Conquering the Pressures of Business

As Published in The Answer Magazine, January 2010
by Ken Walker

THE ED HAN STORY
Stockton, California USA

I hadn’t even had a chance to organize the day’s list of sales calls when my boss called me into his office. I went to see him with a smile on my face. In just two weeks, I would take over part of his operation and become a first-time business owner.

“Uh, oh,” I thought when I saw his serious look. “I wonder what’s wrong?”

“Ed, I’ve been talking to my accountant and attorney,” he said. “They’ve advised me not to sell the publication, but instead to walk away from it. I can’t sell the book to you.”

My heart sank. My wife, Lorri, and I were on the verge of buying one of his three telephone directories. We planned to take out a loan to cover the costs we couldn’t fund from cash flow. More significantly, we had mentally stepped into ownership.
Seeing the alarm on my face, he held up his hand.

“You’re the only one who knows,” he said. “After the distribution of my last book, I’m going to send out thank-you letters to our clients. All you have to do is send a follow-up letter explaining you are the new phone book in town. Just pick up where I left off.”

It took a minute for what he said to sink in. He wasn’t selling us the directory. He was giving it to us!

When I walked through the door 18 months earlier to take my first-ever sales job, I never dreamed that I would one day own a piece of the company.

My entry into business came at a point of crisis. My last job no longer paid enough for us to survive. When a friend told me about an opportunity in sales, I grabbed it.
I quickly discovered there’s a reason fewer than 25 percent of those who go into sales make it a career.

Though I started out on the phone because it was less confrontational, my boss told me, “What you need to do is take these business leads and get out face to face with people. You’re much better in person.”

Overcoming fear of rejection wasn’t any easier in person. I might encounter eight “no’s” before finding a “yes.” Still, as I persevered I learned that once I overcame my fear I had the ability to talk to people, make presentations and close the deal.

After a while, I talked to Lorri about buying one of the directories. I had some background in graphic design and was confident I could handle ad layouts. What I didn’t realize was the all-consuming nature of a small business. I used to think living on 100 percent commissions was tough. Being responsible for everything that goes on is pressure to the max.

We started out with just the two of us. Though Lorri had worked in retailing and previously owned two small businesses, publishing a directory was a new way of life.
Ironically, sales became the easiest part of the process. The four months of production called for 12-to-16-hour workdays, followed by back-breaking distribution of up to 40,000 phone books. We enlisted various community groups and all our children for the latter, paying the kids a nickel for each directory they delivered.

The key piece to our success was our relationship with Christ. There were times when our faith in God was the only thing that kept us going. Each day we prayed and asked Him for favor with whomever we met. Daily, we had to trust God to carry us through obstacles.

God responded to our prayer. Each year we saw 10 to 20 percent growth. Over a five-year period, our revenue doubled. God gave us innovative ideas. We became the first directory in our area to run full-color advertising. We were also the first to include a Spanish-language yellow pages insert. Some of the changes we pioneered showed up later in the phone company’s directory.

We also decided to do some “moral editing.” We omitted listings for adult bookstores, psychics, and other such services. On one occasion I was in the shop, laying out some headings. I sensed the Holy Spirit leading me to call a toll-free number that supposedly provided weather reports. When I did, it turned out to be for a phone sex operation. Needless to say, we didn’t publish that number thanks to that word of caution from the Lord.

After the first year, we realized this publication also gave us an opportunity to tell others about Christ. Using a guide from the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, we included a page that told people about the steps to peace with God.

Though we met success, at the end of five years our family was burned out by the time demands. Lorri looked for a buyer and found one. That company paid us a 150 percent premium on our annual sales, far more than our original offer for the directory.

Once the deal closed, I went into a new career in insurance and financial services. Ironically, this job includes plenty of sales calls, but I no longer fear them.

As a nine-year-old boy, I said “Yes” to Jesus. What I didn’t realize then was that receiving Jesus as my Savior and Lord would prepare and strengthen me for crisis to come, including my parents’ divorce the following year. As that young boy, I turned to the Lord Jesus in my time of need, and He sustained me.

During my pre-teen years, doubts and fears would plague me at times, but I stayed true to the Lord because I knew, by His track record in my life, He would always care for me. By the time I entered high school, I was a confident, committed Christian.

My grandparents lived lives of consistent service to God. They lived out, in a very real way, the relationship they each had with God. I could not have asked for better examples to guide me.

So yes, a young boy’s faith in Jesus can grow and sustain him into and through his manhood as he discovers God’s plan and purpose for his life.

As a man in business, I’ve learned that Jesus, the son of a carpenter, knows the pressures and pitfalls of the marketplace. Through BMF, I’ve met many other businessmen who are looking for guidance or solutions to workplace problems. My lifelong journey with Jesus has shown me that when we ask, He gives wisdom, guidance, and creative ideas that can get us around obstacles, bring solutions to problems, sustain us through economic downturns, and reset our direction when we’ve made costly mistakes.

In the economic downturn of 2008-09, many have struggled with slow or inconsistent levels of business. The bottom line is that more sales and/or improved profits won’t buy you happiness.

No matter what business you’re in, following Christ is the best call you can make.

(An insurance and financial services professional with a national company [www.allstateagencies.com/EdHan], Ed Han is also President of the Stockton BMF Chapter [www.bmfusa.com]. Also an author, his first book is titled "Identifying God" [www.edhan-idgod.vpweb.com]. He and his wife, Lorri, have eight children and two grandchildren. They attend Lakeview Assembly of God church [www.lakeviewassembly.com].)

The Lost Coin

I recently finished teaching a series on “Kingdom Parables”. A few weeks ago I was meditating on the parable of the “Woman & the Lost Coin” (Luke 15:8-10). This is one of the lost-and-found parables of Jesus. There is truly more joy in heaven when a lost soul is restored to faith in Christ. But something else occurred to me from this story. Practically speaking, what did the woman really loose? One coin out of the ten was probably equal to a day’s wages. I suppose that could stress a person out. But I think there was something deeper in her panic. The tenth coin that she lost was her tithe! And, according to Malachi 3 with the tithe goes the blessing.

Now, I understand that tithing is a controversial subject. I don’t see tithing as a command to new covenant believers. The New Testament command is to love – God, you, believers, neighbors and enemies. That encompasses just about everybody, don’t you think? Tithing is an expression of love for God and everyone else! The servant of the Lord owns nothing. Everything belongs to the Master. Regular, consistent tithing supports the local church that provides ministry to your family and others. Giving the tenth portion of our increase is a guideline that expresses we understand that all we have is our trust of the kingdom of God, and that we are answerable to Him for how we manage 100% of these kingdom assets. In the new covenant the tithe is an expression of commitment and faithfulness to the Lord. Whether Old or New Testament, God rewards expressions of faithfulness!

Then the next question to be answered is this. Where did she lose her tithe? If she can find it, the blessing of God can be restored to her. I suppose, when she retraced her steps, she realized the tenth coin was lost in her house. Now, I have heard people say they can’t afford to tithe; that is to make a commitment to regular consistent giving to the kingdom of God through the local church. Truth be told, I will be the first to admit, we have made just about every financial mistake in the book, but we have always made a concerted effort to maintain the tithe as an expression of our faith toward God.

When I started to think about losing the tithe in the house, the thought occurred to me how wasteful the American Christian is. We leave the lights on, waste gas, through food away, over eating, over spending, pay exorbitant interest rates on credit cards. Not to mention that we are gluttons for entertainment and high tech gadgets. Ask yourself, “Could I find the tithe, if I removed the movie channels from my cable subscription, or cut the cable all together? Could I find the tithe, if I planned my meals and ate out less? Do I need to keep the gym membership, if I don’t go? Etc.” We need to get back on a reasonable household budget until we find the tithe again. Try paying your tenth first, than live on the rest. And don’t forget to save for your financial future.

When the woman in the parable found the tithe, she had a party! There will surely be a party in the house of God when 100% of the believers give 100% of the tithe! The local church is struggling today with only 20-30% of the membership faithfully contributing. Think of what we can accomplish for the kingdom of God when all believers bring the entire tithe into the “storehouse”. When we prove ourselves to be faithful with the little that we have now, God will be able to trust us with more. Would you count it an honor to garner our Lords trust?