Vision Logo Circle
Vision Logo Circle

How To Build Your Business with a Kingdom Vision

by | Thu, Aug 16 2018

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For some Christian business people, they have become used to detaching their faith from their business vision. However, as Peter Irvine co-founder of Gloria Jean’s Coffees reveals, by aligning our business with a Kingdom mindset can deliver greater purpose, engagement and overall impact on society.

Through his own personal journey, Peter will share how God revealed that his business was not to be separate to the Kingdom of God and was in fact to have a Kingdom Vision driving its operations. Through Gloria Jean’s Coffees Peter Irvine and his business partner built 400 coffee stores in Australia further expanding into 39 countries with 800 coffee houses.

After selling the business in 2014, Peter travels the globe sharing with business people what it takes to build a business with a Kingdom vision.

What’s Your Vision For Your Business?

In a fast-paced and digitally connected world, it’s easy for your business to run without any clear vision. The years go by, just going with the motions, and the bottom line becomes the sole indicator of the success or failure of your business model. But as a Christian business owner, something is deeply flawed with this approach.

Peter grew up in the business world and only viewed work as something that paid the bills. After climbing up the corporate world as Managing Director of a large advertising company DDB and then launching one of the most successful franchises in Australia, it was spending time in the Scriptures that God started to confront Peter about the small vision he had for his life and business.

“When you focus on something you start to plan and work towards it,” says Peter. It is the opposite of working aimlessly or just passively accepting whatever comes your way.

Peter’s exposure to hundreds of business owners and the issues they face developing a clear vision for their business, has inspired him to partner with John Sikkema, Chairman of Halftime Australia and launch “Business On Purpose.” Like Peter, John has coached many business people who have lost direction and focus in life. This lack of vision can affect people in all age groups, observes Peter:

The solution involves re-focussing and thinking about what God has for their business and their future.

God’s vision for your business is greater than you think

But with God, His vision is going to be more than you can think or imagine and as Peter wisely points out, He will get you out of your comfort zone.

It’s the small steps that make up a business of great worth in God

God is patient with us and building a business with a Kingdom Vision takes time to get the foundations right. “It’s the small steps,” notes Peter “that lead to the bigger steps and along the way there are lessons to learn.” It’s these lessons that Peter imparts to Business On Purpose participants, so they don’t have to suffer wasted time and valuable resources chasing lose ends when running their business.

If we are building a business without a clear purpose based on God’s Word, what can happen is that business growth brings distraction to business owners or they get too fixated on the machinations of the business; the process, the people, the money.  These things start to get worshipped, instead of putting God first as the giver of all life.

If you look in the Bible, God wanted His people to listen, to learn and to grow.

With God at the centre of your organisation, you’ll enjoy new hope as you build a business that will bear fruit for eternity rather than one that is transient and feels like it’s just treading water.

Stop going through the motions and start to focus on the bigger picture

You need to feel alive when you run your business but unfortunately a lot of the fire can go out when you are busy trying to make things happen, dealing with challenges within and outside your business. Without you being aware, the everyday stress of managing can blur the bigger picture of why you are in business in the first place.

Many consultants are aware of this universal dilemma and can make a lot of money instructing business owners to develop a vision statement. While some guidance can be helpful, in Peter’s experience it is really quite a straightforward exercise to establish an effective vision statement for your business. Peter coaches his clients to answer two simple questions:

  • What are you passionate about?
  • What do you think that God is birthing in you?

After writing a response down, Peter asks clients to put themselves in their customers’ shoes and ask what product or service they would like to receive. By taking the time out to step outside of your business and reflect on what your business is really trying to achieve, it is possible to find fresh perspective and insight to reframe your business model.

Peter acknowledges that spending time with the Lord has been the incubator where he has found new business ideas.

It’s by having time apart from the busyness of running a business that a new thought can leap out and Peter will start to think through and see how this idea can be implemented in his business.

Change is inevitable for growth

Since the Global Financial Crisis in 2008, Peter observed that businesses have been operating in a new paradigm.

While in the past it typically took the economy several years to get back to normal after a recession, this time round there is no normal to go back to. “People research and buy differently” says Peter and the solution is to get rid of the old model! Peter advises business owners to accept fundamental changes to how they approach their  marketing, sales and HR practices which includes tapping into business solutions and networks that have are made available through the internet. Business owners must change their operating model so that they not just survive this new economy but thrive in it as well.

If you are feeling overwhelmed by the enormity of the changes required, Peter coaches business executives to step “out of the office” for even two hours, to get a bird’s eye view of their business. This involves sharing your business model with business leaders you admire and discussing risks and opportunities you are facing. By opening up and becoming transparent, you are putting yourself in a position to receive constructive feedback from respected entrepreneurs and business experts who can help you move forward. When you get back to your business, you can start to implement some of the solutions suggested, fast-tracking the change management process and experiencing real progress over time.

Choose a business mentor with a Kingdom mindset!

“You need to be deliberate when it comes to making major changes in your business,” encourages Peter. Most business owners need more that a one-off session to improve their business model. Peter has witnessed throughout his career that God often speaks through other experienced business people that have navigated the journey of wins and losses to speak into his business. Peter suggests developing a close connection with a couple of people that you admire in the business world so you can connect with them on a regular basis, discussing challenges when they arise.

Another popular avenue for business owners is to obtain a sounding board for ideas as well as a source of confidential support is through engaging the services of a business mentor. While there are many people in the marketplace offering business coaching services, Peter advises that finding a business mentor who has a Kingdom mindset will make all the difference in the long-run.

From years of consulting with business owners, Peter warns of the fork in the road that many business owners eventually arrive at.

Peter’s advice for business people who find themselves in this predicament is to not procrastinate. “People need to get unstuck and start to move forward,” shares Peter. The key is tapping into a supportive business network quickly so you can find momentum again. Business On Purpose is a business mentoring program that unlocks the potential in Christian business owners and entrepreneurs to build purpose-driven business that will impact many lives and communities with the Kingdom of God.

Peter Irvine

Want to hear more from Peter Irvine?

If you want to find out more from Peter Irvine on what it means to have a business with a Kingdom vision, visit businessonpurpose.com.au.