Catholic Business Values – 5 Ways to Make them Shine
You value your faith, and live your Catholic business values as a way to serve the world. However, not everyone knows that you’re Catholic. How can you share the values that matter most to you and your company? And do it in a way that shows both boldness and respect?
Here are 5 ways to emphasize your Catholic business values. Even though your brand name might not be openly Catholic.
1. Include Catholic Business Values in your mission statement.
I know someone who owns a private investigative company. He is a devout Catholic, but the company is not overtly Catholic. The word Catholic is not in their company name, and they work primarily with secular clients.
But if you go to his “About Us” page, the very first line is “Our primary mission in life and work is to bring pleasure to God, through service.” He goes on to describe how his work as a private investigator honors God and ends with a quote from John 8:32.
It’s not in your face. If it weren’t for the About Page, you would never know that this man’s primary mission for the company is to honor God.
And yet, he runs what I would call a “Catholic business”.
Not everything that you do has to be branded Catholic in order to be a Catholic business. But a great way to express this motivation for your company and life is in your mission statement. Reference your liturgical ministries in a blog post. Perhaps include a Bible verse in your email signature, and state your intentions right in your mission statement with words like “Truth,” “Beauty,” and “Evangelization.”
A great example of this subtle business statement is Forever 21. They print John 3:16 on the bottom of each of their bags. While they don’t say anything about it in their about us page, this small gesture reflects their motivation.
2. Highlight your Catholic Business Clients
If you want to be a Catholic business, a great way to emphasize that is by highlighting your past Catholic clients on your website. As a Catholic business owner myself, I will know that a business orients itself to a Catholic mission when I see that other fellow Catholic business owners trust them.
Even better, include Catholic lingo in your description of these projects to show you’re “in the know” and not just a secular organization that happened to have a Catholic client.
Don’t have any Catholic clients? Volunteer your businesses’ expertise to your parish and ask for a reference for your website in return.
3. Run your Catholic Business Ethically
Run your business ethically, help others, and people will notice. To begin with, make sure that your interaction with clients is surrounded by justice:
- Responsibility for what you promise
- Honesty and fairness in what you deliver
However, if you want to practice your faith in your Catholic business, your actions should be smothered as well in charity:
- Kindness in your communication
- True desire to help your clients succeed
- Patience, humility and sometimes even forgiveness
Business actions speak louder than advertising. If you want to be a Catholic business, hold your business to the same standards that you hold yourself.
4. Tithe Your Profits
People respond to businesses that reflect their own values. A great example of this is Chick-Fil-A. The company’s dedication to not being open on Sundays has generated a large fan base.
For my own company, I decided that I would tithe 10% of my profits each year and donate them to charity. It’s something that I do in my personal life, so why not carry it over to my business? On a personal note, I find tithing very rewarding because it reminds me regularly of what I value most.
It was only later that I realized that people would probably appreciate working with a company that they knew tithed. So, I included that fact about our company in my email signature and on our website.
The faith is so important to me and my company that I follow all of it, even the parts that make me give up profit I’ve worked so hard to earn. Don’t be afraid to highlight what makes your company Catholic in your advertising or on your website. It simply shows your clients that you are really committed to what you value most.
5. Pray with Your Employees
Another highlight of your Catholic business values is a staff who prays together. How can we possibly begin to serve God’s people without first praying for each other and for our clients? Consider inviting your staff to join you for the Liturgy of the Hours each morning. Maybe set aside one lunch hour each week to go to a nearby Daily Mass or Holy Hour.
Obviously, while you shouldn’t force your employees to pray with you, having it as an option for those who would like to definitely helps you value your faith as a business.
In brief:
Most of all, run your business with heart. People will be sure to notice your Catholic business values. After all, at the end of the day, it’s really your audience who determines who you are. So if you intend to be a Catholic business and your audience sees you as such, then … you’re a Catholic business.
About the Author:
Emily Ricci is the president of Gloriam Marketing, and works as a marketing content and social media specialist at a Catholic college and previously worked at a church for over 7 years. Her past church titles and responsibilities have included working as a Parish Office secretary, sacristan, Weekend Coordinator (ministry supervisor and event coordinator), youth minister, bulletin writer, coordinator of the baptism program, and Faith Formation teacher and assistant. After years in church work, Emily recognized the need for solid Catholic marketing and promotion, but realized that there were no marketing firms in the area that specialized in faith-based marketing.
Search here for Catholic job postings, or Catholic Professionals you can hire.
