How to run your business like a Catholic business
Well hey everyone!
So this question was asked by one of our contributors, Leidy, founder of Susurro Bendito, and I have to be honest with you, I prayed before even beginning to write on this subject. But I must say that she has a point. It’s sad but also understandable, how we as Catholics might fall into the rhythm of competition and unknowingly being selfish in our business model. It almost seems to creep in and since every other business is doing it, what’s the harm?
I have a personal story regarding this question. Starting Loreto House Creative, something that I always catch myself doing is looking at the follower number. Is it increasing or decreasing? Are people engaged in the content? What should I do differently? It hit me like a ton of bricks one day, “it doesn’t matter how many people follow me, those who are following me are my reason for doing this and they should be my focus.” So as I sat pondering how I had first, slipped into only caring about follows, to then changing my thought process, I realized that a community is only alive if it has members. It doesn’t matter if it’s a community of 2 or 5 million.
I am praising God for giving me this revelation so early on, because it keeps me in check. It keeps my priorities straight and focused back onto the reason for why God even placed this on my heart in the first place. I almost feel that one of the hardest callings of owning a business is the idea of knowing it will be a constant battle to fight against running your business with integrity vs. running it like a secular business.
The only way I think we can all fight against this is through constant intercession of God and His Holy People, the Saints. By inviting them into your day to day with your business, they will gently nudge you if you're getting off track. Inviting them into your thoughts also helps to order your thoughts and help current and future decisions to be made with integrity.
Another way I find helpful is again remembering WHY you started this in the first place. Was it to gain a following? Was it to be “the BEST” out of your competition? Or was it to impact the hearts and lives of individual people? I know for a fact, that if you are here reading this, you identify with the latter statement, hands down. God sees this intention and is ready and willing to show up for you in the ways you need Him to. You can rest easy knowing that God sees your work and wants you to be provided for and is willing to make that happen.
Another note on this is the idea of running a business with integrity and grace comes with the sad reality that it will take longer than any secular business. The growth needs to be measured differently because you are not motivated by dollar signs and follows, but are motivated by hearts helped and changed. You almost need to come up with a better way of “tracking” your success since your goals are absolutely different from a secular company.
My suggestion on tracking would be asking yourself your “why” and then figuring out what it means when you’ve accomplished that “why”. What actions or steps did you notice when you realized you were accomplishing your goals? Hold yourself to a standard that makes sense for you and your goals.
If it is monetary, there is nothing wrong with that, then ask yourself, “If I hit this goal, what will that mean for the people I’ve helped or impacted?” By helping X amount of people, my monetary goal will also be met.
All this to say, it really is frustrating to witness secular business goals creep into the thoughts of those with really GOOD hearts and intentions. (including myself in this number) But, by recognizing that you have the tendency to think that way, plus taking actions to rewire your brain and thought patterns, God will see this effort and bless you. Make sure to invoke the intersection of the Saints in your everyday life, because they will also help keep your thoughts pointed in the right direction.
Until next time,
Love, LHC