By Tanya Lawrence, EA | The Christian Business
Last Updated: 10/5/2026
This is Part 1 of The Fig Tree Test, a 3-part series on what one fig tree in Mark 11 teaches business owners.
Why Is My Business Busy but Not Making Money?
Your business can look successful from a distance and still leave you broke up close.
Being busy and being fruitful are not the same thing. A full calendar, a full inbox, and long hours are activity. Fruit is what that activity actually produces: clients served, invoices collected, profit made, cash in the bank, and debt paid down.
If your business is busy but not making money, the problem usually isn't your effort. It's that your effort is producing leaves instead of fruit.
Jesus walked up to this exact picture in Mark 11.
The Fig Tree Jesus Walked Up To (Mark 11:13-14)
The day after Jesus rode into Jerusalem, He was walking back into the city with His disciples, and He was hungry (Mark 11:12). Then this happened:
"Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to find out if it had any fruit. When he reached it, he found nothing but leaves, because it was not the season for figs. Then he said to the tree, 'May no one ever eat fruit from you again.' And his disciples heard him say it." (Mark 11:13-14, NIV)
From a distance, the tree looked productive. It was full of leaves.
But when Jesus got close, there was nothing there.
Nothing but leaves.
Why the Leaves Mattered
You might wonder why Jesus walked over at all if Mark says it wasn't the season for figs.
Fig trees in that part of the world often put out small early fruit around the same time their leaves come in. So a tree full of leaves was sending a message: There should be something here.
That's why Jesus went to look. The tree looked ready. It wasn't.
That's what catches my attention. The leaves made a promise the tree couldn't keep.
The biblical principle: Looking productive is not the same as being productive. Jesus didn't judge the tree by its leaves. He walked up and looked for fruit.
Applied to business: You can't judge your business by how busy it looks either. You have to walk up close and look for fruit.
Leaves vs. Fruit in Your Business
Here's how I think about it.
Leaves are activity. They look like:
• Emails and phone calls
• Meetings
• Planning
• Posting on social media
• Creating new offers
• Changing systems
• Working long hours and always being busy
Fruit is results. It looks like:
• Clients served and work completed
• Invoices collected
• Profit generated
• Cash building up in the bank
• Debt reduced
• Referrals received
• Clients who stay
Here's the important part. Leaves aren't bad. A fig tree needs leaves. Your business needs emails, meetings, marketing, and planning.
The problem is when leaves are all there is.
My calendar can be completely full while my business produces very little. And honestly, the full calendar can fool me into thinking things are going well.
What Does the Bible Say About Being Busy but Not Productive?
In Mark 11, a tree that looked busy wasn't enough. Jesus was looking for fruit, and leaves didn't satisfy Him.
The Bible doesn't treat work as a bad thing. Work matters. But this passage shows that appearance and results are two different things, and Jesus cared about the results.
For a Christian business owner, that means the question isn't only Am I working? It's also Is my work producing anything?
As an Enrolled Agent who has worked with small business owners for more than 20 years, I look at a lot of financial statements. And there's more behind those numbers than what you see on a statement. But the numbers are still where the fruit shows up.
How to Inspect the Fruit Instead of the Effort
Here's what I would do if your business is busy but not making money.
1. Change the question you ask every week.
Instead of asking, Did I work hard this week? ask, What did my work produce? Those two questions lead to very different answers.
2. Pick fruit you can actually count.
Choose three to five results that matter most in your business. For example: money collected, new clients, clients kept, billable work completed, referrals, profit, and your cash balance. Check them every week.
3. Write down your leaves.
For one week, write down where your time actually goes. Next to each activity, write what it produced. Some things will produce fruit right away. Some will produce it later. And some will produce nothing at all.
4. Cut the leaves that never produce.
If something keeps eating up your time, money, and attention without producing meaningful fruit, ask yourself why you're still doing it. Maybe it needs to change. Maybe it needs to go.
5. Protect what produces fruit.
Collections, client retention, finishing billable work, referrals, follow-ups, and strong systems all produce something. Put them on your calendar first, before the leaves crowd them out.
In my business, if we don't do the work, we have no one to invoice. That's as simple as fruit gets.
What This Does Not Mean
• It doesn't mean activity is bad. Leaves are part of a healthy tree. The goal is not less work. It's work that produces something.
• It doesn't mean your value to God is measured by your revenue. A slow month is not proof of weak faith. This is about how you run your business, not about how much God loves you.
• It doesn't mean every slow month means your business is failing. Seasons are real. That's what Part 2 of this series is about.
• It doesn't mean the answer is to work harder. Often the answer is fewer leaves and more attention on the fruit.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does it mean when a business is busy but not making money?
It usually means the business is producing activity instead of results. The owner is working, but the work isn't turning into collected income, profit, or cash. The fix starts with measuring results every week, not just effort.
Is my business productive or just busy?
Look at what your work produced this week, not how many hours you worked. If you can't point to clients served, money collected, or progress on profit or debt, your business may be busy without being productive.
What does the fig tree in Mark 11 mean for business owners?
In Mark 11:13-14, Jesus found a fig tree full of leaves but no fruit. The leaves made it look productive, but up close there was nothing there. For business owners, it's a picture of the difference between looking busy and actually producing results.
Why did Jesus look for figs if it wasn't the season?
Fig trees in that region often put out small early fruit around the same time as their leaves, so a tree in full leaf signaled that something should be there. I also think there's a bigger lesson about seasons here, which I cover in Part 2 of this series.
How do I know which activities to cut?
Track your time for one week and write down what each activity produced. If something keeps using up time and money without producing results over several months, it's a strong candidate to change or cut.
What should a small business owner measure every week?
Pick three to five results that matter most in your business, such as money collected, new clients, clients kept, completed billable work, profit, and cash balance. The point is to measure fruit, not just activity.
Fruit, Not Just Leaves
Jesus didn't judge the tree by its leaves. He walked up close and looked for fruit.
I want to do the same thing with my business. Not just ask if I'm busy, but ask what my busyness is producing.
I don't want a business covered in beautiful leaves with nothing underneath them.
I want fruit, not just activity.
And in Part 2, I'll talk about the part of this verse I think most people skip over: it was not the season for figs.
Until next time, go build the business God put in your heart. Build with faith, lead with purpose, and most importantly, expect good things.