A small business thrives because of Amazon customers

At the Amazon blog, a story about Daphne’s Headcovers:

But when the economic downturn rippled through the golf industry, it left lost jobs and stalled careers in its wake. Jane worried whether they would be able to come out the other end of the recession with their family business intact. “When the recession hit, the golf industry went into shock. Business nearly came to a halt. Our phones weren’t ringing and our golf pros weren’t ordering. They were terrified—and so were we.

“I had many sleepless nights worrying about my employees. How could I keep them without orders coming in? These people had stood beside me and the company through thick and thin, and I didn’t want to have to let them go.”

Then they met a former customer at a golf trade show, and Daphne’s Headcovers got a second chance at success. “He had carried our line when he ran his own golf shop, and now he was a buyer for Amazon. He explained that because of the millions of customers Amazon has, they can support both large businesses and small ones like ours. He said he knew we dealt strictly with dealers in the golf industry but asked if we’d consider placing our headcovers on Amazon. Not only did we consider it—we considered it a prayer answered.”

While their golf-pro business struggled through the economic downturn, orders from Amazon customers started streaming in, making up for lost sales and then some. “Every day during the recession, we’d look at our headcovers on the Amazon site and get excited. Every day more orders would come in, and we’d do a happy dance as they multiplied.

“Now, not only have we ventured out of the golf-pro niche, but we’ve worked our way out of sleepless nights and back into a productive and happy place. My staff is smiling and singing in the warehouse, my front office staff is busy again, and we’re selling headcovers all over the world.

“Since we started selling on Amazon, not only have we survived, but all our employees have kept their jobs. In fact, we’re doing better than we were before the recession. We are thriving now because of Amazon customers.”

via Daphne’s Headcovers Success Story.

When Presenting, Remember to Pause

Jerry Weissman:

Watch any Woody Allen film and you’ll see the effect of stress on speech tempo. Most of his characters — as reflections of his own public persona — are neurotic people who get into complicated situations. As soon as the plot thickens, the characters’ words accelerate like a Ferrari on the open road. This is amusing in a Woody Allen film, but it can damage a presentation because the rapid pace not only makes a presenter appear harried; it garbles the presenter’s words. The latter problem is heightened when — in our globalized world — presenters speak to audiences for whom English is a second language.

That is where we come full circle to the lesson from foreign films. Professional actors pay as much attention to the cadence of their speech as they do to the tone of their voices; and so, when actors end their sentences, they pause to punctuate the meaning of an idea. Presenters are not actors, but their ideas do fall into logical phrases.

Presenters would do well to give their audiences — whether native English speakers or English-as-a-second-language speakers — a moment to absorb their information by pausing at the ends of their phrases. The best way to create a pause is to drop your voice at the ends of your phrases. Sadly, many presenters today do the opposite; they let their voices rise at the ends of their phrases, producing the dreaded “Valley Girl” effect. If you concentrate on dropping your voice, you will not only sound more authoritative, you will add those valuable pauses.

via When Presenting, Remember to Pause – Jerry Weissman – Harvard Business Review.

Jim Reiner’s 6 thoughts on handling the messiness of urban business as mission

Faith Venture Forum:

  • Make sure it’s a calling from God: I can’t over-emphasize that God needs to be the center of why you do this because you will face unique difficulties.
  • Partner with other ministries such as transitional homes: Don’t try this on your own. There are churches and other ministries willing to partner to provide the holistic care individuals rebuilding lives require to succeed.
  • Get the proper balance of salinity in the organization: You need an adequate level of “salt” in the organization to deal with challenges. At Belay Enterprises, we like to promote people from within the program up to leadership because they have a unique ability to speak into the lives of others. But we need to be very careful about also balancing that desire with others with a ministry heart that are not rebuilding lives from the same challenges of addiction, homelessness and prison. It is very difficult getting the balance right but if it’s off kilter it can harm the organization.
  • Find time to pray: If you’re truly serving people with significant barriers to employability, you need God to show up to succeed. As a business person, sometimes it’s easy to overlook the importance of time in prayer. God loves to guide us and show up when we call out in need. I’ll say it again: remember to pray.
  • Learn how to be a peacemaker: Ken Sande’s book, The Peacemaker, is a fantastic resource for creating a culture where conflict is resolved in healthy, biblical ways. It is an absolute necessity to learn this skill.
  • And strengthen your faith muscles: Constantly seek ways to trust God more. Call on the Holy Spirit to build up your faith and the other fruits of the Spirit. Over the years, I’ve learned that the opposite of faith isn’t the lack of belief, but unnecessary worry and anxiety. Seek God and learn to trust Him more.

via Faithventure Forum: 6 Thoughts on Handling the Messiness of Urban Business as Mission.

Teenagers are protesting. Since when have they cared?

Alexis Gray:

Youth from Tall Turf Ministries and Madison Square Church joined together to take a stand on Madison Ave and Hall Street on May 3rd. Dressed in graduation caps and gowns, the teenagers stood up for their education, showing everyone that they care about their education. Silently and nonviolently, the teenagers protested holding signs that read, “Prepared for jail, thanks.” “The color of my skin does not equal my aptitude.” and even signs that said, “If teachers don’t believe in me how am I supposed to believe in myself.” People stopped by to question what this protest was about.

These teenagers are us. They are America’s future and if they believe they are not getting a fair education or that the school system does not believe in them, how are they possibly supposed to succeed?

Read the whole thing: Teenagers are protesting, since when have they cared? | The Rapidian.

Here’s the Oil Field Bible, put out by Oilfield Christian Fellowship

I love it:

THE OILFIELD CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP OIL PATCH BIBLE MINISTRY

Just about every day we take orders for Oil Patch Bibles, tracts, stickers and Making the Trip With God on Route 316 books.   Since January 2005 over 125,000 Oil Patch Bibles in English and Spanish have been printed and distributed.  Here are just a few of the testimonies we have had from people responding to this ministry.  You to can become part of this highly successful ministry.  Go to the Bible request form to request your Bibles today.  Go to the contact form to ask about any other questions or material requests.

Short Stories from People Getting the Oil Patch Bible

I thought you might enjoy reading some of the emails I get from people around the World.

I want to share how I got my Oil Patch Bible.  The customer provided a trailer with benches on each side with a big fan at the end of it. It gave the frac hands a chance to cool off during the heat and a place to sit. I walked up and saw a small book that caught my attention. Oil Patch, then I saw the rest of the cover. I asked if it belong to the guy it was setting next to and he said no. No one else new where it came from. (Still not sure where it came from) I picked it up and read the testimonies. I have shared it with several of the guys and a ministy is starting up. I had been asked if I could get some more? I said I would look into it.

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I am currently working at the Texas Crude office here in Houston.  The receptionist had the bible, “God’s Word for the Oil Patch, Fuel for the Soul” on her desk.  I asked her permission to look at it and of course, she said yes.   I was so excited to see such a wonderful version of the Bible, small enough to keep in a pocket or a purse, yet making a huge impact on the person reading it.  I will be ordering several in the near furture…..one for myself and the others to pass out to my family and friends who also work in the oil industry.   Please continue your success in getting Christians together, not only in our industry but through out society, as we can never have enough believers.

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We plan to take these bibles to 2 Rigs in Nigeria – KS Endeavor & Pacific Bora

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Please send me this Holy Bible so that I may find the right way to salvation. Thank you!

So many stories of lives changed. Maybe you have a similar story. We would love to hear it. Email it to me at the contact us form.

Maybe you would like to light up someone’s life with the love of Christ. I urge you to get involved by letting your co-worker know you care about their eternal destination through a gift of a Bible. Jesus said if you are a follower of Christ then you are to let them see the light in you. The Bible says that God’s Word is a light unto our paths. There is not an easier way to tell someone you care for them then to share your light with others.

Maybe you would like to be able to tell a story like these or learn what it means to become a Christian. Click here and find out. You will be glad you did.

But my mouth would encourage you; comfort from my lips would bring you relief. (Job 16:5 NIV)

May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, (2 Thessalonians 2:16 NIV)

“Father God, may those that are feeling down and discouraged find hope and joy in you Lord. May they see your love and grace and be filled with your spirit. In Jesus Name, Amen!”

Maria Franks Martin

via Oilfield Christian Fellowship | Bible Ministry.

Is it really free? Yes. Here’s a church-created alternative to payday lending

Re: Grace Period: Is it really FREE? How is it possible to borrow for nothing?

ARTICLE: This excerpt below is from a December 2011 article in Christianity Today, and is evergreen:

When Drewery called the organization, she heard something different from the usual payday lending pitch. Wiles explained that Grace Period was a savings cooperative, one you join as you would a gym. Clients enroll as a member in the club for at least one year. Grace Period offers the new member an initial loan and establishes a workable repayment plan. Typically about $50 is deducted automatically each pay period from the member’s paycheck to cover loan installments and modest club dues. These automatic payments continue for 12 months. During that time, the initial loan is repaid and additional funds accumulate as an emergency savings reserve for the member. At year’s end, members can withdraw funds and close their accounts or remain members, earning interest on their savings.

“They look at how much you make and how much they believe you can pay back,” Drewery says. “They tell you [that] you don’t want to borrow more than what you can pay back every paycheck and still have enough to live on….”

Largely through word-of-mouth endorsements, Grace Period’s membership has increased 55 percent from 2010 to 2011, to nearly 4,000 members. It’s on track to loan $1.73 million in 2011 through its partnership with Pittsburgh Central Federal Credit Union.

Grace Period wouldn’t have gotten off the ground without support from Krebs’s church. ACAC members raised $750,000 in new deposits at the credit union, providing initial capital for the new venture. “Everybody has got a couple hundred dollars sitting around for a rainy day,” Krebs says. “We just asked people to put their rainy day money where it could help somebody else.” Dan Moon, then CEO at Pittsburgh Central, was already inclined to do something new to service the Northside community. “We were taking a risk on a newly formed business,” he admits. But when he visited ACAC and met the leadership and church members at an open house showcasing the Grace Period initiative, “We saw this whole church committed to this. They were ready to back up these loans.”

Today, Grace Period’s member dues system provides cash on hand to cover the operating expenses of the nonprofit. New club members are constantly being added into the loan pool; meanwhile, older customers pay off their loans but remain in the club. Their capital is then available to help out new members, turning previous debtors into creditors.

Close to Grace Period’s modest storefront on E. Ohio Street, financial temptations abound: a Money Mart shop, two Rent-a-Center stores, and a Jackson Hewitt tax office offering “refund anticipation loans.” To avoid these debt traps, Krebs says, “People need to have a systematic savings program—and that’s what we offer.”

Drewery recently stopped in to Grace Period to close her account. She and her family are moving to South Carolina to be closer to her ailing mother. She and Tony Wiles talked and prayed for a half hour, she says. She could hardly believe it when he reminded her that she’d saved $1,700.

“Who’d have thought that I could save $1,700?” Drewery exclaims. “I keep saying, ‘If I can do it, anybody can do it.’ “

via An Ichthus in a Sea of Loan Sharks | This Is Our City | Christianity Today.