Kingdom Business Life Cycle: The Breakeven Phase

“For thus says the Lord the God of Israel, ‘The jar of flour shall not be spent, and the jug of oil shall not be empty, until the day that the Lord sends rain upon the earth.’ And she went and did as Elijah said. And she and her husband ate for many days. The jar of flour was not spent, neither did the jug of oil become empty, according to the word of the Lord that he spoke by Elijah.” – 1 Kings 17:14-16

Are you struggling to break even in your business or in your personal life? What should you be thinking about before you reach this phase, and when you are in this phase?

In 1 Kings 17, we come to know God as the God who provides. Israel is going through a God-ordained drought, and God tells His prophet Elijah to go to a stream, where He sends ravens to feed him and provides water for him to drink. God sustains Elijah for a while with this method, and when the stream dries up, He tells Elijah to go visit a widow in another town.

Elijah meets the widow as she is gathering sticks, planning to make a last meal for her and her son. Elijah, thirsty and hungry from his journey, asks her for some water and bread. The widow doesn’t hesitate to give him water but explains that she doesn’t have any bread – she has no food left, only a tiny amount of flour and oil to make a last loaf of bread. In response, Elijah gives her a word from the Lord: “Do not fear; go and do as you have said. But first make me a little cake of it and bring it to me, and afterward make something for yourself and your son. For thus says the Lord God of Israel, ‘The jar of flour shall not be spent, and the jug of oil shall not be empty, until the day that the Lord sends rain upon the earth.’” (1 Kings 17:13-14).

The widow, believing and trusting that the word Elijah said was true, did exactly what he requested. She stepped out in faith, first giving God what little she had by providing for Elijah. God blessed the widow’s obedience and provided for her and her household until the famine was over.

In this story, the widow had a problem: her revenue, or resources, were not sufficient enough to cover her expenses, or needs. We face this issue in many aspects of life, not just in business. For the widow and her son, God stepped in and provided, moving the widow from her point of struggle into the breakeven phase. Breakeven occurs when revenue meets expenses in a sustainable manner.

When God moves in our personal life or in our business and becomes our Provider, He has a bigger purpose than just meeting our immediate needs. Notice what He allowed to happen in the story of the widow – not only did He provide for her and her son, but He allowed the widow to be a source of blessing for Elijah. He gave Elijah a home and used the widow to meet Elijah’s physical needs and his need for community. Elijah had just spent a lot of time in solitude, hanging out by a brook with only birds and God to keep him company. Sometimes, God will allow seasons of solitude in our lives, but he promises to “put the lonely in families” (Psalm 68:6).

As an entrepreneur moving into the breakeven phase, the phase when your net revenue equals your fixed and variable costs, remember to involve God in your business. Like the widow, step out in faith, make a commitment to obedience, and honor God with your resources.

The breakeven phase of a Kingdom business is a significant milestone in the life of the business. It typically lasts three to five years (sometimes longer) before heading into the profitability stage where you begin to see more margin.

A good entrepreneur recognizes and understands the following about the breakeven phase:

• This phase is where your business model demonstrates viability.
• There is a difference between income breakeven and cash flow break even. You can reach the breakeven point on paper – i.e., your income statement shows that your revenue meets your expenses – but that does not mean you have reached the breakeven point in your cash flow.
• For a business to reach sustainable break even, you should have a healthy cash flow that is consistently out of the danger zone, and you should have sufficient working capital.
• You should no longer have to capitalize the business through outside financing, although receiving working capital to finance growth may be wise.
• You should reach a new level of confidence in the business and in yourself.

My prayer for you today is that you would honor God in the breakeven phase of your Kingdom business, thanking Him for being your Provider and allowing you to reach this phase.