What if the key to building a thriving, impactful business was hiding in a place you’d least expect? A strategy so powerful, yet often overlooked—even though it’s been in front of us the whole time?
In this episode of The Estherpreneur Podcast, we uncover a timeless business blueprint—one that holds the secrets to wealth-building, strategic growth, and long-term success. It’s been whispered about, admired, and even recited at weddings—but few have truly unlocked its full potential.
Curious? You should be. This might just change the way you do business forever.
Ready to step into your divine authority in your business, God's way? Let's dive in!
Want more kingdom business wisdom? Connect with me on LinkedIn @EdnaHarding for daily inspiration and strategies on doing business and life God's way. I share practical tips, biblical insights, and real-world victories that will help you thrive in both business and faith.
Edna Harding [00:00:03]:
Welcome to Estrepreneur, a podcast for entrepreneurs and leaders doing business and life God's way. Each week, we discuss biblical and to improve your mind, business, spirit, relationships, and finances. Listen along as I speak with special guests on how to thrive in all aspects of life. Hi, I'm Edna. Like many of you, I wear many hats. I'm a military wife, mother, author, certified John Maxwell business and executive coach, trainer, and founder of Favor and Wealth where we help the good guys win. So tune in as we bring on the light. Well, hello, everyone.
Edna Harding [00:00:48]:
Thank you for tuning in for another episode of the Essentrepreneur Podcast. My name is Edna Harding, your host. And today, we're gonna talk about Proverbs 31. Now for all you men out there, you're like, oh, no. I don't wanna talk about the virtuous women. Let me tell you guys, we're not gonna talk about Proverbs 31 women. Okay? We're gonna talk about the business blueprint hidden in Proverbs 31. Alright? Because here's the deal.
Edna Harding [00:01:24]:
We've been reading Proverbs 31 all wrong. Right? Because everyone talks about Proverbs 31 women as what? A homemaker, a wife. But did you know that she was also a kingdom business mogul, right? Her blueprint for success is right there in the scripture, hidden in plain sight. So if you are ready to run your business with excellence, with strategy and yes, kingdom wisdom, stay with me because today we're unlocking the provost 31 business model. Alright? Now I know you're like, oh my gosh, Edna. You're stretching me. You're stretching me. I'm so glad I'm stretching you because it's stretching me myself.
Edna Harding [00:02:13]:
Okay? Remember, Provis 31, a lot of times when they quote it at weddings or at women's conferences, they miss the deeper message because it's actually, hear me, a master class in biblical business strategy. This woman, okay, wasn't just running a household, my friends. She was running an empire. And today, we're gonna break down her success blueprint and see how we can apply it today. Alright? So if you guys are ready, go ahead and get a notebook out, get a pen or a pen and pencil or your typewriter or typewriter. Oh my gosh. How old am I? A laptop. And let's begin.
Edna Harding [00:02:59]:
Alright? First and foremost, let's talk about product excellence. Okay? The sixth business pillar. The for number one, product excellence. What does she do? She makes linen garments and sells them. K? So what does that mean? To make it in plain terms for those because who don't understand this type of language, she did not sell cheap rush products. Again, she did not sell cheap rush product. She was known for what? Quality, craftsmanship, and, yes, built in profit margins. Okay? She makes good quality garments and sells them.
Edna Harding [00:03:42]:
Okay? Not gives them away for free, sells them. Okay? You cannot if you there's a difference between selling and giving it. When you're not selling it, the true value, you're giving it away. Okay? It says here that it's she sells them. Okay? So how do we apply this into modern day times? Stop selling mediocre work, number one, and remember that excellence is a non negotiable in kingdom business. Remember, people won't buy crap. Right? People won't buy things that are not valuable, unless they just wanna give away money, unless you just wanna help you out or unless they don't know any better. But normally, when people are willing to pay the price, it's because they know that they get quality work.
Edna Harding [00:04:29]:
Number two, market expansion. And the scripture says she brings her merchandise from afar. Okay. So what does that mean? She didn't stay small. She sourced from what different markets and expanded her reach. So what does that verse tell me? That verse tells me that she had a global vision before international business was a thing. Oh, come on. Jesus help us.
Edna Harding [00:04:55]:
She had a global vision startup. I'm talking to you small business in Tumbaktou. I'm talking to you. Don't limit yourself to your Jerusalem and Judea. Remember, God has called you to the othermost part of the earth, which means don't limit yourself to local sales, but go ahead and increase your capacity to receive and believe for a global business, my friends. Stop playing small. Scale strategically, and expand into new spaces. Number three, investment strategy.
Edna Harding [00:05:32]:
The scripture says she said it said, she considers a field and buys it. So what does that mean? She considers a field and then buys it. She didn't spend her money carelessly. Hear me. She didn't spend her money carelessly. What did she do? She evaluated, she invested, and she multiplied her assets. Okay? When you consider a field, you don't just look at the field and that's it. You think about it.
Edna Harding [00:06:00]:
Right? And what that means is she wasn't just making quick sales. She was building long term wealth. Hear me, my friends. I want you guys to start thinking like an investor, not just an earner. And I want you to ask yourself, where can you plant seeds that will actually grow? I know from a group growth mentoring program, business unlimited. I talk about this in the orientation, a kickoff meeting with my my newbies. Right? I let them know, Hey, you have to invest in your your, your money or your income or your seeds and something that multiplies and something that grows. Right? So you gotta, how do you do that specifically? It's basically, how do you trade your money for time period.
Edna Harding [00:06:45]:
Because you have to either save time, save money, make time, or make money with your investment. So if your money isn't either saving you time, making you time, saving you money, or making you money, you are not multiplying. Okay? I hear hope you hear me by way of the stare. It sounds so simple, but it's very profound, my friends. This has been my decision decision making matrix, if that makes sense. Whenever I'm investing in things or resources or tools or anything, I'm asking myself, is this gonna help me save time, save money, make time, or make money? If that's the case, I go ahead and do it. Alright? It's called stewardship, my friends. Alright.
Edna Harding [00:07:28]:
Number four, team development. Scripture says it says she gives portion to her maidens. What does that mean? She wasn't a solo entrepreneur. What does she do? She hired, she delegate, and she compensated her team fairly. I could assume that if you're doing things the kingdom way. Right? She built systems so her business didn't depend solely on her. Okay? So for me, I already built systems in my business so that I'm not working at in my business. I'm working on my business.
Edna Harding [00:08:01]:
That mistake, I'm thinking I'm dreaming with the Lord. I'm visualizing how can I make things more effective because I already have the basic system, the foundational systems in place to help get my my customer from point a to point b and cross that finish line and enter into their promised land? Right? This is why I always say, create your signature framework. This is I don't care if you have a product, if you have a software, if you have a service, you need to have a signature framework. Basically, it's the operating system that you will take your client or a road map that you would take your client from point a to point b in the same route that's gonna produce the same result. Right? The result that they're desiring for. Right? There could be different level types of result, but there has to be some tangible outcome after going through your system. If you do not get your customer from point a to their end desired goal, you don't have a system. Okay? So which is why I always tell people when you're creating a signature framework, when you're creating systems, make sure that you try it out before you go all out and start saying you have a signature framework if you haven't even produced a single result for a single customer.
Edna Harding [00:09:15]:
Right? So I say all this to say that she created systems so her business didn't spend sorry. Didn't spend. Didn't depend solely on her. So stop trying to do everything alone, my friend. Build a team and create scalable systems. Alright? Alright. Let's go to Number 5, Brand Building. Her works praise her at the city gates.
Edna Harding [00:09:42]:
Okay? What does that mean? Her reputation preceded her. People knew about her because of what her impact. She didn't change it. She didn't change. She didn't chase influence. Her work spoke for itself. So stop forcing visibility. Build something.
Edna Harding [00:10:01]:
Here you go, guys. Listen to me. Build something so excellent that people can't ignore it. They're gonna know, wow, there's something different about you. There's something different about how you do things. There's something different about how you think. There's something different about the results you have. There has to be something different.
Edna Harding [00:10:20]:
If you blend in with your peers, you did not find your competitive advantage. Do you hear me? If you are doing exactly the same thing and getting similar results without, like, similar results, you have not stepped into your genius zone or what I call your glory zone yet. You are operating in a status quo. You're operating in the world systems, in a stat in in a normal system. In order for you to truly be operating in a kingdom minded, kingdom level system, you truly need to produce tangible different results. K? Tangible different results. You're not supposed to blend in with the results of the world. Your results as a kingdom minded business owner should be tangibly different.
Edna Harding [00:11:08]:
And it doesn't necessarily have to be money related. It could be joy related. It could be peace related. Come on, Jesus. It could be relationship related. Right? It could be, happiness related. It could be mindset related. It could be, I don't know, favor related.
Edna Harding [00:11:23]:
Right? It could be, you know, intimacy with God related. The whole point is it has to be tangibly different. You can't just blend in with your peers. Otherwise, you don't have a business. Okay? The businesses that last has a come a very clearly defined differentiator. Okay? And not necessarily be it's the best thing. It could it might not be maybe the best thing out there, but it's different. Does that make sense? People look for different.
Edna Harding [00:11:58]:
Okay? Because anyone can claim that their thing is the best. The only, honestly, the only person that can claim that they have the best business is God. Okay? The only thing that we can do is what have a different method to produce the results. It's our processes, different way of doing things to start thinking. Right? But there has to be something tangibly different. I can't emphasize this enough. Okay? So I want you to ask yourself, am I doing things differently from my peers? If not, how can I do that? Alright? Okay. So let's move on to number five.
Edna Harding [00:12:38]:
Oh, sorry. We talked about brand building. Okay. So next, we gotta do number six. K? Time management. Sorry, guys. My brain just went blank. Oh, time management.
Edna Harding [00:12:48]:
She rises while it's still yet night. What does that mean? She understood what strategic planning, prioritization, and balanced productivity. K? Strategic planning, prioritization, and balanced productivity. Her success wasn't by accident. Right? She was intentional with her time. Intentionality is key. A lot of people talk about this, but I don't think people really understand that this is it. This is it.
Edna Harding [00:13:18]:
Focus. Right? I can't tell you how many times the holy spirit would tell me focus, Edna. Focus. You're getting distracted. Focus. And when I started being intentional about my efforts, about my thinking, even my thinking, like, what I'm thinking about, I'm intentional about what I focus my energy or focus my thoughts on, things started changing. Soon, things started getting easier for me because I'm no longer wasting time. I'm no longer wasting opportunity.
Edna Harding [00:13:50]:
I'm making the most of every opportunity just like the word says by being disciplined, by being committed to the task that God has for me, by repenting when I mess up, because obviously all of us mess up. But most importantly, you're saying, yes, Lord. Yes, Lord. Yes, Lord. Yes, Lord. What does that sound like? That sounds like obedience to me. Remember, God rewards the diligent and the obedient. Right? Are you diligent? Are you com committed? Right? Are you are you, what's that word? Moldable.
Edna Harding [00:14:24]:
Right? Are you flexible? Right? Because sometimes I can't tell you how many times God would tell me something and then he would switch it with me, like, maybe an hour later. I'm like, you just told me to do this. I was like, well, I don't want you to do that. I want you to do something else, but you have to be like a student. Right? A student, just a a hands and feet. It's like you're if you're thank you, holy spirit. It's like God is the mind. Right? And you are just the hands or the feet.
Edna Harding [00:14:47]:
And so if my mind wants my hand to grab that cup, my I'm gonna grab that cup because my mind is the one in charge. So you have to have the mind of Christ. So if Jesus tells you to do something, you just do it. You don't ask questions. You just do it. Right. And that's what I've been doing. So when God tells me to rest, I'll rest.
Edna Harding [00:15:06]:
When God tells me to work, I'll work. When God tells me to work on one thing, I'll do that thing. When God tells me to type something, I'll type something, But I'm starting to get into the grace type of flow where I'm no longer operating, utilizing my drive or my ambition or utilizing what I think I should do based on my intellect, but I'm moving in the rhythm of grace and the rhythm of the holy spirit so that I am flowing. I feel like I literally am floating as a feather. Okay? And I'm just flowing wherever the holy ghost sends me, and it's so much easier. And as I flow with the holy ghost, clients are coming in from the north, the South, the west, and east, left and right, and it's literally falling on my lap. I am not seeking it out. I'm just being a vessel, you know, as much as I could.
Edna Harding [00:15:54]:
I'm just speaking what God tells me to say. I'm thinking what God wants me to think. I'm I'm doing what God wants me to do. And he in turn is taking care of my business and money is just coming into my account. That's what's happening right now. Right? But how did that how did that happen? How did I go from a place of striving to a place of resting and flowing with the holy spirit? Right? It didn't happen overnight. I can tell you that it was a learning process. It was a journey for me to get to where I am now.
Edna Harding [00:16:26]:
And this is the part that I think a lot of people don't really know how to navigate. And even myself, like, going through that journey, I'm not saying I have it all figured out. Please don't get me wrong. But I can tell you that I'm in such a better place right now than I was eight years ago. Okay? Or even ten years ago. Right? Even though I was operating in excellence, even though I had tangible fruits for for my labor back then. Now is like my labor is more hear me by way of the spirit, my friends. My labor is more intensive in the spirit than in the natural.
Edna Harding [00:17:06]:
It's like the more that I labor or do spirit work, hear me, soul work, mind, will, emotions, the natural things follow just like the world's word of God says, you will prosper just as your soul prospers. So now it's no longer theory, but it's truly my reality. I am more relaxed that I've ever been before, and I have more money than I've ever had before. I'm not saying this to brag. I'm saying this to say that God's ways works, but you have to embrace the process. You have to embrace his instruction. You have to humble yourself before the Lord and allow him to purge and remove every branch that is not bearing fruit. Basically, he's gonna simplify things for your life and be okay with letting those things go knowing that if he's telling you to let that project go or to let that business go or to let that, you know, service go, that there's a reason for it because he does not want you to be toiling.
Edna Harding [00:18:16]:
He wants you to be in full intimacy with God and still be a vessel of his truth, of his glory, of his power, of his provision, of his blessing without sacrificing, hear me, your intimacy with God. Tell me, how many of you guys have sacrificed your intimacy with god to get the provision from god? Does not not make sense? So he let me get this straight. I'm sacrificing my intimacy with god to get the provision of God. Come on. Hear me by way of the spirit. I had to learn this the hard way. It was going around the same mountain over and over again. I'm like, okay.
Edna Harding [00:19:00]:
Why God? Why do I feel like I'm going one step forward, two steps back, one step forward, two steps back is because I was operating, hear me, in the flesh not in the spirit, which means I was feeding my, my fleshly man, my fleshly desires, what I think I should do versus what god desires, and what god desires is intimacy with you. Oh my gosh. I know. I know, Edna. I know, my friends. It's so simple, but it's so complex because why can't we just believe that all God wants is our heart? He wants our obedience. K, not sacrifice. Oh, come on, Jesus.
Edna Harding [00:19:43]:
Come on. He wants our love and not our sacrifice. Not what we could do for him, but he wants us. Mind, body, soul, spirit, everything. He wants us first, and the rest is just extra. But, ultimately, he wants intimacy with you. He wants your relationship. He wants your fellowship.
Edna Harding [00:20:05]:
He wants your your your just hanging out with him. He does not wants the things that are coming out of your hands. What he wants is you first. And out of the abundance, out of the overflow of his spirit that's operating in you, the fruits would naturally follow. You would naturally bear fruits because you're rooted, hear me, through the vine. That Jesus is the vine. We are the branches. When we are stuck to the vine who brings life because of our intimacy with God, there is nothing there is no other way that sorry.
Edna Harding [00:20:45]:
How how how do I say this? It's it's inevitable. You will bear fruit because you're connected to the one who is the fruit. Come on, Jesus. You're connected to the vine. When you're not connected to the vine, you will not bear fruit, which is why scripture talks about he cuts the branches that does not bear fruit, which means if you are a branch that's not connected with the Lord, meaning whatever it is that you're doing is not helping you keep that intimacy with God, he wants you to cut it off. So I had to look at my schedule. I had to look at everything, my projects, all the things that I was working on. I need to ask I always ask God, is this taking away from my intimacy with God? Does this particular service or does this particular client take away my intimacy with God or my peace with God? Is this taking away my joy? Is this helping me bear fruits of the spirit? If those things are not doing that, I need to repurge it off my life, purge it off my business, purge it off my relationships, purge it off my mind because that is not edifying me.
Edna Harding [00:21:56]:
That is not building up the spirit man inside of me. Instead, it is making my flesh win, and, ultimately, I will not be able to operate in the supernatural acts of God because I am using my flesh and not my spirit man. Sorry, guys. I feel like I'm yelling, but I'm not. I'm just so passionate about this because this is what's missing. I am tired of seeing the body of Christ living mediocre lives because they're prioritizing their gifting or they're prioritizing their destiny or they're prioritizing their call instead of their intimacy with the Lord. And mind you, my friends, I know you hear this before time and time again in churches, but are we really hearing it? Are we hearing it? Not just with our ears, but with our spirit man. Because if we truly are hearing it with our spirit man, we will be convicted, not condemned, convicted.
Edna Harding [00:23:01]:
Because we have allowed other things that the world has to bring as an idol to to replace our intimacy with God when truly all he wants is our heart. All he wants is us to be a student of his word, to understand his character, to be and desire more like to be like him, and everything else will be given onto us. Alright? So what were the results of a Proverbs 31 business? Let's go ahead and go back to that part. I hope this is helping you. It's helping me just hearing me say it. And I can tell you this is not just me speaking. This is the holy spirit just using my mouth as a vessel to speak truth in your life right now because we are wasting our efforts, wasting our time, wasting our stress levels, wasting our our energy on things that are no relevant to our current season. We truly have stepped into a new chapter in our lives, and we have to let the old things go, the old ways go, the old mindsets gold go.
Edna Harding [00:24:12]:
The strongholds need to go and allow the Lord to demolish those things that is keeping us bound in the old season so that we could truly step into the new. Okay. Now, when we do that, what can we see? Good question, Edna. Here we go. Let me tell you, number one, it says her trading is profitable. She ran a thriving business. Number two, her lamp does not go out at night. That means she created sustainable success.
Edna Harding [00:24:45]:
K. Number three, what else did it say in the proverbs 31? She laughs at the time to come. She had peace about the future because she built wisely. Right? She built wisely. She has peace knowing that she built her business on a solid foundation that no matter what happens in the environment, in the in the in the government, in the systems of the world, it doesn't matter. Her business will stand firm because it was built on solid ground because it was built, what, on the truth of Jesus Christ. You know, the proverbs 31 women didn't stress about where her next sale was coming from. She didn't run or burn out.
Edna Harding [00:25:29]:
She built a business with what wisdom, excellence, and divine strategy. And guess what? She thrived. But what was her foundation? What was the ultimate business secret? Right? What made all this success possible? And here's the secret. And it's found in verse 31. It says, a woman who fears the Lord shall be praised. A woman who fears the Lord shall be praised. So what does she do? She put God first. Number two, she worked from wisdom, not just hustle.
Edna Harding [00:26:00]:
Number three, she sought excellent, not not just quick wins. Because here's the truth it guys, here's the truth, and I hope you hear me by way of the spirit. When you align your business with God's principles, success isn't just possible. It's evitable. It's guaranteed. Because scripture, God does not lie. If he tells you, if you meditate on my word day and night, you will be prosperous. He cannot go against his word.
Edna Harding [00:26:29]:
If you meditate on his word day and night, which is why I'm challenging my my clients right now. I'm challenging them to read the Bible front to back and not just read it for the sake of reading it, but truly read it to understand and meditate on it. Allow the word of God to to renew your mind, right, to transform us from the inside out. Because once we start taking care of our inner man, all the natural stuff will follow. So here's my challenge to you, my friend. If you want to build a business that reflects this level of excellence and kingdom impact, I want you to start by asking, where do I need to level up? K? Do you need to invest in quality? K. Do you need to stop being so cheap and invest in the best coaching ever? Just kidding. I was gonna put a plug on myself, but the holy spirit is like, okay.
Edna Harding [00:27:22]:
Stop. Don't do that. I was like, that's my flesh, honestly. But, seriously, I'm here to help. Right? I I've been where you are. I know exactly the decisions and the navigate the how to navigate through, fog, lack of clarity. I I I've learn I can speak from the other side that and it's not just me, obviously. I'm not learning this all by myself.
Edna Harding [00:27:47]:
I have people who I have mentors and coach well, not really coaches. I have coaches for the worldly stuff, but I'm when I would say words are like AI and all those things. But when it comes to spiritual things, I have mentors, spiritual fathers, and spiritual mothers who are truly in tune with the spirit of God and have had tangible fruits in our lives. Right? And I invest my time talking with them, interacting with them. Right? I invest my money in working with them. Why? Because I know that they know their stuff. Right? They've been there, done that. So stop going cheap or stop trying to invest in things that that you can afford, but invest in things that you know God is telling you to get.
Edna Harding [00:28:38]:
Even if it's outside your pay grade. I've done that before my friends, and it hurt me. My flesh died, but it was always worth it because I learned so much because I obeyed God. I wanna ask yourself, I want you to ask yourself, how can you expand your vision? Are you limiting to yourself to what you see in the natural? Or is God telling you to think bigger, dream bigger, live bigger, right? Grow bigger. Maybe he's asking you to develop a team. Maybe he's asking you to hire people outside of you so that you could truly be all God wants you to be, because now you have additional help. That is something that I'm working on myself. And do you have a reputation that speaks for itself? If so, how can you build it to be? Right? What is your reputation and what is it saying? Right? You could have a reputation, but is it a good reputation? Is it a type of reputation that you believe God wants you to have? If not, how can you change that? Alright? Well, my friends, I hope this episode helped.
Edna Harding [00:29:40]:
I am so passionate about this topic because I truly believe that the world is looking for the true light, the city on the hill, the salt of the earth, and my friend, that is you. Okay? Now if you love this episode, please share it with someone who needs to hear this today. Remember that a Prophesy 31 business isn't a pie in the sky. It truly can be your reality with the right counsel. And that starts with intimacy with the Lord, right direction from the Holy Spirit, and trusted wise counsel who are already living and breathing and fellowshipping with the spirit of God and not only in their business, but it also in their family life. Right? So remember guys that kingdom business isn't just about profit. Okay? It's about impact. It's about legacy.
Edna Harding [00:30:38]:
It's about faith driven actions. It's about wisdom. And most importantly, it's about sustainable success, success that could be passed on to future generations. Alright, my friends? So if you're interested in learning more about any of my programs, visit my website, favorandwealth.com. I would love to work with you in the near future. Until next time, keep building, keep leading, and keep pursuing excellence with integrity God's way. I love you all, and have a great week ahead. Blessings, my friends.
Edna Harding [00:31:15]:
Take care. Thanks for joining us this week on Estrepreneur. Make sure to visit our website, favorandwealth.com, for more information on our services. While you're at it, if you found value in this show, we'd appreciate a rating on iTunes, or if you simply tell a friend about the show, that would help me out too. Also, check out my book, The Old New Side of Sales, available on Amazon, where I share seven of my secrets on how to win and grow business the right way. Until next time, keep shining.
