The Business Name
Divine Economy Consulting is the name of my business. At the present time its primary purpose is to build a network of people around the world that spread knowledge about the divine economy theory. By various means Divine Economy Consulting helps to free people from false beliefs about the economy and helps people and businesses align themselves with the goals of a divine civilization.
The Founder’s Story
Founder: Bruce Koerber
It all began when I was seeking capital to fund an after-school virtues program for youngsters so that the tuition would be affordable. Around that same time I had a dream that sparked the whole process.
I am an economist in the classical liberalism tradition, technically trained as an Austrian economist, all of which means that I recognize that humans value things subjectively. At the heart of all of this is my belief and recognition that science and religion are in harmony.
This is where my entrepreneurial spirit kicked in. I was alert to the fact that there were unnecessary obstacles and hurdles in the science of economics but I didn’t know how to overcome them. I felt unrest and uneasiness about it but all to no avail.
For some reason, and it must have been intuition, I put a pencil and pad next to my bed on a nightstand and then one night I had a dream and what I saw in the dream caught my attention and roused me enough to feel around in the dark for the pencil and paper to write it down because I knew I would forget it otherwise. In the morning I remembered that I had a dream but didn’t remember what it was about. I remembered that I wrote it down and so I looked at the pad and to my amazement I saw a labeled image.
When I saw the labeled image I knew that it was a significant contribution to economic science. This realization was definitely uniquely entrepreneurial, specific to me since I was searching for a way to release economics from some of its shackles and this is what the image in the dream represented. Immediately I began to use the deductive logic that I learned from my training in Austrian economics to amplify the parts and the structure of the image.
It was this deductive process that lead to the acquisition of sufficient knowledge to write a book on the subject. When I realized I could write a book I thought to myself that I could sell the book and supply myself with the capital I needed to fund the after-school virtues program. Like most entrepreneurs this was my first experience with naïve expectations. Entrepreneurs commonly have to push through naïve expectations all along the way on their journey.
The challenges the business is facing
What I didn’t know when I first began to use deductive logic was the magnitude of information that could be ascertained from the simple image and then from a well-developed macroeconomic model and theory. This was when I not only knew that I had made an entrepreneurial discovery but also, I had a brand. It was obvious to me what the brand name should be. I also knew that attaching the name “Divine Economy Theory” to the theory and “Divine Economy Model” to the model would signify its meaning while at the same time make it distinct, yet I also knew that it would cause a delay in its propagation because of the prejudices towards the word “divine”. I weighed the benefits and costs and made an entrepreneurial decision to go forward with this brand name.
This was the second challenge to my business. The first one was battling the ideology of statism which is the prevalent mindset held pretty much universally. In other words, people everywhere have been taught and are convinced that statism is economics. It is this struggle that my business is intimately engaged with. Imagine how difficult that is. The success of my business depends on uprooting economic falsehoods that are deeply ingrained in the psyche of people.
I continued applying deductive logic and ultimately I wrote four core books. The first one was about macroeconomics and then I wrote one about microeconomics. The original dream image had two other strands so I then wrote a book about ethical economics and then the fourth book was about economic justice. For seven years I was a researcher and writer.
My business then shifted directions. The next phase of the business was focused on getting my books published. Like everything, it seems, this required me to be entrepreneurial in such a way that would enable me to find a publisher who I could work with. Then there is the painstaking element that comes with working with a publisher, especially when the book has as many diagrams as my books. This whole process took another seven years. Do you hear what I’m saying? My business was in start-up mode, actually in research and development mode, for 14 years before I was ready to enter the market in a real way.
Entering the market means marketing the products. What then engaged my attention for about a year was being alert to the practices of those who were the marketing gurus. I experimented with numerous methods and programs and read many books written by individuals who shared their insights and discoveries. The chief discovery that I took with me into the next phase of my business was to give away some quality product or products as part of the marketing strategy.
The opportunities the business is facing
I had six books for sale but nothing for free so I reassessed my bank of resources and realized that the model that runs throughout all of the books would be a great generator of interest. I created a new free book that could be sent digitally anywhere in the world and also could be given away as a printed book in the U.S. This became my marketing strategy and although I am still in the early stages I have many success stories since I adopted that strategy, which makes me very happy.
My books are available on Amazon and since they are also in a digital format they are available everywhere in the world. So, what does that mean for my brand? There are places in the world which have less prejudice towards the word ‘divine’. The quality and significance of the content of my books can never be appreciated if a person refuses to check it out because of some personal bias toward a word that is part of the brand name.
What I have found is that there is a growing and thriving audience of men and women in Uganda and much of Africa who find my brand name interesting and subsequently dive in. After taking the plunge these same entrepreneurs are hungry for more. I recognized that the best next step was to release another book that excited the entrepreneurial spirit of any and all entrepreneurs so I tapped into the bank of resources contained within my books to generate such a book. Now I have two very powerful and exciting free books as part of my marketing strategy.
I am experiencing numerous opportunities at this stage of my business. A Google Ad campaign that is focused on the United States is generating book sales. I now have an opportunity to find ways to optimize the performance of my ads. That is one of my current goals.
But far more exciting is the work being done by numerous economic freedom think tanks in Africa. The Mtindo Network in Uganda decided to make printed copies of my books to distribute widely in their efforts to support and encourage entrepreneurs.
My two free books are becoming foundational pieces of education material for young adult entrepreneurs. Relative to other places in the world Africa is the heart of the divine economy theory. As that heart gets stronger the beat will resonate to other parts of the world.
I think the divine economy theory has emerged from obscurity, proof being, I am being approached by ‘outsiders’ for more information. This article that you are reading is an example of this; someone nominated me.
Advice to others about business
1. Be Patient
Patience and perseverance are some of the most important qualities for those interested in running a business. Since expectations rarely come true exactly as imagined it is essential that capital is transmutable so adaptations can be made along the way, minimizing the loss of capital.
- Sacrifice Is Necessary
It is important to put into proper perspective the idea of risk since entrepreneurs necessarily take risks in their effort to improve the world around them and ultimately to serve consumers. Take a minute to think about risk as sacrifice. Taking a risk is a sacrificial act and it is the sum of these sacrifices that make progress possible.
- Product Quality Is Key
Of course, product quality is an absolute must and that applies equally to the free products you develop as a way to introduce your other products. Building an email list using your free products is one way to bolster your greatest asset as a business.
- Learn From Experiences
But one of the most important elements of good business is competitive entrepreneurship. Be a seeker after ideas, alert about what’s happening at the margins; price margins, product margins, quality margins, and resource margins. Learn from the experiences that you and your fellow entrepreneurs are having.
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