What if finding your next client looked less like a sales pitch and more like joining a roundabout?

In Episode 006 of Better Bible Business, Paul Erickson explains The Roundabout Principle: a practical approach to meeting people, earning trust, and discovering opportunities without forcing the relationship. Instead of colliding with people at an intersection, learn to come alongside them.

Three actions to remember: • Be where people are. • Be interested. • Come alongside.

“We don't trust people we collide with. We trust people we collaborate with.”

And remember: business isn't merely about turning relationships into opportunities. Business also gives us opportunities for relationships—because people matter to God.

Be smart. Be good. Be humble. Be active.

CHAPTERS: 00:00 Introduction: The Roundabout Principle 01:33 Why I Love Roundabouts 02:41 Why I Loathe Intersections 03:29 We Trust People We Collaborate With 06:13 The Three Steps of the Roundabout Principle 11:06 People Matter More Than Opportunities 13:53 The Biblical Roundabout 18:02 Be Active: Map Your Roundabouts 19:30 Closing Thoughts & Resources

🎁 FREE: 7-DAY BIBLICAL ENTREPRENEUR DEVOTIONAL Seven short daily readings designed to realign your heart, head, and business with God’s heart: https://BetterBibleBusiness.com/7days

Better Bible Business helps Christian entrepreneurs apply Biblical truth to the practical realities of business, leadership, marketing, work, and life.

Have a question about applying biblical principles to business? Have an idea for a future episode? Or a comment about this one? I'd love to hear from you. Visit: https://betterbiblebusiness.com/ask

SOURCES & FURTHER READING

The Holy Bible, King James Version Galatians 6:10 Matthew 5:41 1 Thessalonians 5:11 John 14:16

Never Split the Difference: Negotiating As If Your Life Depended On It Chris Voss with Tahl Raz Buy on Amazon (affiliate link): https://link.amazon/B0byJKff2

Affiliate disclosure: I may earn a commission from qualifying purchases made through the affiliate link above, at no additional cost to you.

Do you really understand your customers—or do you merely know about them?

Demographics and psychographics are useful, but understanding your audience requires something more: getting out of your chair and sitting in theirs.

In Episode 005 of Better Bible Business, Paul Erickson explores how biblical others-mindedness can transform the way we understand and serve customers. Through real-world examples from grocery delivery, heavy-equipment repair, user experience design, and even getting fired for advocating for the customer, we’ll examine what it means to look out the window instead of into the mirror.

We’ll also consider insights from Theodore Levitt, Steve Jobs, and David Ogilvy—and a simple framework you can begin using today:

Listen. Understand. Serve.

The customer isn’t always right. But the customer is always worth understanding.

Be smart. Be good. Be humble. Be active.

CHAPTERS:

00:00 How to Understand Your Audience 04:00 Loving Your Neighbor in Business 07:12 Knowing About Someone ≠ Understanding Them 12:02 Start With the Customer 18:34 What Business Are You Really In? 21:29 Why I Got Fired 24:54 The Customer Isn't Always Right 27:13 Listen. Understand. Serve.

🎁 FREE: 7-DAY BIBLICAL ENTREPRENEUR DEVOTIONAL Seven short daily readings designed to realign your heart, head, and business with God’s heart: https://BetterBibleBusiness.com/7days

Better Bible Business helps Christian entrepreneurs apply biblical truth to the practical realities of business, leadership, marketing, work, and life.

SOURCES & FURTHER READING

The Holy Bible, King James Version Philippians 2:3–4 Matthew 22:39 Proverbs 18:13

Theodore Levitt — “Marketing Myopia” Harvard Business Review: https://hbr.org/2004/07/marketing-myopia Buy on Amazon (affiliate link): https://link.amazon/B06Qw0tHm

Steve Jobs, Apple Worldwide Developers Conference, 1997 “Start with the customer experience and work backwards to the technology.” Video: https://youtu.be/EZll3dJ2AjY

David Ogilvy — Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud advertisement (1958–59), The New Yorker Headline: “At 60 miles an hour the loudest noise in this new Rolls-Royce comes from the electric clock.”

You can’t be great at everything—and you were never meant to be.

In Episode 004 of Better Bible Business, Paul Erickson explores specialization, mastery, and faithful stewardship through an unlikely starting point: a root canal.

What does the Bible say about developing skill? And how can Christian business owners faithfully concentrate what God has entrusted to them so they can become exceptionally useful in serving others?

We’ll look at Proverbs 22:29 and biblical examples of skilled work, along with examples from Steve Martin, Bruce Dickinson, and Steve Jobs — yes, seriously!

Three questions to consider:

• STEWARDSHIP: What has God entrusted to me? • MASTERY: What deserves deeper development? • SERVICE: Who becomes better served if I get exceptionally good at it?

Be smart. Be good. Be humble. Be active.

CHAPTERS:

00:00 Introduction 00:19 You Can’t Be Great at Everything 01:06 Lesson From a Root Canal 04:45 What Specialization Really Means 13:34 Why Specialize? 19:36 Specialization is Mastery 24:19 Specialization is Service 26:09 Conclusion

🎁 FREE: 7-DAY BIBLICAL ENTREPRENEUR DEVOTIONAL Seven short daily readings designed to realign your heart, head, and business with God’s heart: https://BetterBibleBusiness.com/7days

Better Bible Business helps Christian entrepreneurs apply biblical truth to the practical realities of business, leadership, marketing, work, and life.

PHOTO CREDITS:

Steve Martin & The Steep Canyon Rangers Photo: TriviaKing at English Wikipedia, via Wikimedia Commons Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 (CC BY-SA 3.0). Cropped/scaled for video.

Bruce Dickinson at Campus Party Photo: Campus Party Brasil, via Wikimedia Commons Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 (CC BY-SA 2.0). Cropped/scaled for video.

Steve Jobs at Macworld 2005 Photo: mylerdude, via Wikimedia Commons Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 (CC BY 2.0). Cropped/scaled for video.

Ed Force One (Boeing 747) Photo: Foto-dus, via Wikimedia Commons Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 (CC BY-SA 4.0). Cropped/scaled for video.

SOURCES & FURTHER READING

Scripture referenced: Proverbs 22:29; Ezra 7:6; Psalm 45:1; Exodus 31:1–6; Exodus 35:30–35; 1 Chronicles 12; 1 Chronicles 25:6–7; 1 Kings 7:13–14; Romans 12:4–8; Philippians 1:10. Scripture quotations are from the King James Version (KJV).

STEVE MARTIN Biography: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Martin

Born Standing Up: A Comic's Life — Steve Martin https://link.amazon/B0dKtktX6

BRUCE DICKINSON Biography: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruce_Dickinson

What Does This Button Do?: An Autobiography — Bruce Dickinson https://link.amazon/B05hoQPDL

STEVE JOBS Biography: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Jobs

Steve Jobs — Walter Isaacson https://link.amazon/B03Vwx1cJ

FURTHER READING So Good They Can't Ignore You — Cal Newport https://link.amazon/B0fHsRXsW

Some book links above are Amazon affiliate links. If you purchase through one of these links, Better Bible Business may receive a commission at no additional cost to you.

VINCE LOMBARDI “Perfection is not attainable. But if we chase perfection, we can catch excellence.” Vince Lombardi — Quotes https://vincelombardi.com/quotes/