Faithventure Forum

When I ask successful entrepreneurs about their own startup experience, many regret not having found a business mentor for advice and support during that season. Others wish they had been more intentional about their most impactful activities like how important it is to focus on marketing.  Some share they underestimated the significance of hiring the right team members at the right time or didn’t understand how the loneliness of leadership hurt their effectiveness and relationships. What makes this list interesting is all of these items could have found a solution in intentional, high-impact mentoring with experienced business leaders. This becomes even more true for Jesus-following founders who want to live out their faith through their business. It is not common to find startup advice online about how to help one's employees flourish, how to build a business that blesses its customers, or, for some ventures, how to hire individuals who were formerly homeless.  Support

I'm a big believer in the career and life skill program we use at Bud's Warehouse to train people rebuilding lives from addiction, homelessness and prison.  A big part of this intensely relational program is our weekly hood-check where everyone shares what is going on in their life . I'm such a fan of this activity because of the tremendous camaraderie and personal breakthroughs I've witnessed over the years during this time.  I firmly believe every company would see big benefits by implementing a weekly hood-check.  So it was exciting, a few years ago, when an entrepreneur with a new start-up company called me bubbling over with stories about starting a hood-check at his business. Every workday they are gathering in the morning to implement pieces of the Bud's Warehouse program in a for-profit setting.  He told me it's turned into one of the most incredible experiences of his adult life. The employees have grown incredibly close to each ot