I will not pimp my audience.
“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits.”
- Matthew 7:15-16a (New King James Version)
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As my brand continues to grow and I’ve been in the process of evaluating its next steps, I’ve been thinking hard about the magnitude of responsibility that comes with running a business as a Christian. I really want to make money (who doesn’t!?) and I desire to do the work I’m doing full-time very soon, so bringing a nice flow of income in is something that’s very top of mind for me right now.
At the same time though, I’ve been kind of hesitant to employ some of the strategies I see some of the big name gurus doing because, honestly, some of them feel a little manipulative. And, as a believer, I never want to put profit over the people God has given me to serve.
Now that sounds all nice and religious doesn’t it? You might even be thinking, aww Marlena you’re such a good, wholesome Christian 😇 But, in the midst of my oh-so-pious thoughts about this God checked me a little bit with this question:
If what you’re selling is actually helping people, why wouldn’t you encourage them to buy it?
If I’m being honest, when I was caught up in my feelings about this I was thinking about a particular influencer and how much they sell on social media and God was basically like, don’t come for them! They’re creating and adding so much value in people’s lives that it’s a good thing they’re selling. If they weren’t, there are hundreds of people right now who would not have gotten the breakthroughs and insight they needed to move forward in their God-given businesses.
Straight up, there’s nothing wrong with selling a good product.
If what you have to offer is bearing fruit in people’s lives, adding value and positive change, by all means, SELL IT!!!! Don’t get caught up in that religious mindset that tries to shame you for selling. No. God brought you into business for a reason and He knew when He called you into it that selling was a part of it. People need what you have to offer and, 9.9 times out of 10, they’re not going to buy it if you don’t tell them about it.
Your only responsibility, as a representative of Jesus, is making sure that what you’re selling is actually a good product. Don’t be out here peddling trash just because you know your audience will buy it! Now that’s not ok. It’s your job to thoroughly vet out your offerings and make sure they’re actually useful to your audience.
That means you may have to resist the temptation to jump on the bandwagon of various trends going around in business just because they’re hot and you know they’ll sell. For example, maybe you could offer a course but if you know deep down that your audience will buy it but probably not actually complete it, don’t sell that to them. Don’t just take their money. (now don't get me wrong, if you know they're going to start that course the minute it hits their inbox, sell that thang!!!)
All I'm saying is that as a Christian business-owner, you’re responsible for going the extra mile to make sure that you nurture and protect the customers God has blessed you with. Honor His trust by creating high quality products that produce high quality results. Not only will that truly help your customers, but at the end of the day, it will point them to a God that truly loves them and wants the best for them.
Still hungry? Eat some more //
1 Corinthians 3:10-15, Matthew 5:13-14