasher after using it. 47:11.417 --> 47:18.761 [SPEAKER_00]: All of the things that you learned about me through your market research, you're going to make sure that they are there when that page. 47:19.241 --> 47:23.407 [SPEAKER_00]: so that it is making my buying decision easier. 47:23.847 --> 47:37.545 [SPEAKER_00]: You've already done your research to know what other people are charging, so let's say you have something on there to where it's a discount or something that allows you to come in slightly under to entice me to want to make that purchase. 47:38.820 --> 47:43.304 [SPEAKER_00]: And then let's say at that point, I'm busy so I add it to my cart and I go and do something else. 47:43.944 --> 47:48.648 [SPEAKER_00]: So now we're at another stage is added to the cart, but I have a fully clicked out to buy. 47:49.329 --> 47:59.757 [SPEAKER_00]: If this was your website because I'm world Amazon right now, but let me let's now pretend that we're on your website doing the same thing, but on your website because you have a little bit more control. 48:00.678 --> 48:10.001 [SPEAKER_00]: On your website, then, there should be some type of sequence that I trigger based upon being in the cart and not making a purchase yet. 48:10.422 --> 48:19.105 [SPEAKER_00]: And in that stage, you're going to be speaking to me in ways in methods that will encourage me to move forward with a buy-in decision. 48:20.185 --> 48:26.387 [SPEAKER_00]: So I hope you're understanding like what I mean by the buyer's journey and how you market 48:29.401 --> 48:42.064 [SPEAKER_00]: So again, we don't have time to go through a whole, that I guess could be a whole series by itself, but we don't have time, but I want to get your, your wills turning about again, these fundamentals and what you need to be thinking about. 48:43.765 --> 48:48.886 [SPEAKER_00]: Then the next aspect of your fundamentals needs to be an operations plane. 48:49.226 --> 48:52.187 [SPEAKER_00]: You're gonna need systems and your business. 48:53.652 --> 48:58.954 [SPEAKER_00]: Today's day, day and age, there are so many AI tools, so many ways in which you can automate. 48:59.354 --> 49:06.236 [SPEAKER_00]: So then after you've done all of this so far, you need to think, how do can I operate this business? 49:06.316 --> 49:19.721 [SPEAKER_00]: Or how does this business need to operate in a way to where I'm stewarding well, to in a way in which it is efficient, where my customers are happy, where I'm pleasing to the Lord, what do operations look like? 49:21.061 --> 49:22.802 [SPEAKER_00]: And you sit and you map that out. 49:23.800 --> 49:25.761 [SPEAKER_00]: Then you look at the financial plan. 49:26.702 --> 49:35.028 [SPEAKER_00]: Before you start making any purchases, launching anything, you should have a budget and operating budget. 49:35.808 --> 49:38.290 [SPEAKER_00]: You need to know how much your startup calls are gonna be. 49:38.630 --> 49:40.812 [SPEAKER_00]: You need to be clear on how they're going to be funded. 49:41.332 --> 49:44.094 [SPEAKER_00]: You need to know what your profit margins are gonna be. 49:44.454 --> 49:47.797 [SPEAKER_00]: How much did your products or services cost? 49:48.317 --> 49:49.878 [SPEAKER_00]: How much are you gonna sell them for? 49:52.480 --> 49:57.642 [SPEAKER_00]: or services, but I will say products because it matters or it's a little bit more fixed here. 49:58.782 --> 50:01.463 [SPEAKER_00]: If you know that on the holidays, you want to have sales. 50:02.524 --> 50:16.729 [SPEAKER_00]: You need to make sure that your profit margin allows for that or you want to be having all these sales and making all these sales but losing money because you didn't create a profit margin that was large enough to account for discounts sometimes. 50:17.810 --> 50:21.040 [SPEAKER_00]: So you have to be very clear about that financial plan. 50:21.842 --> 50:25.292 [SPEAKER_00]: And then the final fundamental is risk and legal structure. 50:26.645 --> 50:33.650 [SPEAKER_00]: I am in law school, one thing that I am clear on is that I want to get into the bar in a few years. 50:33.911 --> 50:41.657 [SPEAKER_00]: So I'm not saying absolutely anything else about legal structure other than you should consult an attorney. 50:42.818 --> 50:49.543 [SPEAKER_00]: Every entrepreneur my opinion when you are first starting out you should consult an attorney and you should definitely consult an accountant. 50:54.287 --> 51:05.496 [SPEAKER_00]: At least do a strategy session up front so that you could get the advice that you need, especially at the accountant because an accountant can create that budget for you based on the numbers you give them. 51:05.756 --> 51:08.379 [SPEAKER_00]: They can advise you on taxes. 51:08.759 --> 51:14.263 [SPEAKER_00]: They can create different spreadsheets and stuff that you could continue to use at update in your business. 51:15.044 --> 51:15.905 [SPEAKER_00]: They can advise you 51:19.087 --> 51:28.715 [SPEAKER_00]: So even if you cannot retain these professional at least budget to had a consultation or one or two strategy sessions with them. 51:30.436 --> 51:31.417 [SPEAKER_00]: So let's recap. 51:33.156 --> 51:49.272 [SPEAKER_00]: What are the fundamentals, your executive summary, market research, products and services, marketing and sales plan, operations plan, financial plan, and risk and legal structure. 51:51.327 --> 51:57.915 [SPEAKER_00]: Over the next week or so, I want you to set aside two hours to sit down and count the cost. 51:58.475 --> 52:03.881 [SPEAKER_00]: What I mean by count the cost is go through everything that we have discussed in this episode. 52:04.841 --> 52:10.442 [SPEAKER_00]: And to help you actually apply what we've discussed, I want to give you two different business plan templates. 52:10.862 --> 52:15.744 [SPEAKER_00]: There's one for service-based businesses, and there's one for product-based businesses. 52:16.184 --> 52:24.526 [SPEAKER_00]: They're both very simple, and they are to help you really be able to set this foundation that you need. 52:24.546 --> 52:28.286 [SPEAKER_00]: So you can grab those for free at the link in the show notes. 52:29.167 --> 52:32.968 [SPEAKER_00]: And if you have any questions, feel free to respond to the email 52:35.429 --> 52:41.755 [SPEAKER_00]: And I pray that you guys really sit down with this over the next week and take it to the Lord. 52:43.036 --> 52:44.797 [SPEAKER_00]: I am going to end the episode here. 52:45.218 --> 52:49.282 [SPEAKER_00]: Thank you so much for listening to another episode of the Blessed Embossed Up podcast. 52:49.342 --> 52:52.865 [SPEAKER_00]: Don't forget to download your free template at the link in the show notes. 52:53.025 --> 52:54.767 [SPEAKER_00]: I love you guys and I'll see you in the next one.