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  “What advice would you give a young man like me?” This question came to me following a talk I gave last week at a Business as Mission conference in the Midwest. I had just spoken to a group of 25 young professionals and a recent graduate of a state agricultural university came up to […]

This question is sometimes asked by North American kingdom business persons who own or manage businesses: “What can I offer as consultant, advisor, mentor or coach?”  It is a natural question for business persons living and working in a very different context from a business startup in Asia, Africa or the Middle East. What is business

This article by IBEC Ventures Training Director Larry Sharp was originally published in CPN On Point. The last edition of CPN On Point presented an introduction to Business as Mission (BAM), as a means of gaining access to strategic and unreached places through building businesses worldwide. This article takes that discussion to the next and

Once upon a time four business people flew to a faraway country in Asia to observe and encourage three kingdom businesses. They came as learners but also ready to share suggestions and consulting expertise as requested.  They represented a cumulative 90 years of business experience, a recent MBA graduate among them and all four were

Columbus Day is celebrated the 2nd Monday of October – a memory of the first non-native American to come to our shores and stay with a permanent presence, paving the way for European expansion.  Columbus was an interesting and colorful character demonstrating some admirable qualities but also some qualities that are detractors for any successful

Dave Kier is a business owner in western Iowa in the agriculture sector.  IBEC Ventures is blessed to have Dave as a board member. He contributes much wisdom and hard work to IBEC, as well as demonstrating what “Business as Ministry” really is.  He writes daily devotionals for members of his family and his employees. 

Patient capital can be described as long-term capital where the investor does not expect a quick profit and results but forgoes the immediate return for a more substantial result such as social impact.  For financial investors patient capital sits between traditional venture capital and traditional philanthropy; between development and foreign direct investment. Earlier this month

IBEC Leadership Team: Larry Sharp, James Mayer, Gwen Rapp, Gary Willett and Robert Bush It is a good thing for every person and every organization to periodically step back, assess who they are, what they have accomplished in the past, and where they are going in the future.  The Leadership Team of IBEC Ventures, led

The last three blogs have highlighted the Triple Bottom Line of a BAM (Business as Mission) business. The goal is to be profitable and sustainable The business creates jobs and other community value Spiritual capital is created –  Kingdom values and a pathway to following Jesus I find it helpful to have practical models which

The last two blogs referred to two of the three bottom lines of Business as Mission (BAM): profitability and sustainability; and secondly, the creation of value, particularly job creation.  The third bottom line is the development of spiritual capital – making followers of Jesus. The concept of the Triple Bottom Line has been around since