Mar 5, 2019
It's hard to believe that nearly five years ago, Business Boutique was just a dream in my heart. Wow. That's hard to grasp on so many levels, but especially because Business Boutique is such a huge part of my life now. But, y'all, talk about humble beginnings. All we really knew is that we wanted to create a place where women could get the support and training they need to make money doing what they love. That's it. So we went straight to the source: women who knew they were made for more. We talked to a lot of them and asked what felt like millions of questions. And we noticed something interesting. All of these women seemed to describe their pursuit of "more" in different ways. Some called it a side business. Others referred to it as a side hustle. Some even called themselves mompreneurs. Suddenly, we knew coming up with a name for our project that perfectly encompasses what all of these women do-and one that clearly communicates exactly how we can help them-was absolutely crucial to our success. No pressure, right? In all our meetings and brainstorming sessions, my leader Dave Ramsey kept referring to a small side business as a boutique business. But that name didn't feel quite right. Would people immediately think we only help people start boutiques? I mean, we were going to help them grow a lot of different things. We continued to run into this wall until I decided to pray about it. I know, it should have been the first thing I did. But unfortunately, it was my last resort. My prayer that day was this: Lord, what are we going to call this? We can't call it Boutique Business because we're not helping people start boutiques. We're helping them grow a lot of different things. How do we describe this market when these women describe themselves in so many different ways? He answered me that very day. I heard God say: Flip it. It's not Boutique Business. It's the Business Boutique. And you're not describing what all of them do. You're describing what YOU do. You are the place where women come to get help with their business-any type of business. Y'all, I knew in the moment that Business Boutique was it. I immediately sent a text to the team telling them we were supposed to flip the name. It was like this lightbulb had finally come on. And everyone agreed. Of course they did! Because it was God's idea. And you know what? God is full of really good ideas. That's why I invite my faith into my business every single day. Seeing God's fingerprints all over Business Boutique takes the pressure off me and reminds me of who's really in control. Have you invited God into your business yet? I'm here to tell you it's never too late. Seeking God in Your Business Too often, we keep our personal lives and our business lives separate. We are so faith-filled in our personal lives but, for some reason, we get all practical and non-spiritual in our business. It's as if we believe God doesn't have any part to play-as if He can't provide for our business, doesn't understand the industry, or can't help us scale it. The truth is faith and business go hand in hand. Guess who gave you the gifts and skills you use in your business? Guess who gave you the finances needed to start your business? Guess who gave you the courage to finally do it even though you were scared? That's all God. The business you own is actually God's business. Do you see a pattern here? God is already in your business because God is in you-and you are in your business. I want to challenge you to start thinking about your business as a place where you can invite God to partner with you. Our business problems are not outside of God's control. He wants to be immersed in every aspect of our lives, so don't leave Him out of this part. I created this 7-Day Devotional to help you do just that. I pray this devotional will help remind you that God cares not only about you, but He also cares...