By Pastor WTM Dlalisa
This concept of business diversification is strictly a biblical concept and all its roots can be traced from the Bible. God is the originator and the wisdom behind what has since become a business concept.
The idea of building several and various income streams has been described and presented by many authors in business management books as their idea. However, one can trace this concept and the wisdom behind from the Bible scriptures. In this article, we define, describe and explain this concept from the Bible and how it can be applied to benefit entrepreneurs today in our communities.
Diversification is strictly a “biblical concept”. God addressed this concept as early as the book of Genesis in the bible. God is a strong proponent for building various income streams as an entrepreneur.
The language of the bible uses is “rivers” that water your garden. The idea here is that one must never depend on one river to water the garden. The garden is life whilst the river is your source of income or business. In practice this means that you find that one garden dries up and then you can water from the second source or second river.
Why is this? It is because every business goes through challenges and various cycles. When the cycle is at the bottom, your second river can then sustain you and your family. Therefore it is vital to develop various business ideas and generate income from many sources.
Let’s look at what God said in the Bible according to Genesis 2:8-15. The Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there He put the man whom He had formed.
Verse 9: And out of the ground the Lord God made every tree grow that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
Verse 10: Now a river went out of Eden to water the garden, and from there it parted and became four riverheads.
Verse11: The name of the first is Pishon; it is the one which skirts the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold. Verse 12: And the gold of that land is good. Bdellium and the onyx stone are there.
Verse 13: The name of the second river is Gihon; it is the one which goes around the whole land of Cush.
Verse 14: The name of the third river is Hiddekel; it is the one which goes toward the east of Assyria. The fourth river is the Euphrates. Verse15: Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it.
For you to have wealth in this world there are 4 rivers that must be the source of your income. For you to have abundant life, these four rivers must always flow into your life. This means for one to become wealthy, it is crucial that you develop at least four sources of income or at least four businesses. One business is just not enough.
Here God described four rivers or streams flowing into the paradise called the Garden of Eden and then went on to make the statement that for our lives to become the paradise God wants us to have at least 4 streams or sources flowing into our lives – particularly in the area of finances where our income from a job would be just one stream or river!
These new streams in our lives, finances, and ministry would include not only the development of new ways and methods, but also the discovery of new ways of doing old things and new ways of solving problems and overcoming challenges.
It would also include investment opportunities and avenues to own and earn “portions” in businesses plus multi-dimensional approaches to ministry and divinely ordained relationships to fulfill God’s desire for us.
The first river is called Pison. It is the river that flows round the land. The land of Havaliah has gold. Gold signifies wealth. For you to enjoy wealth in life there must be something that brings in a lot of money into your life. That is where witty inventions come in. Here and now God can give you an idea.
The second river is called the Gihon. The Gihon River spreads through the land. It talks about investment. And you should start investing now. Don’t just sit down and say your one business is okay. Let me tell you about the principle of investments.
During the time of abundance in Egypt, the bible says that Joseph spoke to Pharaoh and said save 20%. Of your salary make sure you can save 20% every month. Invest it in shares. There are a lot of shares that are good in this country. Buy shares. Deny yourself. Put yourself under a condition where you are buying the future in your present circumstance. Don’t sell your future.
The third river is called Hiddekel. Hiddekel is a river that represents where your job comes in. You have a job. That’s your salary – an income stream.
The fourth one is river Euphrates. The river Euphrates represents the favour that God will use people to bless you. Has anybody ever thought about this – that you will stand up and say, ‘God moved somebody to be a blessing today.’
Think about that and expand your horizon. In order to help entrepreneurs of Tembisa to implement what we are learning via these articles, I have set up what I call the JOSEPH ACHIEVERS MENTORING (JAM) program.
The program is based on Joseph in the bible who rose to prominence despite his background. I am encouraging all Tembisa residents to join. This program is aimed at supporting all residents of Tembisa but it targets mainly young entrepreneurs, young professionals, university students and high school learners. It offers a range of support initiatives including career guidance, training and mentoring.
Many have enrolled in the program and receive business management training and mentoring. I challenge you to enrol for JAM in order to propel your life or you business to new heights. To register on JAM, send an email to dlalisa.rhi@gmail.com or call the numbers below.
Join us for our next seminar where we will deal with access to funding and digital marketing. The seminar is already confirmed for 21 September 2017. Our confirmed conference partners include ABSA, Nedbank, SEDA and Blueberry Brands and Promotions. This seminar is scheduled from 09h00am till 3h00pm at RoyalHouse International Church (532 Entshonalanga Section, Tembisa). To register for free entry, send your email to dlalisa.rhi@gmail.com
For more information, contact Pastor WTM Dlalisa on 083 395 1165
