A new book by Dan Mikus · Coming soon
When God Doesn’t Save Your Business
A Christian CEO’s $35 Million Failure and the Faith That Survived It
I prayed over every decision. I lost my company anyway.
On July 7, 2026, the hospice company I led closed its doors. This is the book I needed in the middle of it.
The story
Faith doesn’t make payroll.
For years I believed that if I prayed hard enough and worked hard enough, God would protect what He had helped me build. I took a pay cut of more than $50,000 to join a struggling hospice company because I was sure He had opened the door. We grew it to 400 patients and more than 300 employees.
Then it came apart in pieces. An acquisition I didn’t vet well enough. The sudden death of a partner. An insurance policy canceled. Funding that fell through. Every week I prayed for the turnaround, and every week I kept the doors open a little longer.
Day 41 never came.
This book doesn’t blame anyone. The hardest facts in it land on my own decisions: the warning signs I explained away, the hard calls I put off, and the times I asked God to bless what I had already decided to do.
“I used my faith as an excuse to hang on longer than I should have.”From the book
The big idea
God leading you is not God guaranteeing the outcome you want. What He guarantees is the work He’s doing in you.
Philippians 1:6
The hard facts of business will test your faith, and your faith will shape your business. This is what happens when you get either one wrong, and how to lead through it.
Who it’s for
For the leader in the hole right now, and the one who wants to see it coming.
The owner who’s running out of runway
Payroll is Friday and the cash isn’t there. You’re praying for a door to open. You need a way to face the numbers and decide, while you still have choices.
The leader with people depending on them
Your team, your patients or customers, your family. You’ll learn how to tell the truth first, take care of people on the way down, and close well if it comes to that.
Anyone who prayed and lost anyway
You did what you thought faith asked of you, and it didn’t work. This book won’t hand you a tidy answer. It will show you what faith looks like on the other side of the loss.
What you’ll take with you
Two models. Ten principles. Tools you can use on Monday.
Leading the business
The Seed and the Four Shells
Every calling God plants grows inside a shell, and the shell has to crack. These are the four shells that nearly every owner carries, and the ones that cost me a company:
- Wanting money and power
- Mistaking blessing for a guarantee
- Running on feel
- Avoiding hard calls
Leading yourself
The Trust Curve
The Trust Curve follows six stages: pain, fear, anxiety, faith, peace and joy. It helps you recognize when fear is making your decisions and take a step toward trusting God with the outcome.
The pain may still be there. Faith makes room for peace and joy while you lead through it.
- The 13-Week Cash CheckSee the cliff before you reach it.
- Ten due-diligence questionsThe questions I wish I’d asked before the acquisition.
- The closing-well checklistPayroll, taxes, guarantees and the people you owe.
- A 90-day planFor the first season after the loss.
- “Carry it” at every chapter’s endOne principle and questions to take into your week.
Inside the book
Every chapter title is a rule I learned the hard way.
Part One · Planted
- 01The Seed and the Shell
- 02Faith Doesn’t Make Payroll
- 03Blessing Is Not Evidence
Part Two · Pruned
- 04Peace Is Not Due Diligence
- 05Bad News First
- 06Hope Needs a Deadline
Part Three · In Season
- 07What I Got Wrong
- 08The Trust Curve
- 09You Failed. You Are Not a Failure.
- 10Restoration Isn’t Reversal
Opens with the Prologue: The Coin Jar · Closes with the Epilogue: Day 41
For your team, group or event
Read it together.
The book was built to be discussed. Each chapter ends with practical questions your group can use to reflect on faith, leadership and the decisions in front of you.
dmikus@d41consulting.com
- SpeakingPeer advisory groups, business fellowships, churches and leadership retreats.
- Small groups and leadership teamsUse the chapter questions to start honest conversations about faith and leadership.
- Group readingContact Dan to discuss using the book with your team, members or congregation.
Not a Failure Yet
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- The Seed and Shell Self-Assessment when it’s ready
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