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Best Practices Personal Development Uncategorized

Finding Your True Calling Through the Work You’re Performing

Finding Your True Calling Through the Work You’re Performing 

Avoid Burnout. Maintain Integrity. Demonstrate Your Faith.

We often imagine our “true calling” as a far-off destination—a place of perfect alignment between our gifts, passions, and a grand, God-ordained mission. It’s the dream job, the breakthrough opportunity, the role that finally makes everything click. But what if that vision, as compelling as it may be, causes us to miss what God is doing right now?

What if your true calling isn’t “out there” waiting to be discovered but is being formed—right where you are?

Calling Is Not a Career Change

The modern narrative surrounding calling tends to resemble a spiritualized career ladder. We speak of “leveling up,” “stepping into purpose,” or “finally arriving.” Yet the Kingdom of God rarely operates through promotions as the world defines them. God’s economy runs on faithfulness, not titles.

Scripture doesn’t command us to chase an idealized version of our future selves. It invites us to die daily, to serve faithfully, and to walk humbly with our God. That means your role today—yes, the one that feels too small, too exhausting, or too invisible—might be the very furnace where your true calling is forged.

The job you show up to right now, the clients you serve, the tasks you perform, even the parts that feel beneath your potential—this is holy ground. Every small act can be soaked in the presence of God. If you let it.

Burnout Isn’t Just About Overwork—It’s About Disconnect

Burnout often begins not with too much to do, but with too little why behind it. We become drained when our actions no longer feel tethered to a deeper purpose. Integrity begins to fray when we forget who we’re truly working for.

But when we choose to treat the work we do today as a divine appointment—something entrusted to us, not just demanded from us—our motivation shifts. The long hours, the mundane routines, the conflict resolution, the spreadsheets, the customer complaints—none of it is wasted when it’s done as an offering.

Burnout gives way to burning with purpose when we remember that Jesus is present not just in the sanctuary but in every spreadsheet, shovel, sketchpad, and staff meeting.

Your Integrity Is a Greater Witness Than Your Talent

Sometimes, in the pursuit of calling, people compromise their values to reach what they believe is their “destiny.” But a calling that costs you your character isn’t from God. It’s a counterfeit.

True calling always walks hand-in-hand with integrity. The way you conduct yourself in your current assignment speaks volumes about the depth of your faith. Are you honest when no one’s watching? Do you treat coworkers with respect when they least deserve it? Do you forgive even when it costs you influence?

Each of these questions pulls your calling from the clouds and plants it in your everyday behavior.

The world needs fewer impressive resumes and more transparent hearts. Your integrity at work may be the only gospel someone ever reads.

Demonstrating Jesus Doesn’t Require a Platform

We are the aroma of Christ in the workplace—not through grand gestures or religious slogans, but through kindness, patience, excellence, and truth. A gentle word in a toxic meeting. A prayer whispered at your desk before a difficult call. A boundary drawn in love. These are not small things.

Jesus didn’t wait for a crowd before demonstrating the Kingdom. He showed up for the one. He noticed the overlooked. He washed feet when He could’ve demanded praise.

That same Jesus lives in you. And He is glorified when you choose compassion over competition, diligence over disillusionment, faithfulness over fame.

The Work You Do Today Is the Soil of Your Calling

You may not feel like you’re living your dream right now. That’s okay. Dreams can evolve, but character must be cultivated. Today’s responsibilities are not in your way; they are your way forward. God does not waste a season.

This moment—this ordinary, unglamorous, perhaps even frustrating moment—is packed with sacred potential.

Your true calling is not just about where you’re going. It’s about who you’re becoming on the way.

And if you can become more like Christ through the work you perform today, then you’re already walking in your calling.

 

 

Categories
Best Practices

Four Ways You’re Paying for Training . . . Whether You Know It or Not

By Evan Hackel

Every company pays for training. You can either pay for it up front or you pay for it through poor results at many times the cost of doing it right.  People don’t think about it this way, but maybe they should. Let me tell you a story about a company where a lack of training was costing $1.68 million a year.

There was once a chain of nine floor covering stores that was doing $12 million in annual sales. They had an overall goal to increase profits, which were sitting at an average profit margin on products sold of 34%.

Knowing that they could improve their margin if they focused on training and raised pricing, they trained salespeople to use sales tools and helped customers understand the true value the company offered.  They focused on solving customer problems by concentrating more on the customer’s needs and helping them find the right products. By demonstrating value and being better in assisting their customers meet their needs, they increased margin and sales.

As a result, the company increased their margin from 34% to 48% – a 14% improvement.  In that $12 million company, the result was a $1.68 million increase in gross profit dollars plus increased sales.  The improvement in profit was demonstrable.  The reality is that the true differentiator was the training. If they’d simply changed out the merchandising without doing the training, it would have had a much smaller impact.

Another way to look at it is that for years, a failure to train was costing that company $1.68 million a year in gross profit.  The cost of training for this company was in essence $1.68 million a per year, because they didn’t spend any money on training.   You see, every company pays for training. You can either pay for it up front or you pay for it through poor results at many times the cost of doing it right.

Are you too paying for training without knowing it? Let’s take a close look at just how that could be happening to you.

Lost Opportunity:  You Can Train Staff to Close More Sales

Let’s say that your staff should be closing 40% of sales, but currently they are only closing 30%. That means you are losing 25% of potential sales; if your company is doing $10 million in annual sales, you are losing $3,333,333 in sales.

With training, increasing a close rate from 30% to 40% is a reasonable expectation. It can mean training staff how to be more polite, listen better, present products more effectively – and ask for the order.  It is very, very doable. And if you are not doing it, you are paying for training without even realizing it.

Which is more costly, losing $3 million in sales or investing in training?

Lost Opportunity: You Can Train to Improve Employee Retention

Losing employees is costly. According to a study by the Center for American Progress, the cost of replacing a worker who earns between $30,000 and $50,000 a year is 20% of annual salary, or about $10,000. (If you’re losing employees who earn more than $50,000, replacing each of them will cost you even more.)

Let’s assume that you have 250 employees and that your annual turnover rate is 30%. So you’re losing 75 employees a year and spending $750,000 to replace them.

(You’ll also be losing money by paying unemployment benefits, losing sales during the time their jobs are not covered, and more, but let’s not figure that in.)

What if you did a better job of training employees and cut your turnover rate by 5%, from 30% to 25%? That is also very doable. That 5% improvement will pay you back more than you expect.  If you have 250 employees, you will be losing only about 60 workers a year, not 70, a saving of about $100,000 a year.

Incidentally, the link between training and retention is well documented. Well-trained employees are happier and therefore less likely to leave. And because they do their jobs better, you will have to fire and replace fewer of them.

Which is cheaper – having a high turnover rate that costs you $100,000 a year, or investing in training?

Lost Opportunity: You Can Train Salespeople to Sell Just a Little More on the Average Ticket

Let’s assume that your average customer spends $25 on each visit to one of your locations. Through training, you can increase that average ticket to $28. Your staff can learn to refer customers to other products, upsell, and apply other simple strategies.

Let’s further assume that you have 400,000 customer transactions a year. If you can train your salespeople to increase ticket size from $25 to $28, you will increase annual sales from $10 million to $11,200,000.

Which is cheaper, losing a $1,200,000 in sales or investing in training?

Lost Opportunity: You Can Train to Improve Customer Retention

If your company does that same $10 million in annual sales and your customer retention rate drops five percentage points, that means you have lost $500,000 in sales. Yet the right kind of training in areas likes sales and customer service has been shown to retain many more customers.  Again, it is “doable.” And the result can be a big improvement in profitability.

Which is cheaper, losing $500,000 worth of customers a year or training?

Let’s Review

You pay for training, one way or another.  Every company pays for training. You can either pay for it up front or you pay for it through poor results at many times the cost of doing it right.

Your company results are affected by the quality of the training your company provides. Investing in training upfront is going to provide you a 10x or greater return on your dollar.

Additionally, training is the safest investment you can make.  If you spend more money in advertising, it may or may not be effective in bringing customers to your business.  Training is about improving results with the customers you already have coming to your business.

Question, every business is different, how much is poor training costing you?  How could investing in training upfront improve your profits?

 

 

 

Categories
Best Practices Economics Geopolitics

How Solar Cooking is Quietly Changing Lives in Rural and Displaced African Communities

Let’s talk about cooking—something most of us do every day without much thought. But for millions of families across rural and displaced communities in Africa, cooking isn’t just a routine. It’s a daily gamble with health, time, and even safety.

The fuel you cook with can change everything

Give a household safe, clean, affordable energy to cook with, and you’ll see a chain reaction: health improves, women gain back hours of their day, forests start to regenerate, children make it back to school, and families get a real shot at economic stability. That’s not an exaggeration—it’s a ripple effect that starts in the kitchen.

Right now, most families in these communities still rely on firewood and charcoal. That means thick smoke, chronic illness, endless hours spent gathering fuel (mostly by women and girls), deforestation, and a cycle of poverty that just keeps tightening.

But solar e-cooking is changing the story

These systems use solar electricity—either standalone or part of a microgrid—to power clean, efficient electric cookers. No firewood. No charcoal. No smoke. And once you’ve paid off the system, there are no ongoing fuel costs. Just sunshine.

Today, the technology is finally catching up to the need. Solar panel prices are falling. Devices are internet-connected, trackable, and repairable. Digital payment platforms let families pay in small, manageable amounts. It’s becoming more affordable, more accessible, and more realistic for the people who need it most.

And here’s the big win: these cookers don’t just reduce expenses—they give back something far more precious. Time. Dignity. Possibility 

https://www.tiktok.com/@african.nyako/video/7470516333931662622

Women don’t have to spend half the day gathering wood. Girls get to stay in school. Families breathe easier—literally. Forests around communities start to come back. And money that would’ve gone to fuel stays in the household.

What does that look like in real life?

In Nakivale Refugee Settlement in Uganda, families started using solar e-cookers through a cooperative pilot. Before that, women spent up to four hours every single day collecting wood. After adopting the cookers, cooking time dropped dramatically. Girls who used to miss school could finally attend consistently. Health clinic visits went down as smoke exposure declined. And here’s the kicker—members of the co-op got technical training, creating local jobs. Some families even turned the cookers into income-generating tools.

In Kakuma Camp, Kenya, households received solar cooking kits with mobile payment plans. The systems tracked usage and enabled real-time service adjustments. One year later, repayment rates were higher than expected. Community leaders created a maintenance team, and before long, local vendors started stocking spare parts. More people wanted in. Success bred momentum.

What about the cost?

This part surprises most people. A typical household spends around $180–$240 a year on charcoal. A solar e-cooker system costs about $400. That means a break-even point in under two and a half years—and over a five-year span, families save between $500 and $800. That’s not even counting the health benefits, time saved, or school days regained.

Still skeptical? Let’s address some common concerns.

  • “But solar cookers can’t make traditional meals.”
    Actually, they can. These devices handle simmering, steaming, boiling—you name it. They’re tested locally, and updates are based on community feedback.
  • “People won’t change how they cook.”
    They will—when it saves them hours every day. Early adopters become community influencers. Training sessions help build confidence. Culturally respectful design earns trust.
  • “These things break too easily.”
    Not anymore. Modern systems are modular, meaning individual parts can be repaired or replaced locally. Technicians are trained within the communities, spare parts are stocked, and downtime is minimal.

And here’s where it gets exciting.

We’re not just solving household problems. We’re growing local economies. Repair technicians, spare part vendors, trainers, even entrepreneurs—solar e-cooking unlocks business opportunities. Microgrids and solar power become the foundation for bigger energy access strategies.

We’re also learning in real time. Because the devices are connected, usage data tells us what’s working and where support is needed. That means smarter programs, better decisions, and greater accountability.

The financing puzzle is solving itself.

Prices have dropped, but better yet—payment models are catching up with reality. Lease-to-own setups, rotating community funds, and cooperative models are removing the affordability barrier. Ownership becomes possible. And more importantly, it becomes a source of pride.

Refugee camps are responding. Rural communities are following. Ministries are taking notice. Private investment is starting to flow. And where adoption starts, innovation follows.

What we’re seeing isn’t charity—it’s smart investment.

Every solar cooker installed eliminates toxic emissions, prevents deforestation, and protects women and girls from the dangers of fuel collection. Every dollar spent delivers measurable health outcomes, time savings, and economic gains. This isn’t about dependency. It’s about agency.

 

Everyone benefits. Families. Communities. Ecosystems. Economies.

Solar e-cooking preserves cultural cooking traditions while updating the method. It doesn’t replace identity—it strengthens it through innovation.

So, what do we do with all this momentum?

We keep going
Governments must back pilots.
Funders must step up.
Manufacturers must scale production.
Designers must prioritize user needs, not just market trends.

The opportunity is right here, right now. The tech is ready. The demand is clear. The partnerships are forming.

The only thing that delays progress is hesitation. But for those who act, the transformation is real and lasting.

Solar e-cooking isn’t a trend. It’s a turning point.

So, what’s next?

We keep pushing forward.
It’s time for governments to get behind more pilot programs—not just talk, but real support on the ground.

Funders? We need you to stop waiting for perfect and start fueling what’s already working.
Manufacturers—this is your moment to ramp up and meet the demand that’s knocking.
And for the designers out there: don’t build for the market—build for the people who are actually going to use these cookers. That’s where real change happens.

 

 

Categories
Best Practices Personal Development Uncategorized

From Ego to Soul

From Ego to Soul

 A Mindful Return to the Loving Self

“When the soul is awake, it shines—a quiet light that pierces the fog of ego and the shadows of distraction, guiding us back to what is real, and what is love.”

A haunting truth lingers behind the veil of modern life: for all our technological marvels, religious institutions, and social revolutions, we remain capable—remarkably and tragically so—of committing and enabling harm. And often, we don’t even recognize it. The institutions we build and participate in—religions, corporations, even family systems—can become theaters of quiet complicity. In this way, evil doesn’t always wear a monster’s mask; it often dresses in the robes of groupthink, justified authority, or personal gain.

This is the soul’s great crisis: not simply the existence of evil, but our mind-numbed awareness of it. And here lies the hidden power of ego, the false self we unknowingly serve.

We live for it.
We protect it.
We build our lives around it.
But the ego is not who we are.

What we believe our ego is who we are is a false concept, but a means of fitting into this world. The “soul child” we were born with gets pushed back in our being, and what we experienced as a child forged the ego that dominates our being. 

The Ego’s Dominion

The ego thrives on comparison, control, and consumption. It needs to be “right,” to be “seen,” to be “secure.” It fears vulnerability because it associates weakness with worthlessness. It seeks recognition over relationships and performance over presence.

Under the ego’s rule, we become unaware that we are serving a smaller self, a counterfeit identity—one that insulates us from discomfort but also disconnects us from love, from one another, and from God.

Even our morality becomes transactional. If it profits us, we comply; if it costs us, we rationalize. Evil often goes unnoticed—not because it is hidden, but because we’ve quietly chosen not to see. The group—the tribe, the system, the institution—validates our blindness with the comfort of belonging and the illusion of righteousness. Over time, this shared denial becomes a kind of spiritual anesthesia, dulling our discernment and numbing our capacity for truth.

We no longer sin with trembling hearts. We sin with executive confidence.
And all the while, our souls quietly starve.

A Return to the Loving Soul

Contemplation is not an escape. It is a return. A sacred rebellion against the ego’s illusion of control.

To live from the loving soul is to recover the truth of our identity in the Divine. It is to drop below our addictions to approval, our reflex to defend, and our habits of distraction. It is to be reintroduced to what is real, what is eternal, and what is truly good.

This return begins in silence—not the silence of apathy, but the silence of awareness. It is here that the ego begins to loosen its grip. In stillness, the inner scaffolding we’ve built to protect our image starts to fall away. And in that sacred collapse, the soul speaks.

This is where Christ meets us—not in the performance of religion, but in the presence of reality.

The path of true and faith-filled contemplation begins in solitude, but it does not remain there. The soul, once awakened, yearns for communion. For deep, honest fellowship. For a community that is not built on agreements to be comfortable but on shared courage to be awake. The ego begins to retreat to the background of our minds. Keeping it in check becomes easier the more we live in love. Therein lies the lifelong challenge, difficult to completely succeed.

Living the Examined Life

Mindfulness is not merely an emotional calmness or psychological technique—it is spiritual warfare against illusion. It is the disciplined act of turning inward not to indulge the self, but to encounter the truth that sets us free.

To live mindfully is to ask ourselves uncomfortable questions:

  • Who benefits from my silence?
  • What have I accepted as normal that is numbing?
  • In what ways am I still living to protect my ego instead of surrendering to love?

These are not questions the ego welcomes. But they are the questions the soul must ask if we are to heal.

Mindfulness becomes a way of living—prayerful, observant, and responsive. We begin to recognize when we are being pulled by the need to impress, dominate, or escape. And we choose instead to return—to the breath, to the moment, to the presence of God within.

Sacred Communities and Spiritual Refuge

We cannot dismantle the ego’s illusion in isolation. Sin is not merely a personal failing—it moves through families, institutions, and generations, hidden beneath layers of normalization and unspoken agreement. It survives because it is rarely questioned and often rewarded. That is why we need one another—not in crowds of performance, but in consecrated circles of presence. These are spaces where truth is spoken tenderly, silence is honored, and suffering is embraced as a teacher, not avoided as an inconvenience.

When even two or three gather in shared intention and soulful awareness, we form lighthouses of presence on the dark sea of distraction. These sacred communities remind us that we are not alone in our longing to wake up. They offer us a place to see the right and good, listen with reverence, speak with honesty, release our burdens without shame, and begin again in grace, so we are lighting the path for others.

The  Practice of Returning

To live from the soul is not a one-time decision. It is a daily reorientation—a thousand quiet returns to God, to love, to truth. It is a lifelong exodus out of egoic exile and back into the promised land of who we truly are.

This path is costly. You may lose your place in the dominant group. You may be called naive, radical, or irrelevant. But you will find your soul. And in finding your soul, you will find God.

Final Thought

The world does not need more cleverness, more noise, or more speed.
It needs more presence.
More soul.
More truth.

So let us sit. Let us breathe. Let us weep for the harm we’ve enabled.
And let us rise—not as performers of righteousness, but as contemplatives of love.

Light the way for others.

Let us live from the soul.

Categories
Entrepreneurship Human Resources Women In Business

The Future of Influence: How Coaches and Consultants Are Building Media Empires and Market Authority

The Future of Influence: How Coaches and Consultants Are Building Media Empires and Market Authority

By Kathleen Caldwell
Founder, C-Suite Network™ Women’s Coaching & Consulting Council™ & Women’s Success Accelerator™

There’s a new game being played in the coaching, consulting and expert world—and it’s not about credentials alone. Influence now drives opportunity. Market authority commands premium fees. And the professionals rising to the top? They’re not just service providers. They’re visible, media-savvy thought leaders building ecosystems around their expertise.

In today’s economy, talent and training are only the beginning. If you want to be the go-to expert in your industry, you must own your platform, activate your presence, and position yourself as a global media brand. Otherwise, no matter how gifted you are, you risk being overlooked.

From Visibility to Market Authority: Own the Platform, Lead the Conversation

Visibility is no longer optional—it’s the starting point. But visibility without ownership is fleeting. Your intellectual property, your media presence, and your ecosystem of content are what make you memorable, hirable and magnetic to your ideal clients.

Whether it’s a podcast, VLOG, newsletter, council, mastermind or book, your platform becomes the foundation of trust. You’re not just showing up—you’re shaping the conversation. The most in-demand coaches and consultants don’t chase clients. They attract them by consistently demonstrating value and thought leadership in their space.

Influence Drives Buying Decisions

Across corporate, nonprofit, professional association and B2C sectors, hiring decisions are influenced not just by credentials, but by presence, platform, and perceived authority. Buyers don’t sift through endless résumés and LinkedIn profiles. They look for the expert who already appears to lead the field.

Early in my coaching career, I thought success was about stacking credentials. I pursued every certification I could get my hands on. But I quickly learned a hard truth: education that doesn’t lead to execution and results is just an intellectual exercise. Influence isn’t earned solely in the classroom—it’s built in the marketplace.

That’s why today, your credibility must be visible. A consistent media presence, strategic affiliations, thought leadership and community engagements that spark conversations—these are the assets that move you to the top of the consideration list.

The Influence Ladder: From Generalist to Market Icon

There’s a clear path to authority, and it’s built step by step. Generalists offer everything to everyone—and compete on price. Specialists narrow in, develop proprietary expertise, and build signature systems. Thought leaders amplify that expertise through scalable programs, councils, books, and summits. At the top? Category Of One™ Icons—professionals who are omnipresent, unforgettable, and undeniably in demand.

The truth? You don’t need to be perfect. You need to be strategic. Thoughtfully designed visibility, paired with consistent value delivery, is what creates traction.

Proximity Accelerates Credibility

Affiliation with high-caliber networks can compress years of credibility-building into months. That’s why I built the Women’s Coaching & Consulting Council™ in partnership with C-Suite Network™—to give women the platform and power to rise faster, together.

Your network equals your reach. Borrowed authority is real—and being part of the right ecosystem and communities instantly elevate your positioning, mindset and satisfaction. I know firsthand how incredible it is to be in a group of like-minded professionals who are going fast and in the same direction… up!

Media Empires Aren’t a Luxury—They’re the Model

You don’t need to be everywhere. But you do need to be seen and heard where it matters.

Becoming your own media company means leveraging podcasts, articles, videos, summits, and social platforms to amplify your message. Repurpose content. Multiply your touchpoints. Make your expertise easy to find, consume, and trust… and always with a call to action!

Your intellectual property isn’t just content—it’s currency. Frameworks, systems, councils, group programs, and high-ticket offers rooted in your IP give you recurring revenue and scalable impact.

What the Most Successful Experts Are Doing Now

Inside our C-Suite Network Women’s Coaching & Consulting Council, we’re seeing our esteemed faculty and founding members:

  • Celebrate each other’s successes and elevate our collective visibility and income generating opportunities
  • Get featured on influential podcasts and media platforms
  • Publish high-authority articles and thought leadership content
  • Host corporate and B2C masterminds, group programs, VIP offerings and high-ticket councils
  • Create scalable frameworks that deliver lasting value.

These women aren’t just visible—they’re highly respected and hired! They’re confidently positioned as THE Category Of One™ in their field.

Strategic Takeaway: Engineer Your Demand

You don’t need to hustle harder—you need to position smarter.

You are no longer simply delivering transactional and ordinary coaching and consulting services. You are building a strategic brand, monetizing your message, and commanding opportunities because of how you show up, not just what you know.

This is the moment to shift from anonymous expert to visible authority. From consultant and coach-for-hire to an in-demand media thought leader. From optional to essential.

Final Word: Leverage the Ecosystem That Elevates You – C-Suite Network™ Is the Gold Standard

You weren’t meant to do this alone. And now, you don’t have to.

The Women’s Coaching & Consulting Council™ is your springboard to strategic visibility, trusted affiliations, and premium client methodologies. In partnership with the global C-Suite Network ecosystem, we give you the structure, support, and spotlight to rise, shine and be paid as The Category Of One.

Whether you’re publishing your next article, launching a podcast, book, council, or turning your expertise into an empire—we’re here to Co-Accelerate™ with you.

Let’s rise. Together!

About Kathleen Caldwell

Kathleen Caldwell is the founder of C-Suite Network Women’s Coaching & Consulting Council™ and the Women’s Corporate Coaching & Consulting Success Accelerator™—premier platforms guiding women coaches, consultants, trusted advisors, and visionary leaders to build six- and seven-figure freedom businesses. Through transformational coaching, councils, and communities, Kathleen guides and mentors women to grow their income, impact, and influence with energetic passion and powerful focus on results.

Kathleen is also the CEO of Caldwell Consulting Group, LLC.™, a business strategy and peak performance consultancy dedicated to helping mission-driven professionals, teams and leaders enhance profitability, visibility, and legacy.

Connect with Kathleen Caldwell at: https://tinyurl.com/KathleenCaldwellLinkedIn or 773-562-1061.

Copyright © 2025. Caldwell Consulting Group, LLC. All rights reserved.

Categories
Best Practices Growth Strategy

March Momentum: Position Your Business for Success Before Q2

March Momentum: Position Your Business for Success Before Q2

As winter fades and spring approaches, March is the perfect time for business owners to reset, strategize, and maximize their financial opportunities. Whether you’re a seasoned entrepreneur or just getting started, the actions you take now can determine your success for the rest of the year.

 

  1. Tax Season: Last-Minute Moves That Can Save You Thousands

March is crunch time for tax planning. If you’re a business owner, you should be asking yourself:

  • Are you maximizing deductions?
  • Do you have the right business structure in place to minimize taxes?
  • Are you leveraging retirement contributions or reinvesting in your company wisely?

If your answer to any of these questions is “I’m not sure,” it’s time to consult with an expert before tax deadlines hit. A strategic approach could mean the difference between overpaying or keeping more of your hard-earned money.

 

 

  1. Entity Formation: Don’t Wait Until Year-End

Many entrepreneurs wait until the end of the year to form an LLC or Corporation, thinking it will help them save on taxes. However, incorporating early in the year—especially in March—has major advantages:
✅ You start building business credit sooner.
✅ You establish liability protection before potential risks arise.
✅ You unlock tax-saving strategies that benefit you throughout the year, not just in Q4.

Waiting too long could mean missing out on key opportunities, and with IRS and state processing times increasing later in the year, now is the best time to act.

 

  1. Spring Cleaning Your Business Finances

March is a great time to conduct a financial check-up to ensure your business is on track. Consider:
📌 Reviewing and cutting unnecessary expenses.
📌 Ensuring compliance documents, contracts, and filings are up to date.
📌 Setting revenue goals and refining marketing strategies for Q2.

Just like you’d declutter your home in the spring, your business finances should also be in top shape before heading into the second quarter.

 

  1. Planning for Growth: Are You Positioned to Scale?

Are you thinking about expanding your business? Whether that means hiring new employees, launching a new product, or expanding into new markets, now is the time to put those plans in motion. Ask yourself:

  • Do I have the right legal and financial structures in place to support growth?
  • Am I using the right business credit strategies to fund expansion?
  • What risks could arise, and how can I mitigate them with proper asset protection?

Growth isn’t just about revenue—it’s about building a sustainable, well-structured business that can scale efficiently.

 

Final Thought: March is the Month of Action

Spring is the season of new beginnings, and your business deserves a fresh start. Don’t wait until year-end or tax deadlines to make strategic moves. Take action now, build momentum, and set your business up for a profitable and protected future.

If you need expert guidance on entity formation, tax strategies, or business growth, Controllers, Ltd. is here to help. Let’s make March the month that changes everything for your business.

🚀 Book a complimentary strategy session today! Call 775-384-8124 or visit ControllersLtd.com

Would you like any refinements or additions to align more with your goals? 🚀

Categories
Advice Best Practices Personal Development

When Life Gives You Hiccups

When Life Gives You Hiccups

You wake up Monday morning, already behind. Your to-do list feels like a threat, not a tool. Coffee doesn’t even taste at all drinkable. Somewhere between brushing your teeth and convincing yourself to open the laptop, you wonder if what you do matters. And just like that—hiccup. A disruption. A pause. A stutter. It’s as if you’ve lost your purpose, your calling, your life’s mission.

We all want our lives to mean something. We long for our work to have a purpose. But a hidden belief, often unspoken but deeply rooted, quietly sabotages us. It whispers, “This part of your life isn’t spiritual. This task, this email, this spreadsheet, this shift—God’s not in it.”

That’s the short circuit.

It’s the faulty wiring in our faith that breaks the connection between heaven and earth, sacred and ordinary. And it’s dangerously convincing. It makes you believe God is only found in church pews, prayer closets, and mission fields—not in boardrooms, break rooms, or broom closets.

But let’s be clear: there is no spiritual-secular divide in the Kingdom of God. That divide is man-made, and when we accept it, we stop flipping the switch that keeps us connected to God’s presence in our daily work.

A short circuit doesn’t mean you’ve lost faith altogether. It just means the current isn’t flowing. You believe in God, but Monday feels godless. You believe He created work, but your work feels disconnected. You know you have gifts, but you’ve stopped seeing them as sacred.

That’s what Monday Morning Atheism looks like—not a loss of belief, but a loss of integration.

Here’s the truth: every part of your life is spiritual because every part belongs to God. Your desk is an altar. Your tools are instruments of praise. Your ideas, your spreadsheets, your customer service calls, your lesson plans, your caregiving shifts—all of it is Kingdom territory. Every moment, every task, every breath is charged with divine potential.

When your life gives you hiccups, those aren’t signs that something sacred is broken. They’re invitations. Small disruptions remind you to realign with the truth that God is already there. He’s not waiting for you to clock out before He speaks. He’s in the middle of the mess, the meetings, and the mundane.

Don’t let a short circuit steal your spark. Every moment you live, every task you do, is part of the divine story God is writing through you. Flip the switch. Let the Spirit flow into your Monday, or any day and time something isn’t flowing properly. And let the hiccups remind you to breathe—because even your interruptions belong to Him.

 

Devotional Prayer: Reconnecting the Sacred Flow

Dearest Heavenly Father,

Thank You for caring about every part of my life—not just the moments I label “spiritual,” but the quiet ones, the busy ones, the hiccup-filled ones too. You are present in my planning and my pauses, my labor and my longing, my strength and my struggle. Help me to see what You see.

Forgive me for the times I’ve boxed You into Sundays and shut You out of my Mondays. For believing the lie that some things don’t matter to You. For letting frustration or fatigue short-circuit our connection. Rewire my thinking, Lord. Remind me that You dwell not just in temples made by hands, but in my cubicle, my walk to work, my car, my kitchen, my conversations, and my calendar.

Today, I choose to welcome You into every moment. Let my work be worship, my interruptions be invitations, and my heart be fully available to hear Your voice—even in the smallest tasks. Turn every hiccup into a holy pause. Teach me to live with divine flow.

In the name of Jesus—who never divided the sacred from the every day—I pray,

Amen.

 

Categories
Human Resources Leadership Management

Hiring with One Foot Out the Door: The Problem with Probationary Periods

Let’s talk about probationary periods. You know, that arbitrary timeframe companies slap onto new hires to “evaluate” them before fully committing. As if the months of recruiting, interviewing, and vetting weren’t enough. Because clearly, after all that, we’re still not sure about them?  Yet, we are immediately expecting their commitment and loyalty.

Seriously, if you’re hiring people you don’t trust from day one, what does that say about your hiring process? Either you don’t know how to hire, or you’re hedging your bets like a gambler at a Vegas roulette table. And let’s be real, neither of those are a good look.

Probation = We Don’t Fully Trust You

Nothing says, “welcome to the team” quite like, “Hey, you’re on probation, so don’t screw up!” That’s the message companies send, whether they realize it or not. Instead of empowering new employees and setting them up for success, probationary periods create an immediate sense of insecurity and maybe even paranoia in today’s world.

And let’s talk about that word: probation. The only other people in society on probation are criminals. Think about that for a second. We’re lumping new hires—talented, eager responsible adults—into the same category as individuals who have literally broken the law. What kind of message is that? You’re telling new employees from the get-go that they are not trusted, that they must “prove” their worth, and that they can be easily discarded. That’s a ridiculous way to build loyalty, commitment, and high performance.

It’s a Cop-Out for Leaders

Probationary periods give managers an easy out. Instead of actively coaching, guiding, and integrating new employees, leaders can just sit back and think, “Well, let’s see if they make it through probation.” That’s not leadership. That’s avoidance.

A leader’s job is to develop people, not wait for them to magically prove their worth. If a new employee is struggling, the right response is mentorship—not crossing your arms and waiting to see if they “sink or swim” because you can use the probationary period as an easy out.

It Undermines Culture and Performance

You can’t build a high-performing culture when people feel like they’re on shaky ground from day one. The best companies create an environment where employees feel valued, supported, and confident in their contributions. Probationary periods achieve the exact opposite—they breed hesitation, risk aversion, and a reluctance to take initiative.

Want innovation? Want accountability? Want high performance? Then start by treating people like trusted adults from the moment they walk through the door. It’s not that hard.

Real-World Consequences

At HPWP Group (High Performance Work Place), we’ve been advocating for the elimination of probationary periods for 30 years.  But now, there are real world consequences.

Look no further than recent headlines to see the damage probationary periods can inflict. The Trump administration, in a misguided attempt to “streamline” government operations, has been on a firing spree, targeting probationary employees across various federal agencies. Thousands of dedicated workers have been shown the door, often without legitimate cause, simply because their probationary status makes them easy targets.

At the National Park Service, for instance, nearly 2,000 job offers for seasonal workers were rescinded, and many recently hired probationary employees were terminated. This has led to severe understaffing, threatening the maintenance and operation of our cherished national parks.

These aren’t just statistics; they’re real people whose livelihoods have been upended. The misuse of probationary periods as a tool for indiscriminate layoffs not only devastates employees but also cripples the very institutions they’re meant to serve.

Stop the Nonsense

Here’s a radical idea: If you don’t trust someone enough to hire them outright, don’t hire them. But if you do hire them, treat them like a full-fledged, capable member of your team—because that’s exactly what they are. Ditch the probationary periods and start leading like you mean it.

Rant over.

Categories
Best Practices Management Strategy

Preparing for the Unexpected – The Profit Impact matrix

Congratulations. Your business is stable, you’re making decent money.. it’s going great.
Until it’s not.
A key client leaves. Sales drop off and growth flattens. Your costs go up or your supply chain is disrupted by a trade-war.

Suddenly you have to fill a big hole in your profits.

You have to change something. You have to raise revenue, cut costs – perhaps you need to do both. Almost every business leader and executive team is faced by some variation on this scenario. It’s part of business but the problem can become a whole lot worse if you make the wrong decisions. Cutting costs in the wrong place can happen very easily, particularly if you cut costs in an area that (directly or indirectly) impacts your customers.
Most business leaders take a functional or line item approach to running their business. Their executive team is made up of functional leads who are experts in what they do. Decisions are made with a functional perspective.
The problem with a functional approach is that financial and customer outcomes are achieved through processes that cut across functions. The actions of one function may impact another function “down the line” with less than optimal outcomes to customer or the bottom line.
All businesses need a clear understanding of what I call the “profit impact matrix”. This goes beyond an understanding of the P&L. The profit impact matrix defines desired outcomes (customer and financial), maps the end-to-end processes that deliver those outcomes and identifies the functional touch-points during each process. The profit impact matrix also identifies the key process performance indicators and outputs of each functional engagement with the process.
The profit impact matrix gives business leaders a cross-functional framework for making business decisions that are informed by a clear understanding of impact on outcomes. Understanding how processes work and deliver outcomes gives leaders an opportunity to optimize processes and evaluate functional trade-offs in the context of business and customer outcomes. The profit imact matrix provides a framework for cross-functional understanding and optimal collaboration at every level of the organization.
In summary, the profit impact matrix gives business leaders a new tool to maximize the value of their business .. and a framework against which to evaluate these hard decisions that sometimes need to be made.
Categories
Human Resources Leadership Management

Meta, Doge, and the Cold Truth of Corporate Layoffs

Meta, Doge, and the Cold Truth of Corporate Layoffs

It’s infuriating (yes, I said it) to watch companies treat layoffs like a numbers game, tossing around corporate speak and touting shareholder value while completely disregarding the human impact. Giants like Meta—and yes, even the so-called innovators at DOGE—have shown an astonishing lack of care or empathy when it comes to letting go of employees.

A Cold, Calculated Business Decision

Every time a company announces a round of layoffs, it’s a brutal reminder of how little they value the people who helped build their success. Meta’s recent approach to downsizing wasn’t just a business decision; it was a master class in corporate coldness.  Despite the fact that share price is up 47% over the past year and revenue is up 21% in the last quarter, it’s CEO says they are preparing for an “intense year” and a reduction of more than 3,000 people is necessary.

Employees found themselves in the lurch with little warning. And if that wasn’t enough, just one week after announcing the layoffs, Meta revised the bonus payout for its executives – up to 200% from 75%. I guess the good news is at least they value some people.

Meanwhile, DOGE isn’t far behind in this mismanagement marathon—poor planning and impersonal communications, contribute to a process that reeks of corporate callousness.  Musk had the Office of Personnel Management issue an email (on Saturday) asking “What did you do last week?”.  The expectation was that people would respond with five bullet points by Monday. Apparently, this was a true test to see if people would check their emails on the weekend.  Musk defended the email demand saying it was “basically a check to see if the employee had a pulse and was capable of replying to an email,” adding “Lot of people in for a rude awakening and a strong dose of reality.  They don’t get it yet, but they will.”  Nice, right?  It’s no surprise the back pedaling has started.

The Lasting Impact

Poorly handled layoffs—like those witnessed at Meta and Doge—wreak havoc on both individuals and the business as a whole. Instead of a respectful and transparent process, these companies opted for a cold, impersonal approach that leaves employees feeling abandoned and betrayed, with their livelihoods and self-worth trampled in the name of cost-cutting.

What gets lost in all the headlines is the real impact of these layoffs. It’s not just about severance packages and exit interviews—it’s the emotional, financial, and social toll on individuals who dedicated themselves to their work. When leaders view layoffs merely as a cost-cutting exercise, they’re ignoring the long-term damage to their brand and, more importantly, the trust and morale of their remaining employees. This isn’t just an HR issue; it’s a fundamental failure in leadership and accountability.

It Doesn’t Have to be This Way

Why are we waiting until the situation is dire or urgent before we address it?  We can be more proactive and involve our team in driving innovation to grow our business, streamlining processes and improving efficiencies (minimizing the need for layoffs).  Check out our article Navigating Layoffs: The True Cost to Business published in HR Director for more insights.