Your Dream Is Going to Cost You This

Over the last couple of weeks, we’ve been looking at the big picture.  My hope is you will seize the idea that YouWere Made for a Mission and understand 3 Truths That Prove Your Dream Is WithinYour Reach.

So, what’s holding you back from going all in on your God-given purpose?

What’s keeping you from starting or expanding your business, from planting a church, from starting or expanding the ministry or nonprofit you think about all the time?

For most people it comes down to 1 word:

COST

When most people here the word “cost” they immediately think money.  But let me be clear…

Money is not the main thing it’s going cost you to live out your dream.

In fact, the financial cost of living out your dream is probably lower than it’s ever been.

• Business – In the past, if you wanted to start a business, you had to rent a storefront or an office.  You had to hire someone to design and print expensive brochures.  To get the word out, you had to pay big bucks for TV, radio, billboard or direct mail advertising.  Today, while there are still some businesses that require a storefront or office space, many can be operated from the home.  The most cost-effective way to reach new customers is online with a good website, good search rankings and a good email/social media communications plan.
• Church – In the past, many new church plants and churches with a heart to reach the people in their community, resorted to a lot of expensive advertising – brochures, direct mail, door hangers, billboards, etc .  Today, the best way to connect with people in your community who are searching for God or a church is with a good website that can be found in search engines.
• Ministry/Nonprofit – In the past, starting or expanding a ministry or nonprofit was difficult and expensive.  How do you find the people you feel called to serve?  How do you connect with supporters and volunteers?  Expensive brochures?  Mailing support letters?  Traveling, speaking and/or exhibiting at churches and conferences?  Today writers, speakers, authors, coaches, counselors, consultants and missionaries are starting and growing their ministries online.  Writing a blog, creating and publishing videos, building an email list are remarkably inexpensive.

Today the cost of marketing, outreach and communication, for your business, church or ministry could be 1/10th of what it would have been 25 years ago.

But it’s not free.  You need a good website, good web hosting, good search rankings, good communication to build your church, ministry or business.  You can try to do everything yourself for free, but this doesn’t eliminate the cost, it just shifts the cost from a financial cost to a time cost.

Which takes us to…

The real cost of living out your dream

• Time – It takes a lot of time to reach out, build relationships, and serve people.  It takes time to communicate well with your customers, church members, volunteers, and supporters.  Updating the website, replying to email, sending regular email updates, connecting with people in social media.
• Commitment – There are going to be times when you just don’t feel like doing the work. when you’d rather relax and do something fun.
• Sacrifice – Unless you are retired and financially independent, if you’re going to put time and money into pursuing your dream, your mission, it’s got to come from somewhere.
• Comfort – Living out your dream is going to mean stepping out of your comfort zone.  Maybe you’ve never managed a website before.  Maybe you’ve never blogged, posted a video to YouTube, built an email list, used Twitter or hired an professional SEO. I’m not saying you have to do all or any of these things, but you’re going to have to do some new things you’ve never done before.

It costs everything to live your dream, but it costs even more to not live it. -Randy Gage

If there’s anything we can do to help you build a website or take the next step on your mission, please let us know. 

What is your mission?  What’s your next step?  And what will it cost?  Post a comment to discuss  it.