“All growth is not financial.” – Dr. Darnyelle Jervey Harmon
Episode Summary
When you set on a trajectory to build your company, did you tell yourself that you’d grow and grow and grow and every year you’d increase the percentage of growth? Yeah, I did too before I realized that is not how growth in business works. Growth is not linear. Some months will be up, others will be down and then there will be those that are way up…. And it’s all growth.
If you desire to run a company that sells, makes and profits millions of dollars per year, there is one thing you need to be clear about – all growth is NOT financial. Will there be financial growth? Absolutely. But there will also be self-growth, leadership growth, operational infrastructure growth, systems growth, team growth and prayerfully, spiritual growth.
And the truth of the matter is that the growth will happen in phases and take a commitment to recalibration during and between phases. In this episode, I break down the essential phases of business growth so that you can determine which phase you are currently in and what it will take to shift into the next business growth phase. From navigating market recalibrations to mastering the business cycle, this episode will help you gain clarity and chart a path to what growth will look like for you and your company.
If you’ve ever envisioned yourself standing tall as a million-dollar CEO, navigating through business cycles with precision and foresight, then you cannot afford to miss this. Grab your pen and Move to Millions Podcast notepad as we dive into invaluable insights that can shape your journey to and beyond the million-dollar mark.
Listen in to discover:
- An overview of the cycles of business
- The importance of the 3R’s: recalibrate, review and reset
- How to invest based on your phase of growth
- And so much more
Powerful Quotes During the Episode:
“Understanding the cyclical nature of business is not just a strategy; it’s a necessity for sustainability.”
“Profit isn’t just a number; it’s the lifeblood of your business. Protect it fiercely, especially during contractions.”
“Your ability to simplify and scale your business will set the foundation for your financial and spiritual abundance.”
“Communication is key. Know your ideal clients’ challenges and desires to adapt and lead your business effectively through different phases.”
“Investment in growth is non-negotiable. Spend wisely on hiring, infrastructure, and marketing to carve your path to millions.”
Want more of Darnyelle?
Social Media Links:
- http://www.instagram.com/darnyellejerveyharmon
- http://www.facebook.com/darnyellejerveyharmon
- http://www.twitter.com/darnyellejervey
- http://www.linkedin.com/in/darnyellejerveyharmon
Subscribe to the Move to Millions Podcast:
Listen on iTunes
Listen on Google Play
Listen on Stitcher
Listen on iHeartRadio
Listen on Pandora
Leave us a review
Are you subscribed to my podcast? If you’re not, I want to encourage you to do that today. I don’t want you to miss an episode. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the mix and if you’re not subscribed there’s a good chance you’ll miss out on those.
Now if you’re feeling extra loving, I would be really grateful if you left me a review over on iTunes, too. Those reviews help other people find my podcast and they’re also fun for me to go in and read. Just click here to review, select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” and let me know what your favorite part of the podcast is. Thank you!
======
Darnyelle Jervey Harmon [00:00:00]:
When you are expanding and you’re at your peak, you’re spending probably a lot more. Your profit may be going down, but as you’re in a contraction, you want to start really paying attention to profit and profitability because that’s going to help to make sure that you make it through. You’re listening to the Move to Millions.
Darnyelle Jervey Harmon [00:00:19]:
Podcast with Dr Darnyelle Jervey Harmon, the place to be for high level conversations about all things millions. Your mission, mindset, methodologies, mandates, movement, messaging, marketing metrics, and most definitely your money. I am your host, spiritual business growth coach, doctor Darnyelle J. Harmon. Join me each week for inspiring stories, powerful interviews, and business growth strategy to help you experience abundance in your life because of your business. If you’re ready to move to your next level, everything let’s get this party started.
Darnyelle Jervey Harmon [00:01:02]:
Welcome back to a another episode of the Move to Millions Podcast. I am always so excited for an opportunity to just spitfire to pontificate and just hang out with you. Now, if you are new around here, indulge me for a few minutes while I share a little bit more about me and this . My work meets at the convergence of spiritual principles, business growth strategy, and financial literacy. I am an absolutely, unequivocally unapologetic God girl who is making millions through our movement Move to Millions. We work with clients that are about their birthright, their business, and their bank accounts. They know they don’t have to choose, that they can love God and they can make millions of dollars. Our clients are in businesses that are generating mid to high multiple six or seven figures.
Darnyelle Jervey Harmon [00:01:57]:
Money is not their problem. The millions messy middle is. They need the support required to create an operational infrastructure that they can scale and sustain without burning out before they can cash out. Our clients have tried to navigate the millions messy middle and no matter what they’ve tried, things keep breaking and it’s distracting enough to derail them from the milestone of millions that they know that they were called to do. Our clients are tired. Their teams are not producing at the level that is commensurate with their potential. Their systems are not robust enough for the business that is next for them, and they often think that they need to burn their business down or start over or scale back. But the truth is, what they need is to expand their capacity through embodiment, conscious leadership, operational obedience, and strategic alignment.
Darnyelle Jervey Harmon [00:02:49]:
So welcome, welcome, welcome. If this is your very first time listening to the Move to Millions Podcast, as your host, it is my mission to teach you, to equip you, to share insights and strategies that will allow you to scale and sustain a business that serves you financially and spiritually. Because I am equipped to coach and consult and mentor on the full spectrum of business, and I lay on a bed of million and multimillion dollar clients that I’ve created in just the last few years. Those who come and spend time with me. And you’ll witness it too, by listening to this powerful Podcast. Get to experience the business bank and birthright trifecta. So I’m excited that you are here with me today. In this episode, I’m answering a question that slid into my DM’s and it was such a great question that I was like, oh, let me spend some time talking about this in an episode on the Podcast.
Darnyelle Jervey Harmon [00:03:48]:
And I want to do this because often I think as business owners and entrepreneurs, we don’t pay attention to what is happening cyclically inside of business. We are nose down, head down in the weeds of our business that we don’t ever take time to strategically look up and preside over what is actually happening. And often, as entrepreneurs and small business owners that aren’t starting businesses with proper business acumen, we don’t understand the significance of key performance indicators and the data that shares a lot about what might be happening in our business. So when things start to go awry, we enter a sense of panic and desperation. Our back is against the wall and all we know to do is to come out fighting, which may not necessarily be the answer that restores your business to the glory of being on a path to scale and sustain. So today in this episode, we’re going to get into all of that and so much more. As I break down to you the phases and stage it. Not stages.
Darnyelle Jervey Harmon [00:04:54]:
I’m going to stick with phases, the phases of a business, right? When you are in a business, I hope that you expect that all the growth that you experience is not going to be financial. I say this to our Move to Millions mastermind clients all the time. All group is not financial. Some growth is actually going to not show in the numbers and we’re going to get into all of that today. Here’s the question. As you’ve grown over the years, what kind of growth phases have you experienced? Has it always been up and to the right? Or have you gone through phases where you had to start over, reset, recalibrate, or whatever we want to call it? I know you speak about the messy middle of scale even after you get to the million dollar mark. So I’m really curious about that. I got so excited when I got this question I’m going to share with you first what my immediate answer was as I receive this in my DM’s.
Darnyelle Jervey Harmon [00:05:48]:
And then I’m going to give you a little bit of backstory and a little bit of information that will really be helpful to you now, depending upon where you are in your business. Now, I know we have listeners to this Podcast that are all over the Move to Millions continuum. So the continuum, as a reminder, has mapping. That’s when you haven’t yet made $100,000 a year, momentum where you are making $100,000 a year, mastery when you’re making $100,000 a quarter, millions when you’re making $100,000 a month, majesty when you’re making $100,000 a week, monumental when you’re making $100,000 a day, and Maverick, when you can make $100,000 in an hour. We’re all about collapsing the amount of time it takes for you to make your next six figures. You could be anywhere on the spectrum. Some of this may not even be relevant to where you are in your business today, but it’s an education I want you to have nonetheless, because there will become a time if you stay in business that you will have to think about the phases of business and what that looks like from a growth perspective or as the various phases ensue inside of your business, what that’s going to mean. All right, so as I responded to the question, I said personally, I haven’t seen completely linear growth for me or clients.
Darnyelle Jervey Harmon [00:07:04]:
All growth isn’t financial. And some quarters or years require growth that is other in order to eventually experience financial growth. What I’m finding right now is that many people are experiencing the constriction of the marketplace because it’s recalibrating following COVID-19. Now, if you were in the marketplace pre COVID, it was the marketplace we find ourselves in again. It was a marketplace where sales cycle were a little bit longer, buyers were a little bit more skeptical, and it’s going to take that eleven to 23 touch points on average in order to get to the decision. The. Yes, the enrollment, okay, that’s where we were pre COVID, COVID-19 happened, and it set the marketplace into a tizzy. For the first time ever in our lifetime, we were experiencing a national pandemic, an international, global pandemic, actually.
Darnyelle Jervey Harmon [00:07:58]:
And that global pandemic made us call everything we know and believe, what makes us feel safe, what makes us feel certain, what makes us feel like we matter into question and as a result, the way that we responded was through retail therapy. That means that we started buying a lot of stuff. Ever wish as a Podcast episode comes to an end that we could spend more time together? Well, I want to make sure that you know about our free community on Facebook. If you are a millions minded entrepreneur who wants to go from millions on your mind to millions in your bank account, then we should spend more time together. Get all the details you need to join us in our free Facebook [email protected].
Darnyelle Jervey Harmon [00:08:46]:
I know you love the Move to Millions Podcast. I know you can’t wait every single week for me to drop a new episode. You know what that tells me? It tells me that you’re also gonna love my brand new book, move to Millions, the proven framework to become a million dollar CEO with grace and ease instead of hustling grind. Listen to me. Everything you need to know to make millions of dollars without losing your shirt, your sanity, or anything that’s important to you in the process is in this powerful book. It takes what you are experiencing each week on the Podcast to the App Store next level. Go now to movetomillionsbook.com to grab your copy.
Darnyelle Jervey Harmon [00:09:33]:
While we are on this quick commercial break, let me take this opportunity to remind you that when it comes to making the Move to Millions, we’ve got you covered. I created my proven framework, the Move to Millions method, to help you simplify, scale and sustain a company that serves you financially and spiritually. From the book, to the planner, to our live event and tons of free cheat sheets to help you plan, prepare and position your company to make millions, we are your full service resource. Learn more now by visiting movetomillions.com. There were a lot of businesses that crossed the million dollar mark for the very first time in 2020. We had many clients in 2021, 2022 that crossed the million dollar mark all three of those years. And what we have found is that that growth was not sustainable because the people that were buying were buying out of a crisis, for lack of a better way to describe it. And so now that we are post pandemic and we’re in 2024, there is a constriction.
Darnyelle Jervey Harmon [00:10:42]:
Now, the media would lead you to believe that this is, you know, recessionary. And while the possibility of a recession still exists, so does the possibility of the moon falling out of the sky. Right? And so instead of focusing on recession, what we have to realize is that the constriction is now happening because the market base is recalibrating all of the extra disposable income that people had in 2019, 2020, they’re now tightening their purse strings so they’re not just buying willy nilly, which means those people who came into the marketplace and rolled the bubble, if there is not substance to what they’re offering, they are not seeing sales right now. And for those of us who have always offered quality to the marketplace, we might still be experiencing some constriction because there’s less resource being exchanged right now based on everything recalibrating. Now, having said that, I went on to say I personally believe that a business that is on a growth trajectory, doing millions of dollars per year, is likely to experience the need to reevaluate, recalibrate and reset every two to three years. Now, the length and the magnitude of that resetting is going to vary, right? For some clients, it is going to be a complete upheaval and overhaul. For others, it’s just going to be just reevaluating the core systems and the vision of the company. And do you have the right people in place to take you to where it is that you want to go during those times? Revenue may adjust, but leadership and operational infrastructure should continue to increase because it’s hard to see a revenue increase without also seeing a productivity or output increase happen amongst the team that you have.
Darnyelle Jervey Harmon [00:12:33]:
Which is why developing your team at all times is something that is really essential for us when we’re working with clients. Often we want to see the revenue growth happen first or the expansion phase. We want their revenue to recalibrate. We want cash flow to get good and strong so that they have the capital that they need in order to continue the work to scale. Because it is going to take money to make more money. Whether that’s being spent through hiring, through systems and infrastructure, whatever it is, there is going to need to be a financial output in order to get to your next level. And you might even also have to change the way that you’re marketing. Right? You may have been able to get away with referrals or gambit marketing, but in order to scale, you might actually have to start looking at advertising.
Darnyelle Jervey Harmon [00:13:20]:
So all of those things need to be taken into consideration. What it takes to grow revenue and keep operational centers intact can become a heavy lift if you don’t have the right team and systems. So you always need to be evaluating the team that you have in the systems that you have. Usually it’s going to take, it’s going to allow for one thing to take the front seat and something else to kind of be in the background. Right. You’re going to be doing one or the other. And so you’re going to have to evaluate the phases to determine which phase you’re in and where you actually need to be focusing at that particular point in time. When we have a client that isn’t where their cash flow needs to be, we make that the first thing that we focus on is increasing cash flow and then we tighten infrastructure, because if we don’t, we compromise their revenue being stabilized enough for them to be able to grow.
Darnyelle Jervey Harmon [00:14:11]:
Because business is cyclical, the grind has the potential to enter if a, you don’t have support enough that your team is not great and they can’t keep everything increasing, b, you don’t have the right leadership in place, or c, you focus solely on one at the expense of the rest. So it’s really, really important to understand that as you’re experiencing growth, you got to raise all tides in a way that is consistent and in alignment. While one might take the front seat, you have to obviously be cognizant of and thinking about the others, because any focus on one over the others is going to send the others potentially into a tailspin. When we think about the phases of business growth and what happens in the business cycle, there’s roughly four phases that we’re going to get into and talk a little bit about today. And as I think about business, I’ve been a student of business for a very long time. Many of you know my history. You know, I started my professional career in corporate America financial services company for twelve years. Then I moved in, did two years in the direct sales industry with Mary Kate Cosmetics.
Darnyelle Jervey Harmon [00:15:20]:
Then I moved and did two years in the nonprofit small business arena running an SBA backed women’s business center. And now I’m back full throttle in small business, working directly with entrepreneurs and small business owners to get them to and beyond the million dollar mark, as well as working with financial institutions who have small business clients to help them to get their clients beyond the million dollar mark as well. Because a lot of the financial services and financial institutions that exist out there really want to work with clients that are beyond $1 million. But there’s, the vast majority of businesses are in that zero to million dollar bucket, right? So being an expert in this brain and helping companies get that first million dollars in place really makes a difference in how we can show up for our clients, whether they’re individual business owners or our corporate or even governmental entities. And so there’s basically four phases that I want to talk about with you today. In these phases, what I think you’ll come to learn really make a difference in the way that we think about it. So first we have to understand that business is cyclical, right? So business cycles increase and decrease, and they increase and decrease over time based on a various amount of factors. Factors can include what’s happening in the economy, what investments are being made or need to be made, what production costs are being associated with labor.
Darnyelle Jervey Harmon [00:16:48]:
Looks like depending upon the business. If you are a product based business, then we’re looking at production costs. Specifically, we’re looking at cost of goods sold. We’re looking at cost of materials. If you’re a service based business, we’re looking at production costs in the form of labor. And what is it costing to get the people who will be able to deliver the services on behalf of your clients. Now, most people need to understand that because businesses ebb and flow, high and low, in and out over time, the whole business cycle is going to experience both the ebbs and the flows and the highs and the lows. So there’s four basic phases in the business cycle.
Darnyelle Jervey Harmon [00:17:28]:
The first phase is the expansion phase. The expansion phase really does refer to an increase in things like income and supply and demand. So when we hit COVID-19 as an example, we saw an influx in supply and demand. And that’s why a lot of people made a lot of money. Right during this stage, there is a massive increase in your consumer or customer confidence. And as a result, people spend more money. They also are paying for things much more comfortably. So they are very confident and making investments in themselves.
Darnyelle Jervey Harmon [00:18:09]:
And in this particular phase, companies grow and they thrive. These are the supposed years. And during these years, it’s really important that you are following practices like Profit first and you’re putting money away to build cash reserves so that when you hit another phase we’re going to talk about shortly, you don’t have to have a missing beat inside of your business, right? If you’ve got move the millions the book you need, Move to Millions the planner. It’s the perfect companion as you plan, prepare and position to profit to and beyond the million dollar mark. Grab your planner [email protected]. Dot want to know what it’s like to work with me and the incredible factor university coaching team. You can get started today with the Move to Millions 90 day business growth planner.
Darnyelle Jervey Harmon [00:19:02]:
90 days at a time, you’ll be setting your business on a trajectory that.
Darnyelle Jervey Harmon [00:19:07]:
Will make the Move to Millions happen much faster for you. It’s got everything that you need to track every strategy, every sale, all of your KPI’s, as well as your self care and life transformational needs. We made sure we left nothing out of this amazing planner, and by accessing the planner, you’ll get a behind the scenes view of what it’s like to.
Darnyelle Jervey Harmon [00:19:28]:
Work with me and my team. Go grab yours [email protected].
Darnyelle Jervey Harmon [00:19:33]:
Dot ever wish as a Podcast episode comes to an end that we could spend more time together? Well, I want to make sure that you know about our free community on Facebook. If you are a millions minded entrepreneur who wants to go from millions on your mind to millions in your bank account, then we should spend more time together. Get all the details you need to join us in our free Facebook [email protected]. What I love about profit first is that it I will remember when I first started profit first many, many moons ago. Prior to reading profit first, I was already saving 10% every single month in the business to build my cash reserves. So I started this business, I think you guys know, not doing very well, not tripping the life. Fantastic. I think I had about dollar 500 to my name when I started incredible one enterprises.
Darnyelle Jervey Harmon [00:20:23]:
And my first goal was to get to the point where I had six figure cash flow. And some of you, if you’ve been following me for years, you remember when I talked a lot about six figure cash flow? That was my mission, was to get six figure cash flow. All I wanted to do was to have six figures in cash flow. And so prior to profit first, I had gotten to about $60,000 in profit in cash flow. Then I read profit first. And so then I really started to break down the money, and we got to over $200,000 in cash flow in less than a year. Right? It was amazing. That was the springboard that we’ve been able to build on to continue to grow cash flow inside of the company.
Darnyelle Jervey Harmon [00:21:05]:
Now, the ultimate goal from a cash flow perspective, and different experts will tell you different things. What I always recommend to my clients is that you have three to six months of your full expenses. So if it costs you $30,000 a month to run your business, six times 30 is $180,000. That is what you want to get to in cash reserves, and you just keep building on it. Every month I keep adding to cash reserves. Now, what we do is we take a good portion of that money. Some of it is in a high yield savings account so that we can get to it if we need it. Some of it is put into investments that belong to the company that are yielding us greater than a 5% return.
Darnyelle Jervey Harmon [00:21:47]:
But that’s what we do in periods of expansion. As more is coming in, we make sure that we’re stewarding it well so that we have it available when we hit a future phase of the business cycle. The next cycle of business is the peak phase. It typically follows an expansion period. The peak of the business cycle is right before things start to turn in the other direction. Right. So if we’re thinking about COVID-19 again, the expansion would have been 2020 and 2021. The peak would have likely happened in 2022 and partway through or a portion of 2023.
Darnyelle Jervey Harmon [00:22:29]:
Right. So at this particular point in time when you’re in the peak, prices are at your highest and it starts to create almost like an overheating in the marketplace around your business, because businesses are going to stop being able to satisfy the demands of the customer because things are beginning to change. Okay, so that is typically what will happen where we’re in a peak phase now following the peak. So if the peak was in 2022, 2023. The next phase is the contraction phase. The contraction phase will be 2024. It’s what we’re experiencing right now. What many people are experiencing typically follows that peak.
Darnyelle Jervey Harmon [00:23:14]:
When you hit an all time high, a business’s cycle of contraction means that businesses start decreasing and trying to recalibrate based on the peak. During this stage, business owners are typically trying to find ways to improve their finances, cut expenses, and still remain competitive. Right. So you don’t stop marketing when you’re in a contraction phase because you still need to be present and relevant to your consumer. But you might find some innovative ways in order to do things. And you also want to be looking at where you are from an expense standpoint, because when you are expanding and you’re at your peak, you’re spending probably a lot more. Your profit may be going down, but as you’re in a contraction, you want to start really paying attention to profit and profitability, because that’s going to help to make sure that you make it through. And then the final stage is the trail stage.
Darnyelle Jervey Harmon [00:24:10]:
Now, during this stage, what you typically will find, and we’re not yet in the trail stage, if we look at what’s been happening since COVID-19 is that supply and demand, they decline significantly. People basically stop buying during this phase is when you’ll see layoffs happen in an organization. People will typically try to determine whether or not they need to expand their offer suite if you’ve been operating with a signature offer during this phase, you might want to introduce a scalable offer, something that’s at a lower price point that still provides a quality product or service, but at a price point that meets the consumer’s confidence for where they are. Right now, you have to think about each of these four phases. So again, we have expansion, the peak contraction in the trough stage. Now, the lengths of these phases are going to vary. Every business is different, but they are predicated based on what’s happening in the marketplace, what’s happening in the economy, how the consumer is responding to what the media is heightening about what’s going on in the world. So if you want to counteract what the media is saying, the most important thing that you need to be focused on actually through any of the phases, is your messaging and how well you communicate to your ideal client.
Darnyelle Jervey Harmon [00:25:35]:
So you have to be really uber clear about who they are, what their challenges are, and what their desires are. Challenges are important to understand and desires are equally important to understand. Everybody is not experiencing a lack based challenge. Some people are experiencing an abundance based desire. And so you’re going to need to be cognizant of both and really spend time mining, collecting and mining the data that you get about your ideal clients during this time. So this is why you have to be out, you have to be interacting. You have to be on the pulse of what’s happening for your subset of the market, right? And remember, and your market, your 100% is comprised of 3% that can’t wait for you to introduce your next offer, 7% that is likely to take you up on your next offer. They’re readily aware and thinking about taking the next step, 30% that knows where you are when they’re ready, 30% that is not familiar with you at all, and 30% that is not interested in what it is that you want to bring to the table.
Darnyelle Jervey Harmon [00:26:45]:
So when we think about this market, I want you to be cognizant and thinking, how can I make sure that I’m communicating with a strong, consistent, contrarian message that speaks to the challenges, but also heightens the desires of my most ideal client so that what’s happening in these phases of my business cycle do not impact me so significantly that I enter that trust phase and have to consider laying people off or substantially modifying the way that I do difference. And along the way, as a part of this, you want to make sure that you’re thinking about what you need to recalibrate, how you might want to reset and if there’s anything that you need to do in order to make sure that your self care is intact and your business is ready to perform at the level that is commensurate with the value that you bring to the marketplace, the phases of business are going to continue based on what’s happening in the marketplace. How you respond and react to them is going to be an indication of your leadership style. So there’s always an opportunity for you to really think about how you can make an adjustment and what you can do differently. Like your revenue might go down, but so might your expenses. So you increase your profitability. And if you have more profit with less revenue, that might be a way stronger business than having more revenue but less profit. Remember, profit is how we keep scoring business.
Darnyelle Jervey Harmon [00:28:12]:
So you want to think about that as well. So I want you to be thinking about what phase is your business in right now. What are the challenges that you are facing and how might you connect with your audience right now in order to illustrate to them that even though your business is where it is, and you don’t need to tell them that that’s where your business is, you can still solve their challenges and get them closer to their desires enough for them to make an investment decision to work with you in some capacity for you to keep that revenue flowing inside of your business. So think about where you are if you have questions about this, because this might be a conversation you’re not used to having, and I totally get that. Certainly feel free to slide in my DM’s right after you rate and review this episode. And let’s continue the conversation about the phase that you’re in and how you can respond based on where you are. And I’ll see you guys next time. Take care.
Darnyelle Jervey Harmon [00:29:11]:
Thank you for joining me for the Move to Millions Podcast. The way I see it, you deserve a business that generates millions. We love to have you join us in may at move two millions live to help you prepare, plan and position your company for the million dollar mark. Visit Move to Millions event now to grab your seat. If you enjoyed our time together, do yourself a favor. Head on over to iTunes, subscribe rate and leave us a review until next time. Remember, millions are your birthright and to access them you need only move. See you next time.
Darnyelle Jervey Harmon [00:29:44]:
Take care.
