Tentmaking Tips

I remember years ago as I was pastoring Experience Life that my cousin said to me, “Chris, you should get your real estate license. You never know when you might be able to help put a deal together.”

I think your seriousness about financial freedom can be measured by how much money you invest each month.

Nat had a passion and an idea.

He wanted to help dads with young kids navigate the pressures of early childhood. He knew the problem. He'd lived it. He cared deeply about it.

But there was a gap between who he was and what he was building.

Here's how he described it:

"Simon's really helped me to engage with people, to understand their language, the problems that they're facing, so that my idea doesn't just stay like a good idea, but become something that really meets people where they're at and helps them along their journey."

He launched a pilot program with seven people on it and is now well on the way to becoming a tentmaking pastor.

Not because he had it all figured out. Not because he was a business person. But because he took what he cared about, got clear on who it was for, and took one step at a time.

This is something I see a lot with pastors and Christian leaders.

The passion is there. The calling is there. But somewhere in the gap between who you are and what you're ...

Chris and I have been working on something and it's finally ready.

The 5-Step Tentmaking Blueprint Masterclass. 75 minutes. $17.

Here's what we cover:

1. Theological Foundation. Why God calls some to tentmaking, and why it's not Plan B.

2. The Identity Shift. Moving from surviving to thriving in dual calling.

3. Finding Your Sweet Spot. Scalable models that actually fit around ministry.

4. How to Stop Wasting Time. Finding the right coach and avoiding endless rabbit trails.

5. Communicating Well. How to share your tentmaking calling with confidence.

Chris and I are both tentmaking pastors. Between us we've built businesses in course creation, coaching, travel hacking, and property. We built this because we couldn't find anything that addressed the real blockers, the theology, the identity, the practical path, all in one place.

This isn't theory. It's what we've actually done and what we've helped others do.

You get the full 75-minute video masterclass plus the audio version s...

Neil is an amateur running coach who wanted to turn his expertise into income.

He had done all the research.

Watched the YouTube videos. Studied the gurus. Promised himself that one day he'd start building something.

But he was still stuck. And he couldn't quite figure out why.

Then he got some direction. Not a course. Not another video. Just a conversation that gave him clarity on exactly what to do next by helping him work out who he could help and how he could help them.

Within two weeks he had posted about his niche on Instagram. That's it. Just talking about what he did and who he helped using the clarity he'd just gained.

What happened next shocked him!

A running club he'd never heard of messaged him asking him to come and give a talk. Offering to pay him 250 dollars.

Then a complete stranger messaged asking if they could pay him to teach them what he does.

Then another person got his number from a friend and called him. Same question. Same request to pay.

Three people....

In the last newsletter I wrote about the value of protesting your property taxes each year.

 I wrote A Reminder to Protest several newsletters back and I wanted to update you on my progress this year.

I got a message this week that made me smile.

Erin is a Bible teacher. A few months ago she was struggling to find a way to turn her knowledge into a tentmaking income. Good knowledge, genuine expertise, real desire to help people. But nothing was converting.

She wanted to use her coaching gift mixed with her Biblical knowledge to make an offer that people would genuinely be happy to pay for but without her feeling like she'd 'sold out' or was 'peddling the word of God for profit.' A tough call! 

We talked and mapped out a way to do so a few months back.

This week she messaged me to say she'd just closed her fifth high ticket client at $3,000 each.

"I'm doing well... just closed my 5th high ticket client today!!!"

What changed?

Not her knowledge. She already had that. Not her passion. She had plenty of that too.

What changed was the way she structured what she offered. The systems around her expertise. The clarity of her offer.

This is something I see again and again with past...

I was working with someone recently who had never sold anything online before.

She had the knowledge. She had the experience. She had years of it, honestly. But every time we got close to actually putting something out there, something pulled her back.

It took a while to get to the root of it.

Then one day she said something that stood out.

"I've given this stuff away for free for so many years, I think I've believed the lie that it's not worth very much."

There it was.

Not a strategy problem. Not a tech problem. Not even a time problem. An identity problem. She had spent so long in a role where her expertise was given freely, expected freely, that somewhere along the way she had internalised a story about what her knowledge was actually worth.

This is one of the most common things I see with pastors and Christian leaders. The very culture that shaped you, the generosity, the service, the giving, can quietly teach you that what you know has no monetary value.

It does. It really...

A few years ago, this was the question that nearly stopped me before I started.

I remember sitting with this idea, that pastors and Christian leaders had genuinely valuable knowledge, hard-won wisdom, real expertise, and thinking: even if I build something, how on earth do I find the people who need it?

Like Matt - a pastor I've been working with who's just launched his first paid online course helping people overcome conflict.

A few months ago Matt and I had never even met - but he signed up for my program and followed the steps and now has his first offer out in the world, coaching his first clients with skills he's gained over 30 years.

But how did Matt find me? It came through having a very clear offer that fit what Matt needed and talking about it in the right spaces.

Here's what I've learned since then: traction is usually the last problem, not the first.

When you're clear on who you help and what problem you solve, and then start talking about it in the right places, peopl...