Endorsements
Weve known Brock Shinen personally and professionally for more than twenty years. He has been a trusted adviser to our entire family of businesses. Brock has steered our business straight countless times and also helped us win a legal battle against one of the largest retailers in the world.
John and Mike Anderson, founders, Anderson Brothers Design & Supply, Tankfarm & Co.
Shinen brings refreshing and practical straight talk on how you can start and grow a Christ-centered business, demonstrating the excellence, wisdom, and pure goodness of God in the marketplace.
Shae Bynes, founder, Kingdom Driven Entrepreneur
Brocks advice has been crucial to my career as an artist. Ive often relied on him to navigate the complexities of the music industry. Im grateful for his guidance and perspective as a believer and would encourage any businessperson to dig into the principles of this book.
John Mark McMillan, singer-songwriter
Brock has a unique ability to distill complex topics into simple, easy-to-implement steps, and his book for entrepreneurs is no exception. Having spent a significant amount of time in and around a variety of business environments, Im well aware of the risks and failure points that so many entrepreneurs face. Brock takes a methodical, calculated approach to breaking down the timeline of a businesss origin, from idea through growth, and shares his war chest of tips, experience, and action steps. Ive worked with Brock and have seen him in action, and I can see that this book captures his knowledge and experience in a way that few books could. If I were dreaming about starting a business, or anywhere on my entrepreneurial journey, Id want this book in my hand.
Miles McPherson, author, speaker, and pastor
Brock is a man of the law and a man of God with a rare gift as a strategist. If you have an idea for a new or existing business that you want to take to the next level, while carrying the heart of the Fatherget this book.
David Noroa, cofounder and director of the studio division at Bethel Media and cofounder of Bethel Conservatory of the Arts
Half Title Page
Title Page
Copyright Page
2020 by Brock Shinen
Published by Bethany House Publishers
11400 Hampshire Avenue South
Bloomington, Minnesota 55438
www.bethanyhouse.com
Bethany House Publishers is a division of
Baker Publishing Group, Grand Rapids, Michigan
www.bakerpublishinggroup.com
Ebook edition created 2020
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meansfor example, electronic, photocopy, recordingwithout the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Control Number: 2019950006
ISBN 978-1-4934-2263-0
Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, New International Version NIV Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com.
Scripture quotations labeled NKJV are from the New King James Version (NKJV) Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations labeled KJV are from the King James Version of the Bible.
All dates, place names, titles, and events in this account are factual. However, the names of certain characters have been changed in order to protect their privacy.
Cover design by Brand Navigation
Author is represented by The Fedd Agency
Dedication
![The Christian Entrepreneur Dream Plan Execute Grow - image 1](/uploads/posts/book/406683/Images/ded-fig.gif)
Tammy Shinen, the love of my life, you inspire me to achieve, grow, learn, and dig into the deepest parts of myself. Your love, support, and encouragement for me is without limits, and Im forever grateful for you. You helped me think out this book and all the ideas whirling around in my head. Thank you for building a future with me.
Tristen and Sienna, my children, my heart beats with you, and I hope to build a legacy for you to walk in. Watching you grow up is what inspires me to walk boldly into the future. I pray my words draw you closer to the heart of God and closer to your own dreams. Never stop pursuing what makes you come alive! I love you both forever.
![The Christian Entrepreneur Dream Plan Execute Grow - image 2](/uploads/posts/book/406683/Images/ded-fig.gif)
Contents
Cover
Endorsements
Half Title Page
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Prologue
STEP ONE: DREAM
1. The Making of a Good Idea
2. The Foundation: From Good Idea to Viable Business
STEP TWO: PLAN
3. The Vision: Making a Business Plan
4. Planning for a Financially Sound Business
5. Building the Right Team
6. For-Profit versus Nonprofit
STEP THREE: EXECUTE
7. Customer Engagement
8. The Legal Landscape
10. Negotiation Skills
STEP FOUR: GROW
11. The Values of a Christian Entrepreneur
12. Growing Pains
13. A Christian Entrepreneur in a Secular World
Epilogue: Ten Commandments for the Christian Entrepreneur
Appendix A: Sample Business Plan
Appendix B: Sample Budget Worksheet
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Cover Flaps
Back Cover
Prologue
H AVE YOU EVER HIRED a Christian business and been disappointed by the product or service they delivered? Or maybe youve worked with a secular business and wished they could have had a little more grace when you couldnt make a payment on time?
As Christians, we want the Christian benefits of grace, forgiveness, and conciliation even in the secular marketplace, yet in that marketplace those attributes are often viewed as counterproductive to making money. We Christians, then, tend to see the secular marketplace as a cold, harsh, unforgiving landscape driven primarily by the desire for as much profit as possible.
On the other end of the spectrum, we adore the fact that Christian businesses and business owners understand our relationship with God, pray with us, and empathize with our personal trials as we walk together in Christ. Yet when it comes to receiving consistent, high-quality products and services from these same Christian businesses and business owners, we can be disappointed and frustrated. It seems our choice is too often limited to either a Christian business that loves Jesus but renders lackluster performance or a secular business that delivers stellar performance but is ready to take us to court over a single misstep in the relationship.
Yet plenty of businesses and business owners believe you can operate a competitive, successful, marketplace-savvy enterprise and do so in a way that has Gods fingerprints all over it. The sad reality, however, is that if you want to own or operate a business that embodies godly dynamics and is highly successful, profitable, or simply excellent at what it does, only limited resources are available to show you how to get there. Its also an area systematically misunderstood by the church because the church wasnt designed to teach us competitive business practices.
Thats where I come in.
Im fortunate to work with some of the best entrepreneurs, ministries, and organizations in the world, and Im equally fortunate to work with countless others who have both passion and a good idea. The connection point for me is guiding them all toward prosperity in the context of healthy and godly business practices. After all, what motivates me as a believer, an attorney, and a strategy consultant is to superimpose Gods kingdom over the marketplace.