New Venture Lab: Equipping Christian Entrepreneurs

Question

I have been considering starting a business that would provide pastoral care for businesses that want to have this service available to their employees.  It would involve providing a chaplain to have small group Bible studies at the business site, biblical counseling, and or seminars on biblical methods of solving employee conflicts.  I was wondering what your opinion of this business would be.  I am also concerned over my tangible credentials.  I have public school teaching experience and have owned my own landscaping company.  I have been a missionary and have led various small groups including an intergenerational Sunday school class.  I am finishing a special education master’s degree but I only have a few credits towards a seminary degree.  What advice might you give?

Answer

The good news is that there is very little risk in trying your idea out.  All you need to do is contact some companies to see what their interest level is in your service.  Since this is a services business and you are the main service provider, there is little cost to you testing your concept or even providing free service (think of it as a prototype) for a period of time to a few initial customers to test out the concept.  Christian business owners that operate a Christian business might be your best prospects.

The bad news is that there may be perceived risk by business owners - even Christian business owners.  I can imagine employee complaints or even lawsuits over the fact that the business brought in a "Christian" counselor with a very "narrow" view of what the employee should do about their problem.  You could also find yourself in a situation of counseling females and putting yourself in a situation that is inappropriate and fraught with potential dangers of emotional entanglement as counselors can sometimes get too involved with their clients.  The business may find that they need to bring in a Jewish counselor, a New Age counselor, etc. to fairly "represent" their employee base's belief.  It can be a bit of a tricky wicket for business owners to navigate the potential issues that come out of hiring a "religious" counselor.

Net, net, I thing the issue is one of you getting in front of several business owners to test the idea and not so much your credentials.  You can make several phone calls and send out several emails with your elevator pitch (click here for more on elevator pitches) of what you offer and you will have all the feedback you need on whether or not your idea is going to work.  Be sure to be ready to answer the questions about what exactly your services are, how much your services cost, and how you will bill for them (by the total number of employees, by the employees that seek your services or by the hour, etc.)