Integrating Faith with Entrepreneurship: Navigating Divine Intent in Business

Have you ever wondered how faith can transform your approach to business, guiding you to set goals that resonate with a higher purpose? I'm Angela McKay, and in today's episode, I take you along my personal journey of weaving spiritual values into the ambitious tapestry of entrepreneurship. We'll navigate the often uncharted waters of aligning business with divine intention, as I open up about how prayerful planning and a heart open to God's plan can redefine what success looks like in the boardroom.

This discussion goes beyond mere profit; it's about setting a course for your business that honors a greater calling. Together, we'll uncover the transformative power of starting and ending each day with prayer, fostering divine encounters and a profound sense of purpose. I'll share the challenges and victories of surrendering control to a higher power, all while providing practical tools for establishing core values and a clear vision that will anchor your personal and business growth.

Wrapping up with the Laundry Room Diaries, I invite you to absorb the wisdom and heartfelt gratitude I've discovered on my faith-filled entrepreneurial journey. As I recount how my faith came to full bloom in my 40s, reshaping every aspect of my existence, I hope to inspire you to dance through life with joy, giving glory to God. Stay tuned for the next installment of shared inspiration and blessings, designed to uplift and encourage you on your path.

Chapters

• 1:30 God-Driven Goal Setting in Business
• 5:34 Power of Prayer in Business
• 14:53 Setting SMART Goals for Success
• 26:15 Laundry Room Diaries

Transcript

Speaker 1: 1:30

Hey friends, welcome back to the Laundry Room Diaries. I'm Angela McKay, your host, and today we're going to take some time and really talk about a topic that I feel very passionate about. If you're new to the show, I want you to understand that my goal is to help those self-made CEOs, the business moms, the busy stay-at-home moms and network marketing kind of the background where I come from to really build their business, to get clear vision in their business and to really kind of have a foundation of faith in that business space. And so today I'm going to talk to you about a topic that I often love sharing, because I loved coaching entrepreneurs about how to set goals and then how to create plans to really crush those goals. But, more importantly, I like to talk about what really the key ingredients are for the goal. And so often entrepreneurs this is a new topic they don't often have God-driven goals in their business. Although they're faith-based entrepreneurs, they just get to those. You know I want to make this or I want to do that, and so today this is going to be a little bit different, probably, than a goal training that you've heard before, and my hope is to you is it's going to open your eyes to really what your business can really become.

Speaker 1: 2:56

When I started to really pivot into a place where I no longer wanted to place my faith on the shelf and just be an entrepreneur because, let's face it, society tells you not to do that because it might turn people off and instead I felt like a pulling and a calling from God to really put this in my foundation. It started to change every element of my business, and one of the first places I started was with my goal setting. I wanted to go and not just create goals for achievement, but I wanted to make sure they were faith-based, god-driven goals, something that aligned with my faith and my purpose and my belief system. And so today's episode I want to unpack that a little bit with you, kind of what that looks like, because this might be the first time you've ever heard this topic this way, and so I want to give you some tactical steps. I want to really kind of open your eyes to this, and my hope and my prayer for you today is that you receive this and you get excited in a new way about your journey in your business, setting goals and really serving your purpose and God in your business.

Speaker 1: 4:13

So let's dive in, and I want to talk to you about first the first step I do, and the first step that kind of got me going in this space was I had to pray on it. You know, I know it sounds so simple like just pray on it, but I really had to pray because I didn't know what to do. And there was a time where I felt the pressure of the world saying, angie, if you, if you share faith-based teachings in your coaching business, this is going to hurt it. And I realized now that was the enemy right and and. But what I did? And every time I get into that stirring, where I feel the pull, I sit in prayer and I talk to God and I just ask for guidance. I just want to be obedient to him. And what I really did was I started to pray for that guidance. Like Lord, what is it that you want me to do with my business? Yes, I have a purpose, but sometimes and most of the time, friend, we are just a small portion of what is to come with the business that we have, like God ultimately has designed for you, who he wants you to impact. You know what you're going to achieve and do with um, all the fruits of of the labor Right, and so I was really sitting in obedience there.

Speaker 1: 5:34

I sat down every day and I put prayer in my DMO Hashtag prayer in my DMO. I love that daily method of operation. Or you might have you know your to do list it's a fancier way to say it, but for me, before I, you know, check, but for me, before I, you know, check my emails or make a social media post or talk to a client or a leader that I work with. You know, I wanted prayer to be the first step and every single day, and I also wanted it to be the last step, I wanted to give gratitude and I wanted to give thanks and praise every single day, and we'll talk about that.

Speaker 1: 6:15

But starting my day, my DMO, with prayer was such a transformational space and what I love about that is I would give my myself an hour and quiet and I would just talk to the Lord and say, like you know, today is for you and Lord, I don't know what you have planned, but I would just talk to the Lord and say, like you know, today is for you and Lord, I don't know what you have planned, but I am just open for your guidance. I know you're going to bring me the people that I need to speak to. I know you're going to put my focus on the things that you need me to accomplish and I trust you in every step of the way. And I just ask to remain obedient to you, father, and I just want to serve you at everything I do, my business, my life, everything is glory to you. And when you start to speak to your father like this, it's amazing what he does for you and I started to just feel the focus and I would get these amazing conversations kind of like out of the blue and it's just like it just always blows my mind.

Speaker 1: 7:24

But every single day, my day starts in prayer and that is my DMO. My faith is in my foundation and I teach entrepreneurs that I have so many Christian women and men come and say, hey, I don't want to feel like I have to put a hard line in my life and put business over here with the world and everything else family and everything. I stand for my belief system over here in the lane of faith. I want it to all give glory to him, and that's what we're supposed to do, friend, and what I want you to do is to just give yourself permission to erase the lines, the enemy transformative. It's going to be such a different feeling in your business.

Speaker 1: 8:21

You wake up with a purpose beyond what you write down as your why. Because God really does open you up to so much more, and so that is really the first step. You really want to just have. Pray for the wisdom and the discernment and the clarity, just asking God to show you the path that he wants for you to take. He wants you to open up and let him guide, let him be the leader. Right, and that's hard for some of us national porn leaders. But you know what we want to make sure that we understand who's in charge and be ready to listen, because I'm here to tell you it's going to be changing courses sometimes from what you thought your day was going to be to what he has planned.

Speaker 1: 9:07

But you have to trust that in the faith process and letting go of, sometimes, things that don't align with his plan. Now, I could speak on that so much, because there's been times in my business career where you know, like there's this hard topic and it doesn't align with me and I have that struggle and I often just I go to prayer and say, like you know, I'm really having a hard time Maybe with maybe if there's a policy or there's a person that might be acting a way that is challenging, and and I always go to him and I understand that sometimes we just have to to let go of things that don't align. We just have to let go of things that don't align and that's challenging, to trust God when our human instinct is to take control or let the worldly things pull us. But, friend, I'm here to tell you, like, giving discernment and just trusting him and everything will be such a game changer and how you set your goals and how you navigate your business and what it does for others.

Speaker 1: 10:18

Step two is defining your core values and your vision. You know, I think it's so important to understand, like, what principles guide your life and business, as a mom, as a network marketer, as a businesswoman and coach. You know we all have unique values that really drive us and you got to write those down, you got to take a little time to unpack that. So it's almost like just set everything aside, turn off the notifications, and I want you to give some time and thought and prayer to this, like what are your core values and what is your vision? And really try to be specific with this, because once you have your core values, that's where you create your vision statement. That's where things start to really grow from and bloom. It's like those, those little tiny seeds that are planted, saying I believe you know an X, y, z, or my vision is this when you start to really harness that in a focus session, you start to really get clarity on what you're doing and why you're doing it.

Speaker 1: 11:31

And and oftentimes when I'm talking to people who are struggling, they just don't. This is the missing link. They haven't unpacked this and they don't. They have a, I say, kind of a blurry vision. It's like picking up like prescription glasses that aren't yours and you're looking through and it feels kind of wonky and you're like whoa, I feel dizzy, I feel out of sorts, I just feel off. A lot of times in business, when you don't have this clarity, that's exactly how it feels. I don't know what to do, I don't know what to post, I don't know what I stand for, I don't know why I'm showing up today. Hey, maybe I just won't even show up because the lack of purpose is there and so you can start to see. It's super important to understand all of that in the sense of having your beliefs and your values in place, really understanding your vision, because it's going to be reflected both in your business goals and your commitment to God. Like, think about what you want your business to represent and how can it make an impact in the world.

Speaker 1: 12:38

Oftentimes when I'm talking to women, especially in the network marketing field, people come in and they say like I just I want to be able to fund my dream. Right, I always say it's like a vehicle, it doesn't have to be like the J-O-B, it's the opportunity that can get you where you want to go. And a lot of times I have women like have philanthropy on their heart or they're like you know, I just I want to help someone. That's been on my heart, but I don't know how, and they use that network marketing opportunity or that digital marketing opportunity or that, that little business idea that's been in the back of their head and it comes to life and a product or something and it can create some income that can fund, ultimately, their passion and their dream and their calling. So I think sometimes people say like hush, I don't want to get in network marketing. I'm not a salesperson and I always say no.

Speaker 1: 13:33

But what is your passion? Like? What do you want to make an impact on? Like you know what, what. What is your legacy? What do you want to be known for? Like you know, you may not want to be known for selling XYZ product, but you know what People love these products and if you sell them it can fund you and you can turn that around and you can go put it towards your passion, you can fund a charity or you can, you know, do something for someone else and make a greater impact. You can, you know, do something for someone else and make a greater impact. And I love kind of shifting that perspective, because oftentimes we just get kind of in that worldly way of thinking like hours for dollars, or I'm just doing this to get this and it's not that at all. And in fact, when you start to really put faith in the foundation of your business and understand that it's so exciting I know right now someone is hearing this right now and someone's having that light bulb moment that because I experienced that myself, I'm like so excited I can hardly talk, but I'm just saying, like you understand that it's so powerful and it's it's an opportunity that you give gratitude for, and that's part of the goal. But it's the vision, it's the statement, it's the belief and it's the passions that come out so good.

Speaker 1: 14:53

Step three is specific. You've got to set specific, measurable achievements, like you've got to be relevant and have time bound goals. We always talk about SMART goals, right, and I just think it's so important to understand. You want specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time bound goals. That's the acronym for SMART. If you've been in any kind of training, you probably heard that that's not my original OG thought, but I like it though, because it helps me remember. You know, I want to be specific when I'm setting my goals and I want to be able to measure them. You want to absolutely be able to measure them. How are you going to know if you're doing it if you can't measure it, and how do you do that? You have to set them to be achievable, relevant to what you're really doing in the moment, and then time bound, and this framework is going to help you not only ensure that your goals are clear, but they're actionable. So let's talk about that. So specific goals. You're really just defining exactly what you want to achieve, right, you can't be vague. Clarity is key. You've just got to be like. You can't be vague, clarity is key. You've just got to be like, you know.

Speaker 1: 16:08

I want to let's say I speak in network marketing a lot, because that's been my primary place for 15 years is I've coached and I've built organizations, right, and so I always like kind of just default to that. But if you're not a network marketer and you're a small business owner, this applies to you too. That. But if you're not a network marketer and you're a small business owner, this applies to you too. But for an example, it's like saying I want to recruit three people into my business this week Right, that's very specific. How many? Three when this week? Okay, and so that's good. Or if you're a small business owner, you're like I want to generate, you know, $250 in sales per day this week Okay, you've got a very specific goal. Like your goal is to make this amount of money by this time Very effective, right.

Speaker 1: 16:57

Then we go deeper measurable Well, you're gonna be able to measure it. Did you do it or not? You know at the end of the week. Cause you set a specific goal, you Did I get the three in the week or didn't I? That's measurable and you can pivot from that. Did I get the $250 sales per day? Add it up at the end of the week. Did I do it? It's measurable.

Speaker 1: 17:18

Okay, now you have to make sure that it's achievable. Right, you've got to make sure you set goals that are realistic, within reach. Stretching yourself to be great right, you want to stretch yourself. Don't set low entry goals because that doesn't push you. You want to get a little uncomfortable. But setting possible goals, that impossible goals, that leads to frustration. That's not going to help you either.

Speaker 1: 17:43

And I I really speak on this especially with coaching clients, because when they come in, half of the battle is belief and the other half of the battle is really strategy and setting goals, appropriated goals for what they want to achieve. So we're talking a lot about this before we get into business plan and then an action, right? So you have to understand that you've got to be able to achieve a goal. It might be a little bit more of an ask and work. You might have to do a little bit more than you normally have to push yourself and grow. But sometimes in network marketing I have someone come in and they're like I want to make $10,000. I feel like that's the catchphrase everywhere on social Learn how to make $10,000 in a month doing nothing, hashtag, lazy, lazy life, millionaires or whatever's trending, which I hate to see because it's not about that.

Speaker 1: 18:40

But but don't get so like, okay, that's a big, audacious goal. Could it be done? Yeah, are you willing to align with the work that's necessary to do it? Sometimes there's a misalignment there, right? So you've got to understand scaling and saying how about saying that's like a goal in 90 days and let's scale this? Let's let's look at what we, what we want to put in as time and what we really have as time to put in. You know, cause, when I'm like how much time can you put behind your goal? And they're like well, I have Saturday morning for two hours if little Johnny's soccer is canceled, but other than that, I just probably will work my lunch hour. Ok, that's great, you do have time, but does it really? Does it really match the goal really? Does it really match the goal? No, and so, instead of leading people through frustration, you got to have this really honest, transparent conversation that says listen, I know you. Why do you want 10,000 a month. Get into that conversation. Well, I want it because of this and okay, so that is the ultimate goal. That's more of a longer term goal. But what can we do today to start moving in that direction?

Speaker 1: 19:55

And when I navigate people through the goal setting process, what happens is people have achievements because I'm not setting them up for failure. You know, have you ever been with someone's like yeah, I just started, like it's so easy, it's going to happen, you can do it 10,000 a month, blah, blah, blah, whatever. And it's like shame on you because you know that you're setting them up for failure, because it's not how you do it. And so you really got to have achievable goals and really understand you want to stretch yourself, but you don't want to frustrate yourself with impossible spaces. You got to keep it relevant. You really have to ensure your goals align with your core value and your vision. They also need to support your business purpose. That's why it's so important to do step one and get that clarity what are your beliefs, what are your values, what is your vision? Because when you start to put the goal action into motion, you have to know what am I doing? Is this relevant to my goal. Is this relevant to my purpose? Is this relevant to my passion and my life? Calling Like, I'm doing this so that I can. You know you got to really stick in that space Because oftentimes, if you're just chasing money, if you're just chasing paychecks, you're going to burn out.

Speaker 1: 21:16

You're going to burn out because there's nothing fueling that other than money. And we all know money is a tool. It is not going to buy you happiness. It's not going to make you sad, although you might be frustrated if you don't have the tools to live your life. It's a tool. It does not give you satisfaction and if you sit in a space where money is making you happy, that's a topic for another day. But understand it's a tool and it's understand the relevance. Do you do what you do? Because it aligns with your vision and your beliefs and your core values. So important to know your purpose.

Speaker 1: 21:53

Time bound, time bound parts of your goal. Setting a timeline to achieve your goals this is so important too. I see so many entrepreneurs come in with open-ended goals like, yeah, you know, I hope, I hope, angie, I hope I do this. Hope is not a time bound. That is a waste of time. Hope is not going to get you where you want to be. Hope is an excuse waiting to happen. And in fact, you need to set a timeline for achieving your goals, because that is giving you permission to get into action and to get focused.

Speaker 1: 22:29

You know, if you always say, when people say, like I don't have time, I'm like, well, we all have time. It's like what are you using the time for, right? So when, when you're looking at that conversation, if they're making excuses about time, you got to go back up to step one. Their beliefs, their core values, their vision is they're. They're wearing the thick bottle cap glasses and they're foggy. They don't, they don't see value in it because they don't understand why they're doing it. And so it's really important to have time bound timeline achieving goals that really kind of put some urgency and help them stay focused.

Speaker 1: 23:08

That's why I always say you put an action and then you put a deadline. What's the action, what's the deadline? But more importantly, why are you doing it? Because you're going to show up if there's a reason, if you're like man, I need to put food on my family's table, like I was 15 years ago as a mom of seven crying in my laundry room and we had no money coming in our brick mortar business to hardly keep the doors open, let alone feed a family of nine, and my purpose was like, literally like I need to pay the groceries, like because we're living transaction to transaction in our business and I didn't have a solution, I didn't have a plan and I needed something so that I could get a goal and get some results. And network marketing kind of fell into my lap because I was an exhausted mom that got handed, you know, a really good energy drink at the time. So I want you to understand this Like it is super important to really stay focused on time bound, set those measurable goals and understand urgency is going to help you get there.

Speaker 1: 24:18

In conclusion, guys, I want you to just follow these steps, be on your way to creating a business and really reflecting your faith in a clear direction, I think, remembering it's okay to make adjustments along the way. Life is super unpredictable. I don't have to tell you this. We all know this. Right. It's an unpredictable world and sometimes we need to pivot, and that's okay too. If you have to pivot because something doesn't align with your beliefs, that's okay. But more importantly, it's key to keep God in the center of your business and trust him in his plan.

Speaker 1: 24:54

You know I am so grateful that I raised the line of the world that told me don't put faith in your business because you're going to lose people. I look at it today as you know what? It is absolutely everything that I have in my DMO. It is the foundation of my business and what's so great is my business has changed because of it for the better. I see him working and leading me into places and spaces that I would have never myself seen.

Speaker 1: 25:26

I've had conversations with people because I've prayed with authority and asking and saying show me Lord, give me Lord the people you want me to talk to, give me the words to use. And he never fails. And I think that is so beautiful, knowing that I'm not using my faith to gain financials, that I'm not using my faith to gain financials. I'm using my faith to fuel my purpose, to get into action, to go, make an impact. And that is a life and a legacy I am proud to live and share with my family and put my head down at night and say you know, I have a reason in life and it's not just to make money, it's to make impact.

Speaker 1: 26:15

And so, as we wrap up today, guys, I just want to say thank you for joining me for this episode. I know some of you are like whoa, like maybe, maybe this is all new to you and that's okay, that's okay. There's no pressure here ever. But I am planting a seed and I hope that you receive it and, if anything, just start praying on it, because that's exactly what happened to me one day. I just started praying.

Speaker 1: 26:40

I didn't even think I knew how to pray and I wasn't like 20 years ago. It was in my. It was in my early 40s where my faith journey really took a turn and life has been forever changing for me, and I just want to share that here on this podcast. My laundry room diaries is really just a reflection of all the lessons that God has shown me through my life journey as a mom and as an entrepreneur and as a coach and as a friend, you know, as a daughter and all the hats that I wear, and my hope is that you just get some goodness out of this show and maybe, just maybe, share it with a friend, plant the seed somewhere else and you can make an impact too. So until next time, guys, just keep, I always say dancing through life, giving it all the glory to God, and I can't wait to see you next time right here in the Laundrom Diaries. Blessings.