It feels like Christmas has become one big glittery, sparkly, in-your-face, garish commercialized mess. Let me explain. I’ve been looking at light-up Rudolph in the local warehouse store since September. Since when does the birth of Christ begin its celebration in September…with reindeer…and glitter?

The Christmas decorations invaded retailers insidiously, first with a little red and green display that progressed to full blown Santa on Sale signs. And it isn’t just retailers.

Business owners of all kinds are running Christmas sales and Christmas specials and Christmas coupons and sending non-religious cards containing refrigerator magnets to remind you about their companies. Because Christmas has lost its real meaning.

Beginning with Black Friday, Christmas is a flurry of spending money. Sales. Merchandise. Stuff. And it’s all in the name of Christmas.

How do we, as entrepreneurs, participate in the holiday celebration without using it as a vehicle or marketing tactic? Honestly, I keep envisioning those moneylenders when I walk into the mall. Is it too late? Has Christmas lost all meaning? Is it all about money?

A lot businesses think so…or at least that’s how they behave. As Christians who are involved in the business community, we can make choices. We don’t have to get swept away with the glitter and the hype. We can celebrate and include our businesses without cheapening the holiday. It’s all in your intention and presentation.

Instead of sales and specials and coupons and magnets, what if businesses spent the holiday marketing budget on contributions to worthy causes and presented it tastefully? It would be like marketing your business AND marketing the birth of Christ with a giving spirit.

Plan ahead and strategize. Do your research. Find a cause that is important to your customer base. Analyze the research and choose one charity, fund, hospital, or organization that embraces Christian values and needs help. Consider how much you can afford to donate, taking into consideration your marketing budget for the campaign.

This is where your marketing gurus come in. Careful wording is the key to a successful pitch. Depending on your product or service, you want to publicize the fact that this year you are giving a gift in celebration of Christ’s birthday. Explain the donation recipient’s need and how you came to choose them. Tie everything up with a ribbon of Jesus’s love. You are marketing the spirit of giving, but not pushing to sell yourself. Instead, you are showing your generosity and encouraging others to join you in the spirit of the season. Ask them to donate what they can, whether time or funding, to the chosen cause.

It is possible to promote your business and remain true to Christmas. You don’t need garland, flashing lights, an impossible number of coupons, sales representatives dressed as elves, or Christmas carols automatically blaring when one opens your landing page. All you need is to embrace the spirit of the holiday and give. Encourage others to give. When your customers think of you after the flash and glitter are over, the impression will be a lasting one, not a one-day-only-twenty-four-hour abuse of a very special holiday.

Often, it is difficult to find marketing materials that present your business and also works with your values and your organization’s messages. Many marketing companies use methods that may be at odds with God’s word. There are strategies out there that can work for you and your Christian-based business.

If you find yourself in the position of marketing your own Christian Organization, there are some strategies for branding and providing advertising that is targeted to your demographic and will offer more success for you niche market.

Before beginning, identify your values for your marketing. These may include working within the Word of God; Making deadlines your personal gospel; Use effective and encouraging communications with clients; Regardless of difficulties, accept constructive criticism and follow through with challenges; Take on the extra effort needed to complete each and every task to the fullest and give even more than promised when you are able; Pursue excellence in all that you do. You may have different or more values for this program. Whatever they are, make sure they are clear to all staff working on your marketing team. Post them prominently so that they may be a reference in case of the temptation to misrepresent your organization in any way to win sales.

To effectively market your Christian Organization, you will require similar materials strategies as other businesses. The difference is your approach and your presentation to your demographic. First, you must devise a plan. Perhaps you are unsure of your demographic. Do some research into exactly what type of person will be using your services so that you can make your marketing efforts attractive to those people or businesses.

You will need to build your brand. Does your business have a name and logo that effectively represent your organization? Is your logo and brand name on your business-related materials such as packaging, letterhead, envelopes, and more?

Have you explored search engine optimization for your website? It is worth having an evaluation by an expert to find the best keywords, strategies, and social media outlets for your brand.

Decide what kind of media you will use to spread the word about your organization. Aside from blogs and newsletters and social media online efforts, will you explore other media? Advertising either in church bulletins or Christian newspapers, direct mail or brochures, signs, or other print media may be effective, depending on the type of services you provide.

Some businesses employ video media for either online or television advertising. This can be expensive and again, is dependent on your business. Some translate better than others to video ads.

Once you have identified your demographic audience and decided upon your strategies for marketing your business, review the plan thoroughly with cost in mind, and prioritize your efforts. What will produce the most results? Put your list together and be flexible as you begin your plan. The options you thought would be most effective may not be as productive as you thought.

The ultimate goal is to drive traffic to your website and business to your doorstep. Using your values and the Word of God to guide you, your Christian Organization will find a way to market your business and services effectively.

It’s the 25^th anniversary of the publication of Stephen Covey’s “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change.” If you haven’t read Covey’s book, this is a good time to pick up a copy and learn how personal change can translate into professional success.

The 7 Habits are:

1         Be Proactive

2         Begin with the End in Mind

3         Put First Things First

4         Think Win-Win

5         Seek First to Understand, Then to be Understood

6         Synergize

7         Sharpen the Saw

The first three habits deal with moving from being dependent to independent. This leads to personal change and independence. Everything is built on the formation of a strong set of core values. The book takes you through the process of writing a mission statement that includes your moral, ethical, centered values so that it expresses your true core values. The statement itself serves as a reminder of the values. This core will be the foundation for making every decision in your personal and professional life. The mission statement and examination of your values cannot be taken lightly.

The habits are designed to be learned and internalized and implemented in order. Covey calls it the “inside-out” approach. You must master inner change before you can apply your new, independent skills to an interdependent situation such as marriage, family, or business. If you attempt to move to Habits 4-6 without completely adopting 1-3, you will not be able to successfully achieve the desired results. You also will struggle with the concepts that move towards interdependence.

The Habits that deal with interdependence focus on communication based on your core values, empathic listening and communication, and cooperation. All of these lead towards the goal of becoming an effective leader and manager or husband and father or basically a steady, value based role in whatever relationships you have.

The 7^th Habit is about renewal. It encourages you to take the time to renew yourself physically, mentally, spiritually, and social/emotionally.

When I read this book, I appreciated the personal examples that Covey offered for each concept. While he titled the book “The 7 Habits…” each habit contains multiple principles and skills. Each one takes a lot of effort and understanding. It is overly complicated because of the multiple parts of each habit. I was pretty discouraged during my reading.

The 7 Habits are definitely Christian based and will yield great results for those devoted to learning them. Personally, I feel that I have taken away some very important nuggets of information that I can use in my life to improve myself personally and professionally. I don’t think I will be “highly effective” according to Covey’s standards. I will definitely benefit by using the general ideas of each Habit, but implementation of each skill or idea is beyond me.

I recommend reading the book and making notes about the things that interest you and that you feel apply to your life. Reflect on the changes you wish to make and what parts of the book can help you to achieve these changes. If you don’t become “highly effective,” you will at least become more effective than you were at the start.

Starbucks is certainly a recognizable brand. Every city, big or small, seems to have them scattered throughout the landscape, offering high-end coffee and pastries. The company is constantly innovating and working on its brand image.

Starbucks opened its doors for the first time in Seattle’s Pike Place Market 1971. They have aspired to be a different kind of company right from the start. The say that their mission is “…to inspire and nurture the human spirit – one person, one cup, and one neighborhood at a time.” From the one small store in 1971, Starbucks has grown to over 21,000 stores in 65 countries.

The company offers coffee, obviously, but also a coffeehouse flavor. The décor, the music, the ambience, all invite people to come in, have a seat and enjoy some coffee. Of course, coffee isn’t the only thing on the menu. Teas, frozen drinks, and pastries are also staples of the menu.

Business ethics and compliance are important to the company. They are committed to helping create positive change. They establish relationships within the communities of their locations. In 1997, they began funding literacy programs. The Starbucks Foundation also provides grants for Youth Leadership, offers opportunities for youth, engages in community service, and supports the countries that produce the coffee beans for them. In 2013, the Starbucks Corporation gave $15.6 million in charitable endeavors.

Starbucks is also committed to reducing their impact on the environment. Their stores are environmentally sound and they provide easy access to recycle their cups. They also collaborate with others to reduce packaging waste for their inventory of mugs and other coffee-related items for sale.

They are certainly environmentally and community friendly, but they are also a very innovative and progressive business. Every season, new coffees are introduced or brought back for a limited time so that customers associate that particular taste with the season. They also offer new mugs, travel cups, and other drinkware in designs that reflect the new season.

An interesting innovation that they have worked to improve is an app for smartphones. Customers can prepay to keep money available through the app. When they make a purchase, the phone code is scanned, the purchase deducted, and reward points. Free songs and apps are also available for download.

And now, Starbucks is offering student aid for employees taking online classes at Arizona State University. So far, about 4,000 employees have applied, but applications are still being taken for enrollment. This program covers a percentage of two years of tuition. The University is also covering a portion. After finding that many of their employees had not gained undergraduate degrees, Starbucks thought this might be a great way to help.

While students may graduate and leave their jobs as baristas, Starbucks isn’t worried. It is the kind of company that wants to invest in people, communities, and to support their employees in gaining education. They will pay approximately $30,000 per student for two years of education.

I’m thinking about putting in my application at Starbucks. Are you?