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Historian Richard Morris suggests that there are seven key Founding Fathers.  Predictably they are John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison and George Washington. If you are an entrepreneur or a business owner, you may identify most with Benjamin Franklin. Arguably, he may have been the most successful inventor, entrepreneur […]

This is the story of Mwana Wa Pepa (MWP), a Tanzania company that gives hope in more ways than one and represents its hopeful meaning: “Don’t lose hope.”  This story demonstrates how entrepreneurs think; it shows how problems are solved; it defines the Quadruple Bottom Line of BAM;* and it shows God at work, transforming

The word ‘retire’ is an interesting word requiring context for a clear understanding.  I know someone who retired at age 52 (but began another career); military personnel can retire after twenty years; I am eighty and am considered ‘retired’ but still working. Common definitions state phrases like “leaving one’s job and ceasing to work’ or

This article by IBEC board member and author of THE STEWARD INVESTOR, Don Simmons, applies to those in leadership of Business as Mission businesses, and to any business. Larry W. Sharp, BAM Support Specialist, IBEC Ventures Larry.Sharp@ibecventures.com Have you ever felt like life—or the stock market—is cutting away at everything you’ve built? Lately, financial headlines

It is good sometimes to think about the most basic of things.  Ideas like ‘why am I here?’ and ‘why am I doing this?’  We who are devoting our time and talent to business, especially Business as Mission, need to remind ourselves why we are doing it. I graduated from business school in 1969, one

I hear the word “entrepreneur” a lot these days, as America is increasingly referred to as an entrepreneurial economy.  However, the word is used with numerous nuances which begs the need to define exactly what one means with its use. It is often confused with words like creativity, invention, innovation, or disruption. Here, I want

Are you unsure or intimidated about teaching about BAM in your small group or church class? How about using videos which provide a case study or questions for discussion?   Here is a way to help your small group or family understand Business as Mission (BAM) using videos to start a conversation. What is BAM? * 

What do the following have in common: Nutella, Ferrero Roche, poverty, Oregon, agronomy, Turkey, unreached people, and Business as Mission? When I was a child growing up in northern Canada, each Christmas my dad would buy a gigantic bag of nuts still in the shell.  Part of our Christmas tradition was cracking open the shells

Most of the world just celebrated Labor Day on May 1,  which is often called May Day. It is considered to be the workers day and it reminded me to think again of what the Bible says about work. Larry W. Sharp, BAM Support Specialist, IBEC Ventures Larry.Sharp@ibecventures.com ************* What does the Bible say about

I just got off the phone with one of the “Greats’ of the BAM world.  I have been privileged to know him and work on projects with him for twenty years.  It got me to thinking, “I know a lot of the BAM greats and I learned a lot from them.  Why don’t I share