issue 1Christian Women in Business Digital Magazine by Christian Women in Business & Leadership

women

CHRISTIAN

IN BUSINESS

Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s in control ALL THE TIME How to increase your

profits by knowing YOUR CLIENTS!

Accounting Basics

Meet the Founder

SARAH-JANE

FOR NEW BUSINESSES!

3 Foundations

FOR SUCCESS

God-sized DREAMS How to Brief your

Graphic Designer

God & Prayer

her story

EMILY BELL SEPTEMBER 2017

is s u e 1

Need something to listen to while youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re working away?

CHECK OUT OUR CWIB PODCAST SHOW We interview women from all over the world who share their business stories, wisdom and encouragement to help inspire you in your business!

CWIB Podcast Show

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table of

CONTENTS MESSAGE FROM THE FOUNDER

DEVOTIONAL

MEET SARAH-JANE

GIFTING FINDS

GOD -SIZED DREAMS

HER STORY - EMILY BELL

GOD & PRAYER IN BUSINESS

ADVERTISE WITH US

INCREASE YOUR PROFITS

ACCOUNTING BASICS

BUSINESS SOCIAL LEADERS

HOW TO BRIEF YOUR DESIGNER

FOUNDATIONS FOR SUCCESS

MEMBER DIRECTORY

BOOKS TO LOVE

CONFERENCE

NEXT ISSUE

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Welcome

TO THE FIRST ISSUE C H R I S T I A Nwomen IN BUSINESS

Message from the Founder/Editor

Since we launched CWIB in Feb 2017 God has blown our minds! Seriously, what started as an idea between two friends, is now turning into a global movement (Don’t worry Australia, we’re still here and we still love you <3). We are connecting women from all over the world and it’s all in the name of Jesus and Business. We feel so blessed that we can come and share the Word, be open with prayer and then chat about marketing funnels and FB Ads. When God put on my heart to go out and encourage women in business, He also challenged me to create a Magazine as well. I’ve never put a magazine together in my life! I had recorded podcasts, written copy for websites and emails, but never put something like this together before. Trust me when I say, this is all God driven and I am stepping out in faith at the moment! I knew we needed to encourage women through audio, visual and written. So now we have the written version of our encouragement plan. We want to speak awesome words over your life! We aim to create a magazine once a quarter that is business related, with a focus on God and a theme for that quarter. So keep a look out for all the magazine goodness that is coming your way! This quarter our theme is starting a business. We hope this helps all the ladies out there thinking about starting a business to take that first step and turn your idea into a business. Print the mag, use your highlighter on it, and write notes all over it. Do whatever you need to, to help you learn. Maybe one day we will be blessed to have our magazine printed! If you have any topics or questions you’d like us to write about feel free to send them in to hello@christianwomeninbusiness.com.au! We pray that this magazine will bring you an abundance of knowledge which will help you in your business on a day-to-day basis. We pray it will bless you, encourage you to take the leap of faith you need to run a business, and most of all keep you aligned with God.

Be blessed in your business beautiful, Sarah-Jane xx

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God’s in control ALL THE TIME BY MEGAN HORSFALL WWW.HAPPYSPLATDESIGN.COM.AU

To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul. O my God, in you I trust; Control is a word that is often seen as negative, if the ball is not in our court. I mean seriously, who likes to give up control of the TV remote? Or control of what we wear - or where we go - or what movie we see: action/ romance/ comedy / sci-fi (yeah baby!) ? People in general, like to be in control of their life.

PSLAM 25:1-2

During the worship at Church one morning, God told me that my inbox would never be empty. That was a pretty big call and at the time, I did not understand the full extent of it! Since then, more than 10 years have passed and during that time, I have relied on God with complete faith, that He would deliver on His promise. And He has, more than I could have ever imagined. God has provided work in balance, to the seasons of my life. When we have needed extra funds, I’ve suddenly become super busy. If I’ve need time/space, for other commitments, God has provided profitable work that hasn’t been time consuming. The one moment that I can remember having no work waiting to be completed, someone pointed out to me, that perhaps God was giving me a season of rest. Of course! He really was in control and knew exactly what I needed even though I couldn’t see it!

As I started my Christian walk, I invited Jesus into my life to be my Lord & Savior. My life was transformed. I handed over control of my ‘worries’ to God. I handed over so much to God, that I suddenly had more joy than ever before and I let this spill over into many areas of my life. My faith was still tested and many of my same problems were still there but with God in control, how I handled them and reacted in those situtations was changed for the better. For every trial, my relationship with Jesus was deepened and strengthened.

Prayer: Lord, I thank you for bringing me this far in my business and for showing me that I really can rely upon you. Today, I give you control of my life and my business for this next season that is to come. I invite you to help me grow into my God-given purpose and potential, that you have predestined for me. Mentor me through your Word and lead me to scriptural wisdom. Amen.

When it came time for me to start a business, it made sense to me, that I would specifically and intentionally invite God into it. So I did, I commited my business to God and I made the decision to pray daily over my business, or even just while I was working. At the time, I was really unsure of what it would look like to have God in control of my business, but I had faith that He would show me. And that He did.

by Megan Horsfall

Meet the Founder SARAH-JANE BY SARAH-JANE MEESON WWW.CHRISTIANWOMENINBUSINESS.COM.AU

It’s never too late to start a business. It doesn’t matter how many times you’ve tried and failed. God’s got you sister and it’s your time to rise! Starting a business can be overwhelming and intimidating! There is so much to think about and so much to do! Where do you start? We thought we’d begin by introducing you to our Founder, ask her some questions and take you through her journey, then get her to share her tips to help get you started! Where did you grow up? I grew up in a small town called Retford, Nottinghamshire in the UK. If you’ve heard of Robin Hood, that’s just 20 minutes away from his tree Major Oak, that still stands to this day! Ha! How did you end up in Australia?

SUPER long story!!!! To cut it short, I’ve broken it up for you into years... 2005 - Escaped School! He he, I mean I finished school, went straight into the work force. 2006/7 - Started working in a grown up job as a Deputy Branch Manager for a Charity called Victim Support. 2008 – Realised I didn’t want to work around death, rapes and domestic violence and wanted to travel and see the world. 30/06/2008 – Got my Holiday Working Visa and booked my one-way flight to Australia. 31/07/2008 – Landed in Australia (I wasn’t a Christian at this point). I started working in outdoor education with school kids and got to see some of the most beautiful parts of NSW and get paid to enjoy them! Met my awesome friend Deb (Deb was/is a Christian, came and made friends with me at work, we did many adventures together tear*. There was something different about this chick!)

April 2009 – Gave my heart to Christ after Allan Mayer preached to our church! Praise Jesus! Two weeks later met the love of my life <3 27/06/2009 – We officially become GF/BF nawww! Fast Track to 2017 – We are happily married ( for 7 years), we have no kids, yep married 7 years with no kids! I love my sleep too much! Ha ha! And we’re having way too much fun ;-)

What a love story God has taken us on and He has done nothing less then provide for our little family, kept us safe, keeping a roof over our head and blessing us with so much love and grace....

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How many times have you failed to get to where you are now and what’s the biggest lesson you’ve learnt? I’ve started many businesses in my young lifetime. Some failed miserably and some have been a huge success (hence you’re reading this magazine right now ;-)). God’s taken me on a journey nonetheless and a journey I wish to take you on, to provide you with some simple steps to help you get started.

for a reason. He will teach you what you need to learn along the way and eventually you’ll get there. When I started out on my journey I knew I needed to get around some other like-minded Christian women. I tried starting a meet up group in my local town, a businesses bible study if you will. You know what Jesus say’s, don’t expect people to take you seriously in your own town. I had a few interested ladies and we did it a couple of times. I felt that what I was trying to do, people weren’t taking seriously and so I struggled with self-belief and also felt a little embarrassed about putting myself out there.

Remember, God doesn’t care about success, He cares about your character and who you become through the journey of your life and business. Keep this in the back of your mind if you’re having a bad day or things aren’t going to your plan ;-).

Success often follows failure!

After going around the mountain a few times and looking back now, I realised that God was teaching me so much about the foundations of business and marketing (it wasn’t in fact to do with other people not taking me seriously). Because of that I was then able to start CWIB with a modest mailing list and now we have over nine local meet ups across Australia.

Failed/Just Given Up On Businesses List: 1. T-Shirt Company we set up at school... We didn’t even make it to launch! 2. Wedding Singing – Loved singing, hated silly drunks! 3. My first podcast about money... Lead balloon. 4. Mentoring (which I still do) but realized I could only help a limited number of women at once. 5. And some that are too embarrassing to mention.

God is so good! My dreams and visions all those years ago have finally come to life! If God hadn’t taken me on that journey and taught me all those things CWIB wouldn’t be here today.

What I am trying to demonstrate here is: God takes you on a whole big journey to get you to become the person who you need to be and to gain the skill set you need to have, in order to get your started on your business journey. Call it, pre-business, business school that you don’t realize you’re being trained in until you look back on your life <3 Some people already have been trained, but some of us learn at our own pace. Both is good and has it’s purpose in God’s big plan.

All I did was keep following my heart and God’s prompting, making a few (... well a lot of) mistakes along the way... and here we are today! Now I am blessed to be the woman God is using to grow a community that’s helping to build the kingdom through business. It’s humbling to know that this is just the beginning of something great for God and His daughters.

One of the biggest lessons I’ve learnt is, don’t be afraid to follow your heart and remember your identity is in Jesus, not in what you do or what business you own. So who cares if you fail? God’s still got you!

I may or may not be the main servant of CWIB for my whole life, but I am here now and I am willing to do the best with what God gives me and serve you ladies the best I can, keeping my eyes on Jesus.

You might not get to where you want to be straight away, but God is putting ideas and dreams in your heart

Continues on next page ...

All you need to do is say YES to whatever God is asking you to do and He will help you with the rest. There is so much to share with you about my journey, but let’s get into giving you some practical steps to start yours!

1 2 3

Work out what problem it is that you’re trying to solve. If there isn’t a problem, you can’t provide a solution that people will pay to fix!

Ask yourself if this fits in with what God has put on your heart. Spend some time journaling and praying with God about your business idea. See what He shows or tells you.

Will people buy the products and services you’re thinking of creating? Do some market research and work out if people will pay for your solution? Ask potential clients; start asking people about the particular problem you’re thinking of solving. How do they deal with it now. What would they love to have as a solution for it? Research some competitors out there in the big wide world of Google. Do they have a big Facebook following and are people interacting with what they are putting out to the world (Whatever you do, don’t copy them.) These are just some simple ways to help you workout if there is a market out there that is willing to pay for your products and services.

Get a good support network around you. These are the people that will help pick you up off the ground when you have a bad day and the ones that will give you a high five when you’re having a great day. A support network is really important to have and even better if they help keep you accountable. (We know a really great community that can help you with this ;-))

Start building a mailing list as soon as you can. Why? I hear you say! Mailing lists are a great place to start selling your products and services to once you’re ready to go! All you need to do is set up a landing page (you can use something like Click Funnels or LeadPages hooked up to easy to use email marketing software like Active Campaign to do this, and direct people on your social media to this page. Put some compelling copy on your landing page about what you’re launching and off you go.

Remember, God can only steer a moving ship! Don’t let fear or self-doubt stop you from starting your business. For those who are well into their business journey, you are doing a fantastic job lady. Don’t give up on your vision and mission.

Now go out there and take that first step! Love Sarah-Jane xo

women CHRISTIAN IN BUSINESS

For more information about starting a business we have an online workshop within our Academy called Business Basics, that’s all about taking your business from idea to start up. For more information about becoming a member and getting your hands on this awesome workshop visit our website www.christianwomeninbusiness.com.au/become-a-member/.

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What our Community IS GIFTING women

CHRISTIAN

IN BUSINESS

Beautiful and inspirinig gifts ideas - or just something to treat yourself xo

$119 Preserved Boxwood Wreath by The Doors of Berry

$28 Handmade Soy Candles by Green Heart Boulevard

$189.95 Mixed Textured Ring Stack by Appleye Jewellery

$29 Wonderfully Round Bag by Bespoke2

$16 Thrive Necklace by Sister & Soul

$12.95 “Restore” 10 Minute Journal by Honey & Gold

$32 Grateful T-Shirt by Sister & Soul

$22.95 Survivor Tee/Onesie by Loved Beyond Measure

$30 A3 Sound Mind Print by Bespoke2

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He will give you everything you need to succeed! CHRISTINE CAINE

women CHRISTIAN IN BUSINESS

www. c h ri sti a nw o me ninb usine ss. c om. a u

How to Find Clarity around your GOD-SIZED DREAM BY KAYLA BRISSI WWW.KAYLABRISSI.COM IMAGES: HAUTE CHOCOLATE

My G odSize d Dr eam

Wh at is God call ing m e to

do w ith my l ife a nd b usin ess?

Do you have a dream that God’s placed in your heart but for some reason? It seems like it’s a giant jigsaw puzzle that you have to put together before it makes any sense?

So God’s popped a few ideas into your mind but you’re not quite sure what to do with them... Let’s help you get clarity...

If so, you lack clarity around your God-sized dream. Often, God places a dream in our heart, but it’s up to us to put the pieces together for it to come to fruition. Perhaps this dream scares you so much that it’s causing you to feel off kilter. Maybe it even overwhelms you because you can’t comprehend what He is calling you to do and it seems like it’s impossible. God placed that dream in your heart because you were designed and destined to do something more. He has given you unique gifts so that you can make an impact on the world. Now is your time to step out in faith and see what He has in store for you.

There’s a simple five-step process to finding clarity with your God-sized dream so that you can see it come to fruition and then do God’s work >> www.christianwomeninbusiness.com.au

1 2 3 4 5

Prayer and Meditation Ask God for guidance so that you can walk by faith and not by sight as you put the pieces of your jigsaw puzzle

God-Given Gifts Determine what your unique God-given gifts and passions are so that you can utilize them to make your dream come true. Ask yourself the following questions: • What am I inherently good at? What comes natural to me? • What could I spend hours doing without realizing any time has passed? • What 3-5 adjectives would your loved ones use to describe you?

Journal Writing down your thoughts, ideas, emotions. Working through some difficult questions will help you dig deeper into your God-sized dream so that it can provide you clarity. Ask yourself the following questions: • What do I really want? • What is God calling me to do with my life and business? • What legacy do I want to leave for generations to come? • What type of movement is God calling me to make in order to create my legacy? • What changes do I need to make to get closer to my desires and God’s calling? Am I ready to start making those changes today?

Ask for Support Ask your loved ones, friends, church members or even a mentor for support. Share the dream that God has placed in your heart and brainstorm ideas to make this dream become a reality.

Trust Through God all things are possible. Trust in Him to guide you to take the necessary steps to see your dream and vision come to fruition.

As you can see, finding clarity around your God-size dream is important and possible. By following the five-step process outlined above you’ll be able to have more clarity around your dream, feel confident in the direction God wants you to take, and trust that He is guiding you down the right path. He wouldn’t have placed the dream in your heart without the intention of helping you see it come to fruition.

God doesn’t call the qualified; he qualifies the called. What is he calling you to do ? www.christianwomeninbusiness.com.au

her story EMILY BELL WWW.SEQCOMMERCIALCLEANING.COM.AU IMAGE: ANDRE BROWN

Most business journeys are not smooth

completely alter our mindsets with regards to the

sailing. Ours is no exception. We have

trials we were facing. As God’s Word began to live and work through us once again, He quickly reminded us of the calling in our lives to be in business. A call we had ignored for some time. You see, we learnt there is no better security in life than being in God’s will. But was now really the best time to go back into business? As it would turn out, that’s just what God had in mind. In February 2014, an opportunity came about for us to take over a brand new business, one that had no clients to speak of, but a catchy name. I will never forget the day Jeremy arrived home with the idea. I believe my exact response was, “Well we can’t lose much more, so why not?” So we did. We managed to take over just a little more room at my parents and started our business. Despite our previous resistance, we believed without a shadow of doubt that God had given us both an anointing in business, especially Jeremy. But here we are starting a new venture with all bank accounts in the negative. It would take a miracle to get this of the ground. It was important at this stage to establish our why. Why would we go into business again? We knew how much hard work was involved, so we also knew we needed a purpose. A reason to do whatever it takes to make it work. So we decided together that we would start this business to fund the kingdom. It was our dream through this

owned a few businesses in our time and either sold or moved on to something else. However we came to a point when we started our family that we decided we’d had enough of the unpredictability of business ownership and sort out the security of employment. In 2013, after a few years in this, my husband was suddenly made redundant. So much for security. This happened just one week after our son, our second child, was born. Without a regular income, and a young family, it didn’t take long for us to struggle financially. In addition to this, our baby boy was diagnosed with a life threatening birth defect that required regular medical intervention and eventually surgery. Both my husband and I were trying to hold it all together, but in all honesty we felt life was falling apart from every angle. Eventually we had no choice but to move in with my parentswho graciously welcomed us with our two children (two year old and six month old), debt up to our eyeballs and my husband and I who were completely overwhelmed by our circumstances. At this time, it was a great friend who recommended we begin listening to certain podcasts and preaching that would later

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business that people would come to know Jesus as their Lord and Saviour. This idea, a few years later, became our mission statement ‘Cleaning for a Cause’. To our great surprise it took just a few days for God’s hand to move and for us to sign our first big contract. All of a sudden we needed 10 cleaners, forms, emails, business cards and lets not forget an accounting system. It all happened so fast I remember calculating our first payroll with a pencil, piece of paper and a calculator. We managed to borrow funds to get us through our first few weeks before payments started flowing through. Every step was a miracle. Door after door was opened in our industry. We found ourselves at industry events sitting next to CEO’s of major Construction Companies, just the type of clients we wanted. It would only take a few months before we would have our first contract with them and our 10 cleaners grew to 70. While God was blessing us with opportunities, it was up to us to work hard and steward what He gave us.

Not only did God open doors for business, but He also opened opportunities for us to give. Giving is the greatest key in business and something we did from the very beginning. This will look different for everyone. Whether you can support local missions, or international orphanages or feeding programs. I encourage you seek God for something to give to. Countless times we have sat back in awe and looked at what God has done through and for us, by our making Him the centre of our lives and our business. We both know that we personally are not capable of what we have achieved, but it has been God working through us. Like I said, business journeys are not always smooth sailing. You will encounter trials, challenges and successes. And sometimes all in one day! But make Jesus your centre, learn from the trials, navigate the challenges and celebrate the successes, you too will be amazed at what God can do through a willing heart.

by Emily Bell

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It’s your time to join your sisterhood of Christian Women in Business. Our membership is all about uniting like-minded women together like yourself, encouraging you and strengthening you to build a business that you love and of course empower you to make money!

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TOGETHER, WE REACH YOUR GOALS!

For all those administration tasks that you don't have time to do or don't like doing! Office Fundamentals provides business administration support and services to reach your goals together.

1300 077 034

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Follow our playlist on Spotify

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Worship Playlist You Are Holy - Michael W Smith Wonder - Hillsong Good Good Father - Chris Tomlin Here for you – Matt Redman Oceans - Hillsong United If I don’t have you – love and the outcome I love you lord – The Katinas Not Today – Hillsong United Wonder O come to the Alter – Elevation Worship Then sings my soul – Hillsong Elohim – Hilsong Keith Green – Make My Life A Prayer To You Relentless - Hillsong ........ and so many more ......

How to incorporate God and prayer into your business with this simple routine.

God & Prayer BY STACEY MCBRIDE WILSON

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TO DO THIS WEEK:

Hey beautiful, can I ask you a quick question? Do you ever have that feeling that there just aren’t enough hours in the day? Like there is SO much you need to do and just not enough time to do it in?

•

Send e-mail newsletter

•

E-mail so and so

•

Phone accountant

•

Write blog post

•

Record podcast & edit

•

Schedule weekly social media

•

Edit website

•

Pay invoices

•

Follow up with clients

•

Do Facebook Live video

•

Review marketing plan

•

Contact “x” to create a strategic alliance

•

Attend business networking breakfast

•

Research how to create online program

•

Refine systems

Yep, as Christian women in business our weeks are pretty full; and that’s just the stuff we do for business! Add to that the fact that most of us are also wives and mums on top of that and our weeks aren’t just full, they’re jam-packed! As a solo-preneur in business, I wear all the hats; visionary, marketing director, growth strategist, graphic designer, content creator and editor, book-keeper extraordinaire, client relations manager, events planner…. ok ok you get the idea. There is ALWAYS so much to learn and so much to do. That question I asked you at the start, feeling like there was so much to do and not enough hours in the day to do it all, that definitely was me.

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There was a time where I was doing, doing, doing but in essence I was just spinning my wheels and not really getting anywhere much at all. Which was frustrating, so you know what I’d do? I’d do even more! It was a cycle that just wasn’t working (and I was killing myself in the process!) But this isn’t the way God has intended for us, His daughters, to do business or do life. About a year ago I was a business-training weekend and the theme of the session was ‘Hearing the voice of God in your business.’

So with all that said, I want to share what this simple strategy looks like and how you too can implement God and prayer into your business for greater effectiveness and impact. To start, commit to spending the first hour of your working week with God. Just a quick note, this isn’t your normal devotional God time. This is set aside as a specific and strategic time to meet with the Lord to hear His voice and strategy for your coming week in business. For me it’s 8:45-9:45am.

During the session God prompted me to devote the first hour of my working week to be with Him and let Him direct my course of business action for the coming week; to truly put Him first in my business. Not just in the vision of the business, but in the practical stuff of the day to day. At first I was a little apprehensive. “AN HOUR GOD, REALLY?!” An hour of my week seemed like a lot when it already felt like I don’t have enough time seemed like a lot. I wasn’t quite sure what that looked like or what was going to come of it but if it was God’s ideas (and He always has THE BEST ideas!) I thought why not? And the result? I can say that after year of making this time a priority each and every week, (my prophetic pray planning as I call it), that it is the most powerful strategy I have implemented in my business, and I believe it can be the most powerful strategy in yours too. I mean, we have strategies for growth, marketing, and finances in our business, but what about a strategy to know His strategy for it all with clear steps to action?

Grab a journal, pop on some worship music and write down these 4 simple questions…. 1. Refine and remind me of the vision (so I can get super clear and don’t get distracted or off track) 2. Who do I need to contact or connect with this week? 3. What do I need to do to grow this week? 4. Anything else important to do this week?

Thank Him for what He’s done and for the blessings and victories in your business. Then, listen to your heart and write out what God shares with you for each of the strategy questions. And that’s it! Oftentimes He will put someone or an organization on my heart to get in contact with, and it will provide an amazing result. Other times He will completely change and rearrange my to do list for the coming week.

No matter what the weekly outcome looks like, this time always provides encouragement, inspiration and clear, actionable steps to grow my business. Let me emphasize again how interested He is in the big AND the small of your business. We go to Him for the big business decisions, or pray for the big miracle breakthroughs, but what about taking time to lean in and listen for His still small voice about seemingly mundane, day to day of our businesses? Believe me, He wants in on it all. This verse just nails it for me…. ‘God’s love is meteoric. His loyalty astronomic. His purpose titanic. His verdicts oceanic. Yet in His largeness Nothing gets lost; not a man, not a mouse slips through the cracks.’ Psalm 36:5-6 (MSG) This strategy puts an end to all the doing for the sake of doing. It simplifies and gives the clear steps to take for the following week that will result in growth.

In essence, you’re trusting that the effectiveness of the rest of your working week will far surpass what you could’ve achieved in your own strength if you’d used that hour for your purposes. With this strategy you’re super targeted and getting more done in less time which equals greater effectiveness. How awesome is that? So my encouragement to you beautifully, amazing Christian women in business, set aside this time for a heavenly strategy download. Shut down the noise. Be still. Invite Him in. Listen for His still small voice. He is the best visionary, marketing director, growth strategist, graphic designer, content creator and editor, book-keeper extraordinaire, client relations manager, events planner and business coach there is, and He’s got a plan and strategy for the big by maximizing the small that will just blow your mind! Be blessed girls.

With love, Stace

women CHRISTIAN IN BUSINESS

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I work with growing businesses, creatives and entrepreneurs to create a visual story for their brand. I create designs that have been thoughtfully + intentionally designed to best benefit your brand, in a way that clearly communicates your message to your ideal market.

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How to increase your profits by knowing YOUR CLIENTS! BY TAMMY SOOVEERE WWW.NOURISHHQ.COM.AU IMAGES: HAUTE CHOCOLATE

How can you market to someone who you don’t know yet? Don’t waste anymore time marketing to the wrong people, Tammy Sooveere helps us nail down what knowing our clients means and how it can improve your profit!

You want to build and invest in a marketing plan that will help amplify and grow your business but how do you ensure you spend your time and money where it counts? When I first started in business I didn’t care who my ideal customer was. I was so desperate for someone to buy from me that I thought ‘Just anyone will do!’ What I didn’t realize at the time was that to get new customers I eventually had to speak to those who didn’t know me or my business. I had to invest time and money in marketing. However, without knowing who my ideal customer was I would waste hours of my life and thousands of dollars shouting on the mountain tops to a crowd who simply didn’t care or worse I tried to be all things to all people.

she afraid of? Does she need reassurance? Or excitement? Is there a place or a group that helps define her identity? It’s in these answers that you will find real gold nuggets. These nuggets will help you get inside her head and help you provide real solutions to the problem she faces. This will in turn determine the way you market yourself and your business.

Watering down my message so that everyone would relate but generalizing so much that no one could. These were not only expensive and time-consuming mistakes, they left me frustrated, tired and feeling like I’m never going to be heard. Before you build that marketing plan and make the same mistakes I did, let’s discover who your ideal customer is. Remember I spoke earlier about being all things to all people? This is called mass marketing – it may work for big brands like Coke and BMW but for smaller businesses Personalised Marketing is where it’s really at. It’s about finding the people who resonate with you and your brand and speaking to them in their language. It’s the only way to be heard in the millions of messages that your audience hears every single day. So how do I find my people? I hear you ask. Picture your ideal customer and a few things might come to mind; they might be a 35yr old woman with 2 kids who works part time and lives in Sydney. These facts and figures are called demographics. They’re the measurable traits of who your customer may be. And they’re important; they really are.

However they are like drawing a portrait with a stick figure. They give you an outline but there’s no depth or colour like a masterpiece needs. The depth comes from understanding how your customer thinks and what your customer feels. We know our rational brain plays a large role in purchase decisions, like when we weigh up the facts and figures of choosing a laundry detergent; i.e. Cost vs. effectiveness. However have you ever bought a brand simply because your mother did? Or because you like the packaging? We must not underestimate our emotional role in the decision making process. It is these emotional connections that are driven by our values, our experiences, our interests and our thoughts and feelings. These traits are called psychographics. To begin to really understand your ideal client and their defining psychographics you need to delve into more qualitative questions. These are questions that shed light on a person’s thoughts and feelings. They’re more objective and harder to measure. So, going back to our 35yr old mother from Sydney, possible questions you might ask are; what gets her up in the morning? What is

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There are two ways you can find the answers to these questions. The first is to simply ask them. This can be done with surveys, interviews or social media insights. It can, however be more difficult when you’re starting out as you mightn’t have a large audience but what you probably have is a few people in your circle of friends who fit your ideal customer profile. Shout them a coffee and take an hour to pick their brain. The second is ethnography, which is just a really fancy word for studying people. Find where your people hang out (in their natural environment) and simply observe. Ethnography will tell you things that merely asking won’t. Take time to notice their habits, what they find difficult, or possibly what image grabbed their attention … and if you watch long enough you’ll make some really amazing discoveries.

Understanding your ideal client will ultimately help you connect with your audience. Your website will immediately capture their attention, your Facebook ad will resound with them and more importantly you will attract those that align with your brand and your values. Nail this and you’ll develop a tribe of followers that will not only buy from you but allow you into their world.

by Tammy Sooveere

Accounting Basics FOR NEW BUSINESSES! BY AMANDA KNIGHT WWW.BALANCINGBOOKKEEPERCANBERRA.COM.AU IMAGES: TWIGY POSTS

No one likes doing it (apart from our lovely accounting and book keeping mavens! We love you!) But we still have to do it. Here are some basic accounting tips to help you get accounting sorted as you start your business... Ok so you have started a business and you are going well, that is great but how do you manage your business finances in the wisest and most efficient way. Well we have 5 tips that will help you with your accounts when starting a business.

Tip 1

Tip 2

Set up a separate bank account for your business transactions

Start small but with the view to grow bigger

There is nothing wrong with doing your invoicing out of a word document and keeping track of your expenses in an excel spreadsheet, but this solution is very time consuming because it requires manual input and therefore is open to errors. This might be an okay short term solution but if you are wanting to grow your business there may be other solutions that will streamline these practices to make it easier for you to spend time on working on your business. Don’t be afraid of growing bigger and putting solutions in place before they become problems.

I remember accidently setting up a business while I was working full time and keeping track of my expenses and income at the time was a dog’s breakfast at the end of the financial year I was trawling through my personal bank statements for what I could claim as business expenses and how much money I made. It doesn’t matter how many hours you are working on your business keeping your business finances separate to your personal will make your life so much easier in the long run.

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Tip 3 Pick software that can meet your needs now as well as your needs in the future Leading on from the previous point I would recommend using an accounting software solution to meet your business finance needs. Both of the products that I would recommend are Xero (www.xero.com) or Intuit Quickbooks (www.intuit.com.au) and they are both cloud solutions. What this means is that any device that can access the internet can access your accounts. Some of the features are: Invoicing; with the option of accepting credit card payments without a credit card machine; Bank feeds; no need to data entry your information from your bank account Payroll; including automatic superannuation Also they have the capability to talk to other solutions that can assist with your business. For example I use Practice Ignition which does proposals for our clients but then the sales invoices are then sitting in Xero ready to be matched against the payments we receive.

Tip 4 Look at what is important to track Every business is different and what you find important to focus on is going to be completely different to the next business. For example is making sure you keep track of different areas of your income streams important or not? What about your expenses, do you need to keep a broad overview of expenses or is that information really important to analyse where your money is going to enable you to make decisions in the future? Again having a big picture and future mindset will help with setting this up correctly.

Tip 5 Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be afraid of not knowing everything We are not supposed to be doing life alone or thinking that we should have all of the answers. There is great freedom in working to your strengths and asking for help when you are out of your comfort zone. Having a chat to a professional even if you are seeking their advice one time just to get you on your feet and making sure that you are doing things right will give you the peace of mind and great foundation to move forward. This person could be a bookkeeper or an accountant who can give you advice on setting up your accounts.

by Amanda Knight

www.christianwomeninbusiness.com.au

Business Social Leaders M O N THL Y M EM BER M E E T I N G S + QU A R T E R L Y OP E N N I G H T S

Brisbane South

Brisbane North

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EMILY BELL

ANNETTE HORN

RAYLEE BIELENBERG

AMANDA KNIGHT

Townsville

Sydney - The Hills

Melbourne

DENI KNUTH

KIRSTY FARRUGIA

PRUE RAM

MEGAN HORSFALL

Shoalhaven

Sydney - CBD

Online

CARMEL AUSTIN

JOANNE TWEEDIE

RANDA HABELRIH

MAREE CUTLER NAROBA

Our next open night will be in the first week of October. These open nights will be for any amazing lady that is in business. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s our way to bless you and your business, we invite you to come along and meet other like-minded women. *Each beautiful lady is welcome to attend one free open night, to attend more after this you will need to become a member

For more information about our local meet ups visit our website

www.christianwomeninbusiness.com.au/events

Don’t worry about what you can’t do. Instead ask God what He can do! www. c h ri sti a nw o me ninb usine ss. c om. a u

How to Brief your

Graphic Designer BY MEGAN HORSFALL WWW.HAPPYSPLATDESIGN.COM.AU IMAGES: HAUTE CHOCOLATE

Getting the best from your graphic designer for your business Having beautifully designed branding and marketing material is great, but if it doesn’t attract or entice your ideal client or speak the correct message, then you really may as well have created something in Word and saved yourself some money. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a graphic designer and I love nothing more than seeing businesses with beautiful branding - but it has to be intentional, specific and targeted. Below are a few questions that I like to ask my clients, to help me understand their business and exactly what they are trying to achieve from their branding and marketing.

Can you tell me a little about your business? The best place to start is by telling me about your business - explain your elevator pitch in real life words. What is your full business name? What do you do? What are your main products and/or services (just a simple list)? Why you do what you do?

What is your Brand position

and Target Audience?

Who is your audience or target market? Are you a high end product found in luxury boutiques or are you a product that will be stocked in every supermarket across the country? Will we be targeting Mums & Dads with young children or 26yr old Male Tradies? What age are they / what is their income level / business or consumer / global, rural or urban?

Who is the competition? Many people donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t like to answer this question, as they feel if they do, it will look like they are copying. However, the reason designers will ask it is because they want you to look at YOUR point of difference. Why are you different from your competitors? Or what are they not doing, that you

can do? What will make you stand out from them? If you donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know this answer, then you may be able to talk to your designer about it.

What are the needs of the project? This is where specifics are important. It is important to ascertain exactly what the purpose of the design project is: grow your email list, get more clients, product awareness, etc. Do you require a logo, printed material, digital imagery or a website? Say for instance you are after flyers.... what size would you like, single or double sided, are you supplying images and copy, would you like them printed or would you like a print ready file supplied? Be as clear and concise as you can.

What is the budget How much have you allocated to spend on this project? Many people like to leave this question blank, but it really is an important question. Be as clear on what you need this budget to cover. Do you need to hire a photographer and studio to take product photos or is it acceptable to source stock images? Will the copy need to be written or do you need a copywriter? The designer will take all of this into account and can also offer other options i budget permits.

What look and feel

needs to be portrayed? What is the aesthetic of your brand? What are your brand colours? What colours do you dislike and want to avoid? What emotion do you want to evoke with this design? It can be helpful to compile a few descriptive words - ie: strong, edgy + tribal gives a whole different feel than - airy, whimsical + playful.

Who will be approving

the design work?

If you are a one-person business, well then this question is easy. However, if there is a committee or a board that will be giving feedback and approving designs, then it is best to supply all of that information to start with - as well as the contact details of those who need to be brought into the loop. If there is a committee, I would suggest nominating no more than 2-3 people to be able to give their input - but also one main point of contact who will be responsible for collating feedback.

Timeline Is your proposed timeframe relaxed or do you have a specific deadline that needs to be met (launch, event or advertising)? Your designer will make sure that they will be able to deliver the proposed project within their own schedule and/or offer alternative deadlines for relaxed projects.

This may seem like an excess of information, but believe me, your designer will glean the heart of your business and extract from this, what they need, to deliver you intentional and target graphic design that is perfectly aligned with your audience. Take the time. Write it down. Be as clear and concise as you can. It will be worth it :)

by Megan Horsfall www.christianwomeninbusiness.com.au

3 Foundations For Success BY SHARRYN LUDLOW WWW.GRACEANDCONFIDENCE.COM IMAGES: HAUTE CHOCOLATE

Everyone dreams of building a successful business... Let’s make sure you start yours off with the right foundations....

Business is a lot of things, but at its very heart it’s serving a need. You may go into business to make money but if it’s only about that, you’ll never create a truly successful enterprise. God designed it. He believes in it. He loves it when people serve and love others in all contexts. As long as you walk with Him, obey His directions and don’t let money become your driver, you’ll be

blessed and be a blessing on the earth. Often when working with people who want to grow their business I find it highly beneficial to consider the following foundations before going on to talk about strategies and tactics. As it says in Ecclesiastes 5:3, For the dream comes through the greatness of the task... You can watch the free video training I did on this very subject at http://bit.ly/BizDream. www.christianwomeninbusiness.com.au

Set Your Intentions Starting with clear intentions helps you to reach your goals. The key to attaining your goals is knowing what that goal is. It needs to be specific. It can’t just be ‘I want to be successful’. What does success look like for you? In the book ‘Think and Grow Rich’ Napoleon Hill’s number one strategy for receiving money is to be definite as to the amount. The whole of Chapter 2 is about being specific, you need to read that! Consider what you want your life to look like.

Shift Your Mindset The other challenge is to shift from being an employee to the CEO of your business. An employee needs to be told what to do. They are entitled to their wage and benefits. They are only required certain hours. But a business owner cannot succeed like that. You have to set your intentions and then make things happen. You are not self-employed, you do not have a job. You are a business owner. When you spend money, it’s actually investing in your future it’s not losing money. Far too many people see expenses as something they are loosing, instead of understanding that it is part of the seed that goes into the ground that produces your harvest.

Ecclesiastes 10:19 tells you ‘money is the answer for everything’. We have the ability to call things into being, to create opportunity by our words, our faith and our actions. Dream big with God and starting giving more than you’re comfortable with, watch what happens.

Lead With Service What need are you meeting? Any successful endeavour must primarily be about meeting a need in the marketplace. It seems obvious but I am constantly meeting people who want to sell a product and all they can talk about is how good that product is. For example, health and weight loss products. They’ll talk about the company, the brand, the ingredients and how successful it is. Meanwhile, their customers are running a mile away. Nobody cares. www.christianwomeninbusiness.com.au

So what do they care about? They care that they can’t do their jeans up and don’t know how to motivate themselves to change. They care that they can’t run and play with their kids because they get worn out just getting from the car to the playground. Understanding your customers should be the #1 thing you are focused on. Connecting with people, showing understanding, demonstrating integrity by helping, leading them with showing you understand - that is the most attractive way of building a client base.

Courageously Step into Your Greatness The biggest obstacles you’re going to face in business and life is tied to your own limiting beliefs about your business and yourself. The opportunity is there for you to grow and be more. God is for you. You can do it!

Member Business DIRECTORY women

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What our Community IS READING women

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Favourite books from the Lovelies in our Members Hub

Without Rival by Lisa Bevere

Present over Perfect by Shauna Niequist

Becoming Myself by Stasi Eldredge

Uninvited by Lysa TerKeurst

Supernatural Business by Wez Hone

Make it Happen by Lara Casey

The Shack by WM Paul Young

Brave Enough by Nicole Unice

We love any books that inspire and encourage you to live your life and/or run your business, to the very best of your ability. These are some books that are being read by the members of our community - that have been loved! Do you have a book that you absolutely love? Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d love to hear about it :) DROP US A LINE OR TAG US ON INSTAGRAM AND MAYBE WE WILL FEATURE YOUR FAVOURITE BOOK! www.christianwomeninbusiness.com.au

Written Word Lettering is customised

lettering inspired by the Word of God, Jesus Christ.

Connect with me for gree ting cards, custom pieces likes v erses

or quotes, or ev ents you would like lettering for!

www.facebook.com/WrittenWordLettering - www.instagram.com/writtenwordlettering

Need Facebook help? Not sure where to start? What do I even post about? One Awesome Woman can help. From full scheduling to just some help to get you started, we can help you find your way on Facebook. C AL L K EL LY O N 041 4 933 81 2 OR POP U S A N E MA I L AT KE L LY@O N E AW ES O M E WO M A N .CO M . AU

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2 Conferences Partnering Together for His Glory

The Deborah Conference & CWIB Community Conference 2018 have partnered together to bring you a Business Conference Special.

The DEBORAH CON F E R E N C E

CWIB

Community CONFERENCE 2018

thedeborahconference.com

Sat 11th November 2017

Sat 17th February 2018

Brisbane

Tweed Heads

Awakening Christian Women Entrepreneurs to shift the course of history “Awake o deborah awake” Judges 5

CWIB Community Conference 2018 It’s Time To Be United With Your Sisters!

A one day

Business Conference & Dinner Event founded in 2016 by Maree Cutler-Naroba.

Kerrie Phipps You'll take part in a full day workshop facilitated by Kerrie Phipps. Kerrie is widely known as an engaging speaker and author who inspires leaders and entrepreneurs to connect with confidence. At this content- packed EVENT you will engage in meaningful & thought provoking practical sessions.

Workshop Topics + Do Talk to Strangers - How to Connect with Anyone Anywhere + Stunning Customer Service + Transformative Leadership Conversations

Discussions on combining faith and business. You will learn strategies, ideas and tips on how to grow your business.

Evening Events • • CWIB 1st Birthday Party • • Fundraising • • Community Time • •

(be that for profit or not for profit)

Put fuel to the fire of an emerging business/entrepreneurial ideas.

The D E B ORAH CO NF EREN CE NORMAL TICKET PRICE STARTS FROM $150

The DEB ORAH CONFERENCE CONFERENCE COMBO TICKET PRICE $290

CWIB

Community CONFERENCE

CWIB

Community CONFERENCE

EARLY BIRD RATE $159 EARLY BIRD EXPIRES 11TH NOVEMBER 2017

Next Issue ... Starting your new year well Planning for 2018 Best Planners and Diaries How to deal with stress Personal Styling Leadership Money saving tips Growing your investment portfolio Office + Studio Styling .... and so much more .....

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issue 2