A Chinese proverb says, “The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago; another best time is now. You ought to have sown that seed a long time ago, but you did not; another best time is now.” Each time I come across some financial truths in the Bible, what usually comes to my mind is the question Philip asked the Ethiopian eunuch in Acts 8:30: “Do you understand what you are reading?”
Most of the time, we all read some part of the scriptures, but I put it to you that until we have somebody to explain the part to us, we might not understand what it says in full, especially as it relates to financial empowerment.
1. Financial Analysis from the Bible
Let us do a bit of financial analysis of the Book of Genesis 8:22, which I believe we ought to have read at one time or another: “As long as the earth endures, seed time and harvest… will never cease”
There are two basic “times” or “seasons” in that verse of the scriptures: seed time and harvest time. If you do not sow a seed, you cannot harvest. No matter how anointed, tongue-speaking you are.
If you kneel by an acre of land and you begin to pray and decree, “Father in Jesus’ name, your word says, ‘I should decree a thing and it shall be established, re-bo-bo-skala-ma-ma-lagabos… in the next three months, let this land bring forth maize in hundred folds. So shall it be in Jesus’ mighty name, Amen.
2. Knowledge in Wealth Creation
I ask you, what will this man of God harvest in three months? I am sure he would harvest weeds and not maize. Why should that be? Did he not speak in tongues? Wealth creation is not about speaking in tongues; it is about the work of your hands.
Can I shock you, if what you do all the time is too fast and pray and use? If you are into oil for wealth, you can never be wealthy unless your prayer point is for God to bless the work of your hand. The first and last time bread came down from heaven was during the time of Moses. Since then, to date, man has had to work for his bread.
3. More Analyses of Sowing the Seed
Ask any farmer, and he will tell you that if you plant maize, in 90 days, you are sure of a harvest, a good harvest if you weed it on time, at least two or three times. If you drop just one grain in the soil, it will come back as a cob of maize or two, having close to 100 grains.
What percentage of profit is that in three months? Sweet potatoes are even a miracle. You will only plant the seed, and you will harvest Sweet potatoes; “As long as the earth endures, seed time and harvest… will never cease”
4. Knowing the Kind of Seeds to Sow
I noticed that many people are not aware that there is a need for training before one sows the seed. In fact, one needs training to know the type of seed to sow, as this will determine the type of harvest.
As we speak, many farmers are not aware that there is hybrid specie of maize that can give them more yield. Up to now, species do not know there are hybrid pawpaw, orange, guava and mango that can be planted around the house instead of flowers that will only add aesthetic value.
5. Knowing the Code of Business
No business does not have a code; it is the secret of the business. You have to learn from someone who is in the business before you can start. I can give you a practical example. A woman saw “akara chips” and fell in love with them. I advised that she should discuss the possibility of training with the producer. She did, and the producer gave her a bill that she felt was too high.
She concluded that because she is a caterer, she should be able to produce the chips. The money she wasted in her various experiments was close to the amount the producer asked for. At the end of the day, she went for training. Today, she can boldly call herself a producer of a product.
6. Learning in Business Is Continuous
There is no shame in learning what you do not know; it has nothing to do with your age or education. You might be a graduate who is interested in selling onions or palm oil; you need to become an apprentice under those mamas who are “stark illiterate” in reading and writing but degree holders in buying and selling of onions and palm oil.
Procrastination has always been the thief of time. You have been procrastinating enough; 2025 is coming. If you do not plant that seed now, when will you expect the harvest?
7. Consider the Soil to Sow the Seed
Let us assume you now have the required knowledge of the business, you have the right seed and the right soil; do you know that harvest will depend on NATURE? If the rain is too much, it can affect your crop. If the rain stops unannounced, you might lose all you planted. In the same manner, there is no successful businessman who has never failed.
Many people are scared of failure, some because they have tried and failed, and vowed never to try again. It does not work that way. I have seen someone who invested close to a million naira in poultry and lost everything.
8. Learning from a Poultry Keeper
I have seen those who do not have any other business apart from poultry keeping. So, the man who lost should not quit but should go to those who are successful so as to learn more about the secret of the business.
I plead with parents; there are so many ways today that people take to make wealth. As a child of God, some of these ways are not meant for us. Let the young ones know that any form of dubious business, scam, 419, Yahoo plus, and so on, cannot give anyone lasting riches, not to mention wealth. Those who get money through such means would only appear to be rich for a period of time; in the end, their lives would be full of pain and sorrow.
9. Think of the Seed You Have
What seed do you have in your hand now? When are you going to sow it? How much have you spent on buying data for your phone this year? How much have you spent to recharge your Gotv, STV, or Startimes? Can you decide to discipline yourself as of now to set aside a compulsory “token” seed money every month for sowing?
All the seeds of data and subscriptions you have sown, the harvest has been the various channels you are watching and the Facebook and WhatsApp that you check all of the time. Those seeds are not what can give you financial empowerment.
10. Think of the Business Idea You Have
What is that business idea you have been holding close to your chest for some years now? The initial capital for your dream business is about one million naira, and all efforts to raise such a huge amount have not yielded any fruit. Can you go back to the drawing board and reduce the initial capital to just N100,000? I know your first thought might be,” It is not possible.”
I can assure you, it is very possible. If you plan to start a school and the money to rent a place is not available yet, what else can you do that is related to education and it will not cost you much?
Can you sell instructional materials? Can you sell educational books? Can you start a lesson in your house for just an hour every day? Can you plan for free teaching every Saturday in your church using the church premises? Just think of something.
11. Think of Starting Small
You cannot reinvent the wheel. None of us can be a producer like Aliko Dangote, but all of us can learn how to sell other people’s products. Much more than that, we can learn how to re-package other people’s products. I mentioned the woman who was producing akara chips; someone gave me a well-packaged kulikuli (caked groundnut).
I love the packaging more than the content. I got in touch with the producer through the address on the package, and he told me where he got his nylon from. I also got a few of his nylon. I made a very nice sticker to be placed on the nylon. I bought akara from the woman and re-packed it in the beautiful nylon.
The selling price was almost double! Who says you cannot do the same for groundnut, kuli-kuli, plantain chips, popcorn, ogi, robo, and so on? Groundnuts are cheap in the northern part of Nigeria. Buy it from there and re-package.
Conclusion
It is time to think of what we can do apart from the one we have at hand to make money legitimately. The seed you sow today will become a big tree that serves a lot of people. This is the essence of this article. Read further on this page.
Editors
adminate
