Catholics need to build big businesses
“Ambition” is a dirty word in Catholic circles.
We believe the desire to build a massive, profitable enterprise somehow runs contrary to the humility of a saint. We treat business and faith as if the two can’t mix.
But faithful Catholics should build big businesses.
Catholic business owners have a moral obligation to build something great. Wealth will always exist in this world. It might as well be in the hands of virtuous Catholics.
The wealthy are not evil
We often fall into a simplistic trap where we believe the wealthy are de facto corrupt and the poor are virtuous.
Poverty on its own does not make one virtuous, nor does wealth make one vicious. There are plenty of examples where the stresses of poverty drive people into vice, and saints who use their wealth to pursue sainthood.
While it is true that poverty taken on to imitate Christ is a higher calling than the one to start a business, if you are called to the latter, you are called to do it well. And running a business well means wealth.
Wealth (much like power and fame) is simply a tool that magnifies the virtues or vices that are already there. If you are a greedy person, more money will make you a monster. But if you are a generous person, more money will mean more occasions to be generous.
If you are faithful in small matters, you will be faithful in big ones.
The “Blessing Motive”
Economics textbooks talk about the “profit motive,” the thing that motivates business owners to build. It’s a purely self-interested thing. I want more money, so I will build my business.
A virtuous Catholic business owner instead operates under a “blessing motive.” He wants abundance in his business, not for his own sake but for his children, his employees, his parish, etc.
I have a friend who runs a local business and employs a lot of his friends. From a pure “Wall Street efficiency” standpoint, it’s probably the wrong call. I’m sure it can get messy and personal. It might not be the absolute best business decision if his only goal was to maximize his bottom line.
But it is good for our community.
He runs a business that is able to provide not just for his own family, but for the families of his friends and fellow Catholics. As his wealth grows, so does the wealth of his friends. The community directly benefits from his success.
One-man start-ups turn into small businesses, and turn into enterprises and institutions. When these small and large businesses are controlled by faithful Catholics, that wealth can be used to bless people not only through donations but also by providing people with steady jobs to support their families.
Crucifying Yourself for Your People
Business owners feel the risk more acutely than their employees.
Running a business is stressful. It keeps you up at night. You worry about payroll. You worry about the market crashing. You bear the burden of risk so that your employees don’t have to.
When you hire someone, you are saying, “I will take on the anxiety and the risk of the market so that you can have a steady paycheck.” You are absorbing the chaos so they can have order.
Sometimes that means not cutting yourself a paycheck so you can make payroll.
The entrepreneur’s willingness to take on that anxiety and risk is how he follows Christ’s command to “take up your cross.”
The sweat equity you put into your business can grow and become the kind of thing that blesses 5, 50, or 500 other families. They might not recognize it. They might even resent your success at times. But this is your cross. Bear it well.
The more faithful Catholics willing to take up this cross, the better. Lay Catholics are called to sanctify whatever part of the temporal world we find ourselves in.
We need more Catholics to sanctify the world of business.
This article came out of a conversation with my friend, Dan Fuerst from Briefcase Marketing.
He has an impeccable track record helping businesses with their marketing. He helped a financial institution double its conversion rate (6% → 13%) and helped an e-commerce company achieve a ROAS of 20x.
Catholic businesses can get a free marketing consultation with Dan below.
Well said!
Great piece. However, as a counterpoint, I do often see Catholics have a “hiring and firing problem.” Hiring your friends and family is nice, and may support your community, but what if they’re not the best people for the job? There is something to be said for making strategic business decisions that will in turn benefit your community, as opposed to hiring on the basis of ideological alignment and limiting the benefits to “giving people jobs.” This also opens the door for unique evangelization opportunities, as well.
The George Bailey archetype embodies both sides of this question, let’s be honest. 😁