MARKET PLACE FACTS
FOUNDATIONAL LESSONS Module 403 A Mario Denton Market place facts: Foundational lessons
Market place facts: Foundational lessons
Market place facts: Foundational lessons
Overall purpose of this series on Marketplace To understand and learn from various marketplace facts so that you can: • Be more effective and anointed wherever you are in the marketplace. • Adapt and benchmark your marketplace practices and principles discussed in this series. • Use these material to facilitate the work of evangelism.
Market place facts: Foundational lessons
Ten Lessons for Every Business Leader
Market place facts: Foundational lessons
Ten Lessons for Every Business Leader What are the Ten Foundational Concrete Lessons for a young entrepreneur?
Market place facts: Foundational lessons
1. Keep your spouse informed
Get your wife/husband on board Market place facts: Foundational lessons
1. Keep your spouse informed • Include him or her in every major decision, especially the key personnel issues, including hiring. • Make family time and vacation time a priority. • Get alone regularly to think, have some weekends with your spouse, and enjoy time with your children before they grow up and afterwards. (Proverbs 19:14) Market place facts: Foundational lessons
2. Gather an Inner Circle or Counsel of Advisors around you
Market place facts: Foundational lessons
2. Gather an Inner Circle or Counsel of Advisors around you • Let them have your best interests at heart, are not involved in your business, and will ask you the hard questions. • Choose people who will be there for you in times of stress when you need wisdom and encouragement. (Eccl. 4:9-12)
Market place facts: Foundational lessons
3. Treat your employees like family
Market place facts: Foundational lessons
3. Treat your employees like family • Be genuinely concerned for their welfare. • Hire slowly and fire quickly. • Remember that attitude is far more important than ability. • Get the right people into the right spots. Market place facts: Foundational lessons
3. Treat your employees like family • Find out what each person is passionate about and find the right fit for him or her in your company. • The best way to attract the right people is to create a strong company culture. • Relationships provide the true foundation for all of your success in the marketplace. (I Kings 7:14
Market place facts: Foundational lessons
4. Get out of the office and visit your customers
Market place facts: Foundational lessons
4. Get out of the office and visit your customers • Take advantage of conventions and trade shows. • Listen to what your customers want and need. • Solve their problems, and they will make you successful. • Keep your promises to them whatever it costs. (Eccl. 7:5)
Market place facts: Foundational lessons
5. Respect your vendors
Market place facts: Foundational lessons
5. Respect your vendors • Develop true partnerships with them. • Pay your bills on time and do not take advantage of them. • They can become key allies with you in getting new customers. (2 Kings 4:7)
Market place facts: Foundational lessons
6. Make timely and accurate accounting a priority.
Market place facts: Foundational lessons
6. Make timely and accurate accounting a priority. • Understand your margins, break even points, and fixed and variable expenses. • Keep a close watch daily or weekly on your cash flow. • Become an expert on pricing. • Build your business on profits and prudent use of debt. (Proverbs 27:23)
Market place facts: Foundational lessons
7. Put all agreements with your fellow shareholders and executives in writing
Market place facts: Foundational lessons
7. Put all agreements with your fellow shareholders and executives in writing
• On one page you should be able to clarify the key points of your understanding. • Clear understandings at the beginning will help you to avoid most lawsuits.
Market place facts: Foundational lessons
7. Put all agreements with your fellow shareholders and executives in writing
• Settle all disagreements as quickly as you can without the time and expense of going to court. (Luke 12:58)
Market place facts: Foundational lessons
8. Make friends with your competitors
Market place facts: Foundational lessons
8. Make friends with your competitors • Learn from them. • You will be a better business leader if you are watching and learning from them.
Market place facts: Foundational lessons
Market place facts: Foundational lessons
8. Make friends with your competitors • They may become useful acquisitions or alliance partners. (2 Samuel 7:1)
Market place facts: Foundational lessons
9. Be generous with your profits
Market place facts: Foundational lessons
9. Be generous with your profits • Particularly with your employees and your community. • Help your employees to save for the future and share in the rewards of the company’s success.
Market place facts: Foundational lessons
9. Be generous with your profits • Caring and generous leaders attract followers. (Proverbs 11:25; 22:9)
Market place facts: Foundational lessons
10. Value input from other leaders Be involved in a regular small group of business owners or executives from which you can learn much and be held accountable. Market place facts: Foundational lessons
Be accountable
Market place facts: Foundational lessons
10. Value input from other leaders • Practice the habit of continual learning and give your life to the next generation of leaders. • (Proverbs 19:20)
Market place facts: Foundational lessons
Conclusion: • Regardless of your service or product, these ten foundational truths will help keep you on the right path as a leader. • Without values and peer relationships, you as a leader will not survive the challenges of the marketplace. • But, with a strong foundation and peers who care, you will be able to withstand any attack upon you as a leader or upon your firm. Market place facts: Foundational lessons
Prayer Focus • Father, In the name of Jesus, I surrender myself to walk in the Word in the marketplace. Your word living in me produces the Life in this world. • The word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. It makes my way plain before me. • I boldly and confidently say that my heart is fixed and established on the solid foundation – the Living Word of God! Amen Market place facts: Foundational lessons
Learning, application and commitment: James 1: 22-25 • “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. • Do what it says. • Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in the mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. • But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it - he will be blessed in what he does.” (NIV) Market place facts: Foundational lessons
Learning, application and commitment • One of the principles that I have learned from this lesson was … • I intend to apply this principle in my marketplace by: ….. • With the help of the Holy Spirit, I will begin applying this truth immediately. Market place facts: Foundational lessons
Jesus said: Take what I have given you and change the world!
Market place facts: Foundational lessons
Sources and acknowledgement CHRIST@ WORK NEWSLETTER • •
Copyright Notice © 2005 FCCI- Limited permission to copy without altering text or profiteering is granted subject to inclusion of this copyright notice. Copy is limited to member and/or FCCI small group use. Unauthorized use of FCCI, Christ@Work, Crown Companies, their trademarks or logos is strictly prohibited.
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The “Facts of the Matter” is also available through the Internet: www.factsofthematter.org. 2003 R. Dwight Hill. Slides compiled by Mario Denton. Please commit yourself to inform us of the results regarding the effectiveness thereof should you wish to use this material.
Market place facts: Foundational lessons
Blessings from Dr Mario Denton as the Africa: Continental Program Director - Marketplace
Let's keep the good marketplace vibes alive. Let's network. Become a member of the Crown Companies Marketplace Coaching Forum. Â Tel (w) + 27(0) 82 88 29903. e-mail address:mario@crown.org.za Website: www.crown.org.za Market place facts: Foundational lessons