Your business isn't yours.

Pick an operator, not an audience.

Most business advice online comes from people who've built audiences and not businesses. Growth can hide a lot of problems.

Running a business is very different and much more difficult. You have to understand how to lead people, how to run finance, how to manage your operations, how to build culture. That's what it takes to operate a business, and I've spent my whole life as an operator.

Ask any coach you're considering: do you run a business right now?

Faith and business aren't separate.

If you're a Christian CEO, your business and your faith are not two different things. I used to treat them that way myself. Career was one thing and faith was another. They were never separate.

When you understand that it's all God's, and you're simply a steward of what He's given you, it changes your whole mindset. It shows up in your words, your job descriptions, the way you talk to people, and praying before meetings. It's not about being loud.

A Christian CEO coach should help you run the business like it's His, not yours.

One inch wide, ten feet deep.

Good coaching isn't an hourly trade. If you make a 10% better decision on a million-dollar deal, what is that worth? If you change the infrastructure of your company so it runs on something more meaningful than just making money, what is that worth?

Someone promising to 10x your sales is selling peaks and valleys. Easily gained, easily lost. Look for depth on the few things that actually move your company.

What it looks like in a real week.

Cash. One CEO I'd just started coaching texted me about a cash flow squeeze. There are deeper ways to fix cash flow, but sometimes you need quick cash. I recommended a quick pay discount: 2% 10, net 30. Pay within 10 days and get 2% off. 2% of $70,000 is $1,400, and he got $70,000 thirty days sooner. That's breathing room.

Family. Another client was in a tense text thread with a sibling in the family business. I asked him: what if an employee had sent that text? He had an instant answer. There was his answer. Treat family in your business with the same care and fairness you'd give your best employees, and don't play favorites.

The blind spots. Most founders I coach are good at sales and operations by default. The two Achilles heels are almost always marketing and finance. Knowing your P&L, your balance sheet and a cash flow forecast is part of being a well-rounded CEO.

The truth, in love.

A coach who only agrees with you isn't helping you. Scripture says to speak the truth in love, and that's the job.

Five questions to ask.

• Do you run a business right now?Operators coach differently than people who only built an audience.
• Do you see a business as stewardship?If it's God's, the goal isn't just making money.
• How many people do you coach?Depth needs a small group.
• Will you tell me the truth?In love, but the truth.
• Can you help with marketing and finance?That's where most founders are weakest.

A small group, on purpose.

I coach Christian CEOs and owners one on one, on Zoom, with in-person work in Coeur d'Alene. You don't have to believe what I believe. But I want to spend that time with people who see their business not as theirs, but as something they're stewarding.

Apply to work with Adam ↗

More on how I coach: Christian business coach · North Idaho & Spokane · The book: Biblical Business